FSA
ENROLL during Open Season! Flexible Spending Accounts, TRICARE and FEDVIP
Federal Benefits Open Season is here! From November 10 – December 8, 2025, for FSAFEDS and FEDVIP and through December 9, 2025 for TRICARE, you can select options for your benefits for 2026. This is your annual opportunity to review your benefits options and make choices to meet you and your family’s unique needs. Eligibility varies by program and details are available at the below links.
FSAFEDS:
* FOR SERVICE MEMBERS! Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account – Contribute up to $7,500 per household in pre-tax earnings to pay for eligible dependent care expenses such as preschool, summer day camp, before or after school programs, and child or adult daycare.
* FOR SERVICE MEMBERS! Health Care Flexible Spending Account – Contribute up to $3,400 per household in pre-tax earnings to pay for eligible health care expenses such as medical, vision, and dental.
o Learn more and enroll here: https://www.fsafeds.gov/enroll.
TRICARE:
* TRICARE Health Plan – Beneficiaries eligible for TRICARE Prime and Select have three options during open season. Stay in your plan, no action required; enroll in a plan if not previously enrolled; or change plans. Actions during open season are effective on January 1, 2026.
o Enroll or Change Plan Here: https://tricare.mil/Plans/Enroll.
FEDVIP:
* Vision Care – Active-duty family members are eligible for enrollment in a FEDVIP vision insurance plan.
o Enroll or Change Plan Here: https://www.benefeds.gov/eligibility.
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Delivered by Defense Finance and Accounting Service
HEALTH CARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD FOR MILITARY PERSONNEL
CLASSIFICATION: UNCLASSIFIED//
ROUTINE
R 181951Z FEB 25 MID120001748339U
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NAVADMIN 031/25
PASS TO OFFICE CODES:
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
MSGID/GENADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/FEB//
SUBJ/HEALTH CARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT SPECIAL ENROLLMENT PERIOD FOR
MILITARY PERSONNEL//
RMKS/1. This NAVADMIN announces the new opportunity for eligible Sailors to
enroll in a Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) during a Special
Enrollment Period from 3-31 March 2025. The Department of Defense
coordinated with the Office of Personnel Management to provide eligible
Service Members access to this benefit. HCFSA is an optional benefit that
enables Service Members to use pre-tax earnings to pay for eligible health
care expenses, such as co-payments and cost shares, deductibles, dental
(braces and orthodontia), vision (glasses and contact lenses), prescription
drugs, and wellness treatments (acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic care).
Contributions are directly deposited from pay into the Sailor's HCFSA before
taxes are deducted, which reduces the Service Member's taxable income.
2. Eligibility. Both Active Component and Training and Administration of
the Reserves (TAR) Sailors are eligible for enrollment in HCFSAs. Sailors in
the Reserve Component, except for TAR Sailors, are not eligible. For
complete eligibility information, see
https://finred.usalearning.gov/Benefits/HCFSA.
3. Enrollment:
a. Eligible Sailors may enroll in a HCFSA for the 2025 plan year during
the Special Enrollment Period from 3-31 March 2025.
Enrollment will be processed by the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program
(FSAFEDS) at https://www.fsafeds.gov/. An HCFSA allows each Sailor to
contribute $100-$3,300 per year in pre-tax income to their account to pay for
eligible health care costs.
Households where both earners are eligible for an HCFSA through their
employer may maintain two separate accounts and contribute a combined $200-
$6,600 per year. A HCFSA typically operates on a calendar year, starting 1
January and ending 31 December. Sailors who enroll during the 2025 Special
Enrollment Period have from the day after they enroll to 31 December 2025 to
use and claim funds in their HCFSA account.
b. Eligible Sailors may also enroll at any time in an HCFSA following a
qualifying life event such as the birth or adoption of a child, a divorce, or
a permanent change of station.
c. Upon enrollment, a specified amount of funds will be withheld each
pay period and deposited into their HCFSA.
d. Funds are available in the Sailors' HCFSA after each pay period to
pay for eligible health care expenses. Sailors can then submit claims
through the FSAFEDS website or official FSAFEDS app and receive reimbursement
to their bank account or by check. For the procedures to file a claim, see
https://www.fsafeds.gov/file.
e. Sailors or their families sometimes must pay out-of-pocket for
certain health care expenses, supplementing the comprehensive coverage
offered through TRICARE. Contributions to an HCFSA should be carefully
planned based on expected out-of-pocket medical, dental, and vision expenses
to be incurred during the year.
f. Sailors must use and claim the funds in their HCFSA account by the
end of the plan year (e.g., 31 December 2025 for the 2025 plan year).
Unclaimed funds will be forfeited at the end of the plan year (e.g., 1
January 2026 for the 2025 plan year).
g. Sailors can carry over up to $660 of unused HCFSA funds to the next
plan year if they re-enroll. Any carry over funds in excess of $660 will be
forfeited.
h. Annual Re-enrollment. Eligible Sailors must re-enroll each year
during the Federal Open Season (e.g., from mid-November through mid-December
2025 for the 2026 plan year) to continue participation.
A Sailor's participation will not automatically carry over from year to year.
Sailors must re-enroll each year to have access to any carryover funds.
Sailors have until 30 April to submit prior year claims (e.g., 30 April 2026
for those enrolled in the 2025 plan year).
i. Carryover funds do not count against the $3,300 maximum contribution
limit per year (e.g., $3,300 can be contributed for the
2026 plan year even if $660 is carried over from the 2025 plan year).
4. Things to consider before you enroll in HCFSA:
a. Review your family's budget and cash flow. Enrolling in a HCFSA will
impact your take-home pay.
b. Understand your tax benefits. Free tax software and one-on- one help
from military tax experts are available to Service Members and their
families.
5. HCFSA Resources. Free assistance is available to help Sailors make the
right decision, provide enrollment information, and understand how the HCFSA
affects both their families' financial budget and tax situation. Resources
can be obtained from the following sources:
a. Office of Financial Readiness DCFSA webpage:
https://finred.usalearning.gov/Benefits/HCFSA.
b. Military OneSource:
https://www.militaryonesource.mil/benefits/health-care-flexible-spending-
account/.
c. FSAFEDS: https://www.fsafeds.gov/explore/hcfsa.
d. Local Command Financial Specialists and Fleet and Family Support
Center Personal Financial Managers.
e. Tax consultation from MilTax via Military OneSource at
https://www.militaryonesource.mil/media/toolkits/miltax/.
6. Released by Vice Admiral Richard J. Cheeseman, Jr., N1.//
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New Benefit Alert! Health Care FSA for Service Members
Eligible Service members can enroll for a Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) for the first time through a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) from March 3, 2025 – March 31, 2025.
A Health Care Flexible Spending Account allows Service members to set aside between $100 – $3,300 per individual in pre-tax earnings each year to pay for expenses such as
– Over-the-counter medicines and drugstore items such as sunscreen, Band-Aids, and menstrual products
– Co-pays and cost-shares
– Eye exams, glasses, and contact lenses
– Dental and orthodontia
There are more than 300+ HCFSA eligible expenses. Search whether the expenses you pay for are HCFSA-eligible here: https://www.fsafeds.gov/explore/hcfsa/expenses
Service members and their families sometimes must pay out-of-pocket for certain healthcare expenses to supplement the coverage offered through TRICARE. HCFSAs can be used for you and your dependents health expenses, allowing Service members to save while paying for those costs.
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Delivered by Defense Finance and Accounting Service
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