Under the policies and procedures of the FlexElect Program there are established timeframes for the completion and processing of enrollment forms. The Personnel Office is responsible for ensuring that FlexElect Program information is provided to all employees and timely submission of enrollment forms. In situations when there has been a discrepancy in form processing, CalHR will consider an enrollment/change appeal, upon request.
Following are some situations that typically occur with enrollments and should be used as a guide prior to submitting any appeal for enrollment to CalHR for consideration:
Employee claims to have not been informed of the FlexElect Open Enrollment Period and wishes to enroll after October but prior to January
Employee will not be able to enroll unless the department certifies in writing that the employee was not notified of the FlexElect Open Enrollment Period and provides an explanation as to phone number list the reason. The department must send the FlexElect enrollment form and all other necessary forms to CalHR , Benefits Division for consideration. CalHR will consider the facts presented and may allow enrollment on a prospective or retroactive basis within IRS regulations.
Employee claims to have not been informed of the FlexElect Open Enrollment Period and wishes to enroll after January
Employee will not be able to enroll unless the department certifies in writing the employee was not notified of the FlexElect Open Enrollment Period and provides an explanation as to why. The department must send the FlexElect enrollment form and all other necessary forms to CalHR , Benefits Division. CalHR will consider the facts presented and may allow enrollment on a prospective or retroactive basis within IRS regulations.
Employee submitted an incorrectly completed form. Errors were not detected by the Personnel Office which resulted in the form being rejected by SCO and returned.
Departments may submit a written explanation of the facts in cases where they believe they caused processing delays by making an error or not catching errors the employee made in completing the form. CalHR will consider the facts presented and may allow enrollment on a prospective or retroactive basis within IRS regulations.
Employee submitted a correctly completed FlexElect enrollment form, however, the departmental Personnel Office did not submit the form to SCO in a timely manner and the deduction did not take effect.
Departments must submit an explanation in writing as to why the documents did not get processed timely to the CalHR , Benefits Division with all necessary enrollment forms. CalHR will consider the facts presented and may allow enrollment on a prospective or retroactive basis within IRS regulations.
Employee submitted a correctly completed FlexElect enrollment form and the departmental Personnel Office forwarded the form to SCO in a timely manner. SCO did not receive the form and the request was not processed.
Departments must submit an explanation in writing certifying the form was forwarded to SCO in a timely manner but was not received/processed. CalHR will consider the facts presented and may allow enrollment on a prospective or retroactive basis within IRS regulations.
Employee loses coverage and does not file C within days from permitting event date.
Departments must submit an explanation in writing along with the HBD- or Health Benefit and Enrollment History Page after confirmation from my|CalPERS and/or STD. The effective date to cancel the cash is the same date as the enrollment into health and/or dental benefits. CalHR will consider the facts presented and may allow enrollment on a prospective or retroactive basis within IRS regulations.
For Permitting Event Codes , and , which all allow a cancellation or change in the Dependent Care Reimbursement Account (DCRA), the specific effective date rules may cause the employee to lose the funds if their Dependent Care costs change before the effective date.
Departments should submit an explanation in writing along with the STD. R to make the effective date correspond with the Dependent Care cost change.
In accordance with IRS regulations which prohibit the deferral of compensation; under no circumstances will retroactivity into a prior plan year be allowed for the Reimbursement Accounts. In those instances where CalHR approves retroactivity, it will only be approved for the CURRENT plan year.
In cases where the department feels they are not at fault and the employee is not being allowed to enroll or make changes, or is not being enrolled with the earliest possible effective date, the employee may seek financial remedy by filing a claim through the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board against his/her department for the amount of money and/or tax savings they believe they did not receive.
