A Dependent Care FSA gives you a way to pay for your out-of-pocket dependent care expenses with pretax dollars. It is a voluntary benefit – you decide how much to set aside from your paycheck and put into your account.

Contribution amount: up to $5,000 per household per year ($2,500 if married and filing separate federal tax returns), including your Care$ Benefit contribution from Western Union, if eligible (see below). Click here for a Direct Deposit Form.

Eligible expenses: Money set aside in a Dependent Care FSA can be used to reimburse only those dependent care expenses necessary because you, or if you are married, you and your spouse, work. The work-related expenses you can pay through this account include:

• Wages paid to a baby-sitter or a companion in or outside your home, as long as the person providing care is not someone you also declare as a dependent
• Services of a day care center and/or nursery school if the center complies with all state and local laws
• Cost for care at facilities away from home, such as family day care and adult day care centers, as long as your adult dependent spends at least eight hours a day at home
• Wages paid to a housekeeper for providing care for an eligible dependent

Eligible dependents include:

• Your dependent children up to their 13th birthday
• Any person living with you whom you claim as a dependent and who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care

How the Dependent Care FSA works:

• FSAs are "use it or lose it" benefits. You may be reimbursed from your 2009 Dependent Care FSA for expenses incurred through December 31, 2009, as long as you submit your claims by March 31, 2010. After that, you forfeit any money left in your account and Western Union will use it to offset the plan's administrative costs.
• You may be reimbursed from your 2010 Dependent Care FSA for expenses incurred through December 31, 2010, as long as you submit your claims by March 31, 2011.
• Click here for a Dependent Care Claim Form. Here are some FSA claim filing tips to help you.
• Once you enroll, your contributions will be deducted from your pay in equal installments during the year and deposited into your account, before federal, state and Social Security taxes are withheld. You may be reimbursed for eligible expenses up to the amount available in your account at that time.
• The election you make remains in effect throughout the year. The only time you may change your election is if you experience a qualified status change event and you make the change at Western Union Employee Access within 31 days of the event.
• FSAs can only be used for expenses deemed eligible under IRS regulations. For a list of eligible and ineligible dependent care expenses, as well as additional information, please visit the Aetna FSA Web site.

It is important to estimate your expenses carefully when you enroll in a Dependent Care FSA because you will forfeit any unused amount at the end of the plan year. You may wish to use Aetna's online FSA Savings Calculator to help you estimate your child or elder day care expenses as well as your tax savings for the coming year.

Visit the Aetna Flexible Spending Accounts Web site to learn more.