University of California
UCnet
What are you looking for?

Additional COVID-19 relief in sight for participants in UC’s Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plans

Share This Article

Update, March 9, 2021: UC has approved some important temporary changes to support employees who are at risk of losing their FSA contributions because they’ve been unable to obtain eligible services during the pandemic. Read full announcement.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, includes provisions that allow employers to provide pandemic relief to participants in Health and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plans for 2020 and 2021.

As UC Systemwide Human Resources (HR) awaits clarifying guidance from the IRS, they are working with Discovery Benefits/WEX (UC’s FSA administrator) to better understand how they can adopt the relief provisions into UC’s FSA program. While UC Systemwide HR has not yet made final decisions, their goal is to help FSA participants avoid forfeiting contributions they made in 2020 and were unable to use due to the pandemic.

Read Important changes to UC benefits programs for relief during the pandemic to learn more about the current status of rules giving employees and non-Medicare retirees flexibility to make changes to their group health plan coverage and more time to complete certain transactions.

More information will be shared on UCnet as soon as it is available.

Keep Reading

  • Build your digital accessibility knowledge with free UC webinars
    February 25, 2026
    To help colleagues prepare for upcoming federal digital accessibility law changes, UCOP is hosting a targeted, multi-session webinar series.
  • UCnetwork: February 2026
    February 11, 2026
    UCnetwork is emailed monthly to University of California staff, but all members of the UC community are invited to subscribe. Get UCnetwork delivered to your inbox. …
  • Your tax forms for 2025
    February 11, 2026
    Tax time is here! Learn how to access your income verification and health coverage forms for your 2025 taxes on UCPath.