Page 17 - Work Force September 2021

Care for your vision
SEA members with an Employee Know your family’s eye health
Benefit Fund vision plan include history
Wear sunglasses — even on cloudy days
Be sure to look for sunglasses that block 99 to 100% of both UVA and UVB radiation.
Always wash your hands
Washing your hands is imperative before handling your contact lenses.
Give your eyes a rest
Digital eye strain is a growing
problem. Try using the 20-20-20 rule throughout the day: every 20 minutes, look away from digital devices and focus about 20 feet in front of you for 20 seconds.
If your local government unit (towns, villages, school districts, etc.) currently does not have vision coverage, several comprehensive and competitive vision plan
options are available from the CSEA Employee Benefit Fund to put on the table during contract negotiations.
If your unit is interested in learning more, contact the local government Sr. Benefit Specialist from your region.
Long Island Region
Candace Sclafani 631-462-5224 csclafani@cseaebf.org
Southern Region
Jordan Rider 845-831-1000 jrider@cseaebf.org
Capital Region
Erin Bazinet 518-782-1500, Ext. 860 ebazinet@cseaebf.org
Central Region
Gina Tralongo 518-782-1500, Ext. 800 gtralongo@cseaebf.com
Western Region
Jim Aldrich 518-782-1500, Ext. 818 jaldrich@cseaebf.org
state government employees; Unified Court System employees; local government employees with the Silver, Gold, Platinum and Member Plus Vision Plans (formerly Solstice) and eligible retirees.
Refer to your contract, check with your employer, or visit www.cseaebf.com and use our Benefit Search Tool to find out exactly what benefits you may be eligible for.
The EBF is proud of our longstanding partnership with Davis Vision. Take a look at some great information from Davis Vision about the importance of routine eye exams and other tips to keep those peepers in tip-top shape.
Schedule your routine eye exam
Paying attention to your vision
is important for your safety and overall health. An annual eye exam is the easiest and most cost-effective way to evaluate eye health, identify vision problems, and detect nearly 30 chronic health conditions.
Some eye conditions are hereditary and require early intervention.
Wear protective eyewear
Wear safety cases, goggles and shields when playing sports, doing home repairs or yardwork, or while in the workplace (if necessary).
Eat healthy foods
Eye- healthy foods include dark, leafy greens like spinach, kale,
and collard greens and fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, tuna, trout and halibut.
Get active
Being physically active can also lower your risk of health conditions that can cause eye health or vision problems — like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Quit smoking, or never start
Smoking increases your risk of diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts — and it can harm the optic nerve.
Important flex spending account updates
The Flex Spending Account (FSA) is a negotiated employee benefit that helps state employees save money by allowing certain expenses to be paid with pre-tax dollars.
Employees eligible for FSAs are typically subject to the use-it-or- lose-it rule, meaning that any account balances remaining
at the end of the plan year are forfeited.
The Flexible
Spending Accounts
for state employees
were previously enhanced
to allow for IRS provisions to help reduce potential forfeitures for 2020.
The State FSA includes the Dependent Care Advantage Account (DCAA). The DCAA helps
state employees pay for custodial who turned 13 during the 2020 plan child care, elder care, or disabled year as well.
dependent care while they are at Participants can check remaining work. balances on their DCAA accounts by
Due to the unprecedented events contacting the NYS Flex Spending
in 2020, the state’s DCAA Account hotline at 1-800-358-7202 or
account was modified online at participant.wageworks. to allow a temporary com/nysfsa.
grace period in 2021 Please note the DCAA claims for participants to submission deadline: the last day
incur dependent care to submit DCAA claims incurred
expenses that could be through Sept. 15, 2021 is Sept. 30, reimbursed using 2020 2021.
account balances (if Additionally, we are pleased to they had DCAA as of Dec. report that due to the Consolidation
31, 2020). Appropriations Act and the
The DCAA temporary grace American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,
•
single or married filing separately and from $5,000
to $10,500 for married
filing jointly or head of household.
Employees are now allowed
to change their DCAA election amount without a qualifying change in status event reason. The change event reason
will appear as: “No Reason (Consolidated Appropriations Act).” Use this to enroll, change, re-start or terminate your 2021 DCAA. Changes will not be retroactive but will be applied to the next available payroll date for processing.
period has been extended. Funds remaining from the 2020 NYS DCAA plan year can now cover expenses incurred between Jan. 1, 2020 to Sept. 15, 2021. DCAA enrollees may seek reimbursement for children
the DCAA has been modified to include the following two important changes:
• The maximum contribution levels have been increased from $2,500 to $5,250 for
Please email fsa@goer.ny.gov or call WageWorks/Health Equity (1-800-358-7202) if you have questions about any of these new changes.
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September 2021 The Work Force