Travis Software Upgrades for FSA Grace Period

January 4, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Travis Software Corp. has announced the modification of its TravisFlex system to accommodate the grace period allowed by the IRS on submitting claims to employees' flexible spending accounts (FSAs).

In May, the IRS issued ruling 2005-42, allowing employers to modify FSA provisions to extend the deadline for reimbursement of health- and dependent-care expenses up to two and a half months after the end of the plan year (See  NewsDash – May 19 “FLEX” ABILITIES).   In response, Travis has modified its TravisFlex system and added a few custom options, according to the company’s announcement.

The system will give the ability to provide the grace period to employees who participated in the FSA during the previous year but did not enroll for the new year.   Additionally, according to Travis, the new added feature involves handling the various interpretations of whether previous year money can be “replaced” once it has been paid.    Their new release 7.3 will allow the system to automatically reflect the decision on a plan-by-plan basis.

Travis said in the announcement that the new release also allows most reporting to be printed in landscape format and saved to an excel file, and allows Secondary Health Account information from its SmartFlex system to be sent to/received from its SmartFlex debit card interface.

Travis is also providing a new version of TravisFlex/Doc sent to users in August, 2005 that provides the capability for either an amendment or restatement to be produced which will include wording for the grace period and its various options.

More information about the employee benefits software provider and its products can be found at www.travisoft.com .

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