The State of Hawaiʻi Island Flex Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is an employee benefit plan that provides employees with a way to pay for their eligible health care expenses and dependent care expenses with tax-free money.
By directing “before tax” money from the employee’s paycheck into one or both of these accounts, employees may be reimbursed on eligible out-of-pocket medical, prescription drug, dental, and vision expenses and dependent care expenses.
For details on the program, see the FSA (Island Flex) Plan Document.
To participate employees must be a member of the State of Hawaiʻi Employees’ Retirement System (ERS).
How to Enroll
New employees can enroll within 90 days of their hire date.
Current employees must wait until the next annual open enrollment period to enroll.
To enroll, mail, fax, or email the FSA (Island Flex) Compensation Reduction Agreement (Enrollment Form) directly to NBS.
- Mail: National Benefit Services, LLC (NBS), 1314 S King St, Suite 305, Honolulu, HI 96814
- Fax: 808-465-3712
- Email: islandflex@nbsbenefits.com
- If you are submitting the Enrollment Form via email, you should include only the last 4-digits of your SSN and an NBS representative may contact you via telephone to verify your entire SSN. The telephone number on your caller ID may show up as: 808-465-2284 or 801-532-4000.
You must complete a new Compensation Reduction Agreement form each plan year to continue enrollment.
The plan will take effect on the first day of the month following NBS’s receipt of the compensation reduction agreement form (enrollment form).
Change Contributions
You may modify your contributions if you have a qualifying life event. Complete the Change of Status form and return it to NBS within 90 days of the status change event.
Medical FSA: $2,750 per year
Dependent Care FSA: $5,000 per year or $2,500 if you are married and filing separately
Administration Fee: There is a nominal administration fee each month. The fee will be deducted from your paycheck each pay period on a pre-tax basis. You pay one fee whether you enroll on one or both accounts. Generally, break-even point is an annual election of about $200.
Island Flex Debit Card for Medical FSA Expenses
Participants, when enrolling in Island Flex, may elect to receive the Island Flex debit card. The Island Flex debit card can be used to pay for medical expenses once an eligible service is provided by a doctor, hospital, pharmacy, etc. as long as the service provider accepts Master Card credit cards. Participants who did not enroll for the debit card can contact NBS to receive one anytime in the middle of the plan year.
For more information, please view the Island Flex Debit Card handout.
Manual Claim Reimbursement
Participants can use one of the options below to submit their claims and get reimbursed by check or direct deposit.
- NBS Web Portal
- Mobile App – submit claims, check your balances, view transactions, and submit documentation
- Mail, fax or email FSA claim form to NBS
To enroll in direct deposit, complete the FSA Direct Deposit Request Form
Members can submit claims and view account balances, reimbursement history and calendar deadlines from NBS Web Portal and Mobile app.
To register your account, please follow the First Time Login Instructions.