About the Commuter Benefits Program About the Commuter Benefits Program Transit Account Parking Account Special Situations Reminders Commuter Program Policies Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions About the Program About Commuter Debit Cards Your Spending Account™ is a trademark of Aon Hewitt. About the Commuter Benefits Program Save money on your work-related commuter expenses through the Commuter Benefits Program. The program allows you to use pre-tax and after-tax dollars to purchase transit and/or parking passes/tickets for commuting between your home and work. The great advantage is that you don't pay federal taxes on your contributions, thus lowering your taxable income. Commuter products will be mailed directly to your home and payroll will withhold the appropriate amounts from your paycheck. Paying for your transit/parking passes with pre-tax and after-tax deductions Once you’re enrolled using the online ordering system, payroll will automatically deduct from your pay the cost of your transit/parking purchases. The amount, up to the federally mandated pre-tax limit per month, will be deducted from your pay before taxes are withheld. Any amount above the federally mandated pre-tax limit per month will be deducted from your pay in after-tax dollars.1 Through the program you may order pre-loaded, stored value debit cards; transit tickets, smart cards, as well as subscription transit services; or you may order vouchers for use when purchasing commuter products directly from providers. The program has relationships with every transit authority in the continental U.S. allowing you the option to purchase from 100,000 different fare media that are currently available. For your convenience you may establish recurring transit and/or parking orders through the website so the products are automatically sent to you each month. Participation in the program is completely voluntary. You may join or discontinue use of the program at any time based on the current ordering window as long as you are actively working. You cannot cancel your order for a given month after the ordering window has closed. If you don’t have access to a computer to place your order, orders can be placed through a Your Spending Account™ representative Monday through Friday, except holidays. 1 The monthly federal pre-tax payroll deduction for a qualified transit and/or parking expenses changes annually based on adjustments for the cost of living and may change at other times as the result of acts by Congress. The current monthly federal pre-tax limit is shown on the ordering page of the website. Your Spending Account™ is a trademark of Aon Hewitt. About the Commuter Benefits Program Transit Account How the Account Works When you order your transit products each month, they are mailed directly to your home. The cost of the transit products is taken from your pay check. On the Your Spending Account online platform you can order tickets/passes for every major transit authority in the US. If you prefer, you may order a Commuter Debit Card or Commuter Check voucher to be used to purchase your transit ticket/passes directly from the provider. Commuter Debit cards are an ideal choice if you use multiple providers or have an irregular commuting schedule. In the event you do not use all the funds in a given month, the monies remain on the card and can be used as needed in the future as long as you’re actively working.2 Since the Commuter Debit Card can only be used to pay for Transit expenses there is no need to send in receipts to validate your purchase. Common Eligible Expenses The following are considered eligible commuter benefit program expenses: Mass transit trains or buses (limousines and taxis are excluded) Water Ferries Commuter highway vehicles Vanpooling Products Available Through the Online Ordering Platform: Transit Check Card Prepaid Mastercard® Fare Media – o Metro cards o Smart cards (for example the Charlie Card in Boston) o Ride Ticket Books Subscription Service Payments (such as “Mail & Ride” programs) Commuter Check Voucher Please remember, that the transit account is only for transit related expenses. Parking expenses are separate and must be fulfilled under the parking benefit portion of the program. 2As the commuter benefits program is for commuting two and from work, unused on a pre -paid debit card are forfeited upon termination of employment. Your Spending Account™ is a trademark of Aon Hewitt. About the Commuter Benefits Program Parking Account How the Account Works Each month, you may elect a Direct payment to your parking provider, a Parking Check Voucher made payable to your designated provider, the Parking Cash Reimbursement Account, or the Parking Check Card Prepaid Mastercard® which is accepted by Parking Providers where MasterCard is accepted to pay for eligible parking expenses. Depending on your election, the products are mailed directly to your home or provider and the cost is taken from your paycheck each month. For reimbursement accounts, the elected amount will be available for reimbursement on the 1st of the given benefit month. The monthly cost is taken from your paycheck each month. Similar to the process for transit passes, you will use the Your Spending Account™ online platform to place your order. The program has affiliations in place with most major parking provider systems. If your provider isn’t affiliated, you can submit a request online to ask that they be added to the program. Common Eligible Expenses Eligible parking expenses are charges for: Parking on or near your work location Parking at or near a location from which you commute to work (for example, train stations or bus depots) Through the Online Ordering Platform you may: Order a Parking Check Card Prepaid Mastercard® Have your parking provider paid directly Request Commuter Check Vouchers be mailed to you Enroll in the Parking Reimbursement Program o The reimbursement program requires to you to pay for your parking out of pocket and then file a claim including supplying an itemized, detailed receipt requesting reimbursement) Special Situations In general, the deadline to place transit and/or parking orders is the 10th of the month proceeding the benefit month. For example: the deadline to order for September benefits is midnight Eastern time August 10th. Earlier ordering deadlines, 4th of the month, apply for Long Island Rail Road and Metro North Railroad commuters (those using their “Mail & Ride” programs or those who order individual tickets through our direct pay service). Your Spending Account™ is a trademark of Aon Hewitt. About the Commuter Benefits Program Certain metropolitan transit authorities such as LIRR, MNR, Clipper (BART), Boston, Washington, DC and Chicago may have additional requirements to order their passes through the commuter benefits program. If you work in a location where special transit and/or parking programs are available to you, you’re not working in the domestic US, or on a leave, you are not eligible to participate in the program. Reminders If you’re enrolled and set up for recurring orders, deductions from your pay and the purchase of your monthly transit/parking pass or card will continue until you arrange to stop or suspend the purchase (you might suspend a purchase, for example, if you’re going on vacation provided you update your order by the applicable deadline). In accordance with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines, commuter benefits can’t be used to pay for the public transportation to attend business meetings between your office and another work locations or a client location. These “business expenses” aren’t eligible for reimbursement under the program. Your Spending Account™ is a trademark of Aon Hewitt. About the Commuter Benefits Program Commuter Program Policies It’s important to understand how the Commuter Benefits Program works. If you need assistance or you experience a problem, it’s essential that you contact Your Spending Account™ (YSA) immediately. The sooner you contact us, the more likely we will be to help you correct the situation. You may contact us by choosing Contact Us link in the top right corner of our website. Our representatives are available 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday, except holidays to assist you. For pre-paid debit card users, after hours please contact 1-866-262-2440 to report a lost or stolen card. Be sure to call YSA as soon as possible during normal business hours for further assistance. The commuter program is a benefit offered by your Employer for the express purpose of commuting to and from work. Because it’s a tax-advantaged program (you don’t pay federal taxes on the amounts withheld from your pay) the Commuter Benefits Program is governed by various federal and IRS regulations; however, it is not covered by ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act). Federal guidelines expressly prohibit employers from refunding contributions withheld under a Commuter Benefits Program. It is therefore important that you actively manage your account to ensure you are ordering only the products/services that you will use. Participation in the program is completely voluntary. You may join or discontinue use of the program at any time based on the current ordering window as long as you are actively working. You cannot cancel your order for a given month after the ordering window has closed; however you may cancel future orders as long as the ordering window for those time periods is open. Federal regulations stipulate Employees must be actively working in order to use the Commuter Benefits Program. If you go on leave (paid or unpaid), your participation in the program, including debit card use and ability to request parking reimbursement, will be suspended until you return from leave.