Enrollment in FSAFEDS, the flexible spending account program for federal employees, closes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on December 14, 2026, and the Office of Personnel Management says no one’s account carries into 2027 on its own. Every employee who wants to keep setting aside pretax pay for medical costs has to make a new election during Open Season, which starts November 9. The rule is an annual one, but this year’s cycle adds a new Visa debit card for health accounts, which gives current participants a second reason to look at their elections before the window shuts.
Whatever an employee elects in the window takes effect on January 1, 2027, according to OPM. New enrollment, re-enrollment and changes made during Open Season all follow the same date. That makes the Open Season election the only chance this fall to set the 2027 amount, so a participant who lets the window pass without acting starts 2027 with no FSA at all.
Why an FSA election does not roll over
The question for current participants is simple: does the election they made last year still apply? It does not. OPM’s Open Season page lists the close of FEDVIP and FSAFEDS enrollment as 11:59 p.m. Eastern on December 14, 2026, the same day Open Season ends for the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, though FEHB and PSHB deadlines follow the time at the person’s electronic enrollment system.
The 11:59 p.m. Eastern close on December 14 is the next date for every FSAFEDS participant, and the card details are still being released.
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The program’s own language is blunt. OPM’s Open Season highlights say that “participation in FSAFEDS does not automatically continue from year to year,” and that current participants who want to continue for 2027 must re-enroll. The same document describes the program as one for active employees only, which leaves out annuitants, who make their Open Season choices in the health and dental programs instead.
Unlike a health plan, which keeps running at the old coverage level if nothing is changed, an FSA has no standing default. A participant who does nothing has no 2027 account, and the prescriptions, dental work and glasses that an FSA covered in 2026 would then be paid for with after-tax pay. OPM associate director Matthew Kiley has urged employees to compare options and costs and make changes before the December 14 deadline, and the FSA election is one of the choices in that window.
The new FSAFEDS Visa card
The card is new for the 2027 benefit period. In its Open Season announcement, OPM said “eligible employees can select a FSAFEDS Visa FSA Card as part of their election for the 2027 benefit period,” and described it as a way to pay for qualified health care, pharmacy, dental and vision expenses at the point of sale. Employees can use the card or stay with paperless reimbursement. HealthEquity, which OPM describes as the nation’s largest administrator of flexible savings accounts and consumer-directed benefits, runs FSAFEDS.
The card is offered for two account types, the Health Care FSA and the Limited Expense Health Care FSA. FSAFEDS says on its website that the debit card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A., and works wherever Visa debit cards are accepted for qualified expenses. It cannot be used at ATMs, for cash back, or at gas stations, restaurants and other non-health businesses, and the site says more details are coming soon.
Because the card pulls money straight from the account, an employee does not pay out of pocket and wait for reimbursement, according to OPM’s highlights. Transactions and balances show in the FSAFEDS mobile app. The card does not change the sign-up rule. It is part of the election itself, which means an employee who wants one has to select it during the same window in which the account is renewed.
Limits and carryover for health accounts
An FSAFEDS flyer for the 2027 Open Season, posted on the program’s website, puts the Health Care FSA election at a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $3,400. The same flyer says eligible employees can carry over up to $680 to the following plan year. The flyer does not state a limit for the Limited Expense Health Care FSA, and the flyer’s figures cover health accounts only.
The carryover figure matters for a decision made now. An employee choosing a 2027 amount is picking a number to spend on qualified expenses, with up to $680 of any leftover balance able to move into 2028. The flyer shows $3,400 as the ceiling, not a recommendation, and the right number for a participant depends on that person’s expected costs for the year.
Re-enrolling on FSAFEDS before the window closes
The free route to re-enroll is FSAFEDS.gov, which OPM lists as the enrollment site, or the program’s phone line at 1-877-372-3337 (TTY 1-866-353-8058). OPM’s FSA page says current participants “must remember to enroll each year,” and that enrollment happens during Open Season, with coverage starting January 1.
The first item to settle is the account type. The Visa card is available only with the Health Care FSA and the Limited Expense Health Care FSA, so an employee who wants a card has to pick one of those two accounts when electing. The second is the dollar amount, which is set once for the year.
The card rollout is the part still to come. The FSAFEDS site says more details are coming soon. The one date that is fixed is the close of enrollment, and it applies to every participant, whatever the account type or the amount.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Money Overview’s editorial team.
