Learn how benefits administrators can encourage year-round engagement by educating employees about eligible summertime expenses they're already planning to purchase.
For many employers, FSA communications don’t ramp up until the fall, when year-end deadlines start coming into focus. By then, participants are often trying to use remaining balances in a hurry, squeezing in appointments or searching online for lists of eligible expenses.
There’s nothing wrong with those reminders, but they’re even more effective when participants have been thinking about their FSA throughout the year. Summer creates a natural opportunity to do exactly that.
People are traveling, kids are heading to camp, families are replacing first-aid supplies, stocking up on allergy medication, buying contact lenses, scheduling back-to-school eye exams, and checking off dozens of other healthcare purchases that happen every year. Many of those expenses may already qualify for FSA reimbursement.
For benefits administrators, that makes summer an easy, relevant time to help employer clients remind participants how to get more value from a benefit they already have.
The more useful message is: “Don’t forget to use your FSA when you’re already buying healthcare products.”
Employees don’t need encouragement to spend money they otherwise wouldn’t. They do appreciate learning they can pay for routine healthcare expenses with pre-tax dollars instead of after-tax income. Every eligible purchase becomes a little less expensive simply because they’re using the account as intended.
That’s a much more relatable conversation than “use it before you lose it,” especially months before any deadlines are approaching.
Seasonal communications work best when they connect benefits to real life. Instead of sending another generic reminder to check an account balance, employers can tie FSA education to purchases and appointments employees are already making.
That might include:
None of these are unusual expenses. They’re simply opportunities to remind participants that many routine healthcare purchases can be made with tax-free dollars.
Participant engagement works best when it’s spread across the year rather than compressed into a few weeks before plan deadlines. Communication best practices recommend building awareness first, introducing examples of eligible expenses, then gradually shifting toward deadline reminders as year-end approaches.
That cadence feels more helpful for participants, and it’s easier for employers to manage than a single wave of urgent communications.
It also gives employees time to plan. Someone who knows in July that an eye exam, orthodontic visit, or new pair of prescription sunglasses can be paid for with FSA dollars has months — not days — to make those decisions.
Many HR teams want to promote their benefits more consistently but don’t have the time to create new communications every month.
Benefits administrators can make that easier by providing ready-to-use seasonal content that employers can simply plug into their existing channels. A short email, an intranet article, a benefits newsletter, or a simple graphic highlighting common summer-eligible expenses is often enough to spark awareness.
Alegeus offers partners a wide array of these materials in our Marketing Portal, along with educational videos, promotional graphics, communications guides, and more.
The objective isn’t to flood employees with reminders. It’s to keep the benefit visible enough that participants think about their FSA as they’re making a healthcare purchase.
Participants who understand how and when to use their FSA tend to get more value from the benefit, employers see stronger appreciation for the programs they offer, and TPAs reinforce their role as trusted advisors instead of simply plan administrators.
Summer may not be the busiest time for FSA communications, but it can be one of the easiest times to connect the benefit to purchases people are already making. Helping participants remember to reach for their FSA card doesn’t encourage extra spending — it helps them keep more of their own money when paying for healthcare expenses they were already planning to incur.