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It probably doesn’t feel like it (it never does), but the year is coming to a close sooner than we all think. Now, for the benefits-savvy employee, that means there’s a limited amount of time to squeeze every last ounce of benefit perks before the year rolls over.
Consider this a guide for employees looking to take full advantage of their benefits before the year’s end. We’ll cover the three biggest areas where employees can maximize their investment before the benefits cycle resets, and how the Pendant AI Assistant makes finding those savings super easy.
There’s three main categories of benefits to look at before the year ends for most employees:
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), including Health Care FSAs and Dependent Care FSAs (DCFSAs), are dedicated pots of pre-tax money just waiting to be used.
Employees can use these tax-free funds for eligible health costs or for childcare expenses (like preschool tuition) before their plan's deadline. Only a limited amount of money rolls over in an FSA plan, set by the IRS. For the 2025 plan year, the maximum amount an employee can carry over is $640. So, if you’re sitting more than $640 in an FSA account, you’ve got some spending to do, friend.
Example: Mike set aside $500 in his FSA (pre-tax money for health expenses) but forgot about it until January 1st. He was planning to buy a year's supply of contact lenses in December, which would cost $450. Hopefully he doesn’t have much more than $500 in his FSA, or that extra money is vanishing into thin air.
What we recommend: Encourage your employees to use that money now! This is the perfect time to schedule healthcare appointments, purchase contact lenses, or pay out the nanny or daycare service.
Vision and dental insurance limits reset every year, so employees should make sure to use up their full allowances before the timer runs out in the current year. There’s still time for employees to take advantage of the annual maximum for major dental procedures or coverage for new glasses/contacts.
Example: Sarah knows she needs a crown, but it's expensive, so she puts it off all year. Her dental plan has a $1,500 annual maximum (that's the total amount of money the insurance company will pay for her care this year).
By November, Sarah had already paid her deductible and used $1,200 of that allowance. She only had $300 of coverage remaining for the current year. Let’s say the full crown costs $1,800. Therefore, Sarah schedules the first half of the crown procedure in December. Her insurance immediately pays the full remaining $300 allowance toward the bill. Sure, she does pay the rest out-of-pocket, but at least she gets essentially a $300 discount.
What we recommend: Employees should book their annual eye exam, schedule necessary dental work (like that last filling), or get new eyewear to maximize the benefit allowance they've earned this year.
Many companies offer stipends for wellness (like gym pass reimbursements), professional development, or home office needs. If you don’t take advantage of these stipends by the end of the year, then you can kiss them goodbye, because it’s very likely these funds don’t roll over.
Example: Jessica’s company offers a generous $1,000 Professional Development Stipend (money meant for education or training) that must be used by December 31st. Jessica found an online Python coding course in September that cost $750. Sadly, Jessica got busy, and the only openings for the course begin in January. Sorry Jessica, you’re going to have to pay for that class out of pocket!
What we recommend: Remind employees to use their stipends! They will surely be grateful. Consider using the Announcement feature on Pendant to spread the word.
The biggest barrier for employees to actually use these benefits certainly isn’t lack of interest—it's the difficulty of finding the right information at the right time.This is where Pendant’s AI Assistant can make a big difference.
In fact, I just asked the AI Assistant about benefits that I shouldn’t forget about before the end of the year. This is the response I got:
Well, it looks like I’ve got some appointments to make and new glasses to buy. I should also see if I can buy a massive, Costco-size bottle of ibuprofen that will get me through the year. Gosh, I love having an FSA account.
