Making the Most of Your Childcare Flexible Spending Account Benefits

Access to quality and affordable child care has been a perennial challenge illustrated in every Military Family Support Programming Survey MFAN has conducted. In 2021, our findings showed that 80.9% of active duty family respondents reported difficulty finding child care in the past two years.

Additionally, 2021 survey respondents with children wish they had the following:

• Accessible and affordable childcare
• Additional financial support
• Built-in support systems and improved amenities
• Easier access to consistent information/resources

For many spouses, child care hurdles can render their employment inconsequential as any income earned would only be spent on child care, and in some cases, still not cover the full costs. Child care expenses can cause military spouses who were growing their families to forego working outside of the home in order to provide consistent care to their young children, which limits their family to a single income.

On March 22, 2023, the Department of Defense (DoD) unveiled six new measures to enhance the well-being of military families. One such effort focuses on finding affordable, quality child care options. To alleviate financial pressure on military families, DoD is enabling access to Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs).

MFAN, through the generous sponsorship of JPMorgan Chase & Co., is proud to highlight this exciting new benefit for military families to help meet their child care needs.

access the webinar on-demand

Moderator

Shannon Razsadin – President and Executive Director, Military Family Advisory Network

Presenters

Jennifer Walker – Executive Director for Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Military Personnel Policy

Michele Godfrey – Vice President of Financial Health for Military and Veteran Affairs, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

learning outcomes

• As a part of DoD’s continued efforts to enhance the well-being of military families, plans have been announced to create a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account program. This offers service members the ability to contribute up to $5,000 annually in pre-tax income for dependent care expenses.
• It is important that each family consider their unique circumstances when making decisions regarding participation in and contributions to a flexible spending account. Military-connected families have access to financial counselors at base financial offices and through Military OneSource.

additional resources

Discover more about Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts and whether this program is a good fit for your family.

• Visit Military OneSource to learn more about the “Taking Care of Our Service Members and Families” initiative, including a FSA fact sheet.
• Military OneSource also offers free financial counseling resources to qualifying service members and their families.
• MilTax is available to qualifying service members and their families and provides year-round access to tax consultants who can help answer questions about flexible spending account withholdings.