Spending Accounts

Health and Personal Spending Accounts

When you enroll, your Flex dollars and payroll deductions will be automatically assigned to pay for your coverage. Depending on the options you’ve selected, you may have remaining Flex dollars to spend that you can deposit in one of or split between your Health Spending Account (HSA) or Personal Spending Account (PSA).

Wellness Personal Spending Account

The Wellness Personal Spending account (WPSA) is the employee fitness and healthy living benefit. All employees received $450 per year to spend on their personal fitness, nutrition and wellness related expenses.

Click on the sections below for more information.

Spending Account Comparison

Employees have access to three spending accounts. Each one works a little differently.

	HSA	PSA	WPSA
Eligible expense	Extended health care or dental care expenses not covered by our core plan Anything claimable as a medical expense by the CRA	Optional Life and Critical Illness insurance premiums Paid Long-term Disability premiums Fitness / nutrition Education Electronic devices	Fitness / exercise Nutrition Wellness
Expense eligibility?	Contact Sun Life	Full Listing visible in the Flex Guide or Claim form	Full Listing visible in the Flex Guide or Claim form
How to claim	On-line / App / Paper form	Paper form only	Paper form only
Taxable	Non-taxable	Reimbursement is taxable	Reimbursement is taxable
Expiration	Expires after 2 years (use it or lose it)	Expires after 2 years (use it or lose it)	Expires after 1 years (use it or lose it)
Dependents covered	Yourself and eligible dependents and any person you may claim as a dependent under the Income Tax Act	Yourself and eligible dependents	Yourself only or family expenses where you are covered

Your HSA

The HSA can be used to reimburse yourself – tax free (except in Quebec) – for dental and extended health expenses that are not covered or fully covered by Flex Benefits or your provincial health care program. It’s a tax-effective way to spend your unused Flex dollars.

You also can submit claims for any dependents who are eligible for coverage under Flex Benefits, plus claims for additional relatives who live with you and are financially dependent on you. An example might be an elderly parent or sibling.

The Flex dollars you allocate to your HSA will be deposited in a lump sum on January 1 of each year. You may submit claims for eligible dental and health care expenses for yourself and any eligible dependents. All reimbursements will be tax-free (except in Quebec). In exchange for the tax-free status of your reimbursement, the Canada Revenue Agency imposes several rules on this account:

Once Flex dollars are deposited into the account, they may not be withdrawn except to reimburse eligible extended health and dental expenses
You have two years to use each year’s Flex dollar contribution, or you forfeit the unused balance at the end of the second year.
You must claim expenses in the year they occur. Your deadline to file claims is 90 days after December 31 each year.
If your employment ends, you have 60 days to submit eligible claims that are incurred up to your last day at work. You will forfeit any remaining balance.

HSA Eligible Expenses

You can use your HSA to pay for:

30% of basic dental services if you have dental care coverage under Option 1;
10% of prescription drugs if you have extended health care coverage under Option 2;
The dispensing fee deductible you pay under all three options for extended health care;
Any portion of the cost of prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses or prescription sunglasses not covered under the plan;
Dental care expenses for dentures and orthodontia that are not fully covered by the plan;
Any item listed as tax deductible under the Income Tax Act and related regulations; and
Adaptive devices for hearing- or sight-impaired individuals (e.g., for a computer or telephone).

Your PSA

Feeling and being well often involves more than taking care of your basic health care and medical needs. Sometimes it means making a lifestyle change, and sometimes you need a little help. That’s what SLB’s Personal Spending Account offers – access to programs that will help you improve your physical and financial wellness. When you allocate your excess Flex dollars to this account, they can be put towards a range of expenses.

How your PSA Works

Setting up and using your Personal Spending Account is easy. Each year, during annual enrollment, you can allocate some or all your leftover Flex dollars after you have selected your Extended Health Care and Dental Care coverage, including your Health Spending Account. The amount you put in your Personal Spending Account will be deposited at the beginning of January, and at that time you can start to use your Flex dollars right away. You can use your Personal Spending Account for your eligible dependents’ expenses too. Like your HSA, you have two years to use any allocation you make to your Personal Spending Account.

This is a Taxable Benefit

Your claims reimbursed through the Personal Spending Account are considered a taxable benefit. The amount of taxable benefit associated with your expense reimbursements will be reported on your T4 slip. You pay tax only on your reimbursed expenses – not on your allocation to the account.

PSA Eligible Expenses

Fitness services

fitness club or gym memberships
registration fees for in-person and virtual fitness classes
sports team memberships and registration fees
annual memberships or daily passes to athletic facilities and clubs (such as golf)
personal trainers, fitness consultants, lifestyle consultants and exercise physiologists
registration fees for fitness-related events
recreational activity fees (such as boating fees, camping fees and trail passes)
fees for athletic facilities and equipment rental costs
fitness-related apps, software and programs
hunting and fishing licenses

Fitness equipment

Health products and services

weight management programs (excluding food)
nutrition programs and counselling
cholesterol and hypertension screening
services provided by iridologists, herbalists, Chinese medical practitioners and acupressurists
other alternative wellness services (such as Reiki, Rolfing and light therapy)
stress management programs
health, fitness or lifestyle assessments (such as allergy and genetic testing)
vitamins, supplements, herbal products, blenders and juicers
sleeping aids (such as orthopaedic mattresses and pillows)

Indigenous Health

Education and personal development

tuition fees for university, college or continuing education
fees for language training and tutoring
hobby or general interest classes and supplies
personal computers, accessories and software
online courses offered through a recognized educational institution
lessons, courses, seminars and conferences
smartphones and tablets

Professional services

Insurance premiums

Your WPSA

The Wellness Personal Spending Account (WPSA) Benefit is primarily intended to support your health and well-being. Expenses incurred for family members are not eligible, except in cases where the employee has family coverage that includes themselves. This benefit is chosen for you, and additional Flex dollars cannot be allocated to this account.

How Your Wellness Personal Spending Account Works

Each new plan year $450 will be deposited at the beginning of January, and at that time you can start to use your WPSA. You can use your WPSA for personal or family expenditures where you are covered. For example, personal ski equipment or a family ski pass are considered eligible expenses but a child’s ski equipment would not be eligible for reimbursement. You will have one plan year to use your WPSA dollars. These dollars do not carry over and will expire at the end of the plan year they are deposited.

This is a Taxable Benefit

Your claims reimbursed through the Wellness Personal Spending Account are considered a taxable benefit. The amount of taxable benefit associated with your expense reimbursements will be reported on your T4 slip. You pay tax only on your reimbursed expenses – not on your allocation to the account.

To Check Your Balance

To view your current WPSA balance on Sun Life, scroll down to the Benefits section on the main landing page, select the PSA >> 152260 benefit plan and then select coverage information.

Eligible Expenses

Health Spending Account (HSA)

You can use your HSA for expenses not covered by your selected plan such as:

The above is not an inclusive list. Any item eligible for a medical tax credit, as determined by the CRA, is also eligible for an HSA claim.

Personal Spending Account (PSA)

You can use your PSA for:

Fitness services and equipment
Health products and services
Indigenous health
Educational and personal development
Professional services
Insurance premiums

For the full list, review the PSA Claim Form.

Wellness Personal Spending Account (WPSA)

You can use your WPSA for:

For the full list, review the WPSA Claim Form.

Submitting Claims

Health Spending Account claims can be submitted on mysunlife.ca, through the my Sun Life app or manually using a printed claim form.

Personal Spending Account and Wellness Personal Spending Account claim forms along with receipts can be submitted to Sun Life via mail or email to myclaims@sunlife.com. You can send PDF, JPEG/JPG, and PNG file types (they cannot accept links). All files related to one claim should be in one email.

These are the deadlines to submit claims:

Health. Personal. Wellness.
Your Benefits, Your Choice.