Skip to main content
Documentation
Documentation
Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2026-05-15
Create Spending Account Plans

Create Spending Account Plans

  • Set up benefits.
  • Create payroll deductions.
  • Security:
    Set Up: Benefits
     in the Benefits functional area.
Define contribution limits and other details for benefits spending account plans.
  1. Access the
    Create Benefit Plan
     task.
  2. Select
    Spending Account
     for the
    Benefit Plan Type
     prompt.
  3. As you complete the task, consider:
    Option Description
    Do Not Use
    When selected, Workday appends the
    Do Not Use
     label to the benefit plan name and hides it from
    Benefit Plan
     configuration prompts, as of the effective date. This check box doesn't hide the benefit plan name from configuration prompts in these tasks and business process:
    • Create
       or
      Edit External Payroll Deduction
       tasks.
    • Create
       or
      Edit External Payroll Earning
       tasks.
    • Review COBRA Eligibility Event
       business process.
    Spending Account Type
    Identify the spending account type. Example:
    Healthcare FSA
    ,
    Dependent Care FSA
    , or
    Transportation
    .
    External Plan Description
    Select the URL address.
    When employees enroll in this spending account plan, a link displays that opens the website in a new browser page.
    Participating Benefit Groups
    Associate the plan to specific benefit groups.
    Worker Plan Eligibility
    Enter an eligibility rule that limits coverage to a subset of the employees in the selected
    Participating Benefit Groups
    .
    Currency
    Specifies the currency used to calculate the contribution amount for the benefit plan. Select the same currency used by the benefit groups that can enroll in the plan. Consider creating a separate benefit plan for each currency or country.
    You can only update this field if the
    Usage Count
     is zero.
    Frequency
    Specifies the maximum amount that the employee can contribute during the specified frequency. Example: If you specify a maximum of $9300 USD at an annual frequency, the worker can contribute up to this amount during the 12-month period.
    During a single enrollment event, deductions and earnings on spending accounts and HSA plans have to have the same frequency.
    After defining the frequency, you can only change it when the plan has no elections associated with it.
    Earnings and Deductions
    Map the contribution amounts to payroll (typically done through Workday Payroll or the Payroll Interface):
    • For Workday Payroll, select:
      • The pretax deduction for employee contributions. (Workday Payroll doesn’t process posttax deductions for spending accounts.)
      • Earnings and deductions.
    • For Payroll Interface, select earnings and deductions.
      When using the Workday Payroll Interface, map earnings and deductions to spending account contributions. Contact your Integration Consultant for more guidance on these setup steps.
      See:
    Do Not Calculate Remaining Pay Periods
    For enrollment:
    • Select this check box to have the employee or administrator enter the number of remaining pay periods during midyear benefit events.
      If the benefit event type is Open Enrollment, Workday uses the Benefit Group frequency to calculate the remaining pay periods automatically. For other event types, Workday leaves the
      Remaining Periods
       field empty, requiring the employee to enter a value.
      During a single enrollment event, deductions and earnings on spending accounts and HSA plans have to have the same frequency.
    • Clear this check box for Payroll to use the period schedule when calculating the remaining pay periods.
    Don't select this check box after initiating open enrollment.
  4. In the
    Expanded Plan Details
     section, add plan details for your employees so that they can see the specific features of the benefit plan. You can also add instructions and links to benefit plan information. Workday displays employee and employer contribution information.
  5. On the
    Plan Costs
     tab, consider:
    Option Description
    Maximum Contribution
    Enter the maximum contribution amount for the spending account.
    This amount includes both the employee and employer contributions.
    Workers can enter an amount up to 1 USD over the maximum. With this method, Workday allows for rounding that might prevent workers from reaching the maximum annual goal amount.
    To prevent over contributions, set a limit on the Payroll side to stop deductions at the maximum contribution level.
    Example: A worker with biweekly pay frequency elects the maximum amount of 7000 USD. The worker contributes 269.23 USD each pay period (7000/26 = 269.23067). The worker only contributes a total of 6999.92 USD (269 * 26 = 6999.98), 0.02 USD short of the maximum. However, if the worker elects 7001 USD, the worker can reach the 7000 USD limit.
    Minimum Contribution
    Enter the minimum amount that an employee must contribute to the spending account.
    This amount doesn’t include the employer contribution.
    Employer Contribution
    Enter the amount that the employer contributes to the spending account.
Create or edit the benefit plan year definition and add this plan.