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Flexible Spending Account Deadline: December 31, 2017

Employees who elected a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for 2017 should incur eligible expenses by 12/31/17 and submit receipts for incurred expenses by 3/31/18. Up to $500 of unused FSA funds will rollover to 2018, but these rollover funds will not be accessible until after the claim submission deadline. Any FSA balance in excess of $500 by 12/31/17 will be subject to the “Use It or Lose It” policy! Please visit www.fsastore.com to spend down your FSA funds on eligible expenses if needed.

W-2 Season - Update Your Personal Data
You will be receiving your W-2 for calendar year 2017 from ADP so please review and update your preferred email and mailing address via www.workforcenow.adp.com > Myself > Personal Information > Personal Profile > Addresses. Any address changes made after December 31, 2017 may not be reflected on your 2017 W-2, and your W-2 may be sent to your old address on file.

Check Your Benefits
New benefits selections will take effect on January 1, 2018 for benefit eligible employees. Check your first paycheck of the year (January 22, 2018) to verify that your benefit withholdings are as you selected.

Tax Season is Coming!
Please make sure to update your address on ADP if you have moved so that we can send your W-2 to your correct home address.

HSA Limits Are Increasing for 2018
Who: All employees who elected a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with an Health Savings Account (HSA).
What: The maximum HSA contribution limit will be:

Individual - $2,250
Family - $5,700
Over age 55 Catch-Up Contribution - $1,000

401(k) Contribution Limits are Increasing for 2018
The IRS announced an increase to the annual contribution limits for 401(k) plans. The new limits for 2018 are as follows:

$18,500 - for workers under the age of 50
$24,500 - for workers aged 50+

Reminder: 2018 NIH Grant Application Deadlines Approaching

Our calendars are filling up quickly! Please contact Elaine Staats if you intend to submit a grant proposal to NIH for the January/February deadlines.
NIH Grant Application Due Dates

Cold and Flu Precautions

Just a reminder that cold and flu season is in full swing and although this is the time of “giving,” a winter “bug” is not something we’d want to share or be shared. Please be mindful if you are ill that sometimes the best medicine to get better and not infect coworkers (and be more productive personally and professionally) is to stay home and take care of yourself. If you are choosing to come to work with a cold or flu, please take precautions as posted on the CDC website to not spread the illness:

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze
Put your used tissue in a waste basket
If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands
Use a mask
Remember to wash your hands after coughing or sneezing

Make good choices for yourself and others! Here’s to a healthy and happy winter season for all.

'Tis the Season

PAVIR would like to remind all PAVIR staff to celebrate gift giving during the holiday season within the bounds of VA rules and regulations because VA ethics rules apply to all WOCs the same way they apply to VA paid employees.

Gifts between employees are limited to $10.00. Cash and alcohol are strictly prohibited as gifts. Gifts from vendors are limited to $20.00 not to exceed $50.00 within a year from any single source. It is strongly suggested that employees simply and politely decline individual gifts from vendors. Food baskets or other shareable items from vendors may be shared with your entire team, but cannot be accepted as an individual gift.

Upcoming Holidays

PAVIR follows the federal holiday schedule, so please mark your calendars with the following upcoming holidays:

• Monday, December 25, 2017 – Christmas Day
• Monday, January 1, 2018 – New Year's Day
• Monday, January 15, 2018 – Martin Luther King Day

The PAVIR administrative office will be closed on these dates.

Copyright © 2017 PAVIR All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research (PAVIR)
Bldg 101, Suite A2-210
PO Box V-38
Palo Alto, CA 94304

Core Office: (650) 858-3970
For more information contact us at info@pavir.org or visit us at www.pavir.org