The Minnesota Service Cooperatives VEBA Plan is a health reimbursement arrangement that allows your employer to contribute money to a trust on your behalf. The money in your account is yours to use or save. Use it to pay for eligible medical expenses now or save it for future expenses and earn interest. You also have the option to invest a portion of your unused VEBA dollars.

Active employees
As an active employee, your employer can establish a VEBA to work with your high-deductible health plan. You can use money in your VEBA account to pay health plan deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance as well as prescription drugs. If you do not spend the money by year-end, your balances will be rolled over, allowing you to accumulate funds over time and save for health expenses in retirement.

Post-retirement VEBA
With a post-retirement VEBA, your employer can contribute funds to help you, your spouse and eligible dependents pay for medical expenses after you retire. Your employer can make contributions throughout your working life or convert accumulated severance pay, sick pay and similar longevity-based benefits into contributions to your VEBA account.

You will be able to use the VEBA Plan for medical expenses, including the premium cost for continuing employer-provided health coverage or Medicare Part B. Medical expenses reimbursed by the VEBA account include the cost of deductibles, co-pays or co-insurance and prescription drugs.

Note: The individual account is managed by the retiree and investment options are offered through SelectAccount.

Account options
Your VEBA account will always have a base balance that earns competitive interest rates. Once you have a base balance of at least $1000, you have the option to take any portion of the balance greater than $1000 and place those funds into your choice of a variety of no-load and load waived mutual funds pre-selected for SelectAccount by Devenir, an independent investment advisor.

Tax advantages
Your VEBA is a tax advantaged account that means you will have more money available for your eligible medical expenses. You are not taxed on your employer’s contributions to the account. Your VEBA account earnings grow on a tax-free basis. Since distributions from the VEBA account must be made only for eligible medical expenses, your VEBA distributions are also made on a tax-free basis.

Who is covered by my VEBA account?
Your VEBA account can be used to reimburse the eligible medical expenses of you, your spouse, and any other tax dependent you may have. Upon your death, your account will continue to remain available to your spouse and tax dependents for their eligible medical expenses.

What expenses can be reimbursed by my VEBA account?
Your VEBA account can be used to reimburse any health expense covered by Section 213(d) of the Internal Revenue Code. This means you can use your VEBA for eligible medical, dental, and vision expenses. In addition, the VEBA is designed to allow for the reimbursement of many health insurance premiums while you are active or you are retired.

How are expenses reimbursed from my VEBA account?
Your VEBA account administered by SelectAccount provides a number of options to obtain reimbursement. As a default you are automatically enrolled in Crossover. Any claim processed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is automatically sent to SelectAccount and payment will be issued to you from your account with no additional paperwork or effort on your part. Alternatively you may request a debit card that can be used to pay eligible medical expenses when you want your account to be used. You may also submit a claim directly to SelectAccount. To meet IRS requirements, SelectAccount must substantiate your claim so any claim submitted must include the appropriate documentation to receive reimbursement.