Personal Spending Account

EFFECTIVE January 1, 2024: The Personal Spending Account (PSA) benefit is available for some employee groups at UBC.

If you are eligible for this benefit, the PSA provides you with an annual credit to pay for a broad range of expenses, not covered by a Health Spending Account. The PSA credit is allocated to you and you may use it to pay for claims for your eligible dependents, including categories like fitness, education, and personal development.

Eligibility

You are eligible for the Personal Spending Account (PSA) benefit if you are a member of one of the following employee groups and you are enrolled in the UBC Extended Health Plan:

• CUPE 2950
• Management & Professional 
  • Includes Management & Professional, Excluded Management & Professional, Service Unit Director and Administrative Executive
  • Paymaster and TRIUMF M&P employees are not eligible for the PSA benefit

Eligibility for new hires

If you have just joined UBC, you are eligible for the PSA benefit as of the date you are enrolled in the Extended Health Plan. This benefit is not pro-rated, so even if you enrol partway through the year, you are still eligible for the full annual amount of the PSA benefit.

How the PSA benefit works

You will receive the following annual credit on January 1 of each year:

• $125 per year if you are a member of CUPE 2950,
• $200 per year if you are a member of the Management & Professional employee group

The PSA is a taxable benefit (subject to Canada Pension Plan and Income tax deductions) and expenses reimbursed under the plan will be included on your paycheck and your annual T4.

You can carry forward unused portions of the credit for one year, but if you do not use the carried-forward amount by the end of the second year, you will lose the carried-forward amount.

Deadlines for submitting claims

There is a deadline to submit PSA claims. You have 90 days from the end of the benefit year (December 31) to submit a PSA claim for expenses incurred during that year. For example, at the end of December 31, 2024, you have 90 days (until March 31, 2025) to submit claims for 2024. After March 31, 2025, you are no longer able to submit 2024 claims to your PSA.

Here is an example of how the PSA works for employee groups with a $200 credit per year.

2024

2025

If you have questions about making PSA claims, you can contact Sun Life via secure message at mysunlife.ca, or phone them directly at 1-800-661-7334 or 1-800-361-6212.

Eligible expenses

What does the PSA cover?

Your Personal Spending Account (PSA) benefit can be used for a broad range of expenses for:

• Fitness services and equipment
• Health products and services
• Education and personal development
• Work-life balance
• Indigenous health
• Green living and safety initiatives
• Professional services, insurance premiums
• Financial products and services

For a complete list of eligible expenses, refer to the Sun Life PSA List of Eligible Expenses or refer to the Sun Life Benefits Booklet (after January 1, 2024). 

PSA claims for dependents

The PSA credit can also be used toward the dependent’s claims as well. 

Eligible dependent(s) include your:

• spouse or partner,
• dependent children (age 18 or younger, or age 19 to 24 if in full-time attendance at a school or university), and
• disabled children of any age who are financially dependent on you

The following dependents are also eligible if they are financially dependent on you in accordance with the Canadian Income Tax Act and they reside in Canada:

• dependent children age 25 and over,
• grandchildren,
• parents,
• grandparents,
• brothers and sisters,
• aunts and uncles, and
• nieces and nephews.

When you submit your claim online, you are acknowledging that the dependent you are claiming for is financially dependent on you.

How to submit your PSA claim

You must submit your PSA claims online. 

TO SUBMIT A CLAIM ONLINE:

• Log into mysunlife.ca or Sun Life mobile app using your Access ID and password. If you don’t have an Access ID, contact Sun Life at 1-800-361-6212 to sign up.
• Click “Submit a claim” and select Personal Spending Account
• Input who you are submitting a claim for, the type of expense, date, expense amount and click on next
• Under the “Coverage information,” you can find a list of eligible expenses under the PSA
• Sun Life’s system will process your claim and let you know if your expense is covered.

Keep your receipts and any supporting documentation for your records and for auditing purposes.