Voluntary Benefits

Dragon Perks

Drexel University's Dragon Perks provide a variety of additional voluntary benefits and discount offerings to best fit your needs. You can find coverage for anything from home insurance to identity theft protection. Included in Dragon Perks are several discounts for amusement parks, fitness clubs and even warranties. Discounts change regularly, so check out what is offered today.

Dragon Perks are available to full-time and part-time employees and are 100 percent employee paid through convenient payroll deductions. Most benefits can be enrolled/changed at any time during the year, including auto insurance, homeowners/renters’ insurance, pet insurance and entertainment discounts. Benefits that can only be changed as a new hire, during open enrollment or with a qualifying life event are Critical Illness, Accident Insurance, Hospital Indemnity and the Legal Plan(s). Those benefits are managed in the My Drexel Benefits portal.

To access Dragon Perks outside of new hire or open enrollment, visit DrexelOne, and under Employee tab, select My Drexel Benefits. This will send you to your benefits portal. From there, select Your Toolbox, and then Dragon Perks.

Please note that should you enroll in more than one Dragon Perk, your payroll deductions will be combined into one “Voluntary Benefit” deduction in your paycheck.

Flexible Spending Accounts

Health Care Flexible Spending Account

The Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HC FSA) is a pre-tax savings account to be used for eligible health care expenses for you and your dependents. Such expenses include but are not limited to coinsurance, deductible amounts, co-pays at the provider's office and pharmacy, orthodontia expenses, chiropractic care or vision care expenses.

The maximum amount you can contribute will be reflected in the enrollment portal. The elected balance will be available on your eligibility/effective date with payroll contributions spread out over the plan year paying it back.

The FSAs are considered "use it or lose it" plans; however, to assist in an emergency when plans change, Drexel has a carry-over provision that will allow a certain amount of unused funds left in the account to roll into the next year. Any funds over the carry-over amount will be forfeited. Drexel’s plan year runs from Jan. 1-Dec. 31 each year. Claims must be incurred by Dec. 31 of that plan year, with manual claims submitted through March 31st of the following year.

Although HC FSAs are typically enrolled in during a new hire or open enrollment window, there are some life events that might allow you to enroll based on the life event timeline. An example of a life event that would allow you to enroll in or change your HC FSA would be your dependent losing coverage. As part of normal life event rules, you would report within 31 days of it occurring and the account would be opened prospectively based on the first of the month following your event.

You can manage your FSA online through the My Drexel Benefits portal. To access the portal, select the My Drexel Benefits link on the Employee tab of DrexelOne. If you have questions on eligible expenses, what the claims process is or need assistance for any other issue not listed, contact the Drexel University Benefits Center at 844.690.3992 or help@mybenefitexpress.com.

Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account

The Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DC FSA) is a pre-tax savings account to be used for expenses relating to the care of your dependents while you or your spouse/domestic partner are at work or attending school full time. This account is not to be used for health care expenses for dependents; the Health Care FSA fulfills that purpose.

The maximum amount you can contribute annually will be reflected in the enrollment portal. The DC FSA account balance will start off as zero and be funded each payroll period within 7-10 days following your pay date.

The Dependent Care FSA has a "use it or lose it" provision, which means that you must have claimed all of your account balance within the allotted time frame, or you will forfeit any remaining funds in your account. It is important to be sure that you contribute into this account an amount for which you know you will be able to be reimbursed.

Drexel’s plan year runs from Jan. 1-Dec. 31 each year. Claims must be incurred by Dec. 31 of that plan year, with manual claims submitted through March 31 of the following year. There is no carry-over provision for the Dependent Care FSA, and any unused funds left in the plan at the end of the claim submission timeline will be forfeited.

You can submit a claim for more than what your account balance is, but you will only see the reimbursements of your available funds at the time you submit the claim. If your balance is less than what your eligible expenses are in your claim, the remainder of the claim reimbursement will be pending and disbursed as your payroll contributions are received and posted to your account after each pay period.

The Dependent Care Spending Account can be used for:

Pre- and after-school daycare expenses for children up to age 13.
Non-residential summer camp expenses for children up to age 13.
Full-day daycare expenses for children up to kindergarten.
Expenses for non-residential daycare for an eligible parent or parent-in-law.

The Dependent Care Spending Account cannot be used for:

Overnight summer camp
Saturday School
Claims for dependents over age 13
Health care expenses for a dependent

Although a DC FSA is typically enrolled in during a new hire or open enrollment window, there are some life events that might allow you to enroll based on the life event timeline. Examples of a life event would be starting daycare, enrolling in Summer Day Camp, etc. You should never enroll in the DC FSA without having an expense that you can claim against. Enrolling a child in care in the middle of the year is a qualifying life event that you would report within 31 days of it occurring and the account would be opened prospectively based on the first of the month following your event.

Commuter Benefits

Non-Drexel Parking Facilities and Mass Transit

The Commuter Benefit allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars for your mass transit or parking commuter expenses by contributing a specific monthly dollar amount that will be loaded onto a debit card to use for payment. You can then use this debit card to purchase products directly from transit and off-campus/non-Drexel parking vendors.

The maximum pre-tax amount that may be contributed to both the parking and mass transit account is reflected in the My Drexel Benefits portal. These maximums are subject to change under Federal tax law, and you will be notified if any such changes occur during the year.

Enrollments and changes can be made on a month-to-month basis; no qualifying life event is required. Any changes to your monthly election must be made by the first of the month prior to the month in which the change applies. (For example, March's election must be entered by Feb. 1.) Initial elections will automatically default for future months unless you choose to cancel or change a specific month.

Commuter funds are loaded to your account within the first seven business days of the month, before the effective date of the benefit. For example, May’s commuter funds will be deposited into your account within the first seven business days of April. You will see your commuter deduction come out of your pay once a month, and it will pertain to the pass for that current month.

Following IRS regulations, these accounts have a “use it or lose it” provision in which unused funds cannot be refunded, so be sure to enroll in only what you need to use on a monthly basis and monitor your account throughout the year to ensure that you are not holding a large balance. Should you notice that you are carrying a large balance, be sure to stop your contributions and spend down the account to a reasonable amount. If you leave the University and have a balance in your Parking or Transit account, you will not be refunded or paid out any remaining balance in the account.

To enroll in the Commuter Benefits, or to change your monthly contribution:

Log in to DrexelOne.
Go to the Employee tab and under the My Benefits section, select My Drexel Benefits. This will take you to the benefits enrollment portal.
Once in the portal, on the right-hand side under Commuter Benefits, select Change.
Then enter a monthly amount for either Transit and/or Parking.

If you have questions or need assistance, contact the Drexel University Benefit Center at 844.690.3992 or help@mybenefitexpress.com.

Drexel Parking Facilities

You can elect to pay for parking at Drexel parking garages/lots on a pre-tax basis through the convenience of payroll deduction. You will need to work with Drexel Parking Services to set this up. If you park at a Drexel parking lot and have signed a contract with Drexel Parking Services, you should not enroll in the Commuter Program for parking purposes. For additional information, visit the Drexel Parking Services webpage.

SEPTA Key Advantage Program

As part of the University's commitment to sustainability and its dedication to its faculty, professional staff and the city of Philadelphia, Drexel partners with SEPTA to offer benefit-eligible employees all-access SEPTA monthly transit passes through the Key Advantage Program. Visit the program page for details.