Employee Assistance Program

If you’re feeling stressed or worried, speak with a licensed mental health provider through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). All sessions are confidential, and the service is free to you and your family members.

• Optum: Call 866-248-4096, or visit liveandworkwell.com and enter access code: PayPalUS, select Behavioral Health Care Search, and respond to the questions about the type of support you’re looking for.
• Arbor Family Counseling (Nebraska employees): Call 800-922-7379, or visit arborfamilycounseling.com and enter password: arbor.

These resources from Optum also may be helpful:

• Tips to help older adults during a quarantine
• Tips to help children during a quarantine
• Reigniting your health when working from home
• Mindfulness techniques for managing coronavirus anxiety at home and work

Virtual support tools for Kaiser HMO members

myStrength

myStrength is a personalized program that includes interactive activities, in-the-moment coping tools, inspirational resources, and community support.

Track your preferences and goals, current emotional states, and ongoing life events to improve your awareness and change behaviors.

Register now to access myStrength.

Calm app for self-care

The Calm app uses meditation and mindfulness to help lower stress, reduce anxiety, and improve sleep quality.

Adult Kaiser members can access Calm at kp.org/selfcareapps.

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Bright Horizons back-up child / elder care

If you need child care assistance and your regular care is unavailable, you have access to Bright Horizons backup care to help support your family’s needs.

You may now receive 30 back-up care uses per calendar year instead of the previous 10.

Back-up care options

Are you struggling to manage work and your child’s distance learning? Are you finding that you have more child care gaps than you used to? Your Bright Horizons Back-Up Care™ benefit can provide the support you need to navigate these challenges. Get high-quality care through an in-home care provider or in one of Bright Horizons child care centers, which have implemented enhanced COVID-19 protocols to give you peace of mind.

Register in advance

Complete your care profile now (including required forms) so you’re prepared to reserve care when you need it. Visit backup.brighthorizons.com/paypal (Username: PayPal, Password: backup4u), or call 877-242-2737.

Follow these instructions for searching for a care provider.

Important information about Bright Horizons

As a result of extremely high demand due to COVID-19, you are likely to experience delays in reaching Bright Horizons when you need to secure back-up child / elder care. Bright Horizons is working to add more customer service team members and improve the website to accommodate this increased volume. Here are a few things to keep in mind when accessing care:

• If you are a first-time user and experiencing issues with registering, please visit backup.brighthorizons.com/paypal (Username: PayPal Password: backup4u) instead of calling Bright Horizons
• Using backup.brighthorizons.com/paypal is the quickest way to access assistance at this time — phone assistance could take 60 minutes or more
• For the latest information from Bright Horizons on backup care services, visit brighthorizons.com/covid19

Sittercity

You also have access to Sittercity, a web resource you can use to search for child care. Visit Sittercity, then click on Use it next to Find Sitters, Nannies & Housekeepers.

At-Home Learning 

These tools can help both you and your children navigate the world of at-home learning:

• Bright Horizons World at Home is a new way for you to keep your children learning during this time. Designed by education experts, World at Home features videos and activities for a wide range of curriculum areas, including yoga and mindfulness, STEM learning, language, story time, and cooking.
• PayPal’s Perks at Work has partnered with Community Online Academy to offer courses for both kids and adults, including a free offering every Thursday. Topics include meditation, dance, American Sign Language, and becoming a YouTuber.
• RethinkCare is a program for kids with developmental disabilities. It's currently offering several specialized services and features, including remote consultation services and video-based lessons.
• As part of #StayingTogetherWhilePhysicallyApart series, check out these educational resources and websites that your kids may enjoy and will assist you while homeschooling.

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2020 & 2021 COVID-19 relief measures for flexible spending accounts ended in the 2022 plan year

In 2021, the US Congress and IRS signed The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA, 2021), bringing temporary financial flexibility regarding flexible spending accounts (FSAs). The temporary relief measures were effective for the 2020 and 2021 plan years due to the global pandemic and ended for the 2022 plan year.

Health Care FSA

The temporary relief measures allowed for the carryover of the entire amount of unused funds in your Health Care FSA to use for eligible expenses in the next plan year. It was in effect for the 2020 and 2021 plan years only. This means that in 2020, your unused funds carried over for your use in 2021 and in 2021, your unused funds carried over to 2022. The deadline to incur (use) eligible expenses using the unused funds was December 31, 2022, as the IRS did not extend these relief measures for the 2022 plan year. The maximum amount of your unused funds permitted to carry over at the end of 2022 was $570.

The IRS has increased the carryover amount in 2023 to $610. This means at the end of 2023, you can carry over up to $610 of your unused amount to use for eligible expenses in 2024.

Are you currently participating in a Health Savings Account (HSA)? You can use your Health Care FSA for eligible dental and vision expenses.

Extended grace period for the Dependent Care FSA

Due to the special COVID-19 provisions in effect during the 2020 and 2021 plan years, PayPal extended the current grace period for participants to incur eligible expenses from 2.5 months to 12 months. If you participated in the Dependent Care FSA plan in 2021, you had until December 31, 2022, to continue to use any unused funds in your Dependent Care FSA from 2021. For 2022, the grace period reverted back to 2.5 months. This means you will have until March 15, 2023, to continue to incur eligible expenses using your unused funds from 2022.

For the 2023 plan year, you will have until March 15, 2024, to continue to incur eligible expenses due to this grace period.

Deadline to file FSA claims

The current deadline date to submit expenses incurred through December 31, 2022, is April 30, 2023.

For the Health Care FSA, the current National Emergency period is set to expire on February 28, 2023. If the National Emergency period is officially extended beyond March 1, 2023, then the deadline to submit expenses incurred through December 31, 2022, may be extended.

Reimbursements for over-the-counter medications

Don’t forget that you can use your Health Care FSA, Health Savings Account, and / or Health Reimbursement Account to pay for most over-the-counter (OTC) medications and feminine products, without a prescription. And now personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face masks, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes, are eligible for reimbursement. Any eligible expenses can be submitted for reimbursement from the applicable plan administrator’s online claim process. You may also use your account’s debit card to cover these expenses.

Contact Your Benefits Resources™ (YBR)

Contact the benefits administrator, Your Benefits Resources™ (YBR), at 844-474-6641 if you have any questions.

Follow the YBR prompts to identify yourself and then say or select Smart Choice Spending Accounts when prompted.

To view your FSA account online, access YBR (@Work | Log in).

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PayPal is committed to the health and wellbeing of all employees. During this coronavirus pandemic, we will provide additional support and flexibility to manage your individual circumstances. The following measures apply to all employees:

• If you are diagnosed with the coronavirus, you will continue to be paid without interruption throughout the time you are ill
• If your office is closed temporarily due to the impacts of the coronavirus, you will continue to be paid during the time your office is closed, even if you do not have the ability to work from home
• To address specific challenges you may face as a result of the coronavirus, such as caring for children or other family members or the need to stay home due to an underlying illness or health vulnerability, you may request up to 2 additional weeks of paid time off through our Crisis Leave Program. Apply for Crisis Leave in Workday, or contact StayInformed@paypal.com, and your request will be handled confidentially by a dedicated member of our HR team. More information is on The Bridge (must be on the PayPal network)
• If you face family care challenges related to the coronavirus, please work with your manager and your team to develop a flexible working arrangement or part-time schedule to accommodate your needs during the coronavirus situation

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Vida health coaching

Connect with a Vida health coach anytime, anywhere to help you:

• Stay active. Even though your daily routine might be changing, your exercise habits and goals don’t have to. Vida’s coaches and in-app content provide at-home exercises and tips for eating healthy while working remotely.
• Address your mental health. With all that’s going on — news headlines, social distancing, financial worries, family concerns — you may need extra support. Vida’s resilience program can help you cope with stress, anxiety, and depression.
• Get support for working at home. For many, it's a new experience, and having a community is even more important during these difficult times. Vida’s Group feature lets you trade tips with others to work more efficiently, find resources for caring for kids at home, and share creative ways to address social isolation (e.g., virtual happy hours).

Download the app and search for organization name PayPal. Or send a message in chat to your current coach.

Discounted Accommodations

Employees can now use Concur Travel to book a hotel room as a safe place to self-isolate during COVID-19.  You will be eligible to receive the discounted PayPal rate during your stay. This includes accommodations for dependents you live with. You must pay using a personal credit card, and while accommodations cannot be reimbursed by PayPal, they can be booked at the discounted rate until further notice.

Employee discounts

Find discounts on food delivery, meal prep, tech equipment, and more on Perks at Work, our employee discount portal. A special collection of discounts has been curated in the COVID-19 resource center.

Also check out Community Online Academy (COA) as part of Perks at Work. You’ll find free resources for adults and children, including live classes, videos, and a Kids Club.

Remote working tips

Although working from home can provide many benefits to employees, it also creates unintended challenges when the environment is less than optimal.

• View these wellness support options to ensure you’re making time to take care of yourself, and your loved ones
• Access these tips for working from home to ensure you’re finding the right work-life balance while working from home
• Working from Home Basics and Stretching Guide
• Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
• Mindfulness – The Power of Presence
• Designing a Winning Indoor Workout
• There’s no “Write” way
• Finding Balance While Working From Home

Check out these suggestions for conducting virtual meetings to help you have the best experience.

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