FLU I think it depends on the administrator. Two years ago our company used an administrator that was pretty cool. They paid out 100% of the claim at the time it was submitted regardless of where your contribution balance was. They did this for medical and dependent care. Then our company switched to a different administrator. They sucked. They scrutinized the hell out of every claim, they were horrid and they did not pay out full payments to claims unless your contribution amounts covered them. Shortfalls were covered incrementally with every contribution extracted from your paycheck.