Commuter Benefit FAQs

In general, the deadline to place transit and/or parking orders is the 10th of the month preceding the benefit month. For example: the deadline to order September transit and parking benefits is August 10th. 

Please note: The Long Island Rail Road and Metro North Railroad have earlier ordering deadlines, the 4th of the preceding month.

Although the IRS limits monthly before-tax contributions and expenditures to $315 each for parking and transit expenses for the 2024 calendar year, you can contribute or make purchases for more than this amount, however, any amount over $315 each for parking and transit will be deducted from your paycheck as an after-tax contribution.

Most likely you may have set up a recurring transit and/or parking order on the Optum site before your credits were transferred from CYC to Optum.

In order to use your credit balance(s) when setting up new order (and entire balance in shopping cart applied before paycheck deductions begin):

• First, cancel all of your current recurring order(s).
• Next, if you have a transit credit you would like to apply, select option to apply the credit to next transit order.
• Then set up new recurring transit order or whichever other order is needed.

If you have a parking credit you would like to apply:

• Your parking credit balance is in your reimbursement account. In order to apply this credit to future parking orders, you must first transfer the credit from your reimbursement account to your parking account.
• Once your credit is in your parking account, you can then apply it to your order.
• Select option to apply the credit to next order.
• Then set up new recurring parking order or whichever other order is needed.

Entire shopping cart balance(s) should be depleted against any new order or newly set up recurring order before payroll deductions begin. Please note that any available credit balance will display as a negative amount on your account with a status that reflects as “Not Applied”.

In addition to being able to use your prepaid Mastercard^®  interchangeably for both transit and parking orders, you can also share funds between transit and parking purses. Only unused funds from previous months can be shared between the two purses. For example, you cannot use transit funds ordered in August to pay for parking in August; however, you can use transit funds ordered in August to pay for parking in September. Also note that access to this feature is only available with the prepaid Mastercard.

Helpful tip: Always purchase the opposite product first when sharing funds between the two purses. For example, let’s say you have a $1,000.00 prior months’ balance in your transit purse and want to purchase parking passes. First, purchase your parking passes for $280 from your transit balance. This will then leave you with a $730.00 remaining transit purse balance, allowing you to use up to $280.00 for transit expenses in the current month.

No, existing balances on Commuter Check Prepaid Mastercards ordered through CYC were transferred to Optum and made available to participants as credit balances. If you wish to continue to use the Commuter Check Prepaid Mastercard for your commuter needs, please sign into your account online to order a new card.

If you lose your Payment Card, sign in online or call 1-844-542-6884 to request a replacement card.

View your account and check your balance by signing into your online account or via the Optum Bank Mobile app.

If you have additional questions please contact Optum at 1-844-542-6884.

Any remaining balance at the end of the month rolls over to the next month. While funds do roll over, you are still limited to spending $315 per account per month.

If you used your transit account in the current month, and the next purchase you plan to make will cause you to exceed the monthly limit of $315, your card will be declined. This is due to the pre-tax spending limit being $315 per month. For example, if you purchase a July transit pass on July 1 for $250 and you attempt to purchase your August pass on July 30 for $250, it will be declined, as you cannot spend $500 in one month. You could, however, purchase your August pass on August 1 when the $315 monthly limit resets.

If you are purchasing a ticket using the MTA eTix^® or NJ TRANSIT mobile apps, you are able to pay for any amount above your monthly pre-tax limit as a split payment using a personal credit card. Once you have selected the pass you would like to purchase, upon checkout you can select “Split Payment” to add your second form of payment.

If you are on a LOA (paid or unpaid) your deductions will automatically stop during your leave period and you will be required to re-enroll when you return from leave.

When your employment with Liberty ends, any unused credits/funds are forfeited per IRS regulations.

Optum Bank Payment Mastercard^®

If you use the Payment Card, your card will be deactivated on the date of termination. 

Parking claims

After your employment termination, you have 60 calendar days from your termination date (a “claims runout”) during which you can submit paper claims for eligible parking expenses that were incurred on or prior to your termination date (e.g., if the termination date is October 15, all claims must be postmarked or received by Optum no later than December 14 of the same year). Additionally, all expenses must have a purchase date within 180 calendar days of the claim submission date. Any unused funds will be forfeited, per IRS regulations.

If you have a remaining balance and do not have any expenses to submit for reimbursement, your unused funds will be forfeited per IRS regulations.

If you die, any unspent balance will be forfeited to your employer.