Make the Most of Your Employee Benefits During Open Enrollment

Annual open enrollment is your time to assess and learn about the resources available to you through your employer. Consider what the next year will be like for you and your family. Open enrollment periods can vary by employer, but most happen in the Fall ahead of new benefits beginning on January 1. If you have a spouse, compare notes to maximize benefits from each employer. 

Health Insurance

Even if your plan options are the same, the deductibles, out-of-pocket costs, and features of each plan may have changed.  Take your time to read and review the details before selecting the same plan you previously had.  A few considerations:

Family Planning 

• The cost of giving birth to a child and the doctor visits for mother and baby may make the higher-tier health plans more cost-effective

• Many companies offer benefits for adoption, fertility, or freezing eggs

High-Deductible Health Plans & HSAs

• Consider the types of healthcare you use each year.  If your annual use is low, an HSA offer may offer the benefit of saving more long-term

New Benefit Programs

Explore the new products, resources, and services your employer offers in the new year.  Many employers are expanding well-being programs or offering them at a reduced cost to employees.  

• Discounts or subsidies on public transportation, memberships, affinity groups, and more

• Digital health tools for stress, mental health, exercise, or nutrition

• Care navigation support for condition-specific management or other healthcare needs

• Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) such as coaching, support groups, or family organizations

Retirement and Financial Benefit Programs

Review new and existing benefits and evaluate which may apply to you in the coming year.  

Retirement Plans

• Review your contribution levels and distribution towards your chosen investment options in the plan. Does your employer offer both Traditional and Roth contributions?

Stock Compensation

• What are the terms and vesting schedule of your stock compensation plan? 

Medical and Dependent Care Savings Accounts

• Health Savings Account (HSA)

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

• Dependent Care FSA

Insurance

• Life Insurance: Typically a multiple of your annual salary

• Supplemental Life Insurance: Optional for the employee and the employee’s family.  Typically limited to certain annual increases

• Disability Insurance: This may be paid for by your employer or offered as an option to employees to fund.  The tax status of disability payments depend on premium payment sources

• Pet Insurance: Optional for employees to cover certain pets or certain pet health issues

Legal and Estate Planning Services

• Free or low-cost legal services through a selected vendor.  Be sure to understand the limits of coverage and what out-of-pocket costs exist outside of those limits

Earned Wage Access: Early access to pay before the normal pay period

• This may allow you to utilize money from a future paycheck early for no fee or a small fee (This is not the same as a payday loan)