Key Factors About Open Enrollment for Benefits

Key Factors About Open Enrollment for BenefitsKey Factors About Open Enrollment for BenefitsInterview About Open Enrollment for Benefits Erich Sternberg of Unum Group participated in an interview about open enrollment for benefits. Take a look at his responses to the questions posed by TheBalanceCareers to learn the goals of and the happenings that occur during an organizations open enrollment for benefits time period. You can make the enrollment period beneficial for your employees and for your organization. Employees who understand the cost and the benefits of their full compensation package appreciate them more. QA About Open Enrollment for Benefits What is open enrollment for benefits? Open enrollment is a period of time set aside by an employer to educate employees on the group benefits available to them. The goal of open enrollment is to ensure that all employees receive a comprehensive overview of the benefit offerings to enable them to make informed decisions on what ar e the best benefits for themselves and their families. This is especially true and important when the employer offers voluntary benefits wherein the employee is responsible for paying the full cost of the benefit. What else can employees do during open enrollment periods of time? The open enrollment for benefits period offers employees the opportunity to make changes to their benefits. They can add coverage, terminate their coverage, or make a change to an existing policy. Open enrollment is also a time for employers to educate their employees about any changes they may have made to their employee benefits package. What do employees do during open enrollment for benefits? Open enrollment is the employees time to attend enrollment information meetings, speak with the benefits diensts and Human Resources staff, and make their benefit selections. They have the opportunity to compare all of the employers offerings so they can select the appropriate mix of benefits for their family. H ow Employees Can Ensure They Make Good Choices To ensure that they make the best choices for their families and their personal situation, during the open enrollment, Sternberg recommends that employees need to do the following. Do their homework. Thoroughly review open enrollment materials about benefits even if the benefits provider is staying the same. Benefits can change annually so employees should review written materials and websites and write down questions to ask the organizations benefits representatives. Review their familys past health care expenses. No one can identify better than the employee which insurance plans will best fit their familys medical needs. This review will allow the employee to assess,for their family situation, the value of the plans offered, based on the cost of premiums, required co-pays, and their anticipated annual spending. Talk to their healthcare providers. Every benefits provider will have a different network of healthcare providers. While an employees physician or dentist may belong to several networks, it is important for employees to verify, in advance, that their healthcare providers are participants in the network of the plan they are considering electing. Consider buying disability insurance or more disability insurance, if the employer offers some coverage. According to the National Safety Council, every 7 seconds, a worker is injured on the job. Work-relatedmedically consulted injuriestotaled 4.5 million in 2017. When a disabling injury occurs, it can result in an employees inability to earn a living. Most employees have never thought about this possibility. Employees need to add up their monthly costs of living and compare the total to their current disability insurance coverage. Employees will want to make sure the insurance will pay all of their bills in case of an accident. Review the adequacy of their life insurance coverage. According to LIMRA grenzberschreitend (you must be a member to access), over 68 mil lion Americans have no life insurance. 70% of millennial employees have life insurance although as with the other generations, the insurance is generally inadequate. Employees need to consider a life insurance policy during open enrollment if their employer doesnt offer a policy. If they have a personal or an employer-provided policy, they need to check their coverage amounts and the beneficiaries they have listed to make sure their families are financially protected in case of death. Benefits Covered During Open Enrollment What benefits are covered by open enrollment time periods? The employer works with their agent during open enrollment to determine the benefits offered and the contribution the employer will provide. If the employer cannot afford to provide employees with a standard benefits package, they can offer voluntary benefits. Voluntary benefits allow employers to offer their employees the benefits they want and need at a more affordable price, paid by the employee. W hen is open enrollment held? An open enrollment period is usually held annually and typically occurs 30-60 days prior to the benefits renewal or the effective date of coverage. Stay in touch with your employer to make certain that you dont miss open enrollment for benefits in your organization. How to Make Open Enrollment for Benefits Successful How does an employer make open enrollment successful for employees? To make sure the open enrollment period is as successful as possible requires effective communication. Communication methods vary during open enrollment depending on whether benefits have changed. Changes may require educational meetings with the benefits providers. Other times, group meetings to summarize benefits are adequate. Employers may want to make benefit providers available for individual employee meetings. Employers will want to include employee spouses in the meetings whenever possible. Notify employees of open enrollment meetings 3-4 weeks prior to the meetin gs. Time the meetings so that the employer has time to submit enrollment changes to insurance providers and verify that employees are appropriately enrolled in their chosen benefits. Provide enrollment kits to employees that provide comprehensive information about the benefits and their portion of the cost. If a Section 125 plan is in place, inform employees of what benefits are available on a pre-tax fundament such as a healthcare flexible spending account. Employees need adequate time to review the materials and consult with family members in order to make informed decisions. Final Thoughts on Open Enrollment for Benefits To get the most out of the open enrollment and their benefits, employees must fully understand the benefits their employer provides. To understand, they need to participate in the employers benefits education program. Information meetings by insurance professionals and comprehensive enrollment materials are key to providing employees the support they need to make informed benefit decisions.