BenefitsAll

Marriage

When you marry, you have a set period to enroll your new spouse in your health plan. If you miss the deadline, you must wait until the annual open enrollment period to add them to the plan. You must notify your Human Resources rep. or insurer when you marry. There may be a change in the amount deducted from your pay due to your election change. Use the below checklist to guide you in what benefit changes you may need to consider. Click on each link for a brief description of the items in the checklist.

Medical insurance plan -

sometimes called a health insurance plan and typically includes prescription drug coverage, although the prescription drug plan may be separate from medical coverage. There are many different types of medical plans, including Fee-for-service or Indemnity plans, Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans, Point-of-Service (POS) plans, Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans, and Consumer Directed Health Plans (CDHP). These plans provide insurance coverage to reduce your out-of-pocket cost for medical care.

Dental -

the most common types of dental insurance plans are the dental PPO and dental HMO. These plans provide insurance coverage to reduce your out-of-pocket cost for dental cleanings and other basic/major care (coverage is usually limited as these plans are not intended to pay all of your dental care expenses and do not pay for cosmetic procedures)

Vision -

ancillary plan that works similarly to dental insurance plans. Provides insurance coverage to reduce your out-of-pocket cost for routine vision exams. Also provides limited coverage for lenses, contact lenses and eyeglass frames

Health Care Flexible Spending Account -

often misunderstood and difficult to comprehend by some, a HCFSA is a tax-free account administered by your employer that allows you to pay for most out-of-pocket health care expenses (e.g., medical, dental, vision expenses) with tax-free dollars. For example, instead of paying your prescription drug copays with cash from your wallet, cash that has already been taxed, you can set aside an annual amount of funds in a tax-free HCFSA to pay these expenses. The benefit of using a HCFSA is that you can use tax free money to pay for health care expenses that you have to pay for anyway--why not pay them with tax free money and save a few bucks. You have to decide how much to place into your HCFSA prior to the start of the plan year--which means you have to estimate how much you will spend for the upcoming 12 months. If you do not spend all of the funds in the account by the end of the 12 months, you forfeit (lose) the remaining funds. The HCFSA administrator or your employer will provide you with a list of health care expenses that are eligible for reimbursement from your account, as well as other account rules

Spouse/Domestic Partner Life Insurance -

this life insurance coverage, if offered by the employer, is usually paid for by the employee. The amount of coverage the employee may purchase to cover a spouse or domestic partner is usually a percentage of what the employee purchases for her/himself under an employee supplemental policy. The employee is usually automatically the beneficiary of the policy and receives the cash benefit if the spouse or domestic partner dies (subject to the provisions and limits of the plan)

Retirement plans -

the most common types of employer-based retirement plans include defined contribution (DC) plans (e.g., 401(k), 403(b), 457 plans) and defined benefit (DB) pension plans. With a DC plan, you contribute a percentage of your salary to various investment funds offered by the plan. Your contributions are pre-tax (except Roth 401(k) contributions), grow tax-deferred, and are subject to taxation at time of distribution. Your employer may make (free) matching and profit sharing contributions to your account. With a DB plan, you receive retirement benefits based on a percentage of your average salary over a period of time. Employees do not typically contribute to these plans and receive retirement benefits for life

Open Enrollment -

this is the annual period where employees/insurance program participants can make or change their benefit plan elections

Update Beneficiary Forms -

you should review your life and retirement plan beneficiary designations after major life events such as getting married and having a baby

W-4 -

a federal tax form that you complete to instruct your payroll department what federal income taxes to deduct. This form should be completed when you are hired and periodically (e.g., when you get married or have a child and your tax filing status changes, or you find that too much or too little federal taxes are being withheld based on your tax refund or obligation). There are also state tax forms that you may have to complete when hired

Change in Insurance Costs -

if you add or remove a spouse/dependent from your health insurance (medical, dental or vision), your insurance premiums may increase/decrease<