And to make matters worse, employees are skittish about their retirement savings right now thanks to COVID. Why? It is typically the only time during the year in which employees can make changes to their benefits choices, such as adding or dropping coverage, adding or dropping dependents, or enrolling in benefits for the first time. Medicaid provides health insurance to low-income individuals, while CHIP provides health insurance to children of low-income families. Pretty good! look at employees who received a W-2 and participated in the 403(b) plan. Let's use a fall open enrollment as an example. Posted on December 9, 2021 Welcome to Open Enrollment! Hopefully, we'll be able to restore your employment after this critical time. Missing open enrollment means limited options, but here a few situations to consider: Qualifying Life Event: An employee may be in luck if they have a qualifying event coming up. Still, missing open enrollment can make a bad situation worse. We do not sell internationally. To avoid these penalties, document that coverage has been offered by requiring employees to sign either: To help your employees make the most out of the open enrollment period and the benefits your company provides, consider implementing the following strategies: Offering benefits education to your employees prior to and during the open enrollment period can help minimize confusion and cut down on time spent addressing commonly asked questions. It's possible the employee had actually selected benefits but failed to confirm their election for some reason. a global pandemic that's been hard to predict, improve or enhance open enrollment communication. If your organization doesn't offer auto-enrollment, then workers who miss the window may be left out in the cold without any coverage. Between having multiple options, confusing plan descriptions, debating voluntary benefits and tight open enrollment deadlines, it's pretty easy to see how things might get confused. Regularly educating employees: Providing multiple information channels during open enrollment can ensure that employees are well-informed and have the resources to make decisions about their benefits. Subject Line: Were Two Weeks From Open Enrollment! Why Send an Open Enrollment Email to Employees? At this point, there is not much more that you can do for him or her unless he or she qualifies for an SEP. Open enrollment is a predetermined time frame employers establish for making changes to health care plans and benefits. Not great for Dave! Cathy has been in the insurance industry for 28 years. ), Example #2: Dave, Who Has No Emergency Fund. Home These employers must offer affordable, minimum-essential coverage to their full-time employees or potentially face the employer shared responsibility penalty. But if not enough people participate in the program, the company may also not see the benefits. Members may download one copy of our sample forms and templates for your personal use within your organization. Ensure they know exactly what theyre supposed to do next. Open enrollment is complex enough as it is. ", "Americans tend to miss the mark when they stick with what they were doing before without double-checking their assumptions," said Kelley Long, a member of the AICPA Consumer Financial Education Advocates panel. Relocation - Moving won't always affect your eligibility, but sometimes moving to a new home address or a new work site can, especially if it's in a new state with different regulations. This e-mail is the first step of a three-part process. Short-term coverage is typically cheaper than traditional health plans, but only relatively healthy individuals will qualify. Use this opportunity to set your finances up for your best 2020. 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is urging employees to carefully review their family's financial situation and insurance options to pick the best coverage plan for their household. We encourage all employees and supervisors to treat others with equality and respect. Were two weeks from open enrollment. Sample 4: Formal absent excuse letter due to an emergency. He writes about HR, compliance, and benefits solutions. Many companies find communications difficult to manage during this time and participation is frequently low. In fact, the terms of your benefits plans may prohibit you from making exceptions for employees who do not make benefits elections within a certain time period, such as before the new plan year begins. He would lose more money than hed gain if still carrying that debt. If you have questions, dont hesitate to contact your benefits specialist[insert specialist contact information or provide a link]. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and Google, Minimum of 1 special character ($%/()[]{}=? The attachments can include: Getting essential information to employees is vital but shouldnt overwhelm the employee. You can stay informed, educated, and up-to-date with open enrollment, benefits administration, and other important topics using BerniePortals comprehensive resources: Crafting and following a comprehensive onboarding checklist ensures a consistent, As the cost of living continues to rise around the country, many employeesespecially HR professionals play an indispensable role within an organization. [Insert link to benefits portal and instructions]. She and her team will provide the district with monthly billing services. In the same way 401(k)s use automated deposits to make retirement savings easy for employees, mobile apps likeAcorns,Robinhood,Stash,DigitsandTallyuse automation to help people build emergency savings funds, pay down credit card debt, and invest in smart, manageable, and automatic ways. The first step in achieving this is to provide as much information as possible in many different forms, such as flyers, posters, emails and videos. The dates give your human resources department time to process and review employee elections and send them to the benefits providers. You can get your own copy here. Surveying your employees will help you clarify benefits options and the open enrollment process, demonstrate your willingness to set aside time to help answer their questions, and potentially reduce the number of employees that miss open enrollment. I know how much you loved working there.". Be sure to check your state laws. All of these options would result in him losing money beyond the cost of the surprise expense. Remind your employees about these resources regularly by highlighting a single resource every month. Legally, employers are not required to do anything for employees who have missed the open enrollment deadline. Members can get help with HR questions via phone, chat or email. SHRM Online, September 2019, 10 Questions for Employees Choosing a Health Plan,
You can also take an email communication and post it to the employee portal on your website. }
When it comes to your open enrollment elections, the best thing you can do is take your time and be thorough to minimize the chance of making mistakes. The most beneficial ways in which you can help the employee is by offering additional opportunities for education and by asking for feedback regarding the process so that you can work to prevent this from happening again in the future. Share links to reputable personal finance blogs and podcasts. See attached flyer. Drive more engagement in money-saving programs throughout the year. For employer-sponsored health coverage, special enrollment period rules are in the Code of Federal Regulations. You can buy your own insurance if you want. 2175 N. Glenville Drive 4 in 10 employees who are able to save for retirement are now saving less as they continue to face financial hardships. For that time frame, announcements would go out in the middle of September. What makes the email essential is that you can send it to every employee through the companys email system. Sample 2: Excuse email for work absence due to sickness. How Can HR Help an Employee Who Misses Open Enrollment? Paychex was founded over four decades ago to relieve the complexity of running a business and make our clients' lives easier, so they can focus on what matters most. HR teams can send additional reminders to those employees and follow up with them individually so they dont miss the deadline. Subject line: Let's get smarter about 401K savings. var temp_style = document.createElement('style');
All rights reserved. * This content is for educational purposes only, is not intended to provide specific legal advice, and should not be used as a substitute for the legal advice of a qualified attorney or other professional. For an employee, missing this vital deadline can mean losing coverage, or being unable to change benefits elections, which can have a significant financial impact on the employee. While just keeping whatever health coverage they had this year is tempting for employees, doing so may come with a substantial financial downside. If the employer gave proper notice to employees communicating open enrollment deadlines, there is very little that can be done legally to help the employee after the fact, so a proactive approach and providing detailed information before and during open enrollment works best. Plus, you must consider the different ways people receive information. Why? Remember, this is a guide to get you thinking about your message to employees. Send them out as soon as you know that the applicant is not suitable for the role. If you miss the open enrollment period, you won't be able to enroll in a plan unless you have a qualifying event (such as getting married, having a baby or losing employer-sponsored coverage). He currently serves as the benefit consultant for 15 of the 20 Educational Service Centers in the State of Texas. Employees who experience qualifying life-changing events (such as getting married, divorced or legally separated, having or adopting a child, or moving to a new residence or work location that affects benefits eligibility) are eligible to enroll in or make changes to their benefits elections outside of the open enrollment period. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but no, once you make your open enrollment elections, you don't have the option to change them later in the year unless you experience a qualifying life event. This can cause important ones like open enrollment to fall through the cracks or simply be skimmed so they can move on to the next thing. The ConnectorCare program in Massachusetts (for people who are newly eligible or who haven't enrolled before). Open Enrollment Period: October 10, 2022 - October 31, 2022 This is the annual opportunity for you to make changes to your benefits and to add or drop eligible dependents from coverage. Please let us know if you have questions! Purchasing Cooperatives, Speak to Consultant Most employees receive a flood of work-related emails every single day. Thank them in advance for doing their part to make this a successful open enrollment. Mistakes happen -- and it happens more than it probably should when people are choosing health insurance. Bretton is an aPHR-certified member of the Marketing Team at Bernard Health. Your teams need ample time for payroll processing. Benefit terms would run from January 1st to December 31st. Make a corrective contribution to the plan for the employees that compensates for their missed deferral opportunity. Here's what this kind of targeted advice might look like in an email you send to your workforce. Dave lives paycheck to paycheck and doesnt yet have an emergency fund. Putting money away for your retirement is important, but how important depends on the financial boat youre in. Changes in employment - this can mean starting a new job, quitting, or a transition from part-time to full-time work status. (A version of this article appeared in Plan Sponsor magazine in February 2018.). HR reps, the AICPA advised, could share this message with employees: "By just staying the course without reviewing all the options available, you could be missing crucial opportunities to saveor worse, choose a plan that doesn't properly cover your family's health care needs. Bonus tip: Dont just send all these links in a one-time email. Open enrollment begins one month from now, beginning [DATE] until [DATE]. Here are a few different scenarios you might find yourself in, and some advice for how to approach your 401K. Mr. James started his insurance career in 1993 with American Fidelity in Lubbock, Texas and remained with them until 2000. Please submit questions related to Open Enrollment for your employees on leave to Service Now > Leave Administration > Other Leave Questions. (Or in the event of very rare circumstances, such as a legitimate error in which your administrator may or may not be able to allow you to fix). What Is a Dependent Care FSA and How Does It Work? money left over after basic living expenses are covered. Brian has spearheaded branding and media communications at FBS and leads the Marketing Department as the Marketing Manager. Stop the sniffles The deadline to make any changes will be [DATE]. Ingenious Ways to Keep Remote Employees Engaged, What Youre Not Doing (But Should Be) to Improve Employee Satisfaction, A Guide to Workers Compensation When Working From Home, Employee benefits specialist contact info. Theres no better time to talk about what to do with your free dollars than when an employee has just landed more free dollars, courtesy of payroll. While employers have little ability to "bend the rules" for employees when they have missed open enrollment at work, there are some options that can help both employer and employee. Copyright 2023 Financial Benefit Services: Employee Benefit Solutions. Financial Services Agreement Benefits Technology Mr. James holds many different licenses in the insurance industry including the Insurance Counselors License through the Texas Department of Insurance. Specifically, 29 CFR 2590.701-6, and in permitted election changes for Section 125 plans ( 26 CFR 1.125-4 ). ACA open enrollment is through Dec. 15th. What Is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Changes in marital status - Getting married, divorced, separated, or if your spouse passes away. If you missed open enrollment through your employer, you've probably already asked for their help but there may be nothing they can do. Utilizing as many forms of communication as possible will enable you to reach more employees. In order to ensure that none of our employees in this status were missed by the cutoff date, HR Leave Administration . Were sharing some sample 401K communication to employees that you can use to get your message across. Benefits Administration The Covered Connecticut program allows eligible applicants to enroll anytime. !.,-_*|+~#). Drafting A Sample Email Most employees receive a flood of work-related emails every single day. Build specialized knowledge and expand your influence by earning a SHRM Specialty Credential.
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