Open Enrollment is right around the corner. Are you ready? To help you prepare, Vanderbilt’s HR team will be sharing the top 10 things you need to know about Open Enrollment.
So, what is Open Enrollment? It’s your annual opportunity to update or choose the benefit options that best meet your and your family’s needs. During Open Enrollment, there are several programs you can elect, make changes to, or waive:
- Medical, dental and vision insurance;
- Accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance;
- Health care flexible spending accounts, which reimburse medical expenses for you and your dependents; and
- Dependent day care flexible spending accounts, which reimburse day care service expenses for your dependents.
You can make changes to other benefit programs anytime, including during Open Enrollment. These include:
- Life insurance, enhanced short-term disability and long-term disability insurance, which can be managed through My VU Benefits;
- Retirement plan contributions and investments, which can be managed through Fidelity’s NetBenefits; and
- Discounted pet, auto and home insurance, which are managed directly with the providers.
You can continue saving $20 per month on your health plan premiums if you and your covered family members are committed to being tobacco-free. Elect or re-elect your tobacco usage status when completing enrollment in My VU Benefits. If you pledged to quit last year but are still using tobacco, you will not receive the credit in 2016.
If you elect or keep spouse/same-sex domestic partner coverage, indicate whether your spouse or partner has access to insurance through another employer. Spouses or partners who have access to health coverage through an outside employer but prefer the Vanderbilt plan will pay an additional $100 per month in payroll premiums.
Because same-sex marriages are now performed and legal in all U.S. states, married same-sex couples are eligible for the same benefits and tax advantages as other married couples. For this reason, 2016 is the last year unmarried same-sex domestic partners will be eligible for Vanderbilt benefit programs, including insurance plans and tuition assistance.
Get ready now!
- You will need your VUnetID and password to enroll. If you don’t remember your VUnetID or your password, visit it.vanderbilt.edu/accessvu.
- Verify that your address and contact information appear correctly in C2HR to ensure timely delivery of insurance cards, if you need new ones.
Open Enrollment begins at 8 a.m. on Oct. 14 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 30. Elections are effective Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2016, unless you have a qualifying event such as marriage, divorce or the birth of a child. Look for more information in the coming weeks.