Consider also whether or not your company should offer auto-enrollment to help employees avoid missing open enrollment. Are there any changes in my life that might make another health insurance choice more valuable this year? In your hook, you want to get employees ready for open enrollment. Here's our employee furlough letter sample: Dear [ employee_name ], I'm sorry to inform you that your position will be put temporarily on furlough due to urgent business conditions, from [ date] to [ date ]. If you have not defined any specific goals, then start by focusing on the enrollment experience as a whole, for example what did your employees like and what do they want to be different for next year. My enrollment period at my job is in July and I missed it last year without being aware. document.write(new Date().getFullYear()); Think of it as an invitation. Deadline to enroll for insurance to start Jan 1 is Dec 15. All Rights Reserved. Even with weeks of communication in advance, employees may report that they missed open enrollment at work. G&A Partners is a leading professional employer organization (PEO) that offers world-class HR services and a team of experts who can help you navigate employment issues, safety initiatives, and moreduring (and after) the pandemic. Format for absence excuse letter. Copyright The Regents of the University of California, Davis campus. Sample Termination Letter to Employee Template | Workable If you improperly included an employee, you may have a . Comprehensive coverage for your business, property, and employees. But employees are also balancing their workload, home life, childcare, and the holidaysall while trying to stay safe and healthy during a global pandemic that's been hard to predict. PDF COVID-19 FAQs for Participants and Beneficiaries - DOL Most companies operate on a calendar fiscal year. $("span.current-site").html("SHRM MENA "); The UCPath communications sent to employees are attached for your reference. If you have questions, dont hesitate to contact your benefits specialist[insert specialist contact information or provide a link]. And there is a tool that can make that happen. Its a good idea to create simple and comprehensive policies and procedures so youre prepared in the event of an SEP. Applicable large employers (ALEs) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may have additional concerns. } Our benefits fair will take place [insert dates, time, locations]. In order to ensure that none of our employees in this status were missed by the cutoff date, HR Leave Administration . ), Example #2: Dave, Who Has No Emergency Fund. Employee satisfaction is one of the most important avenues toward greater productivity and business growth. To get the ball rolling, a robust open enrollment email to employees is vital. t is the employees responsibility to sign up for benefits during open enrollment as long as the employer provides plenty of notice. Did I pay out-of-pocket expenses this year that could be covered by an insurance option next year? We can help you tackle business challenges like these. Benefit terms would run from January 1st to December 31st. Russ holds a Life, Accident & Health insurance license and a Risk Managers license through the Texas Department of Insurance, and brings to FBS over thirty years of risk management and pool administration expertise. Open with an engaging subject line and immediately set a positive tone. We've got great ideas for top health purchases before the Grace Period deadline. Special Enrollment Periods for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Miss open enrollment? You've got options. - health insurance How Can HR Help an Employee Who Misses Open Enrollment? For [current year], we are maintaining [describe plan types] and have made the following changes: [describe plan changes]. a global pandemic that's been hard to predict, improve or enhance open enrollment communication. Open enrollment begins one month from now, beginning [DATE] until [DATE]. Heres what you need to do to get and early start: [Instructions]. In order to ensure that their businesses will not face any penalties, many ALEs should document that coverage has been offered. The email is simply an introduction. Kyle was hired by FBS as one of our first benefit consultants in 2001 and became the President of the company in 2005. Cathy has been in the insurance industry for 28 years. Regardless of the reason, this common situation can result in added financial burden on the employee, additional missed days at work due to lack of proper health coverage, and frustration for both employee and employer. Business Associate Agreement 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. Changes made at open enrollment are effective January 1, 2023. It starts valuable dialog on whats being offered and how to take advantage of it. These employers must offer affordable, minimum-essential coverage to their full-time employees or potentially face the employer shared responsibility penalty. Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to review your benefit plan options and make . (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). Missed Enrollment at Work, What do I Do? - obamacarefacts.com How to Draft a Open Enrollment Email to Employees (With Template). 4 out of 5 can find a marketplace plan for $10 or less a month with cost assistance! Sample 401K Communication to Employees: A Template for HR Leaders var currentUrl = window.location.href.toLowerCase(); He would lose more money than hed gain if still carrying that debt. After open enrollment ends, you can only make changes to your elections if you've experienced a qualifying life event. , G&A Partners. Medicaid provides health insurance to low-income individuals, while CHIP provides health insurance to children of low-income families. You could have misread a question, been forced to rush through the process, or even miscalculated how much money would be coming out of your paycheck every week. ACA open enrollment is through Dec. 15th. [Instructions or refer to additional resources]. Remind your employees about these resources regularly by highlighting a single resource every month. Please purchase a SHRM membership before saving bookmarks. Thank them in advance for doing their part to make this a successful open enrollment. Members may download one copy of our sample forms and templates for your personal use within your organization. Offer health, dental, vision and more to recruit & retain employees. Hire, onboard, manage, and develop productive employees. 1. Only about one-third of employees (34 percent) have a . The call-to-action lets them know the open enrollment date, where they can find information, and when enrollment packets will become available. Health Insurance Renewal Sample Letter to Employees By Mary Gormandy White, M.A., SHRM-SCP, SPHR YinYang / iStock via Getty Images If it's time for your company's group health plan to renew, it's advisable to notify your employees about the new plan options in writing. Missing open enrollment can be a costly mistake for employees, so employers should take adequate steps to help their employees through the enrollment process. look at employees who received a W-2 and participated in the 403(b) plan. All rights reserved. The good news is that were here for you every step of the way! Please note that all such forms and policies should be reviewed by your legal counsel for compliance with applicable law, and should be modified to suit your organizations culture, industry, and practices. Include a benefits portal on your company website so employees can enroll online at their convenience. Also, remember the source of information. This option is designed to provide temporary coverage in case of emergency health situations until the employee can regain permanent health insurance. Effective communication to employees can sometimes be a moving target. Contractually, employers may not be able to accommodate employees who miss open enrollment, unless they qualify for a special enrollment period. If employees do miss open enrollment, provide opportunities for them to meet with HR or attend informational meetings that discuss their options to obtain coverage for the next year. This will give you the ability to answer any lingering questions from employees and build in extra time for those who are apt to miss deadlines, without placing any extra burdens on your HR team.. Mistakes During Open Enrollment Can You Change Elections? Para garantizar que brindemos la informacin ms actualizada y de mayor precisin, algunos contenidos de este sitio web se mostrarn en ingls y los proporcionaremos en espaol una vez que estn disponibles. SHRM Employment Law & Compliance Conference, stress their importance and provide education on how to properly use them, digital apps and online portals with built-in decision support, Employers Enhance Emotional and Mental Health Benefits for 2020, Simple Open-Enrollment Tips That Can Make a Big Difference, 10 Questions for Employees Choosing a Health Plan, 3 Open Enrollment Reminders for Employeesand HR, New OSHA Guidance Clarifies Return-to-Work Expectations, Trump Suspends New H-1B Visas Through 2020, Faking COVID-19 Illness Can Have Serious Consequences, U.S. Companys Mandatory Video Surveillance Violated Dutch Rights, Leading Difficult Conversations About Layoffs. 7 Creative Ways to Announce and Promote Open Enrollment 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. Putting money away for your retirement is important, but how important depends on the financial boat youre in. The What Is a Dependent Care FSA and How Does It Work? DOCX Vermont Education Health Initiative VEHI The dates give your human resources department time to process and review employee elections and send them to the benefits providers. How to Write An Excuse Letter for Missing Work (with Examples) What makes the email essential is that you can send it to every employee through the companys email system. Here's what this kind of targeted advice might look like in an email you send to your workforce. During open enrollment, HR representatives often block off hours in their calendars to respond to employee questions about coverage, requirements, and deadlines. If youre encouragingallyour employees to putas much as they caninto their 401(k), I hate to break it to you, but you may be causing more harm than good. We encourage all employees and supervisors to treat others with equality and respect. If you missed open enrollment through your employer, you've probably already asked for their help but there may be nothing they can do. Were one day away from open enrollment! If your organization doesn't offer auto-enrollment, then workers who miss the window may be left out in the cold without any coverage. And because theres a limited amount of time to make these important decisions, it can be a confusing (and often overwhelming) experience for employers and employees alike. After all the time and attention that HR pros give open enrollment, it can be hard to imagine how an employee could miss the window for electing their benefits. If the open enrollment dates are Nov. 15 through Dec. 15, consider giving your employees a deadline of Dec. 5, suggests Starr Harry, client success manager at G&A. Sushma Tripathi, vice president of strategic advisory services at ADP, an HR management software and services provider, offered the following starter questions HR can ask to engage employees during open enrollment. In order to ensure that none of our employees in this status were missed by the cutoff date,HR Leave Administration will email an Open Enrollment reminder this week to all. The information below covers what open enrollment is and what you may do during this time. To apply for benefits and verify eligibility, individuals should complete the online screener application. But if youre looking to get started now, you can still significantly improve the usefulness of your 401K communications by highlighting a few different employee personas, and giving financial advice for each one. Open Enrollment Email to Employees (Templates). The Covered Connecticut program allows eligible applicants to enroll anytime. New Jersey Secure Choice Savings Program on the Horizon for Private Employers, How to Use HR Metrics to Improve Your Bottom Line. 401Ks, IRAs, compounding interest, employer matching its enough to make the average employees head spin. Capture employees attention with benefits messages that stick. What to Do if an Employee Misses Open Enrollement All you have to do to make changes to your benefits is to log into the online portal and make any changes. If feasible, send your excuse letter before you miss work. Youcouldadd the examples above into your general 401K messaging and call it a day. 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. Joan has a few thousand dollars saved for emergencies and no high-interest credit card debt. Keep in mind, though, that employees must make changes to their flexible spending accounts or health savings accounts each year. Pick A Theme Lose the stiff, corporate lingo and put a little fun back into open enrollment. As an employer, you may be faced with administrative burdens and unhappy or unproductive employees. What Happens If an Employee Misses Open Enrollment? But most advisors suggest putting away 15-20% of your paycheck if you can. Despite your own best efforts to communicate important information and deadlines, you may have employees who dont successfully enroll on time. Are there changes I can make to my budget that would allow me to increase tax-deferred savings through a flexible spending account or a health savings account. COBRA Service Agreement, Benefits Consulting Here's what can happen and how HR can help. When open enrollment ends, we know you'll receive an influx of employee questions about their options to sign up for healthcare. If you are asking for a longer leave of absence, send this letter as early as possible. To prevent these issues, its important to communicate to your employeesahead of timethe consequences of missing the open enrollment deadline. Apologize to an Employee or Employees WriteExpress They influence President Biden signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act into law on December 29, 2022 BerniePortal is the all-in-one HR software solution at a fair price, so HR can focus on providing a good place to work. Her short-term financial situation is secure, so shes in a position to focus on her long-term goals. Be sure to communicate the time period with employees. money left over after basic living expenses are covered. Make it easy on you and your team by taking advantage of our action plan and timeline. Open enrollment is complex enough as it is. Now What? As you know, open enrollment is open now and closes [DATE]. Build specialized knowledge and expand your influence by earning a SHRM Specialty Credential. 2022 Open Enrollment communications to employees on leave of absence In reviewing the following information, you are taking the first step toward securing your. The answer to your question may depend on whose open enrollment you missed and why. As an Account Executive, she was a key team member on the TRS-ActiveCare account from its inception through the duration of the contract. Employers can also gather status updates during the open enrollment period to view which employees have not completed enrollment. The only exception to these terms is if an employee qualifies for a special enrollment period (SEP). If youre truly invested in helping your employees not only plan for retirement, but also create savings and dig out of debt, offer education in the moments that matter: Reiterate your 401K messaging whenever employees get a raise, bonus, or promotion. Additional education can come in the form of personal worksite consultations, one-on-one appointments with HR representatives, seminars, webinars and self-paced e-learning modules. Here are a few different scenarios you might find yourself in, and some advice for how to approach your 401K. ACA Compliance, Medical Consulting They must offer affordable, minimum-essential coverage to their full-time employees or potentially face the employer shared responsibility penalty. At this point, there is not much more that you can do for him or her unless he or she qualifies for an SEP. Web spread the word about your company's open enrollment with these 30 short reminders. Insurance and benefits plans can be cost prohibitive for companies that run smaller operations and/or do not have a large workforce. The open enrollment process is often confusing and time-consuming. else if(currentUrl.indexOf("/about-shrm/pages/shrm-mena.aspx") > -1) { Now is the time to review your current benefits and prepare to make changes, if needed. When the economy is unstable, employers are faced with difficult decisions around staffing, pay and benefits. Whenever someone loses their job, they want to hear that their loss is validated. Open enrollment is a predetermined time frame employers establish for making changes to health care plans and benefits. As a top 1% graduate of the 2011 UT Arlington class, Brian emphasizes excellence and ingenuity, leading FBS to the forefront of benefit education and enrollment. Track employee time and maximize payroll accuracy. "There are many factors, both in a benefits plan and in one's personal life, that can change every year. Sending out the open enrollment email to employees is just the first step. (Feel free to copy-pastewe wont tell. There are benefit fairs, promotional material, and banners on the company website. Starting the conversation about open enrollment early and providing multiple information channels throughout the open enrollment period can help ensure that employees haven't missed open enrollment at work. We do not sell internationally. Writing a Good Job Rejection Letter. You can get your own copy here. At Ignite HCM, we assist human resources administrators in streamlining processes. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); I am aBrokerCarrierEmployerCOBRA Participant. Get ready to discuss all things benefits! Changes in employment - this can mean starting a new job, quitting, or a transition from part-time to full-time work status. Other qualifying life events that would make an employee eligible for SEP can include: If an employee experiences a decrease in income, they may be eligible to apply for health coverage through the government's Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). If an employee misses open enrollment, he or she may understandably be panicked and unhappy. 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. Learn more, Money Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for a Richer Life. Your session has expired. Personalized enrollment support, available virtually 24/7, Save time while supporting employees with Chat, Smart Tips, and Reminders. However, most have an actively at work or similar provision, and wording regarding the inability to make an election because of extentuating circumstances. 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. 3 Open Enrollment Reminders for Employeesand HR At many organizations, the open enrollment season for 2020 benefits is underway or about to begin. Plus, you must consider the different ways people receive information. While just keeping whatever health coverage they had this year is tempting for employees, doing so may come with a substantial financial downside. As HR representatives address open enrollment meetings, speak with employees one-on-one and send out enrollment reminders, they can use these pointers to help employees make smart decisions. HR managers should be prepared to address the common employee question "What is a special enrollment period?" Please submit questions related to Open Enrollment for your employees on leave to Service Now > Leave Administration > Other Leave Questions. If your HR team is already overloaded during open enrollment season, trusted HR consulting services can help lighten the load and generate ideas for the best ways to support your employees through open enrollment. Why? Subject Line: Heads Up: Open Enrollment Details Coming Your Way. Well, in an ideal world, youd be able to pair up every one of your employees with a savvy and charming financial guru who could look at their unique financial situation, and give tailored recommendations on how they should be spending their free dollarsi.e. An announcement is made via email to ensure employees are informed about open enrollment dates and benefits being offered. Need help with a specific HR issue like coronavirus or FLSA? Benefit terms would run from January 1st to December 31st. Specifically, his 401(k)-related gains7%-9% annually, on averagewould most likely be less than the losses he would take on his credit card, lets say, 13%-17%. For you, when employees miss this deadline, it can result in additional administrative burdens and unhappy or unproductive employees. Virtual & Washington, DC | February 26-28, 2023. Coby joined FBS in 2007 as a Benefit Consultant and then rose to Vice President of Sales in 2013. He writes about HR, compliance, and benefits solutions. Heres what this kind of targeted advice might look like in an email you send to your workforce. These are just a few quick tips. Earn FSA Perks Points, unlock member-only rewards, and speed up the checkout process. Posted on December 9, 2021 1 NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES - 2020 ANNUAL OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD FOR OPTION CHANGES IN HEALTH AND DENTAL INSURANCE PLAN COVERAGE. Careers, Terms of Use 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. 2023 Open Enrollment - Human Resources How the human resources department handles the lead-up to your companys open enrollment will define its success. Drafting an open enrollment email is not a daunting task. var temp_style = document.createElement('style'); If you are concerned about complying with ACA in any regard, please contact us to discuss one of our many options to help.