• Home
  • What’s up?
    • What do I need to know?
    • What’s new for 2016?
  • Medical benefits
    • What are the medical plan choices?
    • How do the medical options compare?
    • What about prescription drugs?
    • How can I save money on qualified expenses?
  • Other benefits
    • Dental
    • Vision
    • Spending and savings accounts
    • Life and AD&D
    • Disability
    • Vacation purchase
    • Legal Plan
    • Voluntary benefits
    • Shopping programs
  • Newly hired?
  • About retirement
    • Hired BEFORE
      January 1, 2004?
    • Hired ON or AFTER January 1, 2004?
    • Will you have enough $$$ to retire?
    • Planning to retire in 2016?
  • Okay, GO!
    • Who is eligible?
    • What do I need to do?
    • What if I change my mind?
The 2016 Annual Enrollment period will start on Tuesday, October 27 and end at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 10, 2015.
If you want any of these benefits next year, don’t even THINK about passing on Annual Enrollment!
  • Flexible Spending Accounts:
    FSAs allow you to set aside tax-free money you can use to cover eligible expenses throughout the year.
    All of your pre-tax contributions will default to $0
    − General Purpose AND Limited Purpose Healthcare FSA
    − Dependent Care FSA
  • Vacation purchase:
    STOP! Before you purchase any additional vacation days, you MUST get your supervisor’s approval in advance.
    The number of purchased vacation days will default to 0
But if you choose not to, or forget to enroll, these benefits will stay the same in 2016:
  • Medical
    Even if you choose to default to the same medical coverage you have now, you and your spouse or same-sex domestic partner will still need to complete your plan’s Wellness requirements by March 31, 2016 to qualify for the Enhanced Benefit Level — and enjoy significantly lower out-of-pocket costs for the rest of the year.
    (except for Cigna Networks) and prescription drugs
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Health Savings Account
  • Company-provided basic employee life insurance and AD&D
  • Optional AD&D
  • Optional employee and dependent life insurance
  • Accidental injury insurance
  • Critical illness insurance
  • Legal plan
  • Spouse and tobacco surcharges
  1. Learn about each plan’s benefits, costs and eligibility rules, and decide which benefits will be right for you next year. In addition to this eGuide, you can take advantage of the
    valuable resources
    • Prefer hard data to gut instinct? Check out the interactive Health Plan Comparison tool on benefits.com. It uses your own claims history to compare the plans based on the types of care you’ve received in the past.
    • Like watching movies? Grab the popcorn and tune in to our brief and informative (yet fun!) video, which hits the highlights of Annual Enrollment. Find it on the Home page of this eGuide.
    • Rather kick it old-school? You can peruse a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) for each medical plan. The SBCs, which can be accessed on benefits.com, are provided in a standardized format for easy comparison.
    we’ve put together.
  2. If you have a
    spouse
    If your significant other has other coverage available (for example, through his or her employer) but chooses to enroll in coverage, you’ll pay a monthly surcharge of $110 for medical and/or $11 for dental.
    or
    same-sex domestic partner
    If your significant other has other coverage available (for example, through his or her employer) but chooses to enroll in coverage, you’ll pay a monthly surcharge of $110 for medical and/or $11 for dental.
    , be sure to share this information with your significant other BEFORE finalizing your decisions. (Just saying.)
  3. Use the Annual Enrollment Checklist. It will help guide you through the process, every step of the way.
  4. Enroll between October 27 and November 10. There are two ways to do it.
    • If you want to get the job done using the easiest, fastest way, sign in to benefits.com and follow the instructions.
    • If you’d rather enroll by phone, call the
      National Employee Services Center
      Call the NESC at 1-800-248-4444 to speak with a Benefits Representative between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. TIP: To avoid long wait times, call between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.
      to speak with a real, live human.