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Hello and welcome. This video is about
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employee benefits.
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I'm Carrie Nilson. I'm your speaker for
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this video. I'm an independent human
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resource consultant. I have 25 years of
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experience in HR and I have an MS degree
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in HR management and a PhD in industrial
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organizational psychology.
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Here's the agenda for this video. We're
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going to start with the basics of
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employee benefits. Then we'll discuss
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how to enroll as a new employee
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and then the qualifying events in life
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that allow you to make benefits changes
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throughout the year. And we'll end
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talking about annual open enrollment.
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So, let's start with the enrollment
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basics. When you start a new job, you'll
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have a limited window, usually just 30
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days and sometimes even less, to
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evaluate the benefits offered and choose
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the plans you want. This might include
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medical, dental, vision insurance, and a
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flexible spending account or FSA.
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Whatever the options are, make sure to
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review plan choices thoroughly. And
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don't be shy to ask questions.
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Once you make that decision to enroll in
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benefits or not, you will be locked into
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those plans for the rest of the plan
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year unless you have a qualifying life
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event.
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So, let's go through some enrollment
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tips. Once you know the deadline for
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enrollment, make sure you know how to
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complete the enrollment process. This is
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different at every company. Sometimes
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it's online through payroll and benefit
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systems where you type in what you want.
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Other times it might be at a company
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where you have to fill out a piece of
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paper and submit that physically to
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someone like HR. Make sure you know what
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the process is so you can get in well
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before the deadline. As a night worker,
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if you have questions, you'll need to be
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proactive knowing who to direct the
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questions to. And you should also submit
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the forms early and allow time for
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processing.
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Now, let's talk about those qualifying
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life events that I mentioned. Once
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you're in a plan, uh you can only change
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it if there's a qualifying life event
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such as a marriage or divorce, birth or
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adoption of a child, or the loss of
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insurance coverage with someone else. If
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any of these apply to you or to any of
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your dependents who are on the plan, you
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have 30 days to inform your carriers uh
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that you want to make a change. So, for
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example, if you have a baby, you must
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inform them of the change within 30 days
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or you'll miss the opportunity to add
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the baby to the plan. Then you'd have to
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wait until your annual open enrollment
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process to add them.
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So, let's talk about that. Once a year,
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your company is required to host an open
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enrollment process where they typically
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tell you of any price or plan changes.
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And it's the one time of year that you
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can make changes without a qualifying
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event. So you can switch medical plans,
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dental plans, enroll for the first time,
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or leave a plan that you're in. The
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timing of open enrollment varies at each
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company. Although it often occurs at the
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end of the calendar year, so price
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changes are effective January 1.
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Some tips for open enrollment. As a
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night worker, you often miss out on live
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open enrollment meetings that occur. If
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your company does not host live meetings
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during your shift, ask beforehand if any
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meetings can be recorded and make sure
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to ask to be paid for your time to view
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the videos. You are legally required to
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be paid for this time. If you have any
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questions, ask the contact information
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for the people informed for open
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enrollment. This might be different than
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the people who handled your initial
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enrollment, so make sure you know who to
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go to. And again, submit your responses
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to open enrollment at least one to two
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days early to allow for processing.
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In conclusion, understanding your
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benefits and enrollment deadlines helps
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protect your health, your finances, and
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your peace of mind. As a night worker,
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staying informed takes a little extra
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effort, but it's well worth it. If I
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left you with three key takeaways,
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they'd be one, be proactive as a new
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employee. Be aware of your deadlines and
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email HR early with questions.
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Two, ask for recorded open enrollment
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meetings and confirm you'll be paid for
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the viewing time. And three, re review
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your coverage each year. You know,
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review it regularly to ensure that it
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still fits your needs. Even when you're
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working the night shift, your benefits
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are working for you. Stay informed, stay
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covered, and take care of yourself.
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Thank you.
