
Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment
for 2024 Benefits:
Nov. 13 to Dec. 8, 2023
Open Enrollment is your once-a-year opportunity to:
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Enroll in or change benefits: Open enrollment is your opportunity to enroll your spouse and/or eligible children in your healthcare plans. After open enrollment, you can only change your benefits if you have a qualified status change, such as birth or marriage.
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Enroll (or re-enroll) in the Health Care FSA and Dependent Care FSA: Your Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contributions expire every year on Dec. 31. If you wish to continue contributing, you must re-enroll during open enrollment.
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Enroll (or re-enroll) in the long-term disability (LTD) buy-up option. During open enrollment, you can enroll in the LTD buy-up, which pays 66 2/3% of your eligible earnings to a maximum of $7,500 per month, or $90,000 per year. Is this benefit for you? See Consider enrolling (or re-enrolling) in the LTD buy-up below to learn more.
Because the LTD buy-up benefit and premium are changing, any current LTD buy-up coverage will be canceled, and you will need to re-enroll during open enrollment if you want the LTD buy-up in 2024. Otherwise, you will be enrolled in the core LTD plan by default.
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Review your family, health and income situation and consider if you should switch medical plans or purchase more life insurance, additional long-term care coverage, or the long-term disability buy-up. You can also drop any voluntary benefits you no longer need.
What's New for 2024
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No healthcare benefit changes. All medical, prescription, vision and dental premiums and benefits are staying the same — no cost increases!
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We have a new life and AD&D insurance and short- and long-term disability (STD/LTD) insurance company (The Hartford), and this change means:
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You have a one-time opportunity to get up to $250,000 of supplemental life insurance — no questions asked!
During this year’s open enrollment only, you may purchase up to the guaranteed issue of supplemental life insurance for yourself and your spouse/domestic partner without evidence of insurability.
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Evidence of insurability (EOI) means you must complete a health questionnaire (or possibly a health exam) and receive insurance company approval to be covered.
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The guaranteed issue is the maximum amount of insurance you can get without EOI.
• Employee: Up to 4x your salary (not to exceed $250,000)
• Spouse/domestic partner: $30,000
If you enroll yourself or your spouse/domestic partner at any other time, or if you want more than the guaranteed issue in coverage, EOI is required.
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You can now purchase supplemental life insurance coverage for your spouse/ domestic partner and children without enrolling in supplemental life for yourself
You can purchase coverage for a domestic partner if the two of you meet requirements to register as domestic partners in Washington State, and if you submit a notarized domestic partnership affidavit to the District.
Get up to $10,000 of child supplemental life insurance:
• One premium covers all children up to age 26 (previously to age 23)
• EOI is not required for child(ren) life insurance
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Consider enrolling (or re-enrolling) in the LTD buy-up
Our new LTD insurance company, The Hartford, offers a higher maximum LTD payment than the current benefit. The new optional LTD buy-up still provides a 66 2/3% of base pay benefit, but will cover up to $90,000 of lost income (66 2/3% of $150,000 in annualized pay) — an increase of $30,000 per year. This means it’s a good benefit for more of our employees than the current LTD benefit. The LTD buy-up costs $35.92 per month.
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If you don't enroll in the LTD buy-up during open enrollment, you will be enrolled in core LTD coverage by default. Core LTD benefits pay 60% of your eligible earnings, to a maximum of $5,000 per month, or $60,000 per year. Core LTD costs $19.50 per month.
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Employees pay for LTD benefits to avoid having to pay income taxes on benefits received.
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Remember: if you're currently enrolled in the LTD buy-up and want to keep this coverage for 2024, you must
re-enroll during open enrollment.
How to Enroll and Make Benefit Changes Online
Find the PeopleSoft enrollment site confusing? This video gives you step-by-step instructions.