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Frequently Asked Questions
Open enrollment is the annual period—usually in the last month or two of the year—when you can enroll in, change, or renew benefits like health insurance, FSA deductions, and dependent coverage. Changes must be made during this window unless you experience a Qualifying Event, such as marriage or the birth of a child.
Open Enrollment occurs in the last month or two of the year (for enrollment in the benefits for the following year), and generally lasts 2 weeks.
Everyone is required to submit an update to their benefits during Open Enrollment, even if you are not making any changes or waving benefits.
The benefits you select during Open Enrollment will become effective on January 1 of the following calendar year.
You can view your current benefits in the Sage Payroll/Timesheet Portal by selecting Benefits > Current Benefits from the left menu. Expand the arrows next to each benefit to see any listed dependents.
Most of the benefits and prices are remaining unchanged for 2026, however we are changing to OneAmerica Financial for the Short-term & Long-term Disability Insurance, as well as the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). (Mutual of Omaha was our previous provider)
No, Open Enrollment includes Medical, HAS contributions, Dental, Vision, FSA contributions, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, and Supplemental Life Insurance.
Everyone is required to submit an update to their benefits during Open enrollment, even if you are not making any changes or waving benefits.
Open enrollment is the one time a year that you can change all your benefits – Health Insurance or HAS, Dental, Vision, FSA contribution rate, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, and Supplemental Life Insurance.
If an employee chooses not to enroll in our benefits during Open Enrollment because they plan to join their spouse’s insurance plan, they are generally able to do so even if the spouse’s Open Enrollment period has already passed. Most insurance carriers treat the decline of coverage or “loss” of our plan as a qualifying life event, which allows the spouse’s plan to add the employee outside of its normal enrollment window. Employees should contact their spouse’s HR or benefits provider to verify any required documentation and ensure they meet the carrier’s deadlines for making this change. We strongly suggest you do so quickly, because you will need to enroll with our plan during our normal Open Enrollment window if for some reason you can’t qualify for your spouse’s insurance coverage.
If you miss the Open Enrollment window, you won’t be able to make changes to your benefits until the next Open Enrollment period — unless you experience a Qualifying Life Event. Missing this deadline could mean going without important coverage for an entire year, so it’s critical to take action before the window closes!
Examples of Qualifying Life events include: Marriage, Divorce, Adoption, Birth, Death, Loss of other Existing Coverage, and Aging Out. Important: You must notify HR and submit your enrollment changes within 30 days of the event date. Missing this deadline means you’ll have to wait until the next Open Enrollment period to make changes!
No, your 401(k) contribution is not tied to open enrollment and can be changed at any time, once per month. Changes will be implemented as soon as administratively feasible. (Please note: There are annual contribution limits set by the IRS — $23,500 for 2025, with an additional $7,500 allowed as a ‘catch-up contribution’ if you are age 50 or older. These limits are set by the IRS and are subject to annual adjustments. )
Shawn Coplen 303.752.6501 etihr@etinv.com