Deadlines and Need-to-Knows

Annual Benefits Deadlines and Effective Dates
Individual Benefits Deadlines

Annual Benefits Deadlines and Effective Dates

January 1

Deadline or Effective Date	What Must I Do?
Flexible Spending Account annual re-enrollment effective (if annual enrollment submitted during open enrollment period) Beginning of Flexible Spending Account annual plan year Beginning of contribution year for Voluntary 403(b) Plan and Deferred Compensation programs	Review first payroll check stub/direct deposit advice after 1/1 to ensure correct Flexible Spending Account deduction

March 31

Deadline or Effective Date	What Must I Do?
All Flexible Spending Account claims for previous year must have been filed and received by plan administrator	Ensure that all applicable Flexible Spending Account Claim Forms for previous plan year (1/1-12/31) have been mailed to plan administrator

July1

Deadline or Effective Date	What Must I Do?
Beginning of Fiscal Year Beginning of plan year for retirement contribution maximums Effective date of contribution rate changes for Arizona State Retirement System (if applicable)	No action required

mid-August (actual dates determined annually)

Deadline or Effective Date	What Must I Do?
Annual Open Enrollment for Health, Dental, Vision, Life and Disability Insurance plans begins	Review individual information packet Attend benefits fairs (optional but recommended!) Submit any requests for changes in benefits coverage

beginning of September (approx. cutoff date determined annually)

Deadline or Effective Date	What Must I Do?
Last day to submit any requested annual Open Enrollment changes	Ensure that all enrollments for benefits coverage changes have been submitted to Human Resources

September 30

Deadline or Effective Date	What Must I Do?
End of plan year for Health, Dental, Vision, Life and Disability Insurance End of annual maximum benefit period for Medical, Dental and Vision plans	No action required

October 1

Deadline or Effective Date	What Must I Do?
Open Enrollment changes become effective Beginning of plan year for Medical, Dental, Vision, Life and Disability Insurance	Review first payroll check stub/direct deposit advice following 10/1, in order to ensure accurate benefits deductions Review personal confirmation statement to verify requested changes made

November (actual dates determined annually)

Deadline or Effective Date	What Must I Do?
Beginning of annual open enrollment period for Flexible Spending Accounts (participants must re-enroll annually in order to continue in plan for new calendar year)	Submit Flexible Spending Account enrollment for upcoming FSA plan year (1/1-12/31) by posted cut-off date (exact deadline posted annually).

December 31

Deadline or Effective Date	What Must I Do?
Last day to incur services/charges that qualify to be claimed on annual Flexible Spending Account End of contribution year for Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) and Deferred Compensation programs	Ensure that any services for Flexible Spending Account reimbursement have been used by this date.

Individual Benefits Deadlines

New (or Newly Eligible) Employee - All

What Must I Do?	What If I Don't?
Attend New Employee Benefits Orientation session within 30 days of hire (or eligibility change) Enroll in choice of benefits plans within 31 days of hire (or eligibility change) Provide beneficiary information for retirement and university-paid life insurance plans	If no benefits elections made within 31 days, employee will be unable to enroll for benefits coverage until the following open enrollment period (occurring in August annually, with requested changes taking effect October 1) Limitations to coverage and pre-existing condition exclusions may apply to subsequent enrollments

New (or Newly Eligible) Employee - Appointed Personnel (in addition to information above)

What Must I Do?	What If I Don't?
Enroll in choice of retirement plan (Arizona State Retirement System or Optional Retirement Plan within 30 days of hire (or eligibility date)	If no retirement election made within 30 days, enrollment defaults permanently to irrevocable membership in Arizona State Retirement System

Changes to Benefit Elections/Family Status Events - Employees experiencing a qualifying family status event(e.g. birth/adoption of child, marriage, divorce, death of spouse/dependent, change in spouse's employment, change in dependent eligibility)

What Must I Do?	What If I Don't?
Request coverage changes in writing to Human Resources within 31 days of qualifying event Provide Declaration for Change form, change Enrollment Form, and documentation from event	If not requested within 30 days, changes will not be allowed until following annual open enrollment period. (Exception: In the case of loss of dependent eligibility, dependent coverage will be cancelled retroactively, however premiums paid will not be refunded. In addition, dependent may be ineligible for COBRA coverage.)

Continued Plan Participation - Participants in Flexible Spending Account Plan

What Must I Do?	What If I Don't?
Use eligible qualifying services for reimbursement by December 31 each plan year File claims for reimbursement no later than March 31 of following year Re-enroll in November annually in order to continue participation in new calendar/plan year	Dollars not spent by December 31 and claimed by March 31 of following year will be forfeited Employees who do not re-enroll annually will be unable to participate in the plan for the following year.

Separation from Employment of Loss of Eligibility - Employees separating from employment; Employees losing eligibility for benefits coverage (due to change in position, or reduction in FTE)

What Must I Do?	What If I Don't?
Make election for COBRA coverage within 60 days from date of notification (packet will be mailed to employee's last known address) Remit first carrier payment for COBRA coverage within 45 days from election date (above)	If no election/payment is made within prescribed timelines, employee will not be eligible for continuation coverage

Leave of Absence - Employees on Leave of Absence (unpaid)

What Must I Do?

What If I Don't?

Make election to continue or cancel benefits coverage within 15 days of notification letter (mailed by Human Resources to last known address of employee)
Remit monthly payments for elected benefits premiums (both employee and employer portions) during duration of approved unpaid leave (Exception: Employees covered by Family and Medical Leave (FML) pay only the employee portion of premiums during unpaid FML leave)
Re-enroll for coverage within 30 days of return to work (Exception: If coverage is cancelled for non-payment, employee will not be eligible to re-enroll until the open enrollment period following return to work.)

If no election is made within prescribed timelines, benefits will be cancelled during period of leave
If payments for elected coverage are not made within prescribed timelines, coverage will be cancelled (and upon return to work, employee will be ineligible to re-enroll for coverage until the following open enrollment period)

Annual Open Enrollment Period - Annual opportunity for all benefits-eligible employees to make changes to current benefits coverage

What Must I Do?

What If I Don't?

If no changes to current coverage are desired, no action is required (see exception in next column)
If benefits coverage changes are desired (e.g. electing new coverage, declining current coverage, increasing/decreasing current coverage), requests for changes must be submitted within the established annual open enrollment deadlines. (Dates are determined annually, however, open enrollment periods generally begin in mid-August, and end at the beginning of September, with all requested changes taking effect annually on October1.)(Exception: The Flexible Spending Account annual open enrollment period occurs in November each year, with enrollment elections effective January 1.)

If no changes are requested, current levels of coverage continue. (Exception: In the case of a state-directed "positive open enrollment", which occurs approximately once every 5 years, all employees must re-enroll in ALL benefits programs. In the event of a deletion of an elective carrier, employees enrolled with that carrier must elect enrollment with another carrier, in order to continue coverage.)

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