Today’s mailroom monday question: Is Open Enrollment the Only Time I Can Change My Benefits Selections?

Though MSU’s annual open enrollment period held each spring is the time when most benefits decisions for you and your dependents should be made, under certain circumstances you can make changes to your benefits selections outside of open enrollment.  The circumstances typically involve what are called “Qualifying Life Events.”  Some of the most frequent reasons faculty and staff may qualify to make benefits changes outside of open enrollment include mid-year changes in life circumstances due to:

• Marriage or divorce
• Birth, adoption or legal guardianship of a child
• Change in employment status (such as a switch from full-time to part-time)
• Change in spouse’s coverage or job (resulting in loss of previous coverage)

You can learn more about types of situations that qualify for making changes to benefits outside of the annual open enrollment period as well as how to go about making such changes at http://www.hr.msu.edu/benefits/enrollchange.htm

And as always, if you have a question about your benefits, you can email benefitsinfo@hr.msu.edu or call the MSU Benefits office at 517-353-4434 or 800-353-4434.