{"id":20608,"date":"2026-11-11T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=20608"},"modified":"2026-11-11T09:17:51","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T14:17:51","slug":"your-benefits-end-of-year-checklist-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=20608","title":{"rendered":"Your Benefits: End-of-Year Checklist\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The end of the year is fast approaching! While\u202fyou\u202fprobably\u202fdon\u2019t\u202fneed one more\u202ftask\u202fon\u202fyour to-do list, make sure you\u2019ve used all your 2026 plan year benefits before the year ends.\u202f\u202f\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Schedule appointments for any missed annual check-ups<\/strong>: If\u202fyou\u2019re\u202fbehind on annual check-ups or screenings\u2014such as\u202fa wellness exam, dental cleaning, or vision exam\u2014consider\u202fscheduling\u202fappointments before the end of the year.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/benefits\/healthcare\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View health\u202fbenefits\u202finformation.<\/a>\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/benefits\/dental\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View dental\u202fbenefits\u202finformation<\/a>.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/benefits\/voluntary-benefits\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View voluntary benefits information (such as vision or legal)<\/a>.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Be proactive in case of illness<\/strong>:\u202fTeladoc is an online medical care service that gives you 24\/7 access to a health care professional via\u202fthe web, phone, or mobile app in minutes. A doctor can even write you a prescription if necessary.\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/benefits\/healthcare\/teladoc.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll in Teladoc<\/a>\u202fnow so\u202fyou\u2019re\u202fprepared when illness strikes. \u202f<em>Available to employees and their dependents who are enrolled in an MSU health plan<\/em>.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Utilize your Cariloop 30-days of free personalized support<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/benefits\/caregiving\/cariloop.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Your Cariloop benefit<\/a> includes 30 continuous days of personalized support from licensed coaches through every day and complex caregiving tasks (with a paid option to extend beyond 30 days). This resets annually, so don\u2019t forget to use your free 30 days of support before the end of the year. You can use Cariloop for way more than just finding caregivers, including:\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=20529\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Helping young adults choose their path<\/a>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=20426\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Helping kids navigate change<\/a>.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=20570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Support for Alzheimer\u2019s and dementia<\/a>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And much more!\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"4\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Note flexible spending account<\/strong><strong>\u202f<\/strong><strong>(FSA)<\/strong><strong>\u202f<\/strong><strong>deadlines for 2026<\/strong><strong>\u202f<\/strong><strong>plan year funds:<\/strong>\u202fIf you are enrolled in a health care or dependent care FSA for the 2026\u202fplan year,\u202fyou\u202fhave a grace period in 2027\u202fto use these funds. Be sure to use\u202f2026\u00a0plan year\u202ffunds by\u202fMarch 15,\u202f2027,\u202fand\u202fsubmit\u202fyour receipts by April 30, 2027.\u202fIf you miss the grace period deadline, the IRS requires you to\u202fforfeit\u202fany unused funds, so plan your\u202fremaining\u202fexpenses\u202ffor the coming months.\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/benefits\/flexible-spending-accounts\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View FSA information<\/a>.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"5\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Review your retirement contributions<\/strong>: The IRS sets new retirement contribution limits each year\u202f(the 2027 limits will be shared in January). Make sure\u202fyou\u2019re\u202fsaving as much as you can by reviewing the\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=19819\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2026 IRS retirement contribution limits<\/a> and adjusting contributions\u202ffor the remainder of the year,\u202fif needed.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"6\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Take advantage of special employee discounts for holiday shopping:<\/strong>\u202fVisit the\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/msubenefitsplus.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MSU Benefits Plus website<\/a>\u202ffor deals and discounts on everything from travel and experiences to electronics and toys.\u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"7\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Schedule any vacation\/personal PTO:<\/strong><strong>\u202f<\/strong>Taking time to rest and reset is important to\u202fmaintain\u202fyour\u202fhealth. Make sure you use all your paid time off (PTO) by planning and scheduling your time off in advance\u202fwith your supervisor\u2019s approval.\u202fThis year, the full Winter Break (including Christmas and New Year\u2019s holidays) extends from Thursday, December 24, through Friday, January 1. <a href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/time-off-leave\/holiday-schedule.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View the Holiday Schedule<\/a>\u202ffor more details.\u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"8\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Use<\/strong><strong>\u202f<\/strong><strong>educational<\/strong><strong>\u202f<\/strong><strong>assistance<\/strong><strong>\u202f<\/strong><strong>funds<\/strong>: Support staff and academic specialist employees have access to\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/professional-development\/tuition-assist.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">educational assistance<\/a>\u202ffunds to use toward professional development opportunities. These funds reset each fall, so don\u2019t\u202fmiss out. If\u202fyou\u2019re\u202flooking for learning opportunities this year,\u202fit\u2019s\u202fnot too late to sign up for a\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/professional-development\/courses\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">course offered by HR\u2019s Organization and Professional Development department<\/a>.\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We hope this list will help keep you on track as you plan how you and your family will use your employee benefits\u202ffor the rest of the\u202fyear. You can learn more about all these\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/hr.msu.edu\/benefits\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">benefit options on the HR website<\/a>.\u202f<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The end of the year is fast approaching! While\u202fyou\u202fprobably\u202fdon\u2019t\u202fneed one more\u202ftask\u202fon\u202fyour to-do list, make sure you\u2019ve used all your 2026 plan year benefits before the year ends.\u202f\u202f\u202f&nbsp; We hope this list will help keep you&hellip; <a class=\"continue\" href=\"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/?p=20608\">Continue Reading&#8230;<span> Your Benefits: End-of-Year Checklist\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":20613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-benefits-news"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb1fcA-5mo","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/benefits-year-end-checklist.jpg?fit=1440%2C450&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20608"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20618,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20608\/revisions\/20618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sourcelive.hr.msu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}