The spring 2005 Open Enrollment (OE) period for all Maryland state insurance benefits now underway will end this Wednesday, June 15. All faculty and staff, including eligible Direct Pay employees (contingent staff, lecturers, and part-time faculty members) as well as eligible retirees, who want to enroll for the first time or to make changes to their current MD state coverage for the new plan year July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006 must act before the deadline.
How to Make Changes
As a reminder, regular faculty and staff members who had MD state benefit deductions from their June 1 paycheck or received a pre-printed OE Benefits Statement listing their current benefits, must use the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to complete their OE actions. All other faculty and staff members will have to hand deliver their completed OE worksheets, along with all other required dependent documentation, to the TU OHR by the June 15 deadline to make their changes. Do not send them through campus mail!
Remember that the IVR system is available 24 hours a day, every day through 11:59 p.m. on June 15. Regular employees who must use the IVR should plan on making their calls early. If you wait until the last minute to make your IVR call and can?t get through you will not be able to make the changes you want for the new plan year. The IVR numbers are 410-669-3893 or 1-888-578-6434. A benefits confirmation statement will be returned via campus mail only to those making IVR calls. Those confirmation notices should be reviewed carefully to be sure all the information is correct.
Effective Date for Changes
All OE transactions become effective July 1, 2005. And, as in years past, OE does not affect or involve either of the USM benefit plans- UNUM Group Universal Life and Long Term Disability insurance.
Flexible Spending Accounts
Although this OE is voluntary, all regular employees who want to have the Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) for FY 2006 (July ?05-June?06) must make that election before the deadline. Remember also that reimbursement from those accounts will be allowed only for eligible expenses incurred between July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006. 26 pay employees should plan on 24 deductions for their FSAs and 21 pay faculty will have 19 FSA deductions for the new plan year.
Other OE Information
Additional details on this year?s OE activity, including dependent eligibility requirements and information on the new FSA administrator, are available on the Maryland State Department of Budget and Management Web site accessible from the Open Enrollment State of Maryland link on the OHR home page at {http://wwwnew.towson.edu/adminfinance/hr/} under News and Announcements.
Additional information will be included in future Daily Digest updates.
Questions or concerns should be directed to Dave Curtis, x4-6018 or {dcurtis@towson.edu}, or Gail Price, x4-6017 or {gprice@towson.edu}, in the TU Benefits Unit.
