Considering all of your benefits options is critical to making the right decisions for you and your family. And in most cases your decisions last for a full year, so making well-informed selections is important. Planning well can make a big difference.
Employees can enroll in certain benefits only during the annual Open Enrollment period in the fall or within 45 days of a qualifying life event (see table below).
Enrollment
What benefits can I add or change only during Open Enrollment?
- Medical insurance
- Group Legal Plan
- Dental insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Vision insurance
- Aflac
- Life insurance
What benefits can I add or change any time during the year?
- Beneficiaries
- St. Jude 403b Retirement Plan (employee contributions)
- 529 College Savings Plans
What if my family situation or job status changes midyear?
In keeping with IRS rules, you may make midyear benefits changes only if you have a qualifying life event, like these:
- Marriage
- Divorce/Legal Separation
- Birth, adoption or placement of a child
- Loss of insurance coverage elsewhere
- Loss of spouse’s insurance coverage
- Loss of a loved one (spouse, dependent or other family member)
- Change from full-time to part-time status, or vice versa (in cases where benefits eligibility is affected)
When making a change to a benefit enrollment as a result of a life event, the change has to be consistent with the life event and must be made within 45 days of the life event.
Proper documentation of the qualifying life event is as follows: Marriage (copy of marriage certificate), divorce (copy of final divorce decree), birth of a child (copy of birth certificate—mother’s copy is sufficient), adoption or placement of a child (copy of court documentation), loss of spouse’s insurance coverage (copy of HIPAA Certificate). A HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) Certificate is a letter from your previous insurance carrier indicating proof of previous insurance. It includes the last date of coverage and information regarding any dependents that were covered.
To add/delete a dependent for benefits coverage, log into the MYBenefits portal. Under the My Profile tab, click Life Events. Choose the appropriate event at the bottom of the page and follow instructions.
When leaving employment, health insurance benefits remain in effect through the last day of the month in which employment is terminated.
| Important information about your benefits: Eligibility | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benefit | Staff, Faculty and Postdocs | Staff, Faculty and Postdocs | Staff1 | Visiting Scientists | When You're Eligible | |
| Part-time 90-99% of full-time or 100% full-time* | 60%-89% of full-time* | 50%-59% of full-time* | Part-time 90-99% of full-time or 100% full-time* | |||
| Medical / Prescription Drugs | X | X | X | First day of employment | ||
| Dental | X | X | X | First day of employment | ||
| Vision | X | X | X | First day of employment | ||
| Basic Life insurance (for employees) | X | X | X | After 30 days of employment | ||
| Additional Life Insurance (for employees) | X | X | X | After 30 days of employment | ||
| Dependent Life Insurance (for spouse / dependents) | X | X | X | After 30 days of employment | ||
| Additional Life Insurance (for spouse / dependents) | X | X | X | After 30 days of employment | ||
| Aflac | X | X | Beginning next month after Aflac approval | |||
| Long-Term Disability Insurance | X | After 90 days of employment | ||||
| Additional LTD | X | After 90 days of employment | ||||
| St. Jude 403b Retirement Plan | Employer Contributions | X | X | X | After 1 year of employment | |
| Employee Contributions | X | X | X | First day of employment | ||
| FSA Health Care (medical) | X | X | First day of employment Beginning the next month after hire date |
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| FSA Dependent Care | X | X | First day of employment Beginning the next month after hire date |
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| 529 College Savings Plans | X | X | X | Beginning next month after hire date | ||
| Employee College Tuition Assistance | X | After 1 year of continuous employment | ||||
| Mental and Emotional Health Services | X | X |
X | X | First day of employment | |
| Credit Union | X | X | X | X | First day of employment | |
| Time away from work | X | X | X | First day of employment | ||
| MetLife Legal Plan | X | X | Beginning the next month after date of hire | |||
| Wellness and Work/Life Balance Programs | X | X | X | First day of employment | ||
| Long Term Care Insurance | X | X | X | X | First day of employment | |
| Allstate Identity Protection | X | X | Beginning next month after hire date | |||
1 Part-time, temporaries, extra care team, students and supplemental employees working 39 hours or less per pay period (49% or less of full-time) are eligible for the 529 College Savings Plan and St. Jude Retirement Plan (Employee Contribution portion only).
* Full-time status is assigned for those expected/scheduled to work 40 hours per week. Part-time status is assigned for those expected/scheduled to work 39 hours or less per week.