The annual open enrollment periods for employee benefits and for Medicare Supplemental Plan members will take place in November.
Benefits open enrollment will take place from Thursday, Nov. 1 through Thursday, Nov. 15. Personal Enrollment Guides are being sent to all benefits-eligible employees through campus mail early next week. The guide summarizes current benefit coverage and provides instructions for making benefits elections. Employees don't need to do anything if they want to maintain their current levels of coverage for 2002, unless they want to enroll in a Flexible Spending Account for 2002.
Like last year, employees will have the choice of enrolling by phone or computer, if they have access to the web using Netscape.
To assist with open enrollment, Benefits will introduce a new MIT Benefits Self Service System, a secure web service accessible via Netscape version 4.6 up to 4.74. Benefits staff will showcase the application and answer questions about the service in the Bush Room (10-105) on Wednesday, Oct. 31 from noon to 12:30 p.m., and from 1:30 to 2 p.m.
Early retirees (under age 65) will also receive Personal Enrollment Guides. They will not need to do anything to maintain their current coverage for 2002. They may make open-enrollment elections by phone using the MIT Benefits Self-Service System, which allows users to listen to a review of their benefits and record benefits changes.
If you do not receive your enrollment guide by Nov. 1, send e-mail to benefits-www@mit.edu or call the campus Benefits Office at x3-6151. Lincoln Laboratory employees should contact the Lincoln Benefits Office at (781) 981-7055.
This year, as in the past, employees are invited to the benefits fairs at which representatives from each of the health plans, the dental plan and the life insurance plan will be available to answer questions. Benefits Office staff members also will be available to answer any other benefits questions.
The schedule for the benefits fairs is as follows:
- Main campus--Thursday, Nov. 1, Bush Room (10-105), 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Lincoln Lab--Monday, Nov. 5, East Atrium, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Haystack Observatory--Tuesday, Nov. 6, Conference Room A, 10 to 11 a.m.
- Bates Linear Accelerator--Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2 to 3 p.m.
MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT
MIT will hold the annual Medicare supplement plans open enrollment from Nov. 1-30. Retirees, their spouses and certain disabled individuals who are enrolled in Medicare supplement plans will have an opportunity to change to another supplement plan if interested. Plan members do not need to do anything if they want to remain in their current Medicare supplement plan. Any changes made during this period will go into effect on Jan. 1.
There will be an informational fair on Wednesday, Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Burlington Marriott's Commonwealth Ballroom. Call x3-6151 for more information.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 24, 2001.
