Maybe you haven't thought about your benefits since you started working at MIT. Or maybe it's only during Open Enrollment--the two-week period each year when benefits-eligible employees can make benefit plan changes for the coming year. Either way, we hope you think about benefits all year round. You might be surprised by what MIT offers in the areas of promoting your health and well-being; protecting you against the unexpected; addressing your lifestyle needs; and planning for your future.
Select your benefits for 2008
Open Enrollment begins Nov. 14 at 9 a.m. and ends Nov. 30 at 4 p.m.
During Open Enrollment you can:
- Change medical, dental and supplemental life insurance coverage
- Enroll in a Health Care and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account for 2008
- Add additional dependents to coverage or discontinue coverage for current dependents
- Enroll in new benefits
This year's Open Enrollment offers some new and exciting options that reflect the diverse needs of the MIT community. Below are some highlights:
- We'll be moving from the two-tier format for health and dental coverage to four tiers. In addition to individual and family coverage, you can now choose employee and spouse/spousal-equivalent coverage or employee and child(ren) coverage.
- There will now be two options for your dental coverage through Delta Dental. The current plan will be renamed the MIT Comprehensive Dental Plan and will cover preventive, basic restorative and major restorative dental services, as it did in 2007, and also orthodontia for children through age 18. A second plan, called the MIT Basic Dental Plan, will cover only preventive and basic restorative dental -services at a lower cost.
- We are adding a debit card for your Health Care Flexible Spending Account. The account can be used for medical and dental expenses that you and your family might have that are not covered by your health or dental plan. The contributions you make to this account can come through pre-tax payroll deductions. And now it just got easier to use this account--as the new debit card can be used directly in your health care provider's office and many pharmacies.
- A new vision plan that covers the cost of eyeglasses and contact lenses.
Then there's everything else
There are numerous benefits that you can take advantage of all year round, not just during Open Enrollment. Here is just a sample:
- MIT matches employee 401(k) contributions dollar for dollar--up to 5 percent of your salary.
- If your child-care provider cancels at the last minute, MIT offers the Parents in a Pinch Program through the Center for Work, Family and Personal Life.
- The Center for Health Promotion and Wellness at MIT Medical offers classes during lunchtime and there are onsite health care and fitness facilities.
The list goes on. For more info on all MIT benefits, visit hrweb.mit.edu/benefits/. Alternately, you can e-mail benefits-www@mit.edu or call 617-253-6151 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Employee Benefits can answer all your questions about eligibility, coverage and dental plans, while your health plan provider is your resource for detailed questions concerning that plan.
Take note of upcoming benefits fairs:
- Haystack Observatory, Westford, Mass., Conference Room A, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., Nov. 15.
- Bates Linear Accelerator, Middleton, Mass., Library, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Nov. 15.
- MIT Campus, Cambridge, Mass., W20 Mezzanine Lounge, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Nov. 16.
- Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, Mass., Lincoln Lab Auditorium, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Nov. 19.
And check your mailbox in early November--you'll see an Open Enrollment benefits newsletter with lots more details.
HR @ Your Service is a monthly column from Human Resources.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 24, 2007 (download PDF).
