The annual window for enrolling in employee benefit options opened Nov. 1 and closes at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22. Benefit-eligible employees should remember:
- There's time to change your mind. Employees may tweak their selections as many times as they want up to the deadline; the last changes they submit before 5 p.m. Nov. 22 will be the final selections.
- In most instances, doing nothing means your current, 2024 plan year choices become the default for the new plan year, which begins Jan. 1. The exception is the two flexible spending accounts (FSA) for medical expenses or dependent care expenses. Employees must enroll in these plans every year they want to participate.
The 2025 open enrollment website, accessible from the benefits website, features many links and tools to help employees review and weigh their benefits options. These include:
- Slide show (PDF) on the components of the 2025 benefits plan.
- Instructions for reviewing your coverage and making changes.
- Plan summaries and premium levels.
- ALEX, an interactive tool that lets employees identify preferences and price out various health care scenarios. (Remember that actual enrollment occurs in Workday.)
- Information on contacting a benefits specialist.
Who can be on your plan?
Adding any of these eligible dependents to your health care or dental plan requires documentation confirming a:
- Legally married spouse
- Domestic partner
- Dependent child(ren) with a biological or legal relationship to the employee or enrolled spouse/ domestic partner and meets one of these criteria:
- Hasn't yet reached Dec. 31 in the year they turn age 26
- Unmarried, full-time student over age 26
- Living with a total and permanent disability
Two key pieces of the benefits package -- the health and dental plans -- are not changing for 2025. Employees may choose between Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield HMO and PPO options for health care coverage, and between Delta Dental's basic and comprehensive plans. The comprehensive dental plan requires a three-year lock-in. As approved by the state Board of Regents earlier this fall, monthly premiums for health care and dental care will go up on Jan. 1.
Considering a flex spending account?
Each year, more than one-third of ISU employees enroll in a flexible spending account -- pre-tax dollars they set aside each month in an account to pay for out-of-pocket health expenses or dependent care expenses. ASIFlex administers these accounts, and the rules for each are slightly different.
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced 2025 limits for health care FSAs: $3,300 per employee, or $6,600 per household if each spouse or partner has an account. These funds can be used to pay for many out-of-pocket expenses, including medical and dental co-pays, eyewear, hearing aids and pharmacy (prescriptions and qualifying over the counter products). These funds can't be used for insurance premiums.
The good news is employees don't have to wait long to use these dollars for those reimbursable expenses. They have access to the entire amount they set for the year on the first day, Jan. 1. At the end of 2025, up to $660 unused dollars in this account can be rolled into the next year.
For help setting reasonably accurate contributions to an FSA, employees can use the "spend" report in their myWellmark portal, which will show them every dollar they've spent on medical expenses in 2024. They can do the same in their account on the Express Scripts website (pharmacy administrator in the ISU Plan).
For both the health care FSA and the dependent care assistance program (DCAP), the minimum contribution is $20 per month or $240 annually.
DCAP funds can help pay for care for children 12 years and younger, a disabled child or spouse, or a disabled parent living in the employee's home. The maximum annual contribution is $5,000 for a single person or married filing a joint tax return, and $2,500 for married individuals filing separate returns. Employees may only use DCAP dollars as they accumulate during the plan year, and end-of-plan-year rollovers aren't allowed for unused contributions.
Finally, any expenses covered by either flex account can't be claimed in a tax return.
