Policy on Eligibility for Benefit Plans
Policy Number: 411Human Resources
The permanent link for this policy is: https://policies.northeastern.edu/policy411/
I. Purpose and Scope
This policy defines the eligibility and enrollment requirements for employee benefit plans at the University.
II. Definitions
Benefits-eligible:
Employed in an annual budgeted benefits eligible position and regularly scheduled to work at least 24 hours per week Special rules apply to the Northeastern University Retirement Plan (described below).
III. Policy
To be eligible for employee benefits, an employee must be employed in a benefits eligible position and meet the requirements of the specific programs. All employee benefit plans require that the employee take appropriate timely actions to enroll and complete any necessary enrollment forms.
IV. Additional Information
A. General Information
All medical, dental, vision, health care reimbursement and dependent care reimbursement accounts require that employees enroll within 30 days of their initial benefits eligibility. Please refer to the HR Service Center for enrollment information.
B. Eligibility for Medical, Dental and Vision Plans and Reimbursement Accounts
All medical, dental, vision, health care reimbursement and dependent care reimbursement accounts require that faculty/staff membersenroll within 30 days of their initial benefits eligibility. Please refer to the HR Service Center for enrollment information.
Generally, enrollment in the benefit plans takes place during new employee orientation. Therefore, it is important that newly hired benefits eligible faculty/staff attend new employee orientation at the earliest available opportunity.
Any employee moving from a non-benefits eligible position to a benefits-eligible position should attend new employee orientation as close as possible to the change in employment status.
Eligibility for Medical, Dental and Vision Plans and Reimbursement Accounts
| Eligible Faculty | Employed in a benefits-eligible position with an academic year or annual appointment of two-thirds time or more (24 hours per week). |
| Eligible Staff |
Employed in a benefits-eligible position with a work schedule that is at least 24 hours per week. |
| Coverage Effective Date |
First of the month following date of hire or date of hire if your date of hire is the first of the month. |
| Enrollment Deadlines |
New hires and rehires: Up to 30 days from your date of hire Annual open enrollment: The one time during the year when you can join, change, or cancel your medical and dental coverage for the following year. During this time, you can also enroll or re-enroll in the health-and dependent-care reimbursement accounts for the following year. Annual open enrollment is held in late fall to be effective for Jan. 1 of the following year.
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| Enrollment Changes |
Because these benefits are paid for with pre-tax dollars, federal regulations restrict when you can make changes to your enrollment. Changes are not allowed unless they are made during the annual open enrollment or are classified as a qualifying event**. |
C. Qualifying Event
Federal regulations define a qualifying event as a change in family status, coverage eligibility or dependent eligibility, as outlined below.
- A family status change is defined as marriage, divorce, birth, adoption or death.
- A coverage eligibility status change is defined as either the employee, the employee’s spouse or domestic partner losing or gaining insurance coverage.
- A dependent eligibility status change is defined as an eligible dependent becoming an ineligible dependent.
If an employee or one of the employee’s covered dependents has a qualifying event, the employee must contact HR Benefits within 30 days of the event in order to change coverage. The coverage effective date, and premiums, will be retroactive to the date the qualifying event took place. If the employee does not change your coverage within 30 days of the event, the employee will not be able to change coverage again until the annual open enrollment.
D. Disability Insurance Programs
All benefits-eligible employees are eligible for the disability insurance program effective on the first day of the month following completion of one year of service. The one-year waiting period will be waived for employees who were enrolled in long-term disability insurance with a prior employer within four months of joining Northeastern.
E. Life Insurance
Life insurance coverage is effective the first of the month following date of hire.
F. Northeastern University Retirement Plan
Employees have access to a generous Northeastern Retirement Plan that will help build a secure financial future.
Employees can start making retirement contributions upon date of hire. Once an employee has completed one year of benefits-eligible service* and are 21 years of age, the employee will be eligible for Northeastern contributions. If an employee contributes five percent of the employee’s eligible pay, Northeastern will contribute the equivalent of 10 percent of the employee’s eligible pay to the employee’s plan account. Employees are immediately vested in the university’s contribution.
*Employees will be credited with one year of service if the employee completes 1000 hours of service during the 12-month period beginning on the date of hire, or any calendar year thereafter. Service with another institution of higher education or a 501(c)(3) tax exempt employer immediately preceding employment at Northeastern (up to six months lapse in time between prior employment and Northeastern employment is allowed, so long as the employee doesn’t work anywhere else in between) may also be counted toward the one-year-of-service requirement.
V. Contact Information
For questions about this policy, please contact the HR Service Center
HR Customer Service Center: 216 Mass Ave, 216-110 Boston, MA 02115; 617-373-2230
Responsible Office/Department(s)
Related Policies
Related Procedures
N/A
Supersedes
N/A
Keywords
Benefit Enrollment; Benefit Plans
Version History
Last Revision Date: January 19, 2024
Issued: April 2, 2014