Understanding Your Benefits

It’s important to know that certain Qualifying Life Events or some specific limited circumstances allowed by law can provide you with the opportunity to enroll in health benefits during a non–open season enrollment period, also known as a special enrollment period. 

There are 4 basic types of qualifying life events.

(The following are examples, not a full list.)

Loss of health coverage

• Losing existing health coverage, including job-based, individual, and student plans
• Losing eligibility for Medicare, Medicaid or CHIP
• Turning 26 and losing coverage through a parent’s plan

Changes in household

• Getting married or divorced
• Having a baby or adopting a child
• Death in the family

Changes in residence

• Moving to a different ZIP code or county
• A student moving to or from the place they attend school
• A seasonal worker moving to or from the place they both live and work
• Moving to or from a shelter or other transitional housing

Other qualifying events

• Changes in your income that affect the coverage you qualify for
• Gaining membership in a federally recognized tribe or status as an Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Corporation shareholder
• Becoming a U.S. citizen
• Leaving incarceration (jail or prison)
• AmeriCorps members starting or ending their service

Visit Healthcare.gov (opens new window)for the full list and additional information about qualifying life events.

For more information about how life events impact health benefits, such as ERISA (opens new window), COBRA (opens new window) and HIPPA (opens new window), visit the U. S. Department of Labor’s website (opens new window).

Having a child, either by birth or by adoption, can be one of the most exciting times of your life. At the same time, bringing a baby into your life can be stressful, especially in the ways it affects your income and finances.

By taking some time now to become informed, you can save yourself some of the worry and begin to put all of the necessary plans in place.

A Few Things to Consider and Resources to Get You Started

How much maternity/paternity leave can you take, and how much of it will be paid? Did you know that you may be entitled to protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?

Learn about FMLA (opens new window).

Have you arranged for health insurance for your new baby?

Learn about health care for your baby (opens new window).

Learn about Health Plans & Benefits: Newborns' and Mothers' Protections (opens new window).

Do you have a savings account for your child?

Learn about opening a savings account for you or your child.

What is the best way to save for your child's education? Do you know the benefits of a 529 Plan or Coverdell Education Savings Account?

Learn about saving for college.

Information about 529 Plans (opens new window).

Information about Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (opens new window).

How can you take advantage of the tax breaks available to parents?

Information about tax information for parents (opens new window). 

Should you buy life insurance? And if so, how much?

Information about life insurance (opens new window). 

Should you create a will?

Information about family legal planning (opens new window). 

Does your employer offer a Dependent Care Flex Savings Account?

Learn about Dependent Care Benefits.

What Every Parent Should Know About Social Security

Parents play a critical role in the success of the Social Security program. The program is designed to ensure continuing income to families when a worker retires, dies or becomes disabled.

To get the most of Social Security's family protection features, it's important that you as a parent are aware of such things as who can get benefits on your Social Security record, how to build Social Security credits over your working life and how to obtain and use Social Security information in planning family financial security.

Getting your child their first Social Security number (opens new window) should be near the top of the list of things you need to do as a new parent. Your child's Social Security number is just the beginning of the valuable protection and benefits he or she may be eligible for in the future.

Applying for a Social Security card and number for your newborn is voluntary, but your child needs a Social Security number if you plan to:

• Claim your child as a dependent on your income tax return;
• Open a credit union account;
• Buy savings bonds;
• Obtain medical coverage; or
• Apply for some kind of government services for your child.

You can apply when the baby is born or you can wait until later. It's easy to apply at birth. When you give the information for your baby's birth certificate, you'll be asked if you want to apply for a Social Security number for your baby. If you say "yes," you'll need to provide both parents' Social Security numbers. They’ll assign your baby a number and mail the Social Security card directly to you.

If you want to wait to apply for your baby's number, read Social Security Numbers for Children (opens new window).

Child and dependent care is a critical issue and often a large expense for many families. Millions of Americans rely on childcare to be able to work, while many others are responsible for older parents or disabled family members.

What is Dependent Care Benefits?

Dependent-Care Benefits, often called a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA), allows you to have money set aside from your salary, pre-tax, each pay period in order to get reimbursed for eligible expenses related to the care of your dependents. If you are having financial trouble caring for dependents, such as an elderly disabled parent or newborn child, you may be able to receive assistance from your employer. Typically an employer will provide you with assistance in the form of Dependent Care Benefits or Assistance. The benefits vary by employer and are presented as part of your overall benefits and compensation package.

Examples of Dependent Care Benefits include, providing a child care facility on campus, providing time off to care for a newborn, newly adopted children, or dependent elderly persons. Check with your employer for more information about what Dependent Care Benefits are available to you.

Which one should I choose?

The answer to this question depends entirely on your family's adjusted gross income, your tax bracket, and how many dependents you have. Take a look at which benefit will save you the most money, then check with your tax advisor to see what works best for your particular situation.

3 Reasons to Take Advantage of Dependent Care Benefits

1. Save money! By using pre-tax dollars to pay for dependent care expenses, you get a discount on these expenses equal to your tax savings. Your discount can easily be hundreds, even thousands of dollars.
2. Have money available when you need it. When you take advantage of Dependent Care Benefits or contribute to a Dependent Care FSA, you know you'll have the money to cover these expenses when you need it.
3. Because the money you set aside in a dependent care account is pre-tax, you reduce the amount of your income subject to taxes.

Important Tax Information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

If you paid someone to care for your child, spouse, or dependent last year, you may be able to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit on your federal income tax return. For more information on the Child and Dependent Care Credit, see Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses.  You may download these free publications from irs.gov (opens new window) or order them by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

You may have received flyers or emails from your employer reminding you to review your benefits. That’s probably because it your employer’s open enrollment period. Choosing the right benefits can help you and your family achieve and maintain financial security.

If you have access to benefits through your employer, it’s important to set aside time to review your current enrollments and decide if you should make any changes.

For example, a change in income, marriage or the birth or adoption of a child are all life events that would likely cause you to adjust your benefits during open enrollment season.

Here are some important benefits to consider reviewing:

• Health Insurance (opens new window)
• Dental (opens new window) and Vision (opens new window) Insurance
• Health Savings Accounts (opens new window)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (opens new window)
• Life Insurance (opens new window)
• Disability and Long-Term Care or Short-Term Coverage (opens new window)
• Retirement 401(k) plans (opens new window)

If you have questions about your benefits, how to enroll, or change your selections, contact your employer’s human resources department for additional information.

Also, remember to take time to review not only the types of retirement plans, but how much you are contributing to your retirement.

1. Does your employer match your retirement contributions? If so, don’t miss out on an incredible opportunity to build your retirement savings.
2. Did you recently receive a raise? It may be the perfect time to increase contributions to your retirement account which could also provide tax benefits (consult a tax advisor for advice).

For a more complete picture of your retirement funds, visit SocialSecurity.gov (opens new window) to set-up a free MySocialSecurity (opens new window) account to view your estimated benefit from social security at full retirement age.

Did You Know?  If you have a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) (opens new window), you can use a Health Savings Account (HSA) to pay for certain out-of-pocket medical expenses on a pre-tax basis.

Credit Unions offer many related financial products and services, including HSAs, that you may decide to consider while reviewing your employer benefits. Also, many credit unions offer free financial counseling services to help you layout a financial plan. Contact your credit union for more information or find a credit union located near you.

Federal Employees

If you are a current or former federal employee, the Office of Personnel Management (opens new window) has answers to frequently asked questions relating to common Life Cycle Events (opens new window) that may occur during or after your Federal career.

Have you named your beneficiary? Is your beneficiary designation up-to-date? Have you named a secondary beneficiary?

It is important to officially designate, and update as needed, the person(s) you want to receive benefits from insurance and retirement accounts such as a 401(k) and life insurance plans in the event of your death.

Without a named beneficiary your accounts are paid the in the order set by law. Naming just one person as your beneficiary isn’t the best option, since that person could die before you do. Or, if you name only your spouse, you could both die at the same time, such as in an accident. Also, if you name a minor, keep in mind in the majority of states under aged children cannot be recipients of life insurance benefits until they reach the age of majority. 

If you have questions about designating a beneficiary or creating a trust for a beneficiary, you may wish to consult with an attorney or estate planning professional.