Open enrollment is upon us! Your booklet should be arriving any day now, at your permanent address.

AT A GLANCE

• WHAT: Open enrollment for 2017
• WHEN: 8 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22 (two days before Thanksgiving)
• HOW: For most employees, open enrollment is an online process, via At Your Service Online. Make sure you receive a confirmation number, or your selections will not be processed.

If you need assistance or don’t have access to a computer, contact your benefits office:

• Shared Services Center, 260 Cousteau Place, Suite 150, Davis — Call 530-752-1774 or drop in, 8:30 a.m.-noon and 1-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
• Ticon III, 2730 Stockton Blvd., Suite 2300, Sacramento — Call 916-734-8099 or drop in, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Learn more about open enrollment:

• UC open enrollment website (includes plan costs and FAQs)
• "Open Enrollment's Big Change: Disability Insurance" (Dateline UC Davis)
• "Open Enrollment 2017: Changes and New Opportunities" (UCnet)

Presentations and help desks will be held this week and next week (see schedule below). Plus, Dateline UC Davis has prepared this guide to actions you can take, including something everyone should do: Review your supplemental disability insurance options. Why?

• Because, if you’re already enrolled, your plan is being replaced. During open enrollment, TAKE ACTION to choose the income-protection coverage that you want, or UC will automatically enroll you for the maximum coverage.
• If you’re not signed up, you are encouraged to consider these factors: UC is extending eligibility to more part-time employees, and is offering everyone with full, mid-level or core benefits a one-time opportunity to sign up without having to provide a statement of health — meaning you cannot be denied enrollment due to a pre-existing condition.

Do you want to …

Switch medical or dental plans? TAKE ACTION during open enrollment. (You can also opt out of UC-sponsored medical, dental and/or vision plans, or opt in if you previously opted out.)

Add eligible family members to your medical, dental and/or vision plans? TAKE ACTION during open enrollment.

Enroll in or opt out of Tax Savings on Insurance Premiums (TIP), under which you pay your premiums on a pretax basis? TAKE ACTION during open enrollment. Are you already enrolled in TIP? Your continued enrollment is automatic unless you previously opted out.

Establish a flexible spending account (FSA), putting away money on a pretax basis for health care or dependent care, or both? TAKE ACTION during open enrollment. Do you have an FSA or FSAs that you want to continue in 2017? TAKE ACTION during open enrollment. FSAs do not renew automatically.

Enroll in the ARAG Legal plan? TAKE ACTION during open enrollment. If you are already signed up, your enrollment will continue automatically unless you decide to drop it.

Disability insurance

Today, if you have full benefits, you have university-paid basic disability insurance and you have the option to buy supplemental coverage. Starting Jan. 1, employees with mid-level and core benefits will also get university-paid basic disability insurance and the opportunity to buy supplemental coverage (now called voluntary short-term and long-term disability insurance).

PRESENTATIONS/HELP DESKS

The Health Care Facilitator Program will hold two overview presentations about medical plans. No reservations required; first-come, first-seated. Each session will be followed by help desk service in the same location (no appointments needed).

• Sacramento — Wednesday, Oct. 26, auditorium, Comprehensive Cancer Center: presentation, 8:30-10:30 a.m.; and help desk, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
• Davis — Monday, Oct. 31, MU II, Memorial Union: presentation, 10 a.m.-noon; and help desk, noon-3 p.m.

•••

The Davis campus Benefits Office will provide information on open enrollment in general, including disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, and dental, vision and legal plans. All sessions in MU II, Memorial Union.

• Monday, Oct. 31 — Help desk, noon-3 p.m.; and presentation, 3-4 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 3 — Presentations, 9-10 a.m. and noon-1 p.m.; and help desk, 10 a.m.-noon

•••

The Sacramento benefits office will hold an Open Enrollment Fair, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, in the ballroom at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, 4422 Y St.

Basic coverage provides up to 55 percent of your eligible monthly earnings to a maximum of $800 per month for up to six months.

With voluntary disability insurance — "voluntary" because you pay for it — you will receive up to 60 percent of your eligible earnings to a maximum of $15,000 per month. You can select:

• Voluntary short-term disability insurance — Coverage begins after a 14-day waiting period or after you use up to 22 days of available sick leave, whichever is later, and runs for up to six months.
• Voluntary long-term disability insurance — Benefits begin after six months and can continue up to your Social Security retirement age. This might be a good option for employees with a lot of accrued sick leave, for academic employees eligible for paid medical leave, or for employees who can cover household expenses without much income for up to six months.
• Both (short term and long term)

Do you already have supplemental disability insurance? YOU SHOULD REVIEW THIS BENEFIT, because UC is offering all-new options in 2017. You are encouraged to consider your needs, and may enroll in voluntary short-term disability insurance or voluntary long-term disability insurance, or both. If you do not choose, you will be automatically enrolled in both, giving you the most comprehensive coverage (but, at a higher cost — so consider your options carefully). However, you may cancel coverage at any time.

Do you want to sign up for voluntary disability insurance? If you are newly eligible (because this supplemental coverage is now an option for employees with mid-level and core benefits, along with employees who have full benefits), or if you are not enrolled at this time or if you have been denied enrollment previously due to a pre-existing condition, now is your chance to sign up. TAKE ACTION during this one-time opportunity to enroll without providing a statement of health — meaning you cannot be denied enrollment due to a pre-existing condition.

A premium estimator is available online to help you calculate your costs for voluntary disability insurance. Costs depend on your monthly salary, age and the level of coverage you choose (short term, long term or both).

More information, including a video, on disability insurance options.

Directions to the Shared Services Center

The Shared Services Center is in Suite 150 at 260 Cousteau Place, Davis, off Second Street between downtown Davis and the Target store. The center is behind the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Customer Center at Second and Cousteau Place. Here are specific driving directions from the HR Administration Building on Orchard Drive:

• Turn left from Orchard Drive onto La Rue Road.
• Turn right onto Russell Boulevard (it will become Fifth Street).
• Turn right on L Street (L Street curves left and becomes Second Street).
• Drive east on Second Street, parallel to the railroad tracks, for 1.3 miles.
• Turn left onto Cousteau Place (just past FMC Technologies).
• Shared Services Center is in the second building on the right, 260 Cousteau Place.
• Suite 150 is on the first floor; use the south entrance.

Interactive Google Map with directions.

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