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2025 Open Enrollment

Friday, November 1, 2024 – Friday, November 29, 2024

The University of Hartford’s annual open enrollment for medical, dental, vision and optional life insurance as well as pre-tax savings account elections for coverage beginning January 1, 2025, will take place from November 1, 2024 to November 29, 2024.

Open Enrollment will be online/electronic once again this year!  Employees will be able to initiate insurance elections for 2025 in their Employee Self Service (ESS) portal. Employees adding or removing dependents to plans will receive follow up instructions to ensure the appropriate dependents are addressed.

Elections MUST be made no later than November 29, 2024. Please review the information and make changes to your elections as needed. If you do not make an active election, the following will be applied:

  • If you are currently enrolled in the POS plan, you will remain in the POS plan if no changes are made
  • If you are currently enrolled in the HDBP plan, you will remain in the HDBP plan if no changes are made

A brief summary of plan year 2025 benefits is noted below.

Summary for Open Enrollment 2025

The Point of Service (POS) plan and the High Deductible Based Plan (HDBP) will continue to be offered.

  • There will be no change in employee premium rates for medical plans.

  • Health Savings Account and Health Reimbursement Account employer contributions will remain $1,000 for employee only and $2,000 for employee and dependent(s). Deposit schedules will remain the same as in 2024 and the banking arrangement will remain with Inspira. 

  • Flexible Spending Account banking arrangements will remain with Inspira.

  • The Freedom of Choice dental insurance plan will remain with Aetna, with a slight increase in premium.

  • The vision insurance plan will remain with United Healthcare, with no increase in premium.

  • Basic and optional life insurance plan options will remain with The Standard, with no increase in premium.

Getting Started

To initiate the open enrollment process, all employees must access their self-service portal and complete the Open Enrollment Form. This form can be accessed through the following steps after the November 1st start:

  1. Log in to your self-service portal*
  2. Select the Employee tab
  3. Select the link Benefits and Deductions
  4. Select Open Enrollment 2025
  5. Review the Rates and your Current Benefit Elections
  6. Select Make 2025 Choices to begin your benefit selection

If you are making changes to your elections, you may be sent a follow-up email from HRD for more information regarding those changes.

*If you are unable to access your self-service portal, please contact the ITS HelpDesk at x4357 to reset your password.

Learn More

Town Hall Meeting — Please plan to attend our virtual town hall to hear about current plan offerings.  HRD, in collaboration with Chris Monroe of USI Consulting (the University’s broker) will be hosting a virtual town hall meeting to be held:

1-on-1 Meetings — 1-on-1 meetings will be held virtually. Sign up for your 30-minute appointment with the following link.

University of Hartford Aetna Microsite — Choosing a health plan can be difficult, but it doesn't have to be.  With this site, customized for the University of Hartford, you can learn about your plan options to determine which one is right for you and your family. You can also learn about all the resources and technology included with your benefits that can help you make time for health and balance the demands of your life. Check out the University of Hartford Aetna Microsite.

Annual Notices Please read these important Legal Notices Affecting Your Health Plan Coverage

ITS HelpDesk Services — ITS Staff are available to troubleshoot login issues and reset passwords. If you are having difficulty accessing the self-service portal to view and complete the open enrollment form, ITS can offer assistance. Their number is 860-768-4357 (HELP) or they can be reached via email at helpdesk@hartford.edu. They are open from 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every weekday except Fridays, when they close at 4:30 p.m.

Election Information

Medical Insurance

What you need to know:

The Point of Service (POS) plan and the High Deductible Based Plan (HDBP) will continue to be offered.

DOCUMENTS you may need:

Medical Plan Comparison
Summary of Benefits and Coverage: High Deductible with HRA
Summary of Benefits and Coverage: High Deductible with HSA
Summary of Benefits and Coverage: Point of Service

Check out the University of Hartford Aetna Microsite.

 

Dental Insurance

What you need to know:

The University will retain Aetna to administer the CY 2025 Freedom of Choice dental insurance plan, with a slight increase in premium. Inherent to this plan is a feature that allows employees to enroll in either the Dental Maintenance Organization (DMO) or a passive Preferred Provider Organization (PPO).  The plan offers members the ability to move back and forth between the DMO and PPO through the course of the year.

DOCUMENTS you may need:

Check out the University of Hartford Aetna Microsite.

Vision Insurance

What you need to know:

The University will retain United Healthcare to administer the CY 2025 vision insurance plan, with no increase in premium. This comprehensive vision plan provides participants access to a national network of both private practices and more than 100 popular retail chain providers as well as discounts/allowances on lenses, frames, contact lenses, and laser vision correction. The plan features both in- and out-of-network benefits.

Documents you may need:

Life Insurance

What you need to know:

Regular full-time faculty and staff are automatically enrolled in a basic life insurance benefit (valued at 1x base/contracted annualized salary). The University of Hartford pays premium costs associated with this benefit. 

  • If you are currently enrolled the supplemental, spousal and/or dependent child[ren] optional life insurance plan(s), you can increase your level of coverage up to the guaranteed issue limit, without proof of insurability. If, however, the increase in coverage is greater than the guaranteed issue limit, evidence of insurability is required.
  • If you have never enrolled in supplemental, spousal and/or dependent child[ren] optional life insurance plan(s), you can enroll at this time.  Employees can elect supplemental life insurance up to 4x salary up to a maximum of $250,000 with no proof of insurability.  Elections will be subject to evidence of insurability.
  • In order to enroll in spousal or child life insurance, you must have supplemental life insurance.  Spousal life insurance cannot be more than 50% of supplemental life.  Child life cannot be more than 100% of supplemental life.
  • You can enroll in or change your current personal accident insurance election with no evidence of insurability required.
Documents you may need:

Plan documents
Rates are on the second page of this document

HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT (HSA)—partners with the HDBP only.

What you need to know:

HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT (HSA) – partners with the HDBP

The University will continue to offer eligible faculty and staff a HSA option for CY 2025.  Monies set aside by participants in a HSA carry over from one year to the next, allowing participants to accrue funds for future qualified expenses, earn interest on deposits, or invest in mutual funds. 

For 2025, the annual limit set by the IRS on deductible contributions is $4,300 for individuals with employee-only coverage and $8,550 for family coverage. For employees age 55 and older, an additional catch up contribution of $1,000 can be contributed and can be included in the total election identified below.

The University will continue to contribute into these accounts based on coverage election as follows:

  • $1,000 for the employee-only medical insurance coverage election
  • $2,000 for the family medical insurance coverage election

The University will again deposit half of the annual employer contribution into a HSA on the first pay in January, and the other half on the first pay date in July. Please note that University contributions count towards IRS limits.

Note: Academic year employees who receive their pay on the academic year cycle will receive the second half of their HSA contribution with their first available pay in the new academic year.

IRS guidelines governing eligibility for a HSA:

  • You must be enrolled in a qualifying deductible based plan.
  • Dependent eligibility must meet the IRS definition of a dependent.
  • You cannot be covered by another medical plan that is not a high deductible health plan.
  • You cannot be enrolled in a health care Flexible Spending Account (FSA), including your spouse’s FSA.
  • You must not be enrolled in Medicare (or TriCare) Benefits. *

* If you are enrolled in Medicare Part A or B and/or collecting Social Security income and wish to enroll in a qualifying plan you can do so, but you must first notify Medicare and request dis-enrollment from Medicare.  Please refer to your tax consultant to discuss whether it is in your best interest to remain enrolled in Medicare or to dis-enroll and open the HSA.

DOCUMENTS you may need:

Check out the University of Hartford Aetna Microsite.

HEALTH REIMBURSEMENT ACCOUNT (HRA)—partners with the HDBP only

What you need to know:

Because the IRS does not permit employees who are enrolled in Medicare (or TriCare) or collecting Social Security income to participate in a HSA, the University will continue to offer a HRA for eligible faculty and staff for CY 2025. The University will fund these HRAs with the same amounts as the HSAs noted above. Participation in a HRA does not preclude Medicare-eligible faculty and staff from also participating in a FSA. If a FSA is established, this account will pay first before the HRA can be accessed.

Unused HRA balances will be “rolled over” into the next plan year for any active employee. Under current IRS guidelines, only the employer is specifically permitted to contribute to a HRA and funds in a HRA stay with the employer if an employee separates from service.

DOCUMENTS you may need:

Check out the University of Hartford Aetna Microsite.


FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS (FSA)

What you need to know:

The University will be offering eligible faculty and staff health care and/or dependent care FSA options for CY 2025 through Inspira. Because a FSA is subject to the “use it or lose it” provision under IRS guidelines, FSA participants are urged to carefully consider their annual election(s) based on plan and cost-share guidelines.

Health Care FSA – Faculty and staff who enroll in the POS plan, those who enroll in a HRA as well as those who do not utilize the University’s group medical insurance will continue to be able to set aside pre-tax dollars into a Health Care FSA (as a payroll deduction) for qualified expenses. The annual contribution limit for this account is $3,300 for CY 2025.

If you do not incur eligible expenses for your full Health Care FSA election during the plan year, the University’s plan allows a portion of your remaining FSA balance to automatically roll over into the next calendar year. The maximum amount that can be rolled over at the end of a plan year is $640. In order to be eligible for your Health Care FSA balance to roll over, you must elect the Health Care FSA for the following year. If you do not re-enroll in a Health Care FSA, any unused funds remaining in the account will be forfeited. The rollover amount is available for the next year only, and any unused rollover funds remaining in the account after one year will be forfeited.

Dependent Care FSA – Participants whose dependent care expenses meet IRS eligibility guidelines for a Dependent Care FSA will continue to be able to set aside pre-tax dollars into a Dependent Care FSA (as a payroll deduction) for qualified expenses.  The contribution limit for this account remains at $5,000 for CY 2025. 

DOCUMENTS you may need:

Check out the University of Hartford Aetna Microsite.

Additional Resources

Let’s simplify pretax accounts
Benefits of a Health Reimbursement Arrangement
Benefits of an HSA
Benefits of an FSA Dependent Care 
Benefits of an FSA General Health Care