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Open Enrollment

OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR PLAN YEAR 2025

Open Enrollment is the only time of the year to add, drop or make changes to some of your WVU employee benefits without a qualifying life event (QLE).

Key highlights of open enrollment:

  • Open enrollment will occur from April 2 through May 15, 2024.
  • Changes are effective on July 1. The WVU plan year is July 1 through June 30.
  • This is a changes only enrollment, meaning if you do not wish to make changes to your benefits, you are not required to do anything further.
  • Even you if you aren't making changes, you are strongly encouraged to review the Before You Get Started section below.
  • Open Enrollment is a great opportunity to review the benefits that you currently have and take advantage of other voluntary options that can be changed at any time during the year, not just during Open Enrollment.

Although Open Enrollment is a great time of the year to review all of the benefit options that WVU has to offer employees, there are situations in which the timely reporting of life events may be important to ensure appropriate levels of coverage and cost for you and any dependents. The following reminders are designed to prompt you to consider if you have experienced any of these situations within the past year and guide you to making the appropriate changes.

Let's Take a Look at You and Your Dependents

Have you experienced any life events in the past year in which you or your dependent eligibility has changed?
Some common occurrences that effect eligibility include birth of a child, adoption, court-ordered dependent care, children who have turned 26, death, marriage, divorce, the beginning or end of a spouse’s employment and tobacco status. If you’ve experienced any of these events in the past year, WVU recommends reviewing your benefits with the following things in mind:

Updating Beneficiaries

With any change in life status it is important to periodically review the beneficiaries you have on file for your life insurance policies and retirement accounts. This is often a consideration that is overlooked, especially in instances of marriage, divorce or death of a dependent. Please review the WVU Shared Services knowledgebase FAQ – Making Beneficiary Changes to learn how to make updates for both life insurance and retirement accounts.

Divorce

If you have finalized a divorce within the last year, you must report it immediately. Divorces not reported immediately (within 30 days of the date of the final divorce decree) may be subject to prosecution and/or claims reimbursement. You must remove your ex-spouse and any stepchildren from all insurance policies that they were covered. See the PEIA divorce page for additional information.

Spousal Coverage Information

The Public Employee's Insurance Agency (PEIA) is required by law to apply a monthly spousal surcharge if your spouse is eligible for employer-sponsored coverage through his/her employer, and has PEIA coverage (i.e., a dependent on your policy). The spousal surcharge will be added to health insurance premiums each month. If your spouse is eligible for coverage as an employee of a PEIA-participating agency, has Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE or is retired, the spousal coverage surcharge does not apply. See the PEIA Spousal Coverage Information page for additional information.

Tobacco-Free Discount

Have you or any of your dependents stopped or started using tobacco within the last six months? Tobacco use includes cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vape pens, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, and snuff. You may review and update you or your dependent's tobacco status by visiting PEIA's Manage My Benefits.

Address Change

Have you or any of your dependents moved within the last year? Review and update your address with WVU or review and update a dependent's address , such as a college student, with PEIA.

Plan Year changes coming soon!

Medical Benefits Changes

Health Insurance
In December 2023, the WV Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) Finance Board passed a 10.5% premium increase for state agencies, colleges and universities. Premium rates will be available as soon as possible. Employees may refer to the PEIA Shopper's Guide.
Other Medical Benefits

Financial Benefits Changes

WVU offers a comprehensive benefits package with a variety of offerings to fit your unique needs. The benefits below are a subset of those in which open enrollment is a great time to review and make changes. Click the links to learn more.

Medical Benefits

Benefit Administrator Provider When Changes Can Be Made
*limitations may apply
Health/Prescription Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) PEIA Open Enrollment/QLE
Health/Prescription PEIA The Health Plan Open Enrollment/QLE
Hospital Indemnity NEW! Mountaineer Flexible Benefits Sun Life *Anytime
Critical Illness NEW! Mountaineer Flexible Benefits Sun Life *Anytime
Dental Mountaineer Flexible Benefits Sun Life Open Enrollment/QLE
Vision Mountaineer Flexible Benefits Humana EyeMed Open Enrollment/QLE
Hearing Mountaineer Flexible Benefits EPIC Open Enrollment/QLE

Financial Benefits

Benefit Administrator Provider When Changes Can Be Made
*limitations may apply
Optional Life Insurance PEIA MetLife *Anytime
Dependent Life Insurance PEIA MetLife *Anytime
Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Mountaineer Flexible Benefits PayFlex Open Enrollment/QLE
Limited Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (LFSA) Mountaineer Flexible Benefits PayFlex Open Enrollment/QLE
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DFSA) Mountaineer Flexible Benefits PayFlex Open Enrollment/QLE
Mt. Flex Health Savings Account (HSA) Mountaineer Flexible Benefits PayFlex Open Enrollment/QLE
TIAA Health Savings Account (HSA) TIAA HealthEquity *Anytime
Supplemental Retirement Accounts (SRA) TIAA TIAA *Anytime
Mt. Flex Long-Term Disability (LTD) Mountaineer Flexible Benefits MetLife Open Enrollment/QLE
WVU Group Long-Term Disability (LTD) Standard Insurance Company Standard Insurance Company *Anytime
Mt. Flex Short-Term Disability (STD) Mountaineer Flexible Benefits MetLife Open Enrollment/QLE
Personal Accident Insurance American Insurance Group (AIG) AIG Open Enrollment/QLE
Accident Insurance NEW! Mountaineer Flexible Benefits Sun Life *Anytime
Dependent Education Scholarship Program WVU N/A *Anytime
Student Loan Forgiveness Program TIAA Savi *Anytime

Work-Life Benefits

Benefit Administrator Provider When Changes Can Be Made
*limitations may apply
Legal Plan Mountaineer Flexible Benefits ARAG Legal *Anytime
Pet Insurance Nationwide Nationwide *Anytime
Identity Theft Protection Allstate Allstate *Anytime
Programs, Services & Discounts Varies Varies *Anytime
WVU Perks Program Perks Connect Varies *Anytime
As a changes only open enrollment, no action is needed if you don't want to make changes to you benefits, but it's still a great time to review your benefits and consider whether your current elections still work best for you and your family.
  • Step 1. Review Your Current Benefits
  • The best place to begin is with your pay statement.. Not sure what those benefits are that are listed on your pay statement? View a list of benefit deduction names and pay statement abbreviations.
  • Step 2. Review the Before You Get Started Information
  • If you haven't already, you may want to review the before you get started information {link} to ensure you're thinking as wholistically as possible about your benefits.
  • Step 3. Review What's Changing for the New Plan Year
  • From new benefit offerings to plan design changes and premium updates, it’s important to review what’s changing for Plan Year 2025{link}.
  • Step 4. Consider Your Unique Situation
WVU offers a comprehensive benefits package with a variety of offerings to fit your unique needs. Consider whether your current benefit elections reviewed in Step 1 are a good fit for you or whether you’d like to add, drop, or change benefits during this Open Enrollment.
  • Does your current health insurance plan election meet your needs? WVU offers a variety of plans with varying premiums and cost-sharing so you can elect the plan that works best for you.
  • Does your health insurance work in the area in which you live? WVU health insurance plans may offer differing levels of coverage depending on whether the service is provided in the state of West Virginia and where you and your dependents reside. Visit the out of area page for additional information.
  • Do your dental and vision coverages meet your needs? Perhaps you anticipate needing to replace glasses this upcoming year or have a child that will now need dental care.
  • Consider your flexible spending account (FSA) enrollment. WVU offers medical {link}, dependent care {link}, and limited medical FSAs{link}, all of which are tax-advantaged with contribution limits{link} established by the IRS each year.
  • Consider income replacement benefits and other financial benefit options such as short and long-term disability, critical illness and hospital indemnity coverages, and accident insurance, all of which can provide vital financial support in challenging times.
  • Review your life insurance coverages and amounts, including beneficiaries.
  • Step 5. Ready to Make Changes?
Once you've reviewed your current benefits and what's changing for the new plan year, and decided to make changes, visit the How to Make Open Enrollment Changes page for detailed instructions on how to make changes to specific benefits.

Event Information

Event Title Date Time Location