Open enrollment

Definition

Open enrollment is the once-per-year window when employees can make benefits changes without a qualifying life event — adding dependents, switching plans, adjusting HSA contributions, electing voluntary benefits. Outside open enrollment, employees can only change elections after qualifying events (marriage, birth, divorce, loss of other coverage).

For employers, open enrollment is the biggest annual HR project — designing the plan, communicating changes, processing elections, integrating with carriers. A well-run open enrollment touches every employee with clear materials and produces clean election data; a poorly-run one creates payroll errors and frustrated employees throughout the new plan year.

In a PEO arrangement, the PEO runs open enrollment for the master plan — providing employee education, online election platforms, and decision-support tools. For employers used to running open enrollment internally, the PEO offload is often the most visible operational benefit.

Common questions about Open enrollment

Related terms

• Group health insurance — Health insurance purchased by an employer to cover its employees, typically at lower per-employee cost than individual policies.
• Cafeteria plan (Section 125) — An IRS-approved arrangement that allows employees to pay for certain benefits with pre-tax dollars.

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