Don’t regret your workplace open enrollment decisions this year with these 4 steps:

Equitable, one of America’s leading financial services providers published a recent survey (October 2024) announcing that OVER HALF (53%) of Americans that are eligible for workplace benefits regret their choices during last year’s open enrollment period. Why? Here are some of the reasons for their regret…

25% - Didn’t change benefits to match their lifestyle changes

20% - Forgot to make changes by the deadline

19% - Didn’t understand benefits they selected or the options available

Do any of these sound like you? I know I used to not understand the benefits I selected! 

It’s also worth noting that the average person completed their open enrollment in 30-60 minutes, but typically spends around 2 hours a day on social media. That said, can you sacrifice a little bit of scroll time for a year of peace of mind? 

Let’s put an end to your open-enrollment regret with these 4 steps:

• Read Your Benefits Packet (30 minutes)
• Compare your health plan options (30 minutes)
• Look at Last Year(s) Medical Expenses (30 minutes)
• Compare your benefits side by side (20 minutes)

These are the EXACT steps that I implement myself during my employer’s open enrollment, and I feel confident that I understand the benefits that I (or my employer) pay for!

Ideally, these steps can be completed in the time that I mention above, but I want to challenge you to NOT rush through this process and schedule some time on your calendar to complete each step uninterrupted. You can schedule time on your lunch break or over the weekend! If a certain step is taking longer than you anticipated, that's okay! You only have one chance to make your open enrollment decisions, so it's worth your time to evaluate any changes you might want to make!

Read Your Benefits Packet (20 minutes)

Typically, your employer will send an email announcing the open enrollment period. The first thing you want to do is read the open enrollment benefit packet. I know what you are thinking… I don’t have time to read a 15-20 page PDF. You won’t have time… until you MAKE time for it! So this is your first step (and don’t just skim through it!)! Schedule 20-40 minutes on your calendar during the first couple days of open enrollment to actually read through your benefits packet. This is going to explain the benefits offered to you in detail. If you aren’t sure about some of the benefits offered, this is a GREAT time to ask HR. Nobody wants to be the employee that is asking last minute questions the day before the deadline…

Compare your health insurance plan options (20 minutes)

Many employers offer more than one health insurance plan that you can choose from during open enrollment. For example, you might get to decide between two of the most common plans offered by U.S. employers— a PPO plan or a High Deductible Plan. Each health insurance plan will have a different premium (which is the cost of enrolling in the health insurance plan). They also will have different deductibles, co-insurance, and out of pocket maximums!

Comparing your health insurance plan options can be overwhelming because of the intimidating and unfamiliar language like deductible, co-insurance, co-pays, and out of pocket maximum! How do you know if you’re picking the “right” plan after all? If you aren’t confident with all the health insurance lingo I mentioned above, I created a free training that helps you confidently understand these terms. Register for “3 secrets to confidently save on medical bills” here! 

High Deductible Plans 

HDP plans are usually characterized by having lower premiums and higher deductibles which essentially means that you’re going to pay less each month for the cost of your health insurance, but when it comes time to use it, you’ll owe more up front! 

PPO plans 

PPO plans, on the other hand, are usually characterized by having higher premiums and lower deductibles! This means that the cost of the health insurance plan will be lower for you each month, and when it comes time to use it, your deductible won't be outrageously high so your health insurance will start to share in the cost sooner!

HSA or FSA election amount: 

HSA and FSA accounts are tax advantaged accounts that allow you to use your pre-tax earnings for qualifying medical expenses. HSAs and FSAs each have specific rules in order to qualify for the account and your employer will usually inform your which one you are eligible for when you select your health plan (example: HDPs go with HSAs, while PPOs go with FSAs)

Once you determine which account you are eligible for, it’s time to decide how much you want to contribute to the account. Do you want to contribute more or less to your HSA or FSA than you originally decided during the previous enrollment period? 

Remember!

• FSA funds DO NOT ROLL over (aka use it or lose it!), but HSA funds DO roll over
• The IRS has annual maximums for these accounts
• If you have a spouse enrolled in an HSA plan, this typically disqualifies you from being enrolled in an FSA. Check with your local CPA if you have specific questions about taking advantage of these accounts (particularly if you want to switch from one type of account to another)! 

Look at Last Year(s) Medical Expenses (10 minutes)

Personally, my family has a budgeting system where we “tag” any medical expenses that flow into our budget so that we can review the total amount at this time of year with a click of a button. If you don’t do this, THAT IS OKAY! Here is another way to quickly review your medical expenses from last year.

Look up your out-of-pocket costs from last year through your health insurance portal:

Most health insurance websites have an online portal that lists all of your health insurance claims for the prior year (and sometimes even further back). Filter on your last year of medical expenses and look for an option to “export” the claims to excel so you can see every single claim for the year.

Once you have the claim data in an excel spreadsheet, you can select the “amount you may owe” column to see how much you were responsible for paying for insurance claims last year. You can also get a good idea of how many visits you had to specialists, urgent care, and emergency rooms.

What type of provider did you need the most and what cost the most money? You may also consider your out-of-network costs. If you see a counselor or chiropractor that is out-of-network, these costs might be HSA/FSA eligible! 

Compare your benefits side by side (10 minutes)

Before you hit the “submit” button for your open-enrollment elections, make sure you do this one last thing! 

• Print all your benefit selections from last year
• Print all your benefit selections for this year 

1) After you print these, compare each benefit side by side and highlight the benefit type and the cost and verify the following: 

Also, take note of any premiums that have increased substantially from last year.

For example: did your employer increase or decrease their contribution to your health premiums or did they stay the same? 

Example:

PPO Premium 2024 - $375

PPO Premium 2025 - $395

2) Make sure that none of your benefits are left off from last year that you wanted to keep from this year. For example: Did you forget to enroll your kids in a dental insurance plan? 

Example:

Dental 2024 - $85

Dental 2025 - $0

Submit your benefit elections with no regret! 

If you are still reading… I can already tell you that you will be in a better position when you submit your open enrollment elections than you would have been! One of the hardest parts about selecting benefits is that you have to make decisions based on uncertain events in the future. How are you supposed to know how many emergency room visits you or your child will have? How are you supposed to know which plan is the “perfect” health insurance plan. The truth is, you can’t know…. BUT you can move on (regret-free) when you make an informed decision for your open enrollment elections. You don’t have to rush through this process feeling lost and confused and can feel confident you made the BEST choice for your family this year!