Employee Benefits Open Enrollment to Be Held Online October 9-November 3, 2023
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) will hold its annual Open Enrollment for employee benefits online from October 9–November 3, 2023. Employees will have 24/7 access to the online Benefit Enrollment System (BES) to enroll in or make changes to their benefits. Access to the BES will be available from the Employee Self-Service (ESS) web page. You must submit any benefit changes no later than November 3, 2023. Changes made to your benefits will be effective January 1, 2024.
Benefit Highlights for 2024
- There will be no changes to MCPS-offered medical, prescription, dental, or vision plans for 2024.
- Employees not currently enrolled in Optional Employee Term Life or Optional Dependent Term Life insurance plans may enroll during Open Enrollment without evidence of insurability or insurer approval. You must enroll in the Optional Employee Life plan in order to enroll in the Optional Dependent Life plan. Other conditions must be met. Be sure to read the 2024 Open Enrollment memorandum for details. The memorandum is available on the Employee Open Enrollment web page.
During Open Enrollment, eligible employees can—
- Enroll in benefits
- Change health insurance carriers
- Make changes to coverage levels
- Add or drop dependents*
- Enroll in flexible spending account(s) (FSAs) for 2024
- Designate life insurance beneficiary(ies)**
You may enroll in the full employee benefit plan or choose only the individual components (medical, dental, vision, or prescription drug) that meet your needs. For example, you may select medical and prescription drug coverage but decline vision and dental coverage. All family members must have the same coverage.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
Open Enrollment also is your time to enroll in an FSA for 2024. If you are participating in an FSA currently and wish to do so again in 2024, you must reenroll. FSA enrollments DO NOT roll over to the next calendar year. To renew your FSA, you will need to reenroll online during Open Enrollment for the 2024 calendar year and each year thereafter.
Employees hired at the start of the 2023–2024 school year who enrolled in an FSA at that time also will need to reenroll during Open Enrollment for calendar year 2024. New hire FSA enrollments are for the remainder of the current calendar year (2023).
The annual limit on medical FSA accounts for 2024 will increase to $3,050; the limit for dependent care FSA accounts will remain at $5,000. Keep reading for more information about the benefits of enrolling in an FSA for medical and/or dependent care expenses and how to sign up for 2024.
Benefit Rates for 2024
Your 2024 benefit rates will be based on the benefit plan(s) you elect and, as a result of the Wellness Initiatives program, on whether or not—
- you completed a biometric health screening between October 10, 2022, and October 6, 2023; and
- you completed your medical plan’s online health risk assessment between October 10, 2022, and October 6, 2023.
Base rates for the 2024 plan year, which do not include Wellness Initiatives credit(s), are available in the 2024 Employee Benefit Summary. Rate charts for 2024 that do factor in Wellness Initiatives credits or charges are available on the Open Enrollment web page. Find rates for the current plan year on the Employee Benefits web page.
Learn More
Studies show that an educated health-care consumer is best able to navigate the confusing world of health insurance and make better decisions. For details about your benefit options, refer to the 2024 Employee Benefit Summary. It is important to pay close attention to the Open Enrollment materials to ensure that you make the best choices for you and your family.
*Documentation may be required.
**Current designated life insurance beneficiary(ies) will not be displayed on the BES screen. Any changes made to beneficiary(ies) from the BES will replace all previously designated beneficiaries.