2022 Short Plan Year Open Enrollment

The Short Plan Year Open Enrollment period for employee benefits will be held from Monday, May 16 through Friday, June 3, 2022. Please review the Short Plan Year Open Enrollment Highlights Flyer to learn more.

The Short Plan Year

The City will be transitioning its health benefits plan year period from a fiscal year basis (August 1 to July 31) to a calendar year (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31). This transition will occur during 2022 and will impact the plan year period for the City’s medical, dental, vision and life insurance plans as well as the flexible spending accounts (FSA). This change will require a short plan year from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022 (July 1 to Dec. 31, 2022 for FSA) to allow the transition to a new 12-month plan year that aligns with the calendar year.

This means that there will be two open enrollment periods in 2022:

	Open Enrollment Period	Medical, Dental, Vision and Life Coverage Period	Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Period
Short Plan Year	5/16/22 – 6/3/22	8/1/2022 – 12/31/2022	7/1/2022 – 12/31/2022
2023 Calendar Year	October/November 2022	1/1/2023 – 12/31/2023	1/1/2023 – 12/31/2023

Short Plan Year Impact to the Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

Since the Short Plan Year for the flexible spending accounts (FSA) will run over a six-month period, as opposed to the normal twelve-month period, contribution limits for 2022 will be divided in half in order to comply with IRS rules. The FSA min/max for the short plan year will be as follows:

Dental/Medical/Vision (DMV) FSA Min/Max: $120/$1,425
Dependent Child Care (DCC) FSA Min/Max: $120/$2,500

The deadlines to spend short plan year FSA funds and submit receipts will also change:

Spend FSA funds by March 15, 2023
Submit FSA receipts by March 31, 2023

Learn More

While not much is changing for the Short Plan Year, it’s important to review your health plan options. Information on your enrollment options is available for you to review now. Please review the Short Plan Year Benefits Information and Cost Booklet or select your Bargaining Unit icon below to review the Flexible Benefit Plan (FBP) credits, health plan options, and costs for the short plan year. During Open Enrollment you may add coverage, opt out of coverage, and make the following changes to your flexible benefits:

Change your medical, dental or vision insurance provider.
Add or remove beneficiaries and dependents.
Increase your Portable Life Insurance Coverage one tier (up to $250,000) without providing Evidence of Insurability (proof of good health).
Sign-up for Flexible Spending Accounts to pay for approved Dental/Medical/Vision (DMV) or Dependent/Child Care (DCC) expenses on a pre-tax basis. As a reminder, previous FSA elections do not automatically rollover to the new plan year. If you wish to participate, you must enter a new election during open enrollment.
Increase or decrease your 401(k) flex contributions, if eligible.

Key Dates

May 16: Enrollment begins. To enroll, go to CityNet, access the SAP Portal and select the 2022 Short Plan Year Open Enrollment tile. Follow the application steps to submit your enrollment elections.
June 3: Enrollment ends. Be sure to enroll by midnight on Friday, June 3, 2022.
Aug. 1: Health insurance coverage becomes effective Aug. 1 (note, premiums are pre-paid a month in advance, so paycheck deductions will begin in July).