Brace Yourselves...

I hope everyone is ready because... OPEN ENROLLMENT IS HERE! There are several important items to note as we dive into the longest Message Board Post in the history of the Intranet.

The most important thing for you to remember is that I'm here to support each and every one of you during this time. I'll be working all week from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm from the office and will be available to take phone calls and respond to emails focusing on Open Enrollment with high priority.

We have a brand-new system for our benefits this year, Ease Central. Everyone should now have received their Welcome Email from the system.

When you login, you'll see this screen:

1. The first step you'll want to take is to go to "View Profile". I know we all want to jump right to Benefits but it's important to start in Profile so your personal information connects with the Benefits pricing accurately. You'll notice the work number and personal phone number fields are required to move on. It's important for you to know that this information will only be accessible to myself, the Payroll team, and the Ease Central team should you need any support.

2. The next screen you'll move to is "Dependents". We do recommend that you add any and all dependents even if you do not plan to enroll them in coverage during Open Enrollment. This way you will be able to see what the coverage options are both during the Open Enrollment period and if you experience a Qualifying Life Event in the future.

3. Next you'll be asked to add Emergency Contacts. Please feel free to add any contacts you would like for us to use in case of an emergency.

4. (Optional) Complete Form W4. Please fill in any tax withholding information you would like to have updated. If you don't have any changes, feel free to skip this section.

5. (Optional) Next is Form I9, you do not need to complete this section - we already have this completed for all of you and it only needs to be done once!

6. (Optional) The final item in the "Profile" section is Direct Deposit. If you would like to update your direct deposit information, please feel free to do so at this point. If you would not like any changes to be made, you do not have to add this information unless you choose to.

And now... It's benefits time!

You'll want to go back to the main screen by selecting "DASHBOARD" next to the Ease Central logo. Now you can go ahead and select "Start Enrollment".

Review your Profile details to ensure you've entered everything correctly. Confirm your Dependents information. If you have Medicare coverage, add your coverage on this page.

Now you'll move to the Benefits Section! A good note here is that you can go between all of your benefits options at will, no need to select an option to move onto next steps.

Medical Benefits

1. Choose whether you would like to enroll in or waive medical benefits for yourself. If you choose to waive medical benefits, you must add a waive reason.

2. Choose whether or not you'd like to enroll in or waive medical benefits your dependents. Again, if you waive dependent coverage, you must indicate the reason.

3. Choose your Medical plan. We have brought over the same plan designs as last year with one exception. We now have an additional Anthem HMO Plan offering, Anthem Silver Select HMO. There are two differences between the Anthem Silver HMO and the Anthem Silver Select HMO. The first one which you'll notice right away is the cost - the Silver Select HMO plan is less expensive than the Silver HMO plan. The second difference between the two plan is that the Physician Network for the Silver Select HMO plan is 70% of the size of the Physician Network on the Silver HMO plan. At this point, you can see a comparison of your medical benefit options.

*** If you are enrolling in Kaiser and have an assigned Primary Care Physician you would like to keep this physician, please be sure to re-enter their name or you may be reassigned to another Primary Care Physician.

Dental Benefits

1. Choose whether you would like to enroll in or waive dental benefits for yourself. If you choose to waive dental benefits, you must add a waive reason.

2. Choose whether or not you'd like to enroll in or waive dental benefits your dependents. Again, if you waive dependent coverage, you must indicate the reason.

3. Choose your Dental plan. You'll notice that these are brand new plan designs with a new carrier - Principal. We no longer have a Dental HMO option however we are offering a Dental EPO option. EPO stands for Exclusive Provider Organization. This plan design gives you similar plan offerings to the HMO and we've added increased coverage options. This is a larger provider network than the previous HMO network but a smaller provider network than the PPO network. Both networks are larger than networks we were offered at Guardian.

Vision Benefits

1. Choose whether you would like to enroll in or waive vision benefits for yourself. If you choose to waive medical benefits, you must add a waive reason.

2. Choose whether or not you'd like to enroll in or waive vision benefits your dependents. Again, if you waive dependent coverage, you must indicate the reason.

3. Choose your Vision plan. Once again, you'll see that the we've gone with a new carrier, Principal. The vision plan is much richer, you can now use your frames and contacts benefit every year instead of every other year. You'll also have an increased allowance towards frames.

Life/AD&D (Company Sponsored)

We've also chosen Principal to manage our company sponsored Life and AD&D insurance. As an added benefit to all of you, we've increased the coverage amount from $15,000.00 worth of coverage to $25,000.00 worth of coverage. You do need to elect this benefit but again this is a company sponsored benefit that I urge you all to take advantage of.

Life and AD&D (Voluntary)

Again, you'll notice we've chosen Principal for Voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance. Simply elect the amount of Life and AD&D Insurance of your choosing or decline the benefit.

*** For elections of over $150,000.00, you will be required to complete evidence of insurability form. If this is something you are interested in, please reach out to me for the form so I may submit it on your behalf.

Supplemental Benefits - Accident, Cancer, Critical Illness, Hospital Confinement, and Short Term Disability Policies

You can now enroll in supplemental benefits through Colonial Life. These are completely optional to you. If you have any questions about how these policies work or could benefit you and your family during a time of need, our Colonial Life representative Jack Wu is happy to answer all of your questions. Jack can be reached by phone at (818) 291-5201 or via email at jack.wu@coloniallifesales.com.

If you are currently enrolled in AFLAC, you do not have to change to Colonial Life policies. You are welcome to maintain your AFLAC policies or enroll in any of their policies as usual. Should you have any questions in regards to coverage that AFLAC is able to provide to you, please reach out to Rholan Wong at (310) 722-2838 or rholan_wong@us.aflac.com.

Beneficiaries

Please be sure to add your beneficiaries for both your company sponsored life insurance and any voluntary life insurance you may have enrolled in.

Coverage

This section only needs to be completed if you will be maintaining secondary coverage.

Sign Forms

Please be sure to carefully review all of your enrollment forms prior to signing!

Summary

Be sure to review all of your selections (you can print here if you'd like!)

Finish

Click the button, you did it! Don't worry, if you change your mind you still have until next Thursday at 11:59 pm to update your elections.

Congratulations, you made it! Feel free to call me with any questions or concerns you may have throughout the process.

Happy Open Enrollment, Serendipity!