During October and November a majority of people will be having open enrollment for benefits. We encourage you to take the time to thoroughly review your benefit options. Make sure you pick the best options for your situation and do not leave any benefits on the table. Below are some do’s and don’ts when reviewing your employee benefits.

By Kate Welker, CFP®

This month we want to continue to remind our readers that it will soon be open enrollment through your employer and Medicare, the time of year you are able to review and change your health insurance and other benefits.

There are several posts on our blog that cover this topic more in depth:

• Last week Rachel discussed how to review your health insurance options and prepare for making that decision in her post “Knock, Knock - Open Enrollment Who?”

• Last year I wrote a guide to the terms and options you may be deciding on in a post titled “Build Your Wealth by Taking Advantage of Benefits Open Enrollment.”

Open Enrollment for 2021 runs from November 1, 2020 through December 15, 2020. Coverage begins January 1, 2021. It is a time in which individuals are required to opt in or out of health, dental, and vision insurance for the upcoming calendar year.

In light of the remembrance I thought today I’d discuss one of the benefits offered to our military members and federal government employees: the Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP. Keep in mind this is a brief overview of a system that can be complex.

The products available to us in the financial and healthcare industry can be confusing. So, with the use of Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA’s), we are combining the two worlds and this can be overwhelming when trying to pick a health care plan.

In this week’s blog, Financial Planner Kate Welker, CFP® defines top benefit terms to help demystify some of the confusing benefit terms.

In the next few weeks, you may open your mail or email to see notices regarding open enrollment season through your employer. Open enrollment is a period of time you can make changes to your employee benefits options that are normally restricted. This is also a great time to review your entire benefits package and make any other adjustments as well. Let’s walk through a few options you may be looking at.