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Money & Benefits

Employer Benefits Open Enrollment: 10 Things to Check

A 10-point checklist for workplace open enrollment: premiums, the plan summary, networks, drugs, 2027 HSA limits, FSA rules, dependents, life and disability cover.

By All Blog Article Editorial Team · Published · 9 min read

Employer open enrollment is the yearly window when you choose your workplace health plan and related benefits for the next plan year. The ten things worth checking are your deadline, your premiums, the plan summary, the provider network, the drug list, the health savings account, the health FSA, the dependent care FSA, who you cover, and your life and disability insurance.

Most of these choices are locked in once the window closes, so open enrollment is usually your one chance this year to get the mix right.

Key takeaways

  • Elections generally stand for the whole plan year unless you have a qualifying change, such as marriage or a new child.
  • For 2027, HSA contribution limits are $4,500 for self-only coverage and $9,000 for family coverage, plus $1,000 if you are 55 or older. Money your employer puts in counts toward the limit.
  • The health FSA limit for plan years beginning in 2026 is $3,400, with up to $680 of carryover. The IRS had not published the 2027 figure as of October 13, 2026.
  • The dependent care FSA limit rose to $7,500 a year starting in 2026, or $3,750 if you are married filing separately.
  • Group-term life coverage above $50,000 adds taxable income, and how you pay for disability cover affects whether its benefits are taxed.

Before you start: the deadline and the lock-in

1. Your deadline and the default

Your employer sets the enrollment window and the start of the plan year. Note the last day to make changes, what happens to each benefit if you make no choice, and whether your FSA elections carry over or must be made again.

Benefits you pay for with pre-tax pay run through what tax law calls a cafeteria plan, and federal tax rules let such a plan allow midyear changes only after listed events. The last section of this guide covers them.

Your health plan

2. What you will pay in premiums

Your premium is the amount taken from each paycheck for coverage, whether or not you use care. Multiply the per-paycheck figure by your number of paychecks to get a yearly cost, and compare each tier you might choose, such as employee only or family.

3. The Summary of Benefits and Coverage

Your plan must give you a Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) for each option, normally with the enrollment materials. If you are renewed automatically, it is generally due at least 30 days before the new plan year, and you can ask for one at any time. Every plan uses the same format, so it is the fastest way to compare plans. It shows the deductible (what you pay before the plan shares costs), the out-of-pocket limit (the most you pay for covered in-network care in a year), copays and coinsurance, and whether you need referrals. It also links to the plan's provider list and drug coverage, and includes coverage examples that estimate your costs for a pregnancy, managing type 2 diabetes and a simple fracture. If a plan makes a significant change during the plan year that would alter what the SBC says, it generally must tell you at least 60 days before the change takes effect.

4. Your doctors and hospitals

Networks change, and so do the insurers employers hire. Use the provider list linked from each SBC to check every doctor, hospital and specialist you expect to see next plan year, especially if you are switching plans.

5. Your prescriptions

Look up each medicine you take on the plan's drug list, called a formulary. Note its tier, which sets your share of the cost, and any rule that requires the plan's approval before it pays. A medicine that is cheap on one option can cost more on another.

Health accounts: HSA, health FSA and dependent care FSA

6. The HSA, if you pick a high-deductible plan

A health savings account (HSA) lets you set aside pre-tax money for medical costs. You can add money only while you are covered by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP), have no other disqualifying coverage, are not enrolled in Medicare and cannot be claimed as someone else's dependent. For 2027, a plan counts as an HDHP if its deductible is at least $1,750 for self-only coverage or $3,500 for family coverage, and its out-of-pocket maximum is no more than $8,700 or $17,400.

  • Limits. You can contribute up to $4,500 for self-only coverage or $9,000 for family coverage in 2027, up from $4,400 and $8,750 in 2026. HSA limits run by calendar year even if your plan year does not.
  • Catch-up. If you are 55 or older by the end of the year, you can add $1,000.
  • Employer money. Your employer's deposits count toward the same limit, so subtract them before setting your payroll contribution.
  • Ownership. You own the account, not your employer. Money you do not spend this year is still there next year, including after a job change or retirement.
  • Medicare. Once you enroll in Medicare, your contribution limit is zero from that month.

Our guide to HSA vs FSA compares the two accounts in detail.

Example: The plans below are illustrative, for self-only coverage in 2027 with 26 paychecks a year. Both meet the real 2027 rules: Plan B's deductible is above the $1,750 minimum and its out-of-pocket maximum is below the $8,700 cap. Both plans charge 20% coinsurance after the deductible, and the out-of-pocket maximum includes the deductible.

Yearly costPlan A: PPOPlan B: HDHP with HSA
Premiums$90 × 26 = $2,340$55 × 26 = $1,430
Deductible / out-of-pocket maximum$1,000 / $3,500$2,000 / $6,500
Employer HSA depositNone$500
Light year: only free preventive care$2,340$1,430 − $500 = $930
$3,000 of covered care$2,340 + $1,000 + $400 = $3,740$1,430 + $2,000 + $200 − $500 = $3,130
Worst year: out-of-pocket maximum reached$2,340 + $3,500 = $5,840$1,430 + $6,500 − $500 = $7,430

Here the HDHP costs less in a light or moderate year and $1,590 more in a bad one. With the $500 employer deposit, this employee could add up to $4,000 more to the HSA in 2027, or $5,000 at 55 or older. The comparison that matters depends on how much care you expect: with heavy use, compare the worst-year totals; with little use, compare premiums after any employer deposit. The full method is in how to compare health plans by total yearly cost.

7. The health FSA

A health flexible spending account (FSA) also uses pre-tax pay for medical costs, but it is run by your employer and is largely use-it-or-lose-it: money left at the end of the plan year is forfeited unless your plan offers a grace period of up to 2½ months or a carryover. A plan can offer one or the other for a health FSA, not both.

For plan years beginning in 2026, you can contribute up to $3,400, and a plan with a carryover can let up to $680 roll into the next year. As of October 13, 2026, the IRS had not published the 2027 limit, so if your plan year starts in 2027, use the figure in your enrollment materials. If your costs are predictable, such as regular prescriptions or a planned procedure, the forfeiture risk is low; if they are not, a smaller election limits what you can lose.

A general health FSA makes you ineligible to contribute to an HSA; a limited-purpose FSA, which covers costs such as dental and vision care, does not.

8. The dependent care FSA

A dependent care FSA uses pre-tax pay for care of eligible dependents, such as young children, so you can work. Starting in 2026, federal law raised the yearly limit from $5,000 to $7,500, or $3,750 if you are married and file separately. The amount also cannot exceed your earned income or your spouse's, whichever is lower. The $7,500 is set in law and is not adjusted for inflation, so it applies in 2027 too. How it interacts with the child and dependent care tax credit is covered in the dependent care FSA guide.

Who you cover

9. Dependents, and whether family members do better elsewhere

Children can generally join or stay on a parent's job-based plan until they turn 26, even if they marry, have a child, live away from home, are not claimed as a tax dependent, or turn down their own job-based offer. Some states and plans have different rules, so confirm with your plan.

Also price family coverage against the Marketplace. For 2027, a job-based offer counts as unaffordable for family members if the premium to cover everyone in the household is more than 10.22% of household income, even when the employee's own self-only premium passes the test. Those family members may then qualify for Marketplace premium tax credits if they meet the other rules, including income.

Life and disability insurance

10. Life and disability coverage

  • Group-term life. If your employer provides more than $50,000 of group-term life coverage, the cost of the coverage above $50,000 is added to your taxable wages, minus anything you pay toward it. Check the amount and that your beneficiaries are current.
  • Disability. If your employer pays the premiums, or you pay them with pre-tax money through a cafeteria plan, benefits you receive are generally taxable. If you pay the premiums with after-tax money, benefits are generally not taxable. If the cost is shared, only the part of the benefit that comes from your employer's payments is taxed. Paying after tax, where allowed, trades a smaller paycheck now for tax-free benefits if you ever claim.

After the window closes: midyear changes

Two sets of rules allow changes during the plan year.

  • Health plan special enrollment. Your employer's plan must give you at least 30 days to enroll after you lose other coverage or gain a dependent through marriage, birth, adoption or placement for adoption, and at least 60 days after you or a dependent lose Medicaid or CHIP eligibility. A new child can be covered from the date of the birth or adoption.
  • Cafeteria plan changes. If your plan allows it, events such as marriage, divorce, a new child, a change in your or your spouse's employment, or a move can let you change pre-tax elections, as long as the change matches the event.

Deadlines are short, so contact your benefits office as soon as an event happens. The Marketplace rules for the same events are in special enrollment periods and qualifying life events.

Frequently asked questions

When will the 2027 health FSA limit be announced?

The IRS had not published it as of October 13, 2026. The 2026 figure of $3,400 was announced on October 9, 2025. Your enrollment materials should show the limit your plan will use.

Can you have an HSA and a health FSA at the same time?

Not a general health FSA, because it counts as other coverage and makes you ineligible to contribute to an HSA. A limited-purpose FSA, which covers costs such as dental and vision care, can be paired with an HSA.

What if you miss your employer's open enrollment?

You can then change your choices only after a qualifying event, such as losing other coverage, marrying or having a child. Your plan must allow at least 30 days after most of these events, and at least 60 days after losing Medicaid or CHIP.

When might a Marketplace plan cost your family less?

Compare both. If covering your family through your job would cost more than 10.22% of household income in 2027, family members may qualify for premium tax credits on the Marketplace if they meet the other rules, including income, whose open enrollment on HealthCare.gov runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027.

Sources

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