Life Events

At Rice, we try to make any life event you may have as simple as we can. Certain life events allow you to make changes in benefits that are otherwise only possible once a year during the annual enrollment period. The following information can help you think through how these events affect your benefits.

Life events fall into two categories:

HIPAA Special Enrollment Events

HIPAA special enrollment events allow a greater variety of changes. Under these events, a member can add dependents to current coverage and change the coverage option for medical, dental, and vision insurance. HIPAA special enrollment events are:

• An individual gains a tax dependent through marriage, birth adoption, or being placed for adoption (Accordion)
• An individual loses eligibility for coverage under a group health plan or other insurance coverage (such as a spouse’s plan)
• An individual loses coverage under CHIP or Medicaid or becomes eligible to receive premium assistance under group health plan coverage programs.

Qualifying Life Events

Other Life Events

Other Life events are more limited in what you can do. The rule for these changes is that the change must be consistent with and on account of the life event. Other life events include:

• Divorce or Death of a dependent (Accordion)
• Taking an unpaid leave of absence
• Court order
• Day Care change
• Change of residence that makes you ineligible for certain plan options

To change your benefits, you will log into iO. Simply tell the system you want to change your benefits, tell it why and when, and it will show you the benefits you are allowed to change. All life events require some sort of documentation. You will load the appropriate documentation as well. If you have questions or need assistance, call 713-348-2363.

Additional Information

Dependents

Have or Adopt a Child Eligibility: Rice University’s plans cover biological children, legally adopted children, foster children, or children for whom you are the legal guardian. Rice’s plans usually do not cover a child in the process of adoption until the child is formally placed with you and you have legal and financial responsibility for the child.

Medical, Vision, and Dental Coverage: When you have a baby or adopt a child, you may change your medical, vision, or dental plan coverage to ensure family coverage. You will be allowed to change the plan option (from the POS to the HMO, for example). If you are already enrolled in a family plan, you still need to add your new child by contacting your benefits team. You should provide the child's Social Security Number as soon as it is received. You may also cancel your medical and/or dental coverage within 30 days of beginning new coverage under your spouse’s plan, should s/he decide to enroll the family instead of you.

Life Insurance Plan You may want to re-evaluate your life insurance coverage to be sure you have an appropriate level of coverage under the plan to accommodate the change in your family responsibilities. Even if you have elected not to buy optional life insurance, the university provides you with a benefit equal to one times your annual base salary (up to $50,000) at no cost to you. If you elect to buy or increase optional life insurance coverage at this time, you will be required to provide evidence of insurability.

Taking Leave Certain faculty are eligible for Primary Caregiver Leave after the birth or adoption of a child. See University Policy 204 for more information about this leave program. If you are a staff member, as the parent of a new child, you may be eligible to take PTO and/or FMLA unpaid leave.

POLICY 204 - Faculty Family, Primary Caregiver, Medical and Professional Leave

Flexible Spending Accounts Consider whether to participate in medical or dependent care flex spending accounts or, if already participating, decide whether you need to change your election amount. You may want to increase your medical spending account contributions to pay for your child’s uncovered eligible health and dental expenses with tax-free dollars. If you are using a daycare facility or a nanny, you may want to begin a dependent care spending account to pay for daycare or other allowed expenses with tax-free dollars. You can elect or increase your coverage within 30 days from the birth or placement of a child or with a change in dependent care providers or status.

Short-Term Disability Your Rice Short-Term Disability (STD) benefits are governed by our policy, which defines eligibility for the plan and benefits payable while under the plan. If an employee is pregnant, the birth of the baby qualifies under the STD policy. Generally, assuming an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery, STD allows for a total leave of six weeks for a vaginal birth and eight weeks for a C-Section delivery. As per the STD policy, the first week of absence for a staff member is paid through PTO and STD pay covers the remaining 5 to 7 weeks for uncomplicated deliveries. Additional time may be taken using PTO or as an unpaid leave under FMLA (see University Policy 417).

POLICY 402 - Access and Accommodation for Individuals With Disabilities

POLICY 423 - Short-Term Disability Pay Continuation

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Dependents Loses Eligibility

Medical and Dental Coverage: When your dependent child reaches age 26, the child will be dropped from coverage. This is the only change allowed on the plan, and it will happen automatically. If your child still requires coverage, you may elect to continue his or her medical, dental, and/or vision coverage under COBRA for up to 36 months. Look for your COBRA notification in the mail within 2 weeks of the end of the month in which your child turns 26 to ensure that you do not miss the sixty-day deadline for electing COBRA continuation coverage. For more information on COBRA benefits, please visit the COBRA page.

Life Insurance Plan: If you have no other children covered by child life insurance, you must go into iO and drop your child's life insurance. Otherwise, you will be paying for coverage for which you will not receive benefits. We will not terminate this coverage for you.

Flexible Spending Accounts: If your child remains your tax dependent, you may increase your contributions to a medical spending account or begin participating in an account to pay for their uncovered health and/or dental expenses. You may also elect to reduce or cancel contributions if your child is no longer a tax dependent or if he or she obtains more comprehensive health and/or dental coverage elsewhere. You may not make changes to a dependent care spending account at this time, as this would not be consistent with the event.

Retirement Plans Review your investment elections under the plan to accommodate your new situation. Often, the increasing age of a child results in a change in one’s financial obligations. It is a good time to re-examine your financial goals and to make changes in investments and/or contributions. You may change your investment decision and contribution election as often as once monthly. Beneficiaries may be changed at any time. Go to the Retirement page for more information.

Remember! Process your life event within 30 days from the date of birth or adoption to make many of these changes. You will be required to provide documentation indicating the date of your child’s birth or placement.

Gain or Lose CHIP Eligibility If you lose CHIP coverage during the plan year, you may add your dependent child to the Rice plan. This is a HIPAA special enrollment event. However, becoming eligible for CHIP coverage during the year is not a qualifying life event. You can only drop your child from Rice coverage at Annual Enrollment. If you believe you are eligible for CHIP or Medicaid, please read the document below and contact your State for further information on eligibility.

More information on the CHIP Program is available here.

Spouses

Get Married or Register a Domestic Partner

What to Expect: You have 30 days from the date of marriage or domestic partner registration to add your spouse or partner to your Rice benefits. If you miss this deadline, you will have another opportunity during the next open enrollment period (usually in April, with a July 1 effective date). If you are registering a domestic partner, you may contact Rice’s Benefits Team for a copy of the Domestic Partner Registration Packet. The packet includes the requirements for domestic partner registration, frequently asked questions, answers, and registration materials. Once you have reviewed the materials and are ready to register your partner, contact a member of the Benefits team to make an appointment to complete the actual registration (notary services are available on campus free of charge). You will have 30 days from the date you register your partner to add him or her to your benefits if desired. Note that domestic partner and domestic partner’s dependents' benefits are taxable and valued as “imputed income.”

Medical and Dental Coverage: Review and compare your spouse or partner's benefits with your own so that you can select coverage to your best advantage. Remember that not all plans allow for domestic partner coverage. As a result of this review, you may decide to enroll in a university medical and/or dental plan. If already enrolled, you may decide to cancel your Rice coverage or change from an individual to a family plan.

Life Insurance Plan: Re-evaluate your life insurance coverage to be sure you have an appropriate level of coverage under the plan to accommodate the change in your family responsibilities. Even if you have elected not to buy optional life insurance, the university provides you with a benefit equal to one times your annual base salary (up to $50,000) at no cost to you. If you elect to buy or increase optional life insurance coverage at this time, you will be required to provide evidence of insurability. You can elect spouse life insurance at this time, up to half your coverage amount or $50,000 (whichever is less) without evidence of insurability. Review your beneficiary elections under this plan and, if necessary, make changes within iO.rice.edu.

Long-Term Disability Plan: You may wish to make a change in your long-term disability election based on your new responsibilities.

Flexible Spending Accounts: If enrolled in the medical spending account (MSA) or a dependent care spending account (DCFSA), your contributions will cease, and you may submit claims for reimbursement of expenses incurred through the end of the month of your termination date. You must file claims for reimbursement within 120 days of the end of your benefits. You may elect COBRA continuation coverage for your MSA only through the end of that plan year if desired. All contributions will be made on a post-tax basis.

Retirement Plans Review your investment elections under the plan to accommodate your new financial goals. You may change your investment elections and your contribution amount as often as you like. Review your beneficiary elections under these plans at Fidelity or TIAA.

Remember! Make your election changes on the benefits portal within 30 days of your marriage or domestic partner’s registration. You will be required to provide official documentation indicating the date of your marriage or domestic partner registration.

Spouse Has an Employment Change

Medical and Dental Coverage: If your spouse’s employment changes, it may be a qualifying change in status, and you may be able to change your coverage level in the medical and/or dental plans, elect Rice coverage, or cancel your Rice coverage. Review your spouse’s benefits and compare them to Rice’s in order to coordinate your coverage in your best interest. You have 30 days after the event date (new job, loss of job, reduction in work hours, etc.) to make this change.

Life Insurance & Disability Plans: You may change your life insurance and disability coverage at this time. Re-evaluate your life insurance coverage and your decision regarding if you pay for your long-term disability benefits. You need to be sure you have appropriate coverage under these plans to accommodate the change in your family’s situation. Even if you have elected not to buy optional life insurance, the university provides you with a benefit equal to one times your salary (up to $50,000) at no cost to you. If you elect to purchase additional life insurance, you will be required to provide evidence of insurability.

Flexible Spending Accounts: Review the Flexible Spending Accounts section on the Health Plans page for additional information. When your spouse experiences an employment change, you will want to evaluate your contributions to a medical spending account (MSA) to make sure they will cover any eligible uninsured medical and dental expenses. At this time, you may want to enroll in or cancel an MSA, or you may change your election amount. If your spouse is beginning employment (and was caring for the child(ren)), you may enroll in a dependent care spending account; if your spouse’s employment is ending (and will care for the child(ren)), you may cancel your dependent care account.

Retirement Plans: Review your investment elections under the plan to accommodate your new situation. Often, a new job changes one’s financial obligations, and it may be a good time to re-examine one’s financial goals and make changes to investment choices. You may change your investment decision and your contribution election as often as often as you like. Beneficiaries may be changed at any time on the TIAA or Fidelity web portals.

Remember! Be sure to make any changes to your elections within 30 days from the date of the event by contacting a member of the Benefits Team. You will be required to provide documentation indicating the date of your spouse’s change in employment.

Divorce

Medical and Dental: coverage as a result of your divorce, you may decide to enroll in a university medical and/or dental plan. If already enrolled, you must remove your former spouse from your coverage. If required by the court and with proper documentation, you may change from an individual to employee + child(ren) coverage. Your former spouse has the right to continue medical and/or dental coverage through COBRA for up to thirty-six months if he or she had Rice coverage at the time of the divorce. We will need your former spouse's current address to send them their COBRA notice, as required by law. For more information on COBRA benefits, please visit the COBRA page.

Life Insurance Plan: You will need to re-evaluate your life insurance coverage, and your election may change at this time. Be sure you have the appropriate level of coverage to accommodate the change in your family structure. Even if you have elected not to buy optional life insurance, the university provides you with a benefit equal to one times your annual base salary (up to $50,000) at no cost to you. If you elect to buy or increase optional life insurance coverage at this time, you will be required to provide evidence of insurability. Review your beneficiary elections under this plan and, if necessary, make changes within iO.rice.edu.

Flexible Spending Accounts: Review the Flexible Spending Accounts section on the Health Plans page for additional information. You will want to evaluate your contributions to a medical spending account (MSA) and may wish to change your contributions now that your former spouse is no longer an eligible dependent. Your former spouse can continue with a separate MSA through COBRA if he or she was participating at the time of the divorce.

Retirement Plans: Update the beneficiaries under the plans — see the Retirement page for more information. If you are required to divide your retirement assets as part of the divorce agreement, your attorney should provide you with your Qualified Domestic Relation Order for documentation to the plan administrator (either TIAA or Fidelity Investments). You may change your investment decisions and your contribution election as often as you wish.

Remember! Be sure to make any changes to your elections within 30 days from the date of the event on the benefits portal or by calling the benefits service center at 713-348-2363. You will be required to provide documentation indicating the date of your divorce. You must remove your spouse from coverage immediately upon your divorce. Failure to do so can result in your removal from the plan, paying restitution to the plan for any claims, and corrective action up to and including termination of employment. Failure to drop your spouse within 60 days of the divorce may affect your former spouse's rights to COBRA.

Turn 65 Years Old

Certain life events allow you to make changes in benefits that are otherwise only possible once a year during the open enrollment period. However, turning 65 is only a qualifying status change if you opt out of Rice's insurance and enroll in Medicare (as a replacement).

Actively Working at Rice: If you are an active employee at Rice and are enrolled in Rice's medical plans, turning 65 will not affect your benefits. Unless you are enrolled in the Consumer-Directed Health Plan (CDHP), you should enroll in Medicare Part A (which covers hospitalization and is provided at no cost to you if you qualify—see www.medicare.gov to apply or for more information). Please DO NOT enroll in Part B (office visits, X-rays, etc.) or Part D (prescription drug benefits) if you intend to remain on Rice's active plan. Your benefits through Rice will remain your PRIMARY insurance for as long as you are actively working at Rice and remain enrolled. Therefore, enrollment in Part B and Part D—which both cost you additional premiums—will not benefit you much, as most Rice plans are comprehensive. Once you are ready to retire, please contact Social Security or Medicare. They will provide you with a form that a member of the Benefits Team will complete to allow you to enroll in Medicare Part B and Part D without penalty for late enrollment. Rice as "primary coverage" for domestic partners ends at age 65.

The Annual Medicare Part D Certificate of Creditable Coverage can be found on the Required Notices page.

Retired: If you are an early retiree and continue under Rice's insurance and then turn 65, please contact a member of the Benefits Team to discuss your options. If you are Medicare-eligible when you retire, you will need to enroll in Medicare and likely obtain a Medicare supplement. Medicare-eligible retirees will be eligible to use a service called “Via Benefits” to help them find Medicare Supplements that work for them.

More information about Via Benefits is available here.

Life Insurance Plan: Please be aware that as you age, any life insurance you have through Rice is subject to the Age Reduction Schedule. Beginning on and after your 70th birthday, your life insurance benefit decreases. Please view our page for more information.

Disability Plans: Your long-term disability coverage is affected by your age at the date of your disability or your attained age. Please review the long-term disability page for more information.

Retirement Plans As you reach different life events, such as turning 65 or when you are considering retirement, it is always a good idea to re-assess your investment strategy for your retirement funds. Please visit the Retirement page for more information about how to make an appointment with your administrator.

Remember! We usually recommend contacting Medicare 90 days prior to your effective date. You may contact them online or by making an appointment with one of Social Security's local offices.

Qualified Life Event FAQs

Where do I go to report a life event?

In iO, under the “Me” Tab, select “benefits”, then select “Report a Life Event”.

If I report a life event, when do my benefits start?

Benefits are effective on the first of the month coincident with or following the life event date.

For example, if you lose coverage on August 31st and report the life event on or before September 1st, your benefits will start on September 1. If the life event is reported on the 2nd or any day after, benefits will start on the 1st of the following month, which would be October 1st.

When do I need to report a life event and provide supporting documentation?

You have 30 days from the life event date to make changes to coverage and provide supporting documentation.

For Medicare/Medicaid or Chip, you have 60 days from the life event date to make changes to coverage and provide supporting documentation.