RF OPEN ENROLLMENT 

OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD:

The Open Enrollment Period is your annual opportunity to choose the benefits you want for the upcoming year. The 2025 Open Enrollment Period begins on November 1, 2024 and ends on November 30, 2024.

If you want to make changes, you can conveniently do so in the RF Employee Self Service during the month of November.  We recommend that you evaluate your health care needs to determine if a change should be made.  To assist with your evaluation, we recommend you read the Benefits Bulletin the Research Foundation mailed to your home. You should review the RF Benefits Bulletin for information regarding all plan
changes.

Once you make your elections, please be sure to print your confirmation statement. 

PLEASE NOTE: If you do not want to make any changes, all of your current enrollments will roll over into the New Year EXCEPT Flexible Spending elections. Both the Health Spending account and the Dependent Care Advantage account require annual enrollments to participate.

Your health plan options for 2025 are:

• Anthem Blue Cross Traditional PPO
• Anthem Blue Cross Deductible PPO
• Graduate Student and Post Doc PPO Plan by Blue Cross

CHANGES RF EMPLOYEES CAN MAKE DURING THE OPEN ENROLLMENT:

• Newly enroll in the health plan
• Add or drop dependents
• Cancel coverage
• Elect after-tax or pre-tax deductions
• Update your beneficiaries

PREMIUMS:

Please click on the following link for the 2025 RF Health Insurance Bi-Weekly premiums: RF Employee Benefit Rates

TO CHANGE YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION:

To change your health insurance option, you must log into the RF Employee Self Service Portal using the following link:  RF Employee Self Service Portal

FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS:

The November 1, 2024 through November 30, 2024 is a time of open enrollment for the Research Foundation’s Flexible Spending Account (FSA) programs. To help save and pay for expenses on a pre-tax basis you may want to enroll in the Health Care Spending Account and/or the Dependent Care Spending Account.

In 2024 the Health Care FSA contribution limits have increased to $3,300 and will remain at $5,000 for the Dependent Care Spending Account.

Your 2024 FSA enrollment will not roll over into 2025. If you wish to participate in
either of these options, you must log into the RF Employee Self Service Portal and make your election for 2025. Please note, if you are enrolling in the Dependent Care Spending Account, be sure to elect the employer subsidy if you wish to receive it.

Please be sure to print your confirmation page when you make any changes through the RF Self Service Portal.

NYS PAID FAMILY LEAVE:

The NYS Paid Family Leave Program provides job-protected, paid leave to bond with a new child, care for a loved one with a serious health condition or help relieve family pressures when someone is called to active military service. This benefit is paid for by employees through payroll deduction and it is not optional for most employees.

Available leave time:  12 weeks

Benefit Amount: 67% of your average weekly wage, up to a cap of 67% of the Statewide Average Weekly Wage of $1,757.19. The maximum benefit for 2025 is $1,177.32.

Deduction Rate: .388 percent of weekly earnings capped annually at $354.53

CNYS Disability Insurance Changes:

EBeginning January 1, 2025, the RF will partner with First Reliance Standard to administer Long-Term Disability, Voluntary Short-Term Disability, New York State Short Term Disability and Paid Family Leave benefits. Voluntary Short Term-Disability insurance replaces a portion of your income if you become disabled and can’t work for a short amount of time. You may purchase a weekly benefit in $100 increments not to exceed the lesser of $2,000 or 60 percent of salary.

Roth contributions offer you a different type of tax advantage: the earnings you accumulate in a Roth account can provide you with tax-free income in retirement. But there’s a tradeoff—Roth contributions are made on an after-tax basis, so they don’t reduce your current taxes the way before-tax contributions to the Optional Retirement plan do.

During Open Enrollment, employees will have a guaranteed issue opportunity to enroll in Voluntary Short-Term Disability if not currently enrolled. If you are interested in enrolling, you must log into the RF Employee Self Service Portal and make your election.

If you have questions regarding the Open Enrollment Period please call 631-632-6180 or email HRS_Benefits@stonybrook.edu.