Benefits open enrollment starts next week; watch for enrollment guide

Employees should watch for the delivery of their Enrollment Reference Guide as open enrollment for 2013 benefits gets under way next week. Employees will enroll through EBenefits, Purdue's online benefits system. Enrollment will be open Oct. 29 through midnight Nov. 16.

Notable for this year's enrollment:

* The tobacco-user additional premium will increase to $500 per person per year for 2013. All employees covered by a Purdue medical plan need to certify their current tobacco-user status, and that of their covered spouse/same-sex domestic partner, even if they certified their status last year.

Status options are non-tobacco user, tobacco user and tobacco user who has completed an approved cessation program between Sept. 1 and Nov. 16. Those who don't certify their status in EBenefits during open enrollment will be considered a tobacco user, which will affect what they pay for medical insurance and for any additional employee life insurance they may carry.

* Coverage for all three medical plans has been adjusted for 2013 and premiums have increased. "In light of next year's changes, we're encouraging everyone to carefully compare all three options," says Teresa Wesner, HR customer service manager. "Lots of resources are available to help employees weigh their options and choose the plan that's best for them."

* EBenefits will become the official record of beneficiaries for life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Currently this beneficiary information is kept in the files of Minnesota Life. To assist with this change, Human Resources is asking all employees to list their beneficiaries for these plans in EBenefits during open enrollment.

For more information about these and other changes for 2013, refer to the Choose Well, Live Well newsletter and the Enrollment Reference Guide, which will be distributed over the next few days, or go to the Benefits website at www.purdue.edu/benefits, beginning Oct. 29. These resources also provide instructions for using EBenefits, plus information on presentations, walk-in labs and other assistance available during open enrollment.