UF benefits open enrollment continues through Nov. 2

October 10, 2012

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida’s 2012 benefits open enrollment period for employees continues through 6 p.m. Nov. 2.

Eligible faculty and staff have an opportunity to make changes to their benefits, which are provided through a combination of state- and university-sponsored programs. A list of these benefits, along with links to plan details and other helpful information, may be found on the open enrollment section of UF Human Resource Services’ website.

The changes employees elect to make during open enrollment will take effect January 1, 2013, which is the start of the new benefits plan year.

Over the last year, significant work has gone into developing GatorCare, a self-insured health plan that will be offered to specific UF&Shands employee groups. While the majority of faculty, TEAMS and USPS employees are currently covered by the state’s health plan, and therefore not eligible for GatorCare, faculty and staff currently enrolled in AvMed’s Domestic Partner Health Plan should switch to the new GatorCare plan during this Open Enrollment period. UF’s AvMed-administered Domestic Partner Health Plan will be discontinued after this year.

Beginning next spring, other employee groups not currently part of the state’s health plan — such as graduate assistants on appointment, pre- and postdoctoral fellows, postdoctoral associates, clinical faculty and housestaff — will be eligible to enroll in the new GatorCare plans. Additional information is available on the GatorCare website.

In addition to the launch of GatorCare, one of the outcomes of UF’s recent self-insurance project is the introduction of a new voluntary benefits program, UFSelect, administered by FBMC Benefits Management. UFSelect is a new set of post-tax voluntary plans providing employees more choice to round out their university benefits package, and will include dental, vision, accident, critical illness, supplemental hospital, life events, pet and legal insurance. UFSelect will also provide benefit opportunities to employee groups who currently do not have voluntary plans, such as postdocs and housestaff. To learn more about UFSelect, please visit the FBMC Learning Center.

Existing UF plans that will continue under FBMC’s management will include the term life and disability plans; no action is needed on the part of employees who already participate in these two plans. However, employees who choose to enroll in any of the other UFSelect plans that overlap with any coverage they currently maintain (e.g., a different dental plan) will need to cancel their current coverage through the People First system in order to avoid any duplicative coverage.

FBMC enrollment counselors will be available on campus to provide information and to help employees enroll in voluntary benefits. Employees are encouraged to schedule a meeting with an FBMC enrollment counselor online at http://www.myenrollmentschedule.com/uf or by calling 866-998-2915. Employees may also sign in to the myUFL portal with their GatorLink login and password, then navigate to Main Menu > My Self Service > Benefits > UFSelect & GatorCare Benefits to enroll online through FBMC’s Premier Enroll system, which will take you step by step through the process.

In conjunction with open enrollment, UF also hosts an annual Benefits Fair, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Touchdown Terrace in the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Vendors will be available to answer questions about a variety of benefit and retirement plans, and free flu shots will be available for employees who bring their UF ID card. Employees can also meet some of UF’s Gator Perks employee discount program vendors, and there will be food and opportunities to win prizes.

Information sessions will be available to help answer any questions employees may have. Each session will be held in the Reitz Student Union, Room 349, from 10 a.m. to noon. Sessions will be offered on Oct. 17 and 25.

Employees will receive a Benefits Statement from the People First Service Center summarizing only their “state” benefits and providing their People First User IDs. A People First User ID and password will be required to access benefits records, enrollment forms and supplemental brochures available on the People First website. Employees who encounter problems activating their IDs and passwords should call the People First Service Center at (866) 663-4735 for assistance.

All open enrollment changes to state-sponsored and UFSelect plans must be completed by 6 p.m. Nov. 2. Employees may visit the open enrollment section of HRS’s website for more details on how to enroll, information sessions, important mailings and dates, and more. Employees may also stop by the University Benefits office at 903 W. University Ave. or a Human Resource Services satellite office, or contact University Benefits at benefits@ufl.edu or 352-392-2477 with any additional questions.