Medical, Dental, Vision and Life Insurance Plan. The Seminary & University offers eligible employees and eligible dependents an opportunity to participate in medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans. The cost for these plans is an employer/employee shared expense; the respective payments by the Seminary and the employee are specified to participants in writing. The employee’s share will be deducted from his/her pay on a pre-tax basis. Employees should consult the specific benefit plan documents for more complete information about eligibility and details of the plan. In each case, the specific benefit’s Summary Plan Description is the authoritative document. Should an employee elect medical benefits, coverage begins on the first day of the calendar month following hire (e.g., if the employee begins work on November 20, the effective date of coverage is December 1). Coverage ends on the last day of the month of termination (e.g., if an employee terminates employment on December 20, coverage ends on December 31). Information on these insurance programs is discussed during the new employee’s orientation and is available on the Xxxx Trust website. Generally, employees can make changes in their health plans once a year, during open enrollment. The decisions employees make during open enrollment are binding for the Plan Year unless they have a change in family status. The technical term for a change in family status affecting benefits is “Qualifying Life Event.” Relevant changes in family status include marriage, divorce, birth, adoption of a child, or a change in their spouse’s employment status as defined by Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. Employees who have experienced a qualifying life event must notify the Human Resources Office within 31 days of the qualifying life event and provide the necessary supporting documentation consistent with the requested change. If the notification is not submitted within 31 days, the requested change cannot be accepted. Employees who do not notify the Office of Human Resources of the life event changes within the 31-day window will have to wait until the next benefits open enrollment period to make changes to their health plans.
