Life Event Changes
A qualifying life status event is an IRS-approved opportunity to add or remove yourself and/or your dependents from medical and dental insurance outside of the annual Open Enrollment period.
Dartmouth Benefits Office
Phone: (603) 646-3588
Human.Resources.Benefits@dartmouth.edu
Act within 30 days. Your request must be submitted in FlexOnline within 30 days of the date of the event. Changes submitted 31 or more days after the event may be denied, and may only be made during Open Enrollment for a January 1 start. Complete the event and upload your event and dependent verification.
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About Life Events Types of Life Events Event Date Documentation Changes by Benefit Event Status Other Scenarios
About Life Status Events
An eligible life status event lets you make changes to your medical, dental, and vision coverage outside of Open Enrollment:
- Add or drop medical, dental, or vision coverage
- Add or remove dependents from your existing medical, dental, or vision plans
These events usually consist of the birth or adoption of a child, a marriage or divorce, or an eligible dependent losing or gaining a job with medical or dental coverage. Most qualifying life status changes allow changes to certain benefits only. The event you use in FlexOnline determines what you can add, change, or cancel.
Effective dates: when you add or increase benefits, changes take effect as of the date of the life status change. When you cancel benefits, they end on the last day of the month in which the life event occurred.
Payroll Impact
Important: qualified life events may change your monthly or biweekly payroll deductions. Depending on the change, retroactive premiums may be owed or credited back to you, based on the effective start date. Benefits are paid in advance at Dartmouth, so any adjustments appear in an upcoming paycheck. When you add coverage, you may owe multiple pay periods of premiums, so please be prepared.
Increasing or Decreasing Hours
- Becoming benefits eligible: if you increase your hours and move from non-benefits eligible to benefits eligible, you can elect benefits as if you were a new hire. You have 30 days from the date you become benefits eligible to make elections in FlexOnline.
- Losing benefits eligibility: if you decrease your hours to the point where you lose eligibility, benefits end on the last day of the month in which you are benefits eligible.
- Already benefits eligible: if you increase or decrease your hours and stay benefits eligible, you may not change your existing benefit elections.
Unsure of your annual salary and full time equivalency used to calculate your benefits? Contact the Benefits Office.
Types of Life Events
Choose the event that matches your situation in FlexOnline.
| Event | Use it when | Verification |
|---|---|---|
| Birth, adoption, or legal guardianship | You had a baby, legally adopted a child, or had a child placed with you for adoption or legal guardianship within the last 30 days, and need to add them to your medical and/or dental benefits. | Event and dependent verification |
| Marriage | You married within the last 30 days and are adding a spouse and dependents to your medical and/or dental benefits. | Event and dependent verification |
| Divorce | You divorced within the last 30 days and need to remove dependents from coverage. | Event verification |
| Employee gains eligibility for outside coverage | YOU gained eligibility for medical and/or dental coverage under another source and need to drop Dartmouth coverage. Dependents may also be dropped. If you are only dropping dependents, use the dependent event below. | Event verification |
| Employee loses eligibility for outside coverage | YOU lost coverage under another source and need to add yourself to a Dartmouth medical and/or dental plan. Dependents may also be added. If you are only adding dependents, use the dependent event below. | Event and dependent verification |
| Dependent gains eligibility for outside coverage | Your DEPENDENT(s) gained eligibility for medical and/or dental coverage under another source and need to drop your Dartmouth coverage. Do not use this event if you are also dropping coverage. Use the employee event above. | Event verification |
| Dependent loses eligibility for outside coverage | Your DEPENDENT(s) lost coverage under another source and you need to add them to your existing medical and/or dental coverage. Do not use this event if you are also enrolling. Use the employee event above. | Event and dependent verification |
| CHIP or loss or gain of Medicaid for children | Not an event in FlexOnline, but losing or gaining Medicaid coverage for a child is a qualifying event. Complete a Dependent Gains or Dependent Loses event, as described above. | Same as the dependent event you choose |
| Health Savings Account change | You want to increase, decrease, start, or stop your annual HSA contributions. See Changes to Health Savings Accounts. | None required |
| Dependent Care FSA change | Not shown in FlexOnline. If you have had a major change to your daycare, summer camp, or after school program status, contact the Benefits Office. In some cases, we can change your annual contribution amount. | Event verification |
| Employee or dependent gains Medicare eligibility | When you and/or your spouse become eligible for Medicare, you may enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. This can be a qualifying event for dropping medical coverage for yourself and/or your spouse. See the Medicare and Post-65 Coverage page. | Contact the Benefits Office |
| Moving to or from the US | You or a covered dependent is moving to or from the US. Contact the Benefits Office at (603) 646-3588 or Human.Resources.Benefits@dartmouth.edu to discuss your options. | Contact the Benefits Office |
| Death of a spouse or child | Contact the Benefits Office. We will remove them from coverage for you, check whether they were covered under dependent life insurance, and begin the claim process. | Not applicable |
| Qualified Medical Child Support Order (QMCSO) | You are required to add a child to your medical plan because of a QMCSO. Add them with a Dependent Loses Outside Coverage event. | Same as the dependent event |
Event Date
The idea is to keep your health and dental coverage continuous, so no gaps occur.
Adding Yourself or Dependents to Coverage
Coverage begins as of the event date. To avoid gaps, use the day after your last date of outside coverage as your event date. For example, if your former coverage ended on the 15th of the month, use the 16th.
Removing Yourself or Dependents from Coverage
Coverage ends on the last day of the month. To avoid gaps, use the day before your new coverage begins as your event date. For example, if your new coverage starts July 1, use June 30 as the event date, and Dartmouth coverage stops on July 1. If you use July 1 as the event date, coverage doesn't end until July 31.
Coordinating Dates with Other Health Plans
It is important to coordinate start and end dates with your new or former plan. For example, say you get married on July 15 and want to add your spouse to your medical plan. Your spouse needs to find out whether their current coverage drops on the 15th or at the end of the month.
- Their coverage ends on July 15: use the "Marriage" life event with an event date of July 15, and upload your marriage certificate as event verification.
- Their coverage ends at the end of July: your spouse uses Marriage as their reason for dropping coverage through their employer, and you use "Dependent Loses Outside Coverage" with August 1 as your event date, because that is the first day your spouse is covered under your plan. Get a letter from your spouse's employer showing they are being dropped and their last date of coverage.
If your spouse's coverage didn't end until the 31st and you completed a Marriage event dated the 15th, your spouse would be double covered for the second half of the month, through both your Dartmouth plan and their employer's plan.
Documentation
- Adding a spouse: upload a copy of your marriage certificate as dependent verification. If you don't have one, a copy of your most recently filed federal tax return showing both of your names may be used.
- Adding a dependent child: upload a birth certificate or court document showing proof of guardianship.
- Divorce: upload a copy of your divorce decree, or the page showing the date and signatures, within 30 days of the divorce.
- Gaining or losing outside coverage: you may submit a letter from your dependent's employer, a copy of a new ID card, or a print screen from the insurance company's member portal.
Documentation for gaining or losing outside coverage must show all of the following:
- Employer letterhead, or the name of the insurance carrier.
- Full names of all impacted family members, including the employee, spouse, and/or children.
- The date the outside coverage is ending or starting.
- The type of coverage being lost or gained (for example, medical or dental).
For the complete list of required documents by event, see Dependent Verification.
Changes by Benefit
Medical Insurance
If a life event lets you change your medical plan (for example, from OAP to HDHP), deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums you've already met during the plan year reset to $0.00 and don't transfer to the new plan. This could create unexpected out-of-pocket costs.
When a change in medical plans changes your tax-advantaged account contributions (for example, moving from a Health Care FSA or HRA to an HSA), we recommend you contact a tax professional to stay compliant with IRS regulations. Otherwise you may face tax penalties.
If your benefits-eligible spouse also works at Dartmouth, some situations allow you to move from their plan to yours, or the other way around. If you are each enrolled in the same medical plan option (OAP, CCF, or HDHP) at the time of the transition, any deductible and out-of-pocket maximum already met will transfer to your new health plan. If you and your spouse enroll in different plans, they reset at $0.00. Contact Cigna at (855) 869-8619 and ask for the balances to be transferred to your new plan.
Prescription Information
When you change your medical plan, refill all your prescriptions just before the change so you have enough medication to last through the transition. You may need to ask your provider for a new prescription for the pharmacy to approve it. Most pharmacies will reimburse an overpayment when requested within 14 days of the refill. After 14 days, Express Scripts and most other pharmacy vendors reimburse only the prescription's allowable amount. In an emergency, contact the Benefits Office.
Dental Insurance
You may only add or remove dependents during a qualifying life status event.
Life Insurance
Some qualifying life events allow changes to your life insurance, but you must submit Evidence of Insurability. Once you complete your event, check your notifications for a "Pending EOI" item. If it's there, click it and follow the prompts. You won't be billed for the change until Lincoln Financial approves the increase in coverage.
You may not complete a life status event only to change life insurance. The change must also relate to a change in medical or dental coverage.
Long Term Disability Insurance
During a qualifying life status event, you can only drop Long Term Disability insurance.
Flexible Spending Accounts
Some qualifying events allow changes to your FSAs, and the ability to increase or decrease follows the nature of the event. When you change your FSA, you can never decrease your balance below the amount you have already contributed year to date. When you increase your annual amount, you can only use the additional amount on expenses incurred after the date of your event.
Changes to Health Savings Accounts
You can change your HSA at any time without a life event. You can never decrease your balance below the amount you have already contributed year to date. If you haven't yet contributed to an HSA and want to start now, your funds won't be deducted until we confirm that you have claimed your account with Fidelity.
Retirement Elections
You can change your retirement elections at any time through dartgo.org/retirement. On the left side of the screen, click the ACCESS YOUR RETIREMENT AND HSA ACCOUNTS HERE icon. Use the HOW TO GUIDE below the CLICK HERE TO LOGIN button for illustrated instructions. NetBenefits is on a Fidelity platform. You elect your contributions there whether you invest with Fidelity, TIAA, or both.
Timing note: if you change your FSA, HSA, or retirement contributions within 10 days of your next paycheck, the change may not occur until the following paycheck.
Event Change Status
Submitted and Approved
Allow 3 to 5 business days for your event documentation to be reviewed. You'll receive an email at your Dartmouth address telling you whether the event was approved or denied. Once approved, allow another 7 to 10 days for your changes to appear in the insurance vendor portals.
Changes entered less than 10 days before a pay date may not appear until the second pay period after you complete the event. For example, if you are monthly paid and enter a change on March 25, you may not see the premium changes until your May 1 paycheck. Arrears and credits may take up to 14 days to process.
Event Denials
Events are most often denied because the dates on your event verification document don't match the date you used for your event date. Please don't run a new event. Contact the Benefits Office, and we will help you create the new event and remove any old ones.
If that isn't the reason, or you're unsure why your event was denied, send a written request for review to the Benefits Office explaining your life event and what you were trying to change. We will find out why it was denied and what, if anything, can be done.
Other Life Event Scenarios
Your Spouse Is Also a Dartmouth Employee
If you and your spouse are both benefits-eligible Dartmouth employees and you want to switch from one spouse's insurance to the other's, you must each change your benefits through FlexOnline.
Your Dependent Child Is Turning 26
- Dependent children turning 26 are automatically removed from your medical, dental, and dependent life insurance plans at the end of the month in which they turn 26. For example, if your child turns 26 on July 1, their last day of coverage is July 31, and they no longer have coverage on August 1.
- Sentinel Benefits is notified, and the COBRA packet is mailed to the employee's address on file within 2 weeks after their last day of coverage. See COBRA Continuation.
- If removing a dependent changes your tier or lowers your premiums, a credit is applied in a future paycheck.
- If your dependent child is 26 or older and has disabled status (enrolled in SSDI), contact the Benefits Office at (603) 646-3588.
Getting Divorced: What Else Do I Need to Know?
- Former spouses and their child dependents (stepchildren) are not eligible dependents on the Dartmouth benefit plans. You must remove them by completing a Divorce event in FlexOnline.
- Notify your former spouse right away that they are being removed from your coverage. You have 30 days from the date of the divorce event to make the changes to your health plans and upload your divorce documentation.
- Your former spouse and their child dependents can continue coverage through an individual Cigna or Delta Dental plan under the COBRA guidelines described on the COBRA Continuation page.
- If your former spouse no longer lives with you, notify the Benefits Office once the divorce is finalized so the COBRA packet is mailed to the right location.
Need help? Contact Benefits | Dependent Verification | FlexOnline
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