Your Turn Rostered Leaders (and others)

From now until November 22, if you are a sponsored employee in the ELCA health benefit plan through Portico Benefits, you have important decisions to make about your benefits for 2014.

Go to www.porticobenefits.org.

Under the “Our Websites” tab, click on MyPortico.

1. You will be asked to make a decision about your health benefit plan for 2014.      You may:

• accept the plan offered by your employer,
• buy up to a more expensive plan, or
• waive coverage altogether.

2. You will be asked about tax-advantaged contributions to:

• a Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• an Dependent (Day) Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

3. You will be offered the chance to purchase supplemental and dependent group life insurance. Hopefully you reviewed the recent mailing from Portico Benefits on the option to purchase additional life insurance at a very competitive rate without any visits to a doctor first. This is a one-time option you will want to take a close look at. If you choose to do this, you will need the social security number and birthday of any primary and secondary beneficiary.

4. You will be asked if you wish to make pre-tax retirement account contributions.

As you move through the process, a chart on the right keeps a running account of your choices and the cost to you, if any.

So, if you haven’t done so, surf on over to www.porticobenefits.org and make those choices before November 22.

 

Two Weeks to Go

So where are we now with making those 2014 Health Care choices? Only about 35 congregations in the I-K Synod have gone in and offered a plan.

• October 14 is the deadline for congregations to register the plan they are offering at EmployerLink.
• November 1-22 is the time frame for rostered leaders to accept the plan that is offered, buy up, or waive coverage.

Which employers need to make a health benefit option election for 2014?

• Employers currently sponsoring any members (even if all those members are waived or Medicare-primary).
• Employers who have sponsored at least one member since January 01, 2012, even if they are not currently sponsoring any members.
• Employers not currently sponsoring but planning on sponsoring in 2014.

Employers who do not need to make a health benefit election for 2014:

• Employers who have not sponsored any members since before January 01, 2012, and who do not intend to sponsor any members in 2014.
• Special exception employers (e.g. grandfathered-in retirement only, Luther Seminary, Global Missions, etc.).

Hopefully congregational leaders and rostered leaders have had or will have the needed conversations about what the health care needs of the rostered person are and which health care plan provides those. The Gold+ plan is the closest to continuing the benefits that rostered leaders currently receive under the plan now in effect.

Have those conversations now, before the October 14 deadline arrives.