Qualifying Life Events
If you elected after-tax contributions for medical and/or dental coverage, you may drop that coverage any time during the year, for any reason.  Also, you may drop special accident insurance coverage at any time and for any reason.  However, you may change your before-tax medical and dental contributions, as well as your flexible spending account contributions, during the year only on account of and consistent with a Qualifying Life Event or when certain significant changes in cost or in coverage happen.  A change during the year must be made within 30 days of the qualifying event. 

A Qualifying Life Event includes:

• marriage, legal separation, annulment, or divorce
• the death of your spouse or child
• the birth or adoption (or placement for adoption)
• the loss or gain of benefit eligibility of your child
• the termination or commencement of employment of you, your spouse or child
• reduction or increase in hours of employment of you, your spouse or child, including a switch between part-time and full-time, a strike or lockout, or commencement of or return from unpaid leave of absence
• a change in health coverage due to your spouse’s employment
• a "special enrollment period" under the group health plan as required by law
• a qualified medical child support order that requires your child to be covered under the group medical and/or dental plan
• you, your spouse or child becomes eligible (or loses eligibility) for Medicare or Medicaid

or

• involuntary loss of other group health plan coverage.

REMINDER: Enrollment forms must be completed AND submitted to the Benefit Plans Office within 30 days of any Qualifying Life Event.  THIS INCLUDES THE BIRTH OF A NEWBORN.  Otherwise, you will have to wait until Open Enrollment to enroll and the coverage will not be effective until the next January 1.

Here are a few examples of election changes that are consistent with a Qualifying Life Event:

Example of Election Changes Consistent With a Qualifying Life Event
With This Qualifying Event	You can make these changes, if consistent*
Marriage, birth, adoption, orplacement for adoption of a child	Add yourself, your spouse and/or children; drop coverage if you are to be covered by your spouse’s plan
Divorce, legal separation, or annulment	Drop your spouse and/or children; add coverage if you had been covered under your spouse’s plan
Death of you, your spouse or a child	Drop coverage for spouse or child; add coverage if you had been covered by your spouse’s employer
Involuntary loss of other group medical coverage	Add coverage
Your child ceases to be a dependent (such as due to age, marriage or employment)	Drop dependent coverage
* For your election to be effective, the Plan Administrator must determine that your requested mid-year change is consistent with the event.

Changes in Cost or Coverage
In addition, if there is a significant change in the cost of coverage of a benefit option, you may be entitled to make a corresponding change in your election within 30 days of the event (except with respect to the health care spending account).  If a new benefit option is added or significantly improved or curtailed by the Company or by your dependent’s employer, you may be permitted to make a corresponding new election.  Changes to your health care spending account are not allowed by law for these reasons.

If you contribute to the dependent care flexible spending account, and there is a significant increase or decrease in the cost of services by a day care provider who is not your relative, you may be able to make corresponding changes to your contribution election for your dependent care spending account by submitting a new election within 30 days of the change.  If your dependent care provider changes or services are significantly curtailed, you may be able to change your election within 30 days.  For example, if mid-year, your mother will begin taking care of your child at no cost and you no longer need your current dependent care center, you can revoke your election to contribute to the dependent care spending account due to a significant change in coverage.  However, if your mother wants a raise mid-year, you cannot increase your contributions to this account due to a change in cost because she is your relative.

In addition, if annual enrollment for your spouse is for a period of coverage other than the calendar year, you may be permitted to make a corresponding election change under this plan during your spouse’s enrollment period.  For example, if you elect family medical coverage and, in May, your spouse elects coverage under his or her employer plan for May 1 – April 30, you can drop your spouse from our medical plan by submitting an election change by May 31.
Please be aware that if the cost of a benefit option that you pay on a pre-tax basis increases or decreases during a year (but not significantly), your election will be automatically changed to reflect the change in the cost of coverage.