HR: Employee Benefits
HR: Employee Benefits / Benefits Open Enrollment

Benefits Open Enrollment

Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to evaluate and make changes to your Willamette University benefit elections including your health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, and medical and dependent care flexible spending accounts. Open enrollment starts on Friday, February 13, 2026. All changes must be submitted by Friday, February 27, 2026, at 5:00 pm. Benefits will be effective April 1, 2026. Remember, you may elect to make changes to your retirement plans as well as the commuter spending account outside of the open enrollment period.

Please note that if you wish to keep your benefit elections the same as you have currently, you do not need to do anything.  The one exception is for flexible spending accounts, for which you must re-enroll in at open enrollment to maintain the benefit.

  • Kaiser HMO Plan

    The employee contribution premiums are decreasing by 4% for most employees. The table below summarizes the plan design changes for the new plan year starting April 1, 2026.  Unsure of the meaning of plan terms?  Reference the Glossary of Benefit terms section below.

    CURRENT PLAN 2026 UPDATED PLAN

    Annual Deductible (Individual/Family)

    $500 Individual

    $1,500 Family

    $1,000 Individual

    $3,000 Family
    Co-Insurance 20% Coinsurance
    after deductible    		 No Change
    Out of Pocket Maximum

    $3,000 Individual

    $9,000 Family

    No Change

    $8,000 Family
    Primary Care / Naturopath / Vision Office Visit Co-Pay

    $5 First 3 Visits

    $15 After 3 Visits

    No Change

    $25 After 3 Visits
    Specialist Visit $25 $35
    Urgent Care Visit $35 $45
    Basic Lab / X-Ray / Eye Exam $15 $25

    Kaiser Added Choice PPO Plan

  • Dental Plans 

    • Kaiser HMO: 8% premium increase.
    • The Standard PPO: 9% premium increase.

    Medical Flexible Spending accounts

    • Annual maximum contribution increases to $3,400.
    • Rollover amount increases to $680.

    Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts

    Maximum contribution increases from $5,000 to $7,500 per household.

  • Benefits enrollment changes may be made online at workday.willamette.edu.

  • February will be full of opportunities to learn more about your benefits with one-on-one appointments available to discuss your options and get your questions answered.

    Benefits Appointments

    Have benefits or open enrollment questions? Please email us at benefits-info@willamette.edu to schedule an appointment. View page 4 of your Open Enrollment Packet for scheduling options.

    Retirement Plan Appointments

    • Questions about your retirement account? Register for a Fidelity Virtual Session with our Fidelity Financial Consultant, Ronald Elia who will discuss how to make the most out of your retirement followed by a brief Q&A. The session is scheduled for Friday, February 20, from 11:00-11:30 a.m.
    • Schedule a personalized 30-minute session regarding your retirement account. If you need assistance scheduling your personalized virtual session or registering for a virtual session, review the instructions. For virtual sessions, select the "Attend a learning event" option.

  • Premium. The amount that must be paid for a health insurance plan. Employees pay a portion of the premium each pay period and Willamette pays the rest.

    Co-payment. The fixed dollar amount that the covered employee pays for medical services. For example, a $25 office visit fee.

    Deductible. A dollar amount employees must pay out of pocket each calendar year for non-preventative health expenses. There are different limits for individual person and for family coverage. Once the deductible is satisfied, the employed pays co-insurance for these expenses.

    Co-insurance. A percentage of a health care cost, such as 20 percent, that employees pay after meeting the deductible.

    Out-of-pocket limit. The most employees could pay during a plan year for their share of the costs of covered services. Once this limit is reached, employees do not pay for services until the following year.

    In-network. Doctors, clinics, hospitals and other providers with whom the health plan has an agreement to care for its members. Health plans cover a greater share of the cost for in-network health providers than for providers who are out-of-network.  For the Kaiser HMO plan, employees must use Kaiser facilities, with some exceptions for contracted services.  The Added Choice PPO plan has an expanded number of in-network providers.

    Out-of-network. A health plan will cover treatment for doctors, clinics, hospitals and other providers who are out-of-network, but covered employees will pay more out-of-pocket to use out-of-network providers than for in-network providers.

I'd like to Enroll for Open Enrollment 2026 Open Enrollment Packet