Short answer: good open enrollment starts about four months before the enrollment window opens. Plan and contribution decisions come first, carrier paperwork and required notices next, employee communication in the final month, and a payroll and carrier audit after elections close. Most enrollment problems come from compressing the first two stages into the last few weeks.
Strategic Open Enrollment Planning and Communication Framework
- Decide early. Plan design and contribution changes should be final at least 60 days before enrollment opens.
- Notices have dates. The Medicare Part D notice is due before October 15, and the SBC goes out with enrollment materials.
- Elections are mostly locked for the year. Pre-tax elections can change mid-year only after a qualifying event, so employees need help choosing.
- Check the output. Compare elections, payroll deductions and carrier files after the window closes.
The timeline
| When | What gets done |
|---|---|
| 120 to 90 days before | Receive and analyze the renewal. Decide whether to negotiate, change plans or market the coverage. Set contribution strategy by tier. |
| 90 to 60 days before | Finalize plans and rates. Sign carrier paperwork. Update the enrollment platform and payroll deduction codes. Get the SBCs. |
| 60 to 30 days before | Build the communication: what changed, what it costs by tier, and where to get help. Send the required annual notices. |
| The enrollment window | Usually two to three weeks. Hold meetings or webinars, offer one-on-one help and send reminders to anyone who has not acted. |
| After it closes | Audit elections against payroll deductions and carrier eligibility files. Confirm ID cards. Send confirmation statements. |
For January plan years, that means renewal work in September and October. For other renewal dates, count back the same way.
Decisions to make before anything is communicated
- Plan lineup. Which plans stay, which change and whether to add an HSA-qualified option or a lower-cost network plan. See what an HSA is and what an HMO is.
- Contributions by tier. What the employer pays for employee-only, spouse, children and family coverage. If you have 50 or more full-time employees, test the employee-only price against the ACA affordability line. See coverage tiers explained.
- Ancillary and voluntary benefits. Dental, vision, life, disability and anything employee-paid.
- Account funding. Any employer HSA seed or HRA amount, and the FSA limit for the new year.
- Eligibility rules. Waiting periods, hours thresholds and dependent rules, written the same way in the plan documents and the enrollment system.
Required notices
| Notice | When | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) | With enrollment materials, and on request | All group health plans |
| Medicare Part D creditable coverage notice | Before October 15 each year | Plans with prescription coverage and Medicare-eligible members |
| CHIP premium assistance notice | Annually | Plans covering employees in states that offer premium assistance |
| Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act notice | At enrollment and annually | Plans covering mastectomies |
| HIPAA special enrollment rights | At or before the time of enrollment | All group health plans |
| Summary of material modifications | Within 60 days of adopting a material reduction in benefits | Any plan reducing covered services |
| QSEHRA notice | At least 90 days before the plan year | Employers offering a QSEHRA |
Our employee notices page and benefits compliance page cover the full list, including notices owed at hire rather than at enrollment.
Communication that employees actually read
- Lead with what changed. One page: plan changes, the new cost per paycheck by tier, and the deadline.
- Show total cost, not just premium. Compare each plan for a light user, a moderate user and a family with a planned event, including the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum.
- Explain the account. If you offer an HSA plan, show how the employer seed and employee contributions pay the deductible. See HSA employee education.
- Offer a person. When our clients enroll, employees can call us for help choosing the plan that fits their situation. Many find, for example, that their doctors take both the carrier’s HMO and its PPO, and that the lower-cost plan works for them.
- Use every channel once. Email, a short meeting, printed material for employees without regular computer access, and manager reminders in the final week.
More ideas: open enrollment communication strategies and digital benefits education tools.
After enrollment closes
- Compare every election with the payroll deduction set up for it, before the first payroll of the plan year.
- Check that carrier eligibility files or electronic feeds match elections, especially for new dependents and waived coverage.
- Send each employee a confirmation statement and set a short correction window.
- Track results: participation, movement between plans, HSA contribution uptake and the number of corrections needed.
Pre-tax elections under a Section 125 cafeteria plan are fixed for the year unless the employee has a qualifying life event, such as marriage, a birth or loss of other coverage, usually reported within 30 days. That is why getting the choice right during enrollment matters.
Frequently asked questions
When should open enrollment planning start?
About 120 days before the enrollment window opens. That leaves time to analyze the renewal, make plan and contribution decisions, complete carrier paperwork and send required notices before employees start choosing.
How long should the open enrollment window be?
Two to three weeks is typical. Shorter windows leave employees without time to ask questions; longer ones mostly delay decisions.
What notices are required at open enrollment?
The summary of benefits and coverage goes out with enrollment materials. Plans must also send the Medicare Part D notice before October 15, and the CHIP, Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act and HIPAA special enrollment notices, plus a summary of material modifications if benefits were reduced.
Can employees change their benefits after open enrollment?
Only after a qualifying life event, such as marriage, divorce, a birth or adoption, or gaining or losing other coverage, and usually only if they ask within 30 days. Elections are otherwise fixed for the plan year.
How do you increase employee participation in open enrollment?
Make the change easy to understand, show real cost examples, send reminders to employees who have not acted, and offer one-on-one help. Personal contact does more than any additional email.
What should be checked after open enrollment?
That each election matches its payroll deduction, that carrier eligibility files are correct, and that employees received confirmation statements and ID cards before the plan year starts.
Want help with this year’s enrollment?
CFH Insurance Consultants is an independent employee benefits firm, founded in 2007. We are licensed insurance brokers, and for proper coverage of an account we work in teams of five: an account executive, an account manager, a plan analyst, customer service and IT. We handle the renewal analysis, carrier paperwork, required notices and employee materials, and your employees can call us for help choosing a plan, so enrollment runs on the calendar instead of the week before. Send us your renewal, call 248.370.8853, or book a 30-minute call.
Related reading: Open enrollment support · Open enrollment messaging · Employee notices
This article is general information, not legal advice. Notice requirements depend on plan type and size; confirm which apply to your plan.
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