When it comes to managing your health, finances, and future, benefits open enrollment might just be one of the most important times of the year—whether you realize it or not.

Each year, employees across the country face one of the most important decisions affecting their health, finances, and family: benefits open enrollment. For HR teams and brokers, it’s not just a period on the calendar — it’s a key moment to engage employees, reinforce the value of their benefits package, and ensure they’re set up for success in the year ahead.

But for many employees, open enrollment still feels confusing or overwhelming. They may not understand what it is, why it matters, or how to make smart choices — especially when plan options or life circumstances change.

That’s where proactive communication and smart technology can make all the difference.

In this guide, we’ll help you answer a fundamental employee question — “What is open enrollment for benefits?” — and give you the tools to guide them through it, from timing and plan types to decision support strategies that can boost participation and satisfaction.

When Does the Open Enrollment Period Happen? Important Dates to Know

Understanding the key timelines for open enrollment can help your team plan outreach, education, and technology support more effectively.

For Employer-Sponsored Plans

Most employer open enrollment periods occur in October through December, for coverage beginning January 1 of the following year. HR teams typically launch plan documents, communications, and system access in the weeks leading up to the start date.

Tip: Consider sending a pre-enrollment reminder email or calendar invite to help employees prepare early — and reduce last-minute questions. Want some help planning? Download our Ultimate Open Enrollment Roadmap for ideas all year round.

Special Enrollment Periods (SEPs)

Some employees may qualify for changes outside of open enrollment due to qualifying life events, such as:

• Marriage or divorce
• Birth or adoption of a child
• Loss of other coverage
• Change in dependent status

Educating employees about SEPs helps ensure they don’t miss opportunities for timely changes — and protects your team from preventable errors or appeals later.

ACA Marketplace Open Enrollment (Individual Plans)

While most employees enroll through employer plans, it’s helpful to know that individuals shopping through the ACA Marketplace can enroll from:

• November 1, 2024 to January 15, 2025

If your organization employs part-time, contract, or gig workers who aren’t benefit-eligible, consider sharing this window and directing them to Healthcare.gov for independent enrollment.

Medicare, Medicaid, and DSNPs

Some employees may be navigating other programs for themselves or their dependents. Here are a few notable enrollment timelines:

• Medicare Open Enrollment: October 15 – December 7, 2024
• Medicaid and DSNPs: Vary by state; some allow year-round enrollment

Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (DSNPs): Often have rolling enrollment, but some plans follow specific windows

What Benefits Can Employees Choose During Open Enrollment?

Open enrollment is your team’s once-a-year opportunity to educate employees on their full range of options — and encourage selections that align with their life stage, health needs, and financial goals.

Want to simplify this process? Selerix offers a suite of benefits decision support tools to guide more confident plan choices — increasing both uptake and benefits satisfaction.

Here are the most common categories included in open enrollment elections:

Health Insurance Plans

This is what’s considered a core benefit, and is required by law to offer for eligible employees. Employees will often have questions about differences between:

• HMOs: Lower premiums, but require referrals and in-network care
• PPOs: Higher flexibility, often higher out-of-pocket costs
• HDHPs: High-deductible health plans with lower premiums, eligible for HSA pairing

Encourage employees to compare total costs — not just premiums — and consider their expected usage, provider preferences, and risk tolerance.

Dental and Vision Coverage

Often offered separately, these benefits help cover:

• Dental: Preventive cleanings, X-rays, fillings, and sometimes orthodontics
• Vision: Eye exams, lenses, frames, and in some cases, LASIK discounts

HR teams can increase uptake by clearly showing the value of preventive care—even for employees without current dental or vision concerns. 

Life and Disability Insurance

These so-called “Voluntary Benefits” are critical to your employer brand but often underutilized due to complexity or lack of awareness.

• Life Insurance: Offer guidance on voluntary vs. employer-paid plans and how to calculate the right coverage level
• Disability Insurance: Short- and long-term policies can replace income due to injury or illness; worth highlighting for employees without other safety nets

Retirement Plans and Employer Matching

Open enrollment is the perfect time to prompt employees to:

• Increase their 401(k) contributions
• Take full advantage of employer matching
• Explore Roth vs. traditional 401(k) options, if offered

Consider spotlighting your company’s retirement benefits in a standalone email or webinar to reinforce long-term value. 

FSAs and HSAs

These accounts come with tax advantages—but also confusion. Help employees understand:

• FSAs: Great for predictable annual medical expenses; “use it or lose it”
• HSAs: Available only with HDHPs; funds roll over and can build over time

Employees often need help comparing the two. An online calculator or enrollment decision guide can boost clarity. 

Additional Benefits

Don’t forget to highlight other smaller but high-impact Voluntary Benefits perks:

• Wellness programs
• Mental health services or EAPs
• Commuter or transit benefits
• Legal assistance plans
• Identity theft protection or pet insurance

Promoting these benefits as part of your total rewards package can improve engagement and perception — even if they don’t cost your organization much to offer.

Pro Tip: For more on how to build a robust benefits package that meets employees where they are, watch our recent webinar: Bringing Us Together Through Innovative Benefits.

How to Help Employees Prepare for Open Enrollment

Even with a solid benefits package, open enrollment success depends on how clearly you communicate and how easy it is for employees to take action. Preparation and education along the way will help to empower smarter decisions — and result in fewer support tickets.

Here are four key ways to help your workforce feel confident and supported during open enrollment:

1. Encourage Employees to Review Their Current Benefits
   Before employees can make informed choices, they need to understand what they’re already enrolled in—and whether it still meets their needs.

Encourage them to ask:

• Did I use my benefits this year the way I expected?
• Have my healthcare needs or financial goals changed?
• Is my coverage still the best fit for my family situation?

In your pre-enrollment communications, include a checklist or prompt employees to log in and review their current elections before new options open up.

2. Make it Easy to Compare New Plan Options

Benefits can be complex, but your communications don’t have to be. Be sure to use:

• Side-by-side plan comparisons
• Simple cost estimators
• Visuals that highlight changes or new options

And if you’re using decision support tools (like those available in Selerix), make sure employees know how to access them. For more tips, check out The Value of Employee Benefits Decision Support Tools.

3. Help Employees Estimate Their Healthcare and Benefit Needs

Open enrollment is a perfect time to encourage reflection and planning. Help employees consider:

• Upcoming life changes: Are they getting married? Having a baby? Planning surgery?
  
• Medical history and trends: Did they use their plan more or less than expected this year?
  
• Financial goals: Would an FSA or HSA help reduce taxable income? Can they increase retirement contributions?

Offering a worksheet or short questionnaire during your enrollment campaign can guide this thinking — especially when paired with digital tools.

4. Provide Access to Useful Resources

A well-informed employee is an empowered one. Be sure to use tools like Selerix Engage to schedule communication year-round and personalize this journey. Consider offering:

• Live or recorded HR Q&A sessions
• Online benefits guides and FAQs
• Cost calculators and planning tools
• One-on-one time with a benefits counselor, if available
• Helpful, informative and personalized decision support tools

You can also give employees access to educational content year-round. As noted in our mid-year employee benefits check-in, benefits literacy doesn’t start—or stop—during open enrollment.

Can Employees Make Changes to Benefits After the Open Enrollment Period Has Ended?

Generally, no. Once the open enrollment window closes, employees can’t make mid-year employee benefits changes unless they qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) due to a life event.

SEPs allow mid-year changes in cases like:

• Marriage or divorce
• Birth or adoption
• Loss of other health coverage
• Change in household income (for Marketplace plans)
  

Encourage employees to notify HR right away if they experience a qualifying event so your team can guide them through next steps without delay.

What to Do if You Miss the Deadline for Open Enrollment

Missed deadlines are rare with the right communication plan — but they do happen. Here’s what you can do if you or your employees miss an important deadline:

• Review your policy: Some employers allow a short grace period for late submissions.
  
• Direct employees to the Marketplace: If no employer options are available, ACA Marketplace plans may still be an option depending on the timing and state.
  
• Educate for next year: Use the opportunity to improve communication channels, send multiple reminders, and consider push notifications through your benefits platform.

Better yet — help employees avoid this altogether by building awareness early, which is a key takeaway our The Ultimate Open Enrollment Roadmap.

Final Thoughts: Plan Ahead, Communicate Clearly, and Lean on Your Partners

At Selerix, we support HR teams and their brokers with tools that simplify the process and elevate the employee experience — from decision support and communication to automated workflows and compliance tracking. If you’re ready to transform enrollment season from stressful to successful, we’re here to help.

Want to level up your open enrollment strategy?

Download our free guide:  The Ultimate Open Enrollment Roadmap: A Year-Long Strategy for Success
Learn how to plan, execute, and improve open enrollment across all 12 months of the year.