💸 Optimizing Open Enrollment 💸

In this Issue

• This Week's Money News

• Optimizing Open Enrollment Season

• Weekly Tidbits

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A curated selection of money news from the week

This Week’s Money News

• 🟤 If you requested an extension on your taxes, that deadline is up on Tuesday. Make sure the rest of these Q4 money dates are on your calendar.

• 🟤 Black and Latina women are finding leadership roles in unions. That’s a huge deal for workers’ rights. Read more here.

• 🟤 Money is already difficult to talk about. Here’s how to get guidance without the typical dosage of shame.

Open Enrollment

Optimizing Open Enrollment Season

📣 It’s Open Enrollment season!

Now’s the time to choose your employer-sponsored benefits for 2025. Don’t take this time for granted. Taking advantage of Open Enrollment by selecting the best plans is a key way to ensure you’re not leaving money on the table. Here’s a quick checklist to help you maximize your benefits plan.

Your Open Enrollment Checklist
Healthcare 
✅ Do a quick audit of how much you spent out-of-pocket for healthcare in 2024 and how much your plan currently covers. 
If you’re unsure of your coverage, schedule a quick call with your coverage providers to ensure you understand out-of-pocket costs for primary care providers, out-of-pocket maximums, and what coverage is provided for specialists. Armed with new info, you should have more clarity on whether you're paying for too much coverage, not enough, or if you’ve hit your health insurance sweet spot.

✅ Flexible Spending Accounts
If your company offers FSAs, the information from the first step should help you decide how much you want to allocate to your FSA, if anything.

✅ Health Savings Accounts
Often underutilized, these accounts can be excellent retirement tools because, as of today, there’s no timeline for when you can request a reimbursement on health spending. For instance, you can make a healthcare purchase now, and as long as you keep the receipt, you can request reimbursement for that purchase years later. Even better, this account will grow just like an investment account because it is an investment account. Some companies even contribute to your account to help beef up the balance.

✅ Take account of any planned upcoming medical expenses. If you believe you’ll need medical care next year, like a planned surgery or something else, now is the time to account for it. You can ensure this expense doesn’t leave you strapped for cash by updating your coverage or opting to pay for the expense via an FSA or HSA.

Insurance 
Are you adequately insured? In my opinion, insurance is one of the least utilized benefits for our community because it’s often not understood. We’ve also suffered a lot of scams related to insurance, but that’s a note for a different newsletter. Employers frequently sponsor short-term disability and life insurance policies that you or your dependents can take advantage of if you were unable to work or pass away unexpectedly.

✅ Short-term Disability Coverage
This is a significant way to protect your income if you cannot work. Let’s say you’re at your job, bringing home the big bucks, and then you suffer a car accident. It’s not a bad accident, but you need to take some time off to heal. If you have the appropriate Short Term Disability Coverage, you can file a claim allowing you to continue receiving a portion of your standard base salary while you’re not working. Most companies will cover 30% - 70% of your salary over a given time frame. These plans can differ quite a bit per employer, so be sure to check out the specifics of what your employer offers in terms of STD, and what that plan will cover. You may opt to purchase an STD plan in addition to or instead of your employer-sponsored plan, depending on your situation. Chat with your personal finance professional for guidance.

✅ Long-Term Disability Coverage
Here’s another essential way to protect your income, but there are some important things to note with this one. Long-term disability coverage is designed to provide you with money if you cannot work or perform at the same level as you were previously. While many companies offer this, the concern is that if you’re unable to work, companies may find ways to terminate your employment. This is why opting for a long-term disability coverage plan outside your employer's offer may be the best bet. Again, talk with your personal finance professional for guidance here.

Other Stuff
✅ Legal Support
This isn’t offered at all companies, but major Tech and Finance companies also provide legal support. For a small monthly fee, you can have legal aid readily available, anything from a speeding ticket to having a will drafted up and finalized. This fee is significantly less than what it would cost to find an attorney on your own. Again, this benefit varies per employer, so check with yours to see if your company offers this.

Now that you have some things to think through, set a goal to chat with your company’s benefits team and your finance professional at least once before choosing your coverage for 2025. If you don’t have a personal finance professional, check out your company’s offerings. Many large companies offer a benefit called Ayco, which allows you to chat with financial professionals for free about any personal finance questions you may have. Happy Enrollment Season!

Weekly Tidbits

A Few More Things…

💬 Money Vocabulary: Insurance is a contract, represented by a policy, in which a policyholder receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses from an insurance company. Read more about insurance here.

🧘🏾‍♀️ Mindful Money Prompt:
Write down a positive experience or memory you have about money. What would you feel differently about money if this memory represented your primary beliefs?

📠 Money Quick Fact:
On March 3, 1865, Freedman's Savings Bank was chartered to support formerly enslaved Black Americans after Emancipation. Read more about Freedman’s Bank here.