Benafica will partner with you to plan and execute a smooth and compliant Open Enrollment (OE) period. Our team will coordinate logistics, timeline planning, and employee communication so your organization is fully prepared for the upcoming plan year.
Benafica will help you:
- Comply with any notice and timelines required by law
- Confirm your Open Enrollment dates and update them in BEN360
- Finalize your employee roster for initial invitations
- Provide employee communication templates and timelines
- Upload your benefit strategy, contribution strategy, and plan-year details to the platform
- Help you schedule any informational sessions or employee meetings
- Host employee informational sessions with information on exactly what they need to do and platform demos from the employee perspective
First Open Enrollment
Your first ICHRA Open Enrollment depends on when you plan to start your benefit year.
If you’re launching your ICHRA mid-year, your employees will receive a Special Enrollment Period (SEP), allowing them to enroll in individual coverage outside of the standard Marketplace window. Benafica can help you determine ICHRA notice requirements and eligible timelines for enrollment.
If you’re planning to start your ICHRA on January 1, you can schedule your Open Enrollment period in November or December, aligning employee plan selection with the traditional Marketplace Open Enrollment and January 1 premium year.
Before Open Enrollment begins, Benafica will work with you to finalize your employee roster. Once confirmed, our team will complete a bulk upload of your employees directly into the BEN360 platform. All employees on your roster will automatically receive their invitation to the platform on the first day of Open Enrollment. This ensures every employee has the correct enrollment window and immediate access to their benefit options.
Annual Re-Enrollments
Each year, your ICHRA will require an Open Enrollment period before the start of your next plan year. If your ICHRA originally launched mid-year, you have the option to transition to a January 1st calendar-year plan during your next renewal cycle. This aligns your Open Enrollment with the traditional Marketplace timeline in the fall, making it easier for employees to shop for plans as premiums reset each January.
You may also choose to keep your original plan year (for example, June 1st–May 31st). This is fully compliant and allows you to maintain your current timelines — but be aware that individual market premiums typically change on January 1st, which may result in employees seeing premium increases mid-plan-year without ICHRA contribution adjustments.
Both approaches are valid; BEN360 and Benafica can help you determine which renewal schedule works best for your organization and your employees.