Open Enrollment Season
I've just completed one of the more odd American employer traditions: open enrollment, or the annual selection of one's benefits from a given menu of options.
Like the past few years, this enrollment was nearly trivial to complete: my medical plan and dental plan will both remain unchanged. I could have increased my life insurance benefit but the current $850,000 is already sufficient; I don't want to make it too profitable to have me bumped off. I'm keeping my long term disability policy (pays 66.7% of my gross income) and not participating in the group legal or programs for dependents.
In fact, the only decisions required were for my level of contribution to the health savings plan ($600 should be enough) and purchased vacation (going for the max of 37.5 hours). In all, I'm being docked $166 per pay period for these benefits, although 55% of that is the purchased vacation which will be reimbursed to me next December if unused.
I guess this would be more problematic if I had dependents. Fortunately, my life, needs & wants are as simple and uncomplicated. :-)
Like the past few years, this enrollment was nearly trivial to complete: my medical plan and dental plan will both remain unchanged. I could have increased my life insurance benefit but the current $850,000 is already sufficient; I don't want to make it too profitable to have me bumped off. I'm keeping my long term disability policy (pays 66.7% of my gross income) and not participating in the group legal or programs for dependents.
In fact, the only decisions required were for my level of contribution to the health savings plan ($600 should be enough) and purchased vacation (going for the max of 37.5 hours). In all, I'm being docked $166 per pay period for these benefits, although 55% of that is the purchased vacation which will be reimbursed to me next December if unused.
I guess this would be more problematic if I had dependents. Fortunately, my life, needs & wants are as simple and uncomplicated. :-)