Open Enrollment: Avoiding Errors When Choosing Benefits
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Here's your money briefing. I'm Anne-Marie Fertoli at The Wall Street Journal in New York. Signing up for health care benefits through open enrollment can be overwhelming. The Wall Street Journal's J.R. Whalen talks with Voya's Mona Zilke about the careful research employees and insurance purchasers should do so they select appropriate levels of coverage without making errors. First, some money and market stories you should know. Home improvement retailers have been a bright spot during an otherwise underwhelming stretch for retail stocks. But a popular predictor of remodeling spending suggests tougher times ahead. Renovation and maintenance spending are forecast to decline over the next year for the first time in a decade, according to Harvard's leading indicator of remodeling activity.
That could be a threat to stocks like Home Depot and Sherwin-Williams, which have shot to record highs this week. Following years of 5% to 7% growth in spending since last decade's housing crash, Harvard's model has been predicting slower growth for the past year or so.
When does open enrollment happen and why should you mark the deadline?
Next year, they're pacing for an outright decline for the first time since 2010. And the financial decisions we make every day can impact our credit scores. Those ratings are what lenders look at to decide whether to approve credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages, and to determine how much those loans will cost. If you want to test out what would happen to your credit score if you miss a credit card payment or pay off on your car loan, we've got a new tool for you. It's the Wall Street Journal's Credit Score Game. Of course, making financial decisions isn't a game, but it's good to test which moves can hurt and which can help before they impact your credit score for real. Go to WSJ.com to play, and good luck.
Coming up, it's open enrollment season. The Wall Street Journal's J.R. Whalen talks with Voya's Mona Zilke about how to choose coverage.
It's that time of the year again when employees or anyone in an insurance exchange or insurance marketplace signs up for next year's benefits in open enrollment.
How can reviewing last year’s benefit usage help you choose this year?
But a maze of options can be overwhelming and it invites mistakes. Let's check in with Voya Employee Benefits Operations and Claims Senior Vice President Mona Zilke to discuss the best ways to approach open enrollment and avoid errors. So, Mona, I guess the first and foremost rule here is find the deadline to sign up for the benefits and circle it with a big, thick red pen on your calendar.
I would definitely agree with that, JR. The benefits time, you know, it's only normally open for a few weeks out of the year. So it's very important for consumers to understand when that deadline is so that they can spend time before that deadline occurs and doing research to understand what benefits they should select for the upcoming year.
So what can people signing up for or adjusting their benefits learn from the past? Why is the past important here?
What future life events should influence your benefits elections?
The past is important to understand the benefits that you've selected the prior year and understanding what did you use and what did you not use? Or were there situations when you could have benefited from a benefit that your employer provided that could have helped you? So a situation could be your employer provided an accident benefit last year and you didn't sign up for it and you had an accident where that benefit could have afforded you coverage and a payment in order to help with your medical expenses.
And it's not just the past that's important. The future plays a big role in benefits elections also.
The future is probably even more important. And it's really about taking the time to understand what does your next year look like? Are you possibly thinking of having a baby or having knee surgery? and understanding how the different benefits can help protect you as you move forward in the year. It's really about saving time, saving money, and saving stress as you think about your benefit options.
And a little bit of research can go a long way, especially if, let's say, somebody signs up for a plan that has a high deductible.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:05–1:02
2
When does open enrollment happen and why should you mark the deadline?
1:02–2:06
3
How can reviewing last year’s benefit usage help you choose this year?
2:06–2:57
4
What future life events should influence your benefits elections?
2:57–4:56
5
How do high-deductible health plans and HSAs work together?
4:56–6:30
6
What tools and employer resources can help you avoid enrollment mistakes?
6:30–7:49
7
Which supplemental benefits (disability, accident, hospital, critical illness) are worth considering?
7:49–7:56
8
What steps can protect your finances from unexpected medical costs?
7:56–8:00
Speakers
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