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Benefits Office

Office Staff
Enrolling for Benefits
Open Enrollment for Benefits 2005
Changing Your Coverage

Benefit programs

Office Staff

Denise DiMeglio, x2881
Benefits Manager
Joyce Wund, x7516
Sr. Human Resources Representative
Melissa Bittrolff, x2877
Human Resources Representative
Linda Rundlett, x5126
Human Resources Assistant

Staff

From left to right:
Denise DiMeglio, Melissa Bittrolff, Joyce Wund, Linda Rundlett

Enrolling for Benefits

You can enroll for benefits within 30 days of when you first become eligible for benefits ( such as newly hired employee) or during the Open Enrollment Period.

Open Enrollment for Benefits for 2005:
All Employees

Dates for the open enrollment period for 2005 have not yet been established.

If you are a regular employee working 20 or more hours per week, you may make changes to your medical, dental, health care and/or dependent day care coverages during the annual open enrollment period. You may join a Medical or Dental program, change from one program to another, or add or drop family members covered. You also may sign up for the Long Term Care plan during this period. In addition, you may sign up for the 2005 Health Care or Dependent Day Care Reimbursement Accounts during the open enrollment period. Enrollment and coverage changes made during the open enrollment period will become effective January 1, 2005.

Open Enrollment for Medical Coverage for 2005:
Retirees, participants on Long-Term Disability and their families

You may make changes to your medical coverage during the annual open enrollment period. You may change from one program to another or add or drop family members covered. Enrollment and coverage changes made during the open enrollment period will become effective January 1, 2005.

Annual Open Enrollment for New Hires

If your date of hire is after September 30, 2004, you are required to make your insurance coverage elections for the remainder of calendar year 2004 as well as elections for 2005. These include coverage elections for medical and dental insurance and flexible spending accounts. Your 2005 elections are effective January 1, 2005. In the future, coverage changes can only be made during the Annual Open Enrollment Period or when you have a Qualifying Event. Qualifying events allow you to make certain changes to your coverage within 31 days of the occurrence of the event. Qualifying events may include:

Addition or loss of a dependent (such as birth or adoption of a child, death of a dependent, or a child losing dependent status due to age, graduation, etc.)
Loss of spouse’s employment.
Change in marital status (such as marriage, divorce, or legal separation)

Open Enrollment is usually held during October for medical and dental coverages and November for the flexible spending accounts.

Please contact the Benefits Office in Human Resources at (631) 344-2877.

Open Enrollment for COBRA Participants for 2005

If you have COBRA coverage for the medical and/or dental programs. You may make changes to your medical and/or dental coverage during the annual open enrollment period. You may change from one program to another or add or drop family members covered. Enrollment and coverage changes made during the open enrollment period will become effective January 1, 2005. Please note that your COBRA coverage will be discontinued as of the end of the applicable COBRA period.

Changing Your Coverage

You may change your coverage if you experience a Qualifying Event. A Qualifying Event is a change in your family status and includes:

a change in number of dependents (such as birth, adoption, placement for adoption or death of a dependent)
a change in legal marital status (such as marriage, death of spouse, divorce, legal separation or annulment)
a change in employment status (such as termination or commencement of employment of the employee, spouse or dependent)
a change in work schedule (such as an increase or decrease in the number of hours of employment by the employee, spouse or dependent, a switch between full-time and part-time status, a strike or lockout, or commencement or return from an unpaid leave of absence)
a change in the place of residence or work site of the employee, spouse or dependent
the dependent satisfies or ceases to satisfy the requirements for unmarried dependents (such as due to attainment of age or student status)

If you have a Qualifying Event, you can...

For the Medical and/or Dental Plans, add or delete the dependent(s) whose status resulted in the Qualifying Event if you are already covered under these plans
For the Reimbursement Accounts, make changes to your contributions for the remainder of the calendar year.

The change(s) in coverage that you request must relate to the change in your family status.

To change your coverage(s) when a Qualifying Event occurs, you must notify the Benefits Office at 344-2877 and complete an enrollment form within 31 days of the date of the Qualifying Event. The completed form must be submitted to the Benefits Office with proof of the Qualifying Event. Your employee premiums (for medical and/or dental plan coverages) and/or your contributions (to the reimbursement accounts) will then be changed for the remainder of the calendar year.

Effective Date of Coverage Changes

If you notify the BNL Benefits Office of the Qualifying Event and make a change in your coverage(s) within 31 days of the event, coverage changes are effective as of the date of the event.

If you don’t notify the Benefits Office and make a change in your coverage(s) within 31 days of the Qualifying Event, you must wait until the next Open Enrollment Period to make a change to your coverage(s).

Last Modified: August 26, 2004