Frequently Asked Questions During Annual Enrollment

Tired of fielding the same benefits questions year after year during annual enrollment? We’ve got your annual enrollment FAQ strategy covered.

AE questions make up half of all chat and call volume for the year—that’s a ton of questions to pack into just a few short months of your busiest time of year.

We took a look at our 25+ years of benefits data and found that a vast majority of questions that pop up during annual enrollment fall into three buckets: enrollment, dependents, and consumer spending accounts.

We pulled the most common questions together to help you craft a pre-AE communication strategy to support your employees and save you extra time.

Enrollment FAQs: What plans are best fit for me?

Employee benefits are confusing—and few will ever feel like they’re an expert. In fact, an average of 84% of employees say they’re confused about benefits. But with the right support and resources in place, 80% of those same employees complete enrollment feeling confident in their elections.  

Some of the top questions we hear from employees about enrollment include: 

• How do I enroll in my benefits?
• When is the deadline?
• What are the differences between plan offerings or what I had last year?
• How much will this cost me?
• Am I enrolled in benefits?

You can get ahead of these questions by putting the info front-and-center during the enrollment process.

Here’s how to get ahead for your enrollment:

• Leverage communication tools in your benefits platform to put key dates and information in front of employees.
• Diverse communication strategies are key: almost all employees prefer email as their primary communication method, but text messages and break room posters help boost awareness and provide timely reminders.
• Make benefits information easy to find and searchable, even if you have to use a SharePoint folder.  
• Offer a cost-calculator and a plan-compare tool—or call out key differences from previous years—at enrollment so employees have a clear understanding of what’s changing, why, and what they can expect to see deducted pre-tax.

Dependent FAQs: Are my kids and spouse also covered?

Many employees have to play benefits project manager for their families if they have one or more dependents joining their plan. But dependent enrollment means a few extra steps in the enrollment process and sometimes those requirements aren’t very clear.  

Some of the top questions we hear from employees about dependent coverage include: 

• How do I add, edit, or remove a dependent?
• Who can I add to my plan?
• What documentation do you need and how do I submit it?
• How do I check or know if my dependent is enrolled?

Here’s how to make it easier for your employees to ensure coverage:

We recommend outlining these steps in as many places as possible—from your benefits guide to a reminder email—to ensure your employees come to enrollment with the right documentation at the ready.

Spending Account FAQs: How can I make my money work harder?

As the saying from that old commercial goes, “it’s their money and they want it now!”

Consumer spending accounts are a great way to help your employees build more financial stability into their total well-being (and take advantage of some tax savings while they’re at it!). But, as with most things in benefits, the details can get a bit murky when employees are trying to sift through all things benefits information at enrollment.

Some of the top questions we hear from employees about their spending accounts include: 

• How do I check my balance? 
• How much does my employer contribute? 
• How do I submit a claim or get reimbursed? 
• When will I get reimbursed?  
• How do I know my claim was approved or not? 

Here’s how to make it easier for your employees to use and manage their consumer spending account funds:

• Send out early reminders ahead of annual enrollment for employees to think through their upcoming medical expenses for the year and any unplanned events they had to cover this year.
• For employees that have use-it-or-lose-it funds, such as an FSA, make sure they know what their deadlines are and if there are any roll-over or grace periods that extend into the next plan year.
• Make sure employees know where to go to submit claims and check their spending balance.
• Share out the covered list of FSA and HSA-eligible items.

As you help your employees prep for annual enrollment, it’s important to help them know where to go to find the answers to their questions and even spend a bit of time exploring their benefit options on their own. Consider making your benefits guides, FAQ answers, and more available in an easy-to-find spot, like an internal wiki.   

Enrolling in benefits doesn’t have to be a stressful event. Check out our Benefits Insights report to see how AI, personalization, and empathetic technology help employees find confidence in their benefits without having to be experts.