An Important Message for NC Health Benefit Representatives
February 2022
HBR Training Slides and Recording
Did you know that NCFlex plans only require an employee to be working 20+ hours a week, except for the Voluntary Disability plan* which requires an employee to work 30+ hours a week? Or did you know that several of our plans such as the Group Term Life and Cancer plan offer a waiver of premiums if an employee is disabled (subject to approval from the vendor)? Or that an employee is considered a transfer if their break is 30 days or less, but a rehire if their break is more than 30 days? The length of the break in service then determines how benefits should be handled.
Most seasoned Benefits Reps are familiar with these NCFlex guidelines. However, some of you wear multiple hats and keeping up with small nuances such as these is easier when there are occasional reminders.

You can view the slides and recording from our "New HBR Training" last month as well as our HBR Admin Manual on the HBR portion of our website. The slides follow the path of the Benefits Guide and the HBR Manual, with quick notes on each topic.

If you have questions, please reach out to us at ncflex@nc.gov.

*University employees are not eligible for this plan.
Health Care FSA and HSAs
The NCFlex Benefits Guide (page 7) notes that if an employee is enrolled in the HCFSA, his/her spouse cannot make or receive tax-favored HSA contributions. We would like to add some clarification to this IRS rule.

If you have an employee who has already chosen to participate in the HCFSA for the year OR who has a carry forward account from last year to use for the current year, and their spouse becomes eligible to participate in an HSA, this is not a qualifying life event that allows an employee to cancel their HCFSA.

However, if an employee's spouse was contributing into an HSA prior to the employee's enrollment into an HCFSA (and the employee did not realize they cannot have both), please submit an exception to our team for review.

A Q&A document has been posted in the FSA section of our website which addresses this topic.

If an employee has additional questions about the regulations around participating in these plans, we suggest they contact a tax professional.
Open Enrollment Exceptions Deadline - March 15

March 15 is the final day NCFlex will accept exceptions related to Open Enrollment benefit elections. By then, employees should have had at least two payroll periods to view benefit deductions for accuracy. Please be reminded that we cannot make exceptions to change benefits due to an employee realizing they now need different benefits. Any changes outside of Open Enrollment must related to a Qualifying Life Event.

Exceptions are reviewed within one to three business days. Once an exception is approved, it is first sent to Benefitfocus which makes the change in the enrollment system. NCFlex is then notified the change was made and in turn, notifies the Benefit Rep who submitted the request.

Please be sure to review the enrollment system for accuracy and notify our team if something was not updated as noted in the approved exception form.
March NCFlex Webinar Opportunity
What is Pre-tax?
Next month we will be discussing pre-tax and what that means for benefit premiums being deducted from employee salaries each pay period. Share with your employees or join yourself to learn more about what pretax means.

Employees can register on our Webinar Page for one of two dates/times - March 15 (1 - 1:45 p.m.) and March 24 (12 - 12:45 p.m.). We will also post the recording on the Webinar Page after the event.
OSHR Wellness Webinars
Another great virtual opportunity for your employees are OSHR's monthly Wellness Webinars, which started recently. Visit the Wellness Webinars page to learn about future events and view prior event recordings.
Visit our HBR Webpage for newsletter archives (HBR and Member) from the last six months, guide orders, exception form, and more.
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