How to Track Employee Benefit Enrollment
Employee benefit enrollment can involve multiple forms or entries into online databases. It's easy to lose track of streams of information that can cause mistakes that result in dissatisfied employees and additional employer expenses.
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Things You'll Need
- Payroll records of deductions
- Eligibility reports
- Benefit provider bills
- Enrolled employee report
Instructions
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Establish a regular schedule to review an eligibility report based on enrollment and waiting periods. If employees are eligible for benefits on the first day of the month after they start work, you will need a report of all new hires during the month. If eligibility is based on hours worked over a period of time, this will require a different formula. Employers who maintain a waiting period of 90 days will need a report that has all employees that were hired during that specific time period.
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Create the report using existing parameters in a payroll system or a separate spreadsheet. Payroll providers can assist in creating a custom database or providing instruction for compiling the information in-house.
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Review the report on the scheduled date and contact employees at least 30 days before enrollment information is due. Provide the necessary forms and instructions for completion and sign up. Follow up to ensure that the forms are returned.
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Check all of the forms for complete and accurate information. Spelling of names, addresses and social security numbers, if included, should match other employee records.
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Process enrollment forms by the agreed upon method. This can be via fax, mail or preferably online. Online enrollments, completed by designated individuals, are the quickest and minimize input error. Add newly covered employees to a report of all enrolled employees.
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Authorize any employee contributions through payroll deduction. Compare new enrollments, and all eligible employees, at least once each month with payroll deduction reports. For example, if 23 employees have signed up for family dental coverage, the deductions should match this selection.
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Check enrollments each month by comparing with benefit provider's bills matching each category of coverage and employee name. The updated report of all enrolled employees and payroll records of benefits deductions should be used in this process.
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Notify plan providers promptly of any changes in eligibility. This includes when an employee is fired or resigns, is divorced, suffers a death of a covered dependent or loses eligibility, due to a change in employment status.
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Tips & Warnings
Instructions and explanations for completing enrollment forms in person are helpful if this can be done one-on-one or in small group meetings. Check dependent eligibility for children at least once each year; a former student may have graduated from college and can no longer be covered.
Benefits enrollment forms contain a great deal of personal identifying information, they should not be left unsecured at any time.
