Benefits
Medical, Prescription & Behavioral Health Benefits
Penn currently offers four medical plan options. All plans include prescription drug and behavioral health coverage. Visit the Medical Plan Options website for information about the plans, including a chart detailing the employee cost for each plan. Additional information can be obtained by calling the Benefits Solution Center at (866) 799-2329.
Dental Benefits
Penn currently offers two dental plan options. Visit the Dental Plan Options website for information about the plans, including a chart detailing the employee cost for each.
Vision Benefits
Penn currently offers three vision plan options. Visit the Vision Coverage Options website for information about the plans, including a chart detailing the employee cost for each.
Flexible Spending Accounts
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are designed to save Penn employees money when paying for eligible expenses not covered by other benefit plans. Contributions may be made to a Health Care FSA for health care expenses that are not eligible to be paid by insurance, and/or a Dependent Care FSA for dependent care (daycare, elder care) expenses. Flexible spending accounts allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars from your earnings, which can mean a substantial tax advantage. ADP Benefit Services administers Penn’s FSA accounts. Visit the Flexible Spending Account website for more information about eligibility, contribution limits, and more.
Annual Benefits Open Enrollment
Each year faculty and staff have the opportunity to make changes to benefits elections during the annual Open Enrollment period in mid-April. Changes made during this period become effective for the following plan year (July 1-June 30). The elections made during Open Enrollment stay in effect for the entire plan year unless you experience a qualifying life event change.
Qualifying Life Event Changes
If you experience a change in family or employment status, you may be eligible to make changes to your benefit elections outside of the Open Enrollment period. Qualifying events include the birth or adoption of a child, marriage or domestic partnership, divorce or separation, death of a dependent, and change in your dependent’s eligibility for benefits. Keep in mind that the IRS limits the types of changes you can make for such events. If you experience a qualifying life event, log on to Workday@Penn to change your coverage. Full instructions for changing your coverage due to a qualifying event can be found here. Changes must be made within 30 days of the event; otherwise, you’ll have to wait until the next Open Enrollment period.
Life Insurance
The University provides full-time staff with basic group term life insurance equal to their benefits base salary (to a maximum of $300,000) at no cost to the employee. They also offer a variety of dependent and supplemental insurance plans for purchase. Visit the Life Insurance Options website for information about all of the available plans.
Retirement
Visit the Saving for Retirement website for information about plan choices, eligibility, maximum contribution amounts, and more. The Penn Retirement Call Center can help with questions regarding retirement plans and can be reached at 1-877-PENN-RET (1-877-736-6738).
Tuition Benefits
Penn provides tuition benefits to full-time staff, their children, and/or their spouse/partner. Visit the Tuition Benefits website for more information.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If using the tuition benefit for a graduate program, please read the “Taxability of Graduate Tuition Benefits” section carefully.