By now, we hope that everyone is aware that November is open enrollment for benefit selections that take effect January 1, 2022. We are so pleased that, for the second year in a row, there will be no increases in health and dental premiums. We are also very happy to share the new benefits guide, which is a great resource for new and existing employees. If you haven’t spent some time with it yet, please check it out.

On Nov. 4, we held the annual benefits fair. As you may recall, we were unable to host the fair last year due to COVID-19. It did feel like a small victory to hold the event again this year. We had benefits and wellness partners available—including a representative from Broadlawns Medical Center. Nearly 60 faculty and staff stopped by to talk to our guests, ask questions, and collect a few freebies and snacks. We would like to expand the fair next year to truly be a benefits and wellness event employees look forward to attending.

Please share your ideas with linda.feiden@drake.edu. Please note that we had tried to schedule the event on a Friday but were unable to get vendors and available space to line up. We’ll start planning earlier for next year with a Friday event in mind. If you have any other ideas or suggestions that would help us grow the event along these lines, we would love to hear them.

Yesterday, Marlene and Maureen facilitated a virtual benefits overview to talk about changes taking effect January 1. If you missed that presentation but would like to watch the recording, just email us at drakehr@drake.edu and request the link to the benefits overview. By the time you’re reading this article, we’ll have the link handy.

Enrollment Reminders: Enroll by accessing the Benefits Portal in mydrake. During the open enrollment period, you may make changes to your current health, dental, and voluntary life insurance. In addition, if you wish to participate in the health or dependent care flexible spending account (FSA) plans during 2022, you must enroll—or re-enroll if you are currently participating in Drake’s FSA plans. Remember that open enrollment ends on November 30, 2021 at 11:59 PM sharp.

If you have not enrolled in benefits for 2022 yet, please don’t wait until the last minute. If you have any questions or problems navigating the benefits portal, just reach out to us at drakehr@drake.edu or contact Marlene directly at marlene.heuertz@drake.edu.

— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources