Setting up open enrollment

After you establish the benefit plans, plan amounts, eligibility, and elections, use the Open Enrollment setup wizard to set up the Sage Benefits Enrollment system. On the start date of the open enrollment period, employees can start enrolling in benefit plans.

Caution! If an open enrollment is currently in use or was used but not yet posted to Sage HRMS, changing it could invalidate enrollments in process or current enrollments not yet posted to HRMS Employee Self Service.

Record retention

After an enrollment period is closed and employees' data has been updated in HRMS Employee Self Service, we recommend you follow the guidelines for electronic record retention as defined by federal, state, and local authorities. Record retention rules for electronic records are generally the same guidelines used for paper record retention. However, you should verify the information as there might be some differences according to your state and local authorities.

Before you begin

First, see Preparing for open enrollment and life events to make sure you have set up all other required information for open enrollment.

As you go through the open enrollment setup process, be prepared to specify the following information:

A clear description of the open enrollment period
The period of time during which the employees can enroll in the plans
The date on which the new plan year will be effective
The types of employees able to enroll (such as active employees and those on a leave of absence)
The employers to which the open enrollment period is available
The benefit plans in which eligible employees can enroll
Text for the Welcome page and Exit page about the open enrollment process
Text for the announcement sent to employees to let them know that open enrollment has begun
Who to contact for assistance
Links to external information (file links or web links that were already set up), such as a Benefits Handbook PDF file or the Benefit Provider Network website

Using the Open Enrollment setup wizard

On the Administrator menu, select Benefit Setup > Open Enrollment.
The table on the Open Enrollment page shows all open enrollments set up for your employers. The table includes the enrollment period name, the begin and end dates, the enterprise or specific employer associated with it, and status of the open enrollment (Not Started, In Progress, Closed, or Updated).
- To add another open enrollment, click New.
  
  Note: If there no employers available for a new enrollment period because they are already in an existing enrollment period that has not yet been updated, you will receive the "No Employers are available." message.
- To edit an open enrollment, click (the Edit icon) in the row of the open enrollment you want to change. The enrollment period must have a status of Not Started or In Progress in order to be edited.
- To delete an open enrollment, click (the Delete icon) and confirm that you want to delete it.
  
  Note: You cannot delete an open enrollment if it has a status of In Progress or Closed.
The Open Enrollment setup wizard opens.

Click Next to move through the pages. (You can click Back to move back to the previous page—or click Cancel to discard your changes and return to the table.)

The wizard includes the following pages:
When you reach the last page of the wizard, click Finish to finalize your changes and return to the table on the Open Enrollment page. If you added a new open enrollment, it is now in the table with a status of Not Started. (The status automatically changes to Not Started when the current date is after the Begin Date .)

Tip: After you set up the open enrollment periods, use the Benefit Calculator to make sure the plan costs are calculated correctly.

Next steps

When you are ready to notify employees about this enrollment period, use Process Enrollment. This process lets you first review which employees are eligible to participate in the open enrollment and then send a notification to them to let them know when they can begin enrolling.