Auto Enrollment FAQs - Knowledge Base | BerniePortal

Auto-Enrollment FAQs

To gain a better understanding of “Auto-Enrollment” in BerniePortal, check out the below sections of FAQ’s as well as situations where “Waive” will be the only option available for auto-enrollment.

Anticipated FAQ’s:
  1. What if an employer is offering new benefit types at renewal? 
  1. If a new benefit type is in the Current Offer and it was not offered in the Prior Offer, the Prior Offer coverage tier column will only have one row, “None.” The only auto-enrollment option for the Current Offer plan(s) will be “Waive.”
  1. Speaking of waiving, how come sometimes the only option that appears in the auto-enrollment settings for the Current Offer plan and coverage tier is “Waive?"
  1. “Waive” is the only option for someone who had “Waived” the Prior Offer plan. “Waive” may also be the only option available if at least one of the premium settings have changed from the Prior Offer plan to the Current Offer plan. See page 7 for all scenarios where 'Waive' would be the only option. 
  1. What if a Current Offer Plan is 100% Employer Paid? 
  1. Employees aren't able to "waive" 100% Employer Paid plans, so the only option available in the Current Offer dropdown will be to auto-enroll the employee in the maximum amount of coverage they can elect. 
  1. Once enrollment is closed, can I go back and change the auto-enrollment settings? 
  1. No. 
  1. I closed open enrollment but was not presented with the auto-enrollment modal. What happened? 
  1. In this case, all employees logged into BerniePortal and made active elections for that renewal group. In other words, there were no employees to auto-enroll in plans so there is no need to configure auto-enrollment settings. 
  1. I’m not seeing the “auto-enrollment settings” option under the actions gear in the Benefits | Open Enrollment area. 
  1. This means that all employees logged into BerniePortal and made active elections for that renewal group. 
  1. Do I have to use Auto-enrollment?
  1. No. You can insist that all employees log in and make active elections. 
  1. Can I auto-enroll a new hire, or an employee going through a qualifying event? 
  1. No. Auto-enrollment is only available for open enrollment. 
  1. Will employee signatures appear on completed broker forms when an employee is auto-enrolled? 
  1. No. You will need to collect signatures on the completed form outside of BerniePortal for auto-enrolled employees.

Here is a list of all scenarios where “Waive” would be the only option available in the Current Offer plan and coverage tier dropdown as a safeguard in BerniePortal:

  1. At least one of the Current Offer plans has a different set of coverage tiers from the Prior Offer plan.
  2. At least one of the Current Offer plans has a different option chosen for the “Premium Type” dropdown from the Prior Offer plan.
  3. At least one of the Current Offer plans has the “Require EOI if employee previously waived coverage” set to yes and the Prior Offer plan has the “Require EOI if employee previously waived coverage” set to no, or vice versa.
  4. At least one of the Current Offer plans has “Does tobacco use affect the rates for this benefit?” set to yes and the Prior Offer plan has “Does tobacco use affect the rates for this benefit?” set to no, or vice versa.
  5. At least one of the Current Offer plans has a different “Is there a limit on the number of dependents for whom an employee can be charged?” setting from the Prior Offer plan.
  6. At least one of the Current Offer plans has a different option chosen for the “How is the amount of coverage determined?” dropdown from the Prior Offer plan.
  7. At least one of the Current Offer plans has different Purchase Increments from the Prior Offer plan.
  8. At least one of the Current Offer plans has AD&D turned on and the Prior Offer plan has AD&D turned off, or vice versa.
  9. At least one of Current Offer Plans has “Should employee be able to purchase this benefit on their spouse or children without buying it themselves?” setting set to no, and the Prior Offer plan has “Should employee be able to purchase this benefit on their spouse or children without buying it themselves?” setting set to yes, or vice versa.
  10. At least one of the Current Offer plans has “Allow additional coverage after year 1 without EOI” set to no, and the Prior Offer plan has the “Allow additional coverage after year 1 without EOI” setting set to yes, or vice versa.
  11. At least one of the Current Offer plans has a different Purchase Maximum from the Prior Offer plan.
  12. At least one of the Current Offer plans has a different Purchase Minimum from the Prior Offer plan.
  13. At least one of the Current Offer plans has a different Guaranteed Issue Amount from the Prior Offer plan.
  14. At least one of the Current Offer Plans has a different “Percentage paid by employer?” amount from the Prior Offer plan.
  15. At least one of the Current Offer plans has a different “Monthly Benefit” amount from the Prior Offer plan.
  16. At least one of Current Offer plans has “Are children premiums included in the employee cost?” set to no, and the Prior Offer plan has “Are children premiums included in the employee cost?” set to yes, or vice versa.
  17. At least one of Current Offer plans has a different “How are premiums calculated?” setting from the Prior Offer plan setting.
  18. At least one of the Current Offer plans has different Age Calculations than the Prior Offer plan.
  19. Employees of a given subgroup are not eligible for at least one of the Current Offer plans.
  20. Employees have had their Benefits Subgroup changed since their prior election.​

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