What is an Off-Renewal Implementation?
An Off-Renewal Implementation is when an employer starts using BerniePortal Benefits for new hire, qualifying event, and termination activity before the employer's first open enrollment where employees make active elections in BerniePortal.
Employees loaded this way appear on the Employees list with status Off-Renewal. That status means their current benefit elections were imported from the census and they have not yet completed an active election in BerniePortal.
Who this is for
Employers with Benefits can open and close enrollment, upload the employee census, unlock Off-Renewal employees for a qualifying event, terminate Off-Renewal employees, and generate the Off-Renewal Employees report. Brokers and Feature Admins with access to the employer can complete the same employer-view actions they already have for that employer.
BerniePortal Operations builds out the employer's benefits package before you run the steps below. Use your build-out review call if you need help with the sequence.
When to use an Off-Renewal Implementation
Use an Off-Renewal Implementation when you need BerniePortal Benefits for day-to-day enrollment events before the next open enrollment, instead of waiting until that open enrollment to load current elections.
How to run an Off-Renewal Implementation
After Operations has built out the benefits package, complete these steps in order. Uploading the census while open enrollment is still open does not create the Off-Renewal status.
- Open enrollment for the renewal date group. Select Benefits in the top navigation, select Open Enrollment, open the cog menu for the closed renewal date group, then select Open Enrollment. For the full open and close flow, see How to Open and Close Enrollment.
- Enroll the employee whose account was created when the employer account was activated (the person who signed the MSA). Use that enrollment to confirm the benefits package is configured correctly. Do not include this employee on the census upload later.
- Close enrollment for that renewal date group. On Benefits → Open Enrollment, open the cog menu for the open renewal date group, then select Close Enrollment.
- Upload the employee census with current benefit elections for the remaining employees. Leave off the employee you enrolled in step 2. Upload only after enrollment is closed. For census formatting and upload steps, see Completing and Formatting the Employee Census and Adding Employees via Census Upload.
BerniePortal sets an employee to Off-Renewal when the census includes prior benefit elections and open enrollment is not open for the employer.
After employees are Off-Renewal
On Employees, Off-Renewal employees show status Off-Renewal.
- To unlock an employee for a qualifying event, open the cog menu on that employee's row and select Qualifying event.
- To terminate an Off-Renewal employee, open the cog menu on that employee's row and select Terminate.
Until an Off-Renewal employee completes an active election in BerniePortal, use Election PDFs, Carrier Forms, and email notifications for eligibility changes.
Off-Renewal Employees report
BerniePortal includes a standard report named Off-Renewal Employees for employees in Off-Renewal status.
- Select Reports in the top navigation.
- Open Standard Reports.
- Select Off-Renewal Employees.
- In Generate the Off-Renewal Employees Report, enter the address in Send Report To, then generate the report.
When you need a complete census for open enrollment quoting, combine the Off-Renewal Employees report with the All Data Report.
EOI and first active election
For Off-Renewal employees, BerniePortal does not load prior-offer enrollment history for their first active election in the system. Treat that first active election as the first time the employee is presented a plan that may require EOI/SOH in BerniePortal. For the first open enrollment where these employees make active elections, audit elections so employees do not elect coverage above what they are entitled to without EOI/SOH.