2025 Annual Benefits Enrollment July 15-31; Benefits, Wellness Fair Information

Annual Benefits Enrollment for UT Dallas benefits-eligible employees will be Tuesday, July 15 through Thursday, July 31. During this period, you may enroll in or change your plan year 2025-2026 insurance benefits, sign up for or re-enroll in UT FLEX, and add or remove dependents from your coverage plan. This is a great opportunity to learn what is new and make changes that meet your needs. It is also important to review your life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance beneficiary designation. You may add or make changes, as applicable, through My UT Benefits. Any changes you make online will replace your previous designation including paper forms sent to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX).

By Tuesday, July 15, employees will receive an email invitation to enroll from UT System Office of Employee Benefits (OEB) and UT Dallas Office of Human Resources. To review your current benefits and enroll for 2025-2026, log in to My UT Benefits with your UT Dallas NetID and password. To get the best experience during your enrollment, see the supported browser information. Internet Explorer 11 and Edge Legacy are no longer supported. For technical assistance with login or website navigation, please call My UT Benefits Support at 844-870-0044 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Central. You may enroll between Tuesday, July 15 and before midnight on Thursday, July 31.

Onsite, Virtual 2025 Benefits and Wellness Fair

All benefits-eligible employees and retirees are invited to attend the 2025 UT Dallas Benefits and Wellness Fair. The onsite fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday, July 8, in the Student Union Galaxy Rooms (SU 2.602). The virtual fair will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday, July 15, on the Benefits Resource Center website.

The annual fair’s theme — Benefits and Beyond — revolves around space, galaxies and the universe. So, strap in, space travelers, and get ready for liftoff!

For more details about the fair and the fair app, read the fair email invitation.

Highlights of Benefits Changes for Plan Year 2025-2026 (Effective Sept. 1)

UT SELECT Medical Plan Rates

The UT SELECT Medical Plan premium rates will increase by 8%. Premium rates for all plans will be available on the Benefits Cost Worksheet by Tuesday, July 15. It will continue to be a gold-level ACA plan offering exceptional benefits and robust coverage.

The monthly premium rate increases for part-time employees:

Employee Coverage: $31.20
Employee + Spouse: $74.44
Employee + Child(ren): $69.78
Employee + Family: $111.06

UT SELECT Plan Design Changes

Co-pay for therapy visits will decrease from $50 to $40.
Airrosti Remote Recovery co-pay will decrease from $50 to $20.
Hinge Health will no longer be offered on Sept. 1 for UT SELECT and Jan. 1 for UT CARE.
Coinsurance Maximum Out-of-Pocket increasing from $3,500 to $5,000 (Impacts approximately 7% of UT population) and $15,000 per family (previously $10,500).
ACA Max will increase from $9,100 to $9,200 for the individual and from $18,200 to $18,400 for family coverage per the IRS limit. Very few members ever hit this out-of-pocket max.
The Health Advocate Solution (HAS) model will be enhanced with more robust services and will be renamed to UT SELECT Concierge — a one-stop shop for questions related to UT SELECT medical coverage.

UT FLEX

UT FLEX health care reimbursement account (HCRA) maximum will increase to $3,300 per plan year.

All Other Benefit Plans

There will NOT be any premium rate increases and plan design changes for any other plans. This includes dental, vision, life, AD&D and disability plans.
Age and salary-based premiums may change depending on your age and salary as of Sept. 1.

Important Reminders

To ensure arrival of ID cards and any insurance vendor communications, as applicable, review your address on Galaxy-Gemini to ensure it is accurate. New ID cards will be issued for the UT SELECT Plan. Please make appropriate changes immediately. Please note that out-of-area benefits will apply if your residence of record is outside of Texas, New Mexico and Washington, D.C.
The effective date for coverage elected and approved during Annual Benefits Enrollment is Sept. 1. Coverage requiring evidence of insurability (EOI) will take effect based on vendor’s approval.
If you do not wish to make changes to your employee coverage, your current insurance choices, except UT FLEX, will continue to the next plan year.
If you are not actively working in the summer, you will not be able to enroll during the annual enrollment period of July 15-31. You will have 31 days from your return-to-work date to enroll if you return in the Fall in a benefits eligible position.

Virtual Benefits Express – Fall 2025

If you are a fall 2025 RA/TA/GA new hire or rehire returning from a summer break and are working at least 20 hours/week, you are invited to join us at our Virtual Benefits Express event. This Microsoft Teams event will be a co-presentation between the HR Employee Benefits team and the Bursar RA/TA/SHIP team.

You will have an opportunity to learn about your benefits, enrollment process and ask questions as well as learn about resources to help with your enrollment.

Information on this event and other details regarding Employee Benefits will be posted on the Graduate Student Employee Insurance & Benefits webpage. Dates, times and registration details for the event will be posted and available before Friday, Aug. 15, as well as communicated via email.

Medical Premium Sharing

If you choose not to elect the UT SELECT Medical Plan due to coverage under another employer group health insurance program (i.e., spouse/parents group employer medical coverage, Tricare, Medicare Advantage Plan or UT Student Health Insurance Plan), you may be eligible to receive the medical premium sharing of $210.67 per month for part-time employees (20 to 29 hours).

This may allow you to cover the cost of dental, vision and AD&D coverage. If you are not enrolling in the medical plan for this reason, decline the medical plan, choose the “Premium Share Credit Plan” option under the medical section, and make sure you select dental, vision and AD&D as desired.

After you save your elections, you must upload proof of other insurance coverage on the Document Center no later than the end of Annual Benefits Enrollment. Use the document name “Premium Sharing Credit Document” and category of “Proof of Other Coverage.” Your coverage will be pending until your document is reviewed and approved.

If you do not wish to change your coverage, your current insurance elections, except UT FLEX, will continue to the next plan year. If you want to enroll in or continue participating in UT FLEX, you must make an election through My UT Benefits. We encourage eligible employees to take advantage of the tax-saving features available through UT FLEX. View the online Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Resources for more information. A list of eligible and ineligible expenses as defined by the IRS is available at the UT FLEX Employee Portal and the FSA Store.

Evidence of Insurability (EOI)

Submit your evidence of insurability (EOI) form for life insurance, if applicable, by the deadline. Submitting your EOI by the end of the Annual Benefits Enrollment might help with getting your approval by Sept. 1.

UT SHIP 100% Funding by UT Dallas for FY25 Will Continue

Open enrollment for UT Student Health Insurance Program (UT SHIP) will be Tuesday, July 22 through Sunday, Aug. 31 for those eligible RA/TA/GAs actively working as of Aug. 1. All eligible RA/TA/GAs will be automatically enrolled in UT SHIP, and RA/TA/GAs will have from July 22 to Aug. 31 to re-enroll dependents or enroll new dependents in coverage. The annual waiver period will be Aug. 1-31. RA/TA/GAs may waive SHIP altogether if they do not want the free UT SHIP benefit starting Aug. 1. More information will be emailed by Tuesday, July 15 and again in August. Those choosing to enroll in and pay for UT SELECT instead will need to submit a form to waive UT SHIP. International students must meet UT System requirements to waive UT SHIP.

RA/TA/GAs who are newly hired or rehired with an appointment of 50% full-time equivalent (FTE) or working 20 hours per week will automatically be enrolled into the UT Student Health Insurance Program (UT SHIP) and the student premium will be paid in full by UT Dallas for the months you are actively working. If you have dependents, you must enroll them within 31 days of hire through the Academic HealthPlans enrollment system, paying them directly. You will receive separate communication regarding your UT SHIP enrollment or waiver option on or after your hire date.

For more details about this great benefit, visit the Bursar Office site. Email rataship@utdallas.edu if you have any questions regarding UT SHIP automatic enrollment or waiver option.

Review Your October Paycheck

In October, review your first paycheck of the new fiscal year to ensure that your coverage elections have been processed correctly. Email benefits@utdallas.edu to notify the HR-Benefits Team by Oct. 31 of errors. Errors will be reviewed and may require UT System Office of Employee Benefits review and determination and are subject to the UT System OE Administrative Guidelines 310.7.

New Hires, Newly Benefits-Eligible Employees and Employees with Life Event Changes Between July 1 and Aug. 31

Employees with Life Event Changes Between July 1 and Aug. 31

If you experience a life event change (i.e., marriage, divorce, birth of a child, etc.) in July, you can make changes to your benefits within 31 days from the date of the event by logging into My UT Benefits. Select “Benefits” in the menu to access the Life Event page. Then follow the online instructions. If your life event date occurs in August, you will need to complete and sign the UT Benefits Enrollment/Change Application Form and email it to benfits@utdallas.edu within 31 days of the event.

Employees Who Are Hired or Become Benefits-Eligible Between July 1 and Aug. 31

New hires and newly benefits-eligible employees have 31 days to enroll from their start date or benefits-eligible date. Employees who are hired or become benefits-eligible between July 1, 2025, and Aug. 31, 2025, may have to complete dual enrollment (2024-2025 and 2025-2026). The choices you make for your initial new hire or newly eligible benefits for 2024-2025 also may impact your 2025-2026 benefits. You must first enroll in your 2024-2025 new hire benefit election and then enroll for your 2025-2026 benefits.

Online enrollment in UT FLEX flexible spending plans is disabled during July and August. To enroll in UT FLEX for the current plan year ending Aug. 31, 2025, you will need to complete and sign the UT Benefits Enrollment/Change Application Form and email it to benefits@utdallas.edu no later than July 31, 2025. Your enrollment amount will be based on the number of months remaining for the plan year ending Aug. 31, 2025.

Voluntary Retirement Program

We encourage you to review the Voluntary Retirement Program and meet with the approved vendor representatives during the Benefits and Wellness Fair on Tuesday, July 15 so you can learn how to prepare for retirement. You also can set up a meeting with them by clicking their logos on the Benefits Fair Flyer (pdf).

For More Information

If you need assistance enrolling in your benefits, please email benefits@utdallas.edu or contact a benefits specialist via Teams. For more information about your benefits for plan year 2025-2026, visit the UT System Annual Enrollment page or Benefits Resource Center.

Thank you,

The Office of Human Resources – Employee Benefits Team