Eligibility

Benefits Eligibility

You are eligible to enroll in Seattle University health and other insurance benefits if you are a staff employee who is regularly scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week or if you are a faculty member assigned 17.5 (or more) work units in an academic year appointment. Faculty appointments must be for the full academic year to be eligible for life, accidental death/dismemberment and long-term disability benefits.

Eligible dependents for medical, dental, vision, life and accidental death/dismemberment insurance include:

Your legal spouse or state registered domestic partner, and
Your children under the age of 26 (natural children, stepchildren, foster children, adopted children, children for whom you are the court appointed guardian).

A Legally Domiciled Adult may be enrolled in certain benefit plans in lieu of a spouse or registered domestic partner subject to additional certification requirements. Available coverage choices include medical, dental and vision insurance. Under certain conditions, eligible faculty and staff may also purchase similar coverage for the dependent children of a Legally Domiciled Adult. Contact Human Resources to discuss eligibility and certification requirements of a Legally Domiciled Adult.

Benefits Essentials

Enrollment

Seattle University offers a comprehensive set of benefit plans to eligible faculty and staff. The University's enrollment website, PlanSource, will guide your benefit selections to ensure your enrollment meets your needs and your family's. You can access PlanSource shortly after your hire date where you'll register for an account and begin your enrollment process.

For Staff, you'll attend New Employee Orientation on your first day where you will meet a member of our HR Benefits team and learn information about SU Benefits.
Full-Time Faculty will be invited to a new faculty benefits orientation at the beginning of fall term. All new hire faculty also receive information on benefits plans and enrollment with their onboarding paperwork.

Our HR Benefits team is here to help, and our benefits providers also have customer service teams who can answer enrollment questions.

2024 Enrollment Guide

Making Changes

Open Enrollment
You may change your benefit elections annually during the Open Enrollment period. Seattle University's Open Enrollment takes place during November and the changes are effective the following January 1.

During Open Enrollment you may:

Add or drop coverage for yourself and your family,
Change medical plans,
Change life insurance and AD&D coverage, and
Add or renew your Healthcare Spending Account or Dependent Care Spending Account.

Family Status Changes
You may change your benefit elections after initial enrollment or the University's Open Enrollment period if you experience a “qualifying life event” and initiate your request via the 'PlanSource' enrollment site within 30 days of the event (60 days for adding newborns or newly adopted children).

Qualifying events include, but are not limited to:

Marriage,
Birth, adoption or gaining legal custody of a child,
Loss or gain of eligibility due to family employment changes,
Legal separation, divorce or dissolution,
Death of an eligible family member.

Ending Benefits

When you leave the University, your benefits coverage will automatically end on the last day of the month of your employment. Faculty with non-renewed contracts, your coverage will end on the last day of your current contract. Coverage will also end on the last day of the month in which you no longer meet the plan’s eligibility requirements (for example, due to a reduction in your scheduled work hours.)

Coverage for your enrolled family member will end on the last day of the month in which they no longer meet a plan’s eligibility requirements. For example, medical insurance coverage will stop on the last day of the month in which your child reaches age 26.

You and your covered dependents may elect to temporarily continue health coverage, at your own expense, as provided under the federal COBRA law. Shortly after the qualifying event, PlanSource will mail coverage continuation enrollment materials directly to you or to your dependent who is no longer eligible.

A summary of your benefits upon leaving the University may be found in the Summary of Benefits at Termination document.