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Attachment 1: Inform Employees and Provide Information about 

the Federal Benefits Open Season 

COMMUNICATION

1. Build awareness of the upcoming Open Season. Employees need to know:

 The dates of Open Season (November 13 – December 11, 2017); 

 The Programs participating in Open Season (FSAFEDS, FEDVIP, and FEHB); 

 A brief description of FSAFEDS, FEDVIP, and FEHB;

 What decisions they can/must make;

 Where they can find additional information about the Programs; and

 The effective date of employees’ Open Season changes.

Start your awareness campaign early (such as the beginning of October) and follow through 

with consistent messages.

2. Inform employees. You can do this in various ways. Here are some examples: 

 Send an email to all employees. Please include the following attachments in your Open 

Season announcement:

o Attachment 3: FSAFEDS Program flyer;

o Attachment 4: Going Green – View Your FEHB Brochure Online or Contact 

Your Plan for a Paper Brochure;

o Attachment 5: Open Season FastFacts “The 2017 Federal Benefits Open Season 

is Coming!”;

o Attachment 6: Open Season FastFacts “What to Consider During the Federal 

Benefits Open Season”;

o Attachment 7: Insurance Benefits Flyers - one-page summaries of the insurance 

benefits of the Federal Benefits Programs (FSAFEDS, FEDVIP dental, FEDVIP 

vision, FEHB Program, Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) 

Program, and Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP)); and

o Attachment 8: Save Money On... Flyers - these flyers show how FSAFEDS, 

FEDVIP, and FEHB work together to save employees money.

 Distribute flyers to employees (this is a great way to reach employees who don’t have 

easy access to the Internet). The flyers can include:

o Attachment 3: FSAFEDS Program flyer;

o Attachment 4: Going Green – View Your FEHB Brochure Online or Contact 

Your Plan for a Paper Brochure;
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o Attachment 5: Open Season FastFacts “The 2017 Federal Benefits Open Season 

is Coming!”;

o Attachment 6: Open Season FastFacts “What to Consider During the Federal 

Benefits Open Season”;

o Insurance Benefits Flyers (Attachment 7) - one-page summaries of the insurance 

benefits of the Federal Benefits Programs (FSAFEDS, FEDVIP dental, FEDVIP 

vision, FEHB Program, Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) 

Program, and Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP)); and

o Save Money On... Flyers (Attachment 8) - these flyers show how FSAFEDS, 

FEDVIP, and FEHB work together to save employees money.

 Post Open Season notices, flyers, and banners in hallways, cafeterias, and break rooms.

 Put the dates of Open Season (November 13 – December 11, 2017) on a footer on each 

email you and your human resources office staff send to employees starting now through 

December 11, 2017 (whether the email specifically concerns Open Season or not). 

Encourage agency supervisors to do the same. Your IT staff may be able to make this

footer automated, and apply it to only internal emails.

 Add reminders to earnings and leave statements.

 Publicize Open Season information on your agency’s intranet site.

 Remind employees they will need their passwords for the BENEFEDS (FEDVIP 

enrollment website) and FSAFEDS websites.

 If your agency uses an online service system for FEHB enrollment changes (e.g., 

Employee Express or MyPay), remind employees they need their password to access the 

system.

 Broadcast to your employees who they can contact internally for help.

TIP: If you are in a field office and you do not know who your agency benefits officer at the 

headquarters level is, please go to http://apps.opm.gov/abo. 

TIP: Please let your employees know the dates of Open Season, how to make changes, or where to 

go if they have questions. Each year, OPM receives numerous calls and emails asking for this 

information. You must make sure Open Season information reaches employees. 

MATERIAL

It is the responsibility of the agency benefits officer at the headquarters level to provide Open Season 

information to the employees in the agency and guidance/information to the benefits officers in field 

offices.

Ensure you have enough Open Season material. You can find detailed information about ordering 

and distributing materials in Benefits Administration Letter (BAL) 17-402 at 
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www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/benefits-administration-letters. However, 

almost all materials are available online at www.opm.gov/openseason. 

1. Open Season FastFacts. A summary of important Open Season information is contained in

the following two FastFacts created specifically for Open Season available on our website at 

www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/fastfacts: the Open Season FastFacts “The 2017 Federal 

Benefits Open Season is Coming!” and the Open Season FastFacts “What to Consider 

During the Federal Benefits Open Season.”

2. FSAFEDS, FEDVIP, and FEHB brochures and flyers.

 You obtain FSAFEDS brochures at www.FSAFEDS.com.

 You obtain FEDVIP brochures from the plans directly. You can download them and 

find FEDVIP plan contact information at www.opm.gov/fedvip and selecting Plan 

Information on the left of the page. 

 The ordering process for paper FEHB Fee-for-Service (FFS) health plan brochures is 

finished. If you did not order paper copies of FFS health plan brochures, you can 

access these brochures at www.opm.gov/FEHBbrochures. You may request FEHB 

health maintenance organization (HMO) or high deductible/consumer driven health 

plan (HDHP/CDHP) brochures by contacting those plans directly. You can find 

FEHB plan contact information in BAL 17-402 at www.opm.gov/retirementservices/publications-forms/benefits-administration-letters. All health plan brochures 

are also available electronically at www.opm.gov/FEHBbrochures.

** A note about distributing paper copies of FFS health plan brochures: health plans and field offices 

alike report that boxes of health plan brochures go to waste because they are inadequately distributed 

once they reach your designated distribution points. This action denies employees health plan 

material to make an informed decision and adds costs to the FEHB Program. Agency headquarters 

must ensure proper distribution of all health plan brochures including FFS and HMO plan brochures.

3. Open Season Facebook page and Twitter. If employees cannot access these resources 

from work, please still distribute the links to them so they can view this information from 

home if they wish.

 Facebook: www.facebook.com/usopm

 Twitter (News and Updates): https://twitter.com/usopm

 Twitter (Questions): https://twitter.com/askopm 

4. Significant Changes Benefits Administration Letter (BAL 17-404). Employees must be 

notified promptly when their plan either terminates from one of the Programs or reduces its 

service area. You are responsible for monitoring employees who are covered by these 

terminating plans or service area reductions with terminating enrollment codes and for 

following up with those who have not submitted a change of enrollment before the end of 

Open Season. 

You will receive BAL 17-404 2017 Federal Benefits Open Season: FSAFEDS, FEDVIP 

and FEHB Program Significant Changes shortly. Please share this information 

immediately with your employees when you receive it.
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TIP: Distribute the listserv notices of the significant changes and BAL 17-404 to all employees 

so they can check to see whether their plan or service area will continue to participate in the 

FEHB Program in 2018.

OPEN SEASON FAIRS

1. Strength in numbers. Employees find Open Season fairs a valuable resource for 

getting Open Season information. If your agency has a small number of employees, 

consider partnering with other agencies in your area or with a Federal Executive 

Board to host an Open Season fair. The plans in the Programs usually receive more 

requests to attend Open Season fairs than they can accommodate, so be creative. 

Employees value talking with plan representatives face-to-face, but you must 

advertise the event early and often to attract as many employees as possible.

2. Assure equal access for FSAFEDS, FEDVIP, and FEHB plans. Open Season fairs 

in some locations – with or without agency human resources on site – are organized 

and hosted by participating FEDVIP and FEHB plans. While this circumstance may

be necessary, no one plan can be allowed to dominate an Open Season fair to the 

detriment of other participating plans. OPM works to ensure a level playing field for 

FSAFEDS, FEDVIP, and FEHB, and this spirit should prevail at Open Season fairs 

too.

3. FSAFEDS. Requests for FSAFEDS marketing materials and/or participation at 

benefit fairs can now be done on the FSAFEDS website at 

https://www.fsafeds.com/toolbox/marketingmaterials, or 

https://www.nationsprint.com/clients/fsafedsordersystem/

4. FEDVIP and FEHB. Find plan contact information in Attachments 3-7 of 

BAL 17-402. Carrier representatives are expected to confine their presentations to 

benefit provisions and claims procedures of the specific plan they represent. Attachment

3 in BAL 17-402 has FEDVIP plan contacts for organizing health fairs. Attachment 7 

in BAL 17-402 has FEHB plan contacts for organizing open season fairs. 

TIP: A number of carriers participate both in the FEDVIP and FEHB programs. While a single 

representative may distribute information for both programs, this information cannot be bundled or 

presented in such a way that the member is led to believe he/she is purchasing a “package deal.” 

5. Companies not approved by OPM. You may be contacted by insurance companies 

that do not participate in any of the Federal benefits programs we administer but wish to 

sell other types of “supplemental” policies to Federal employees. These companies 

sometimes send marketing material and ask that you distribute it. They may ask to be 

invited to the agency’s benefit fairs or even show up uninvited. 

OPM has no authority to allow or disallow participation in agency Open Season benefit 

fairs. However, we are not in favor of allowing these companies to attend because it may 

dilute the messages of the Federal Benefits Open Season. Employees may interpret their 
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participation as evidence your agency supports their product or that it has the backing of 

the Federal Government. For these reasons, you may wish to limit access to your 

premises to plans that actually participate in FEDVIP or FEHB and representatives of 

FSAFEDS and Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP).

TIP: Although FLTCIP does not participate in this annual Open Season, you can apply for coverage

at any time using the full underwriting application. You may wish to include information on the 

Program at your benefit fairs. Please contact Long Term Care Partners, the administrator of 

FLTCIP, at materials@ltcpartners.com to request materials and/or participation at your benefits fair. 

If you have questions, please contact your FLTCIP account manager directly by visiting 

www.ltcfeds.com/abo.

6. Be supportive. Ensure your agency’s managers allow their employees time away from 

their duties to attend Open Season fairs. The fairs are an excellent source for employees 

to obtain the information necessary to make informed benefit choices. 

EMPLOYEE ENROLLMENT OPPORTUNITIES

1. Enroll in FSAFEDS, FEDVIP, and FEHB.

 An eligible employee who is not enrolled may enroll. 

 An eligible employee who wants an FSAFEDS account in 2018 must enroll in 

FSAFEDS during Open Season. Current participants MUST re-enroll each year if 

they want to continue participation. Enrollments DO NOT carry forward from year 

to year. 

 Enrollment in FEDVIP and FEHB automatically continues year to year.

 An eligible employee who enrolls in FEDVIP cannot waive premium conversion. 

When employees enroll in FEDVIP, they agree to pre-tax deductions. 

 An eligible employee who enrolls in FEHB may waive participation in premium 

conversion; otherwise, participation in premium conversion is automatic. 

Premium conversion may not be waived for FEDVIP.

Note: The Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program and the Federal Long 

Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP) do not participate in the annual Federal Benefits 

Open Season. 

Eligible employees and qualified relatives can apply for coverage under FLTCIP at any time using 

the full underwriting application. Additional information on both FEGLI and FLTCIP is available 

at www.opm.gov/insure.

2. Change enrollment or cancel enrollment in FSAFEDS, FEDVIP, and FEHB
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 For FSAFEDS, current participants must re-enroll if they want to participate for 2018

or they can choose to do nothing and their FSAFEDS coverage will end with the 

2017 Benefit Period. 

 For FEDVIP and FEHB, an enrollee may change from one plan or option to 

another or change enrollment type.

 For FEDVIP and FEHB, an enrollee may cancel his or her enrollment. 

 An enrollee who currently participates in FEHB premium conversion may waive 

participation, or if he/she had previously waived premium conversion, may begin 

participation. 

Note: Please inform employees who are canceling their FEHB enrollment that the cancellation may 

affect their ability to meet the 5-year requirement for continuing FEHB into retirement. There is no 

5-year requirement to continue FEDVIP into retirement.

OPEN SEASON EFFECTIVE DATES

1. FSAFEDS

 For enrollment during Open Season, the effective date is January 1, 2018. 

 An eligible employee who wants an FSAFEDS account in 2018 must enroll in 

FSAFEDS during Open Season. Current participants MUST re-enroll each year if 

they want to continue participation. Enrollments DO NOT carry forward from year 

to year.

2. FEDVIP 

 For a new enrollment, or an enrollment change, the effective date is Monday, 

January 1, 2018. 

 For cancellation, the effective date is December 31, 2017.

 The Plan year under FEDVIP is January 1 through December 31.

3. FEHB 

 From not enrolled to enrolled, the effective date is the first day of the first pay 

period that begins on or after January 1, 2018 and which follows a pay period during 

any part of which the employee is in pay status. 

 For enrollment change, the effective date is the first day of the first pay period 

which begins on or after January 1, 2018 regardless of whether the employee is in pay 

status during the preceding pay period. 

o For most non-postal employees, the effective date is January 6, 2018.

o For U.S. postal employees, the effective date is January 5, 2018.

o For compensationers under the Office of Workers’ Compensation

Programs (OWCP), the effective date is January 6, 2018.
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 For premium conversion change in election, the effective date is the first day of 

the pay period that begins on or after January 1, 2018. 

o For most non-postal employees, the effective date is January 6, 2018. 

o For U.S. postal employees, the effective date is January 5, 2018. 

o For compensationers under the Office of Workers’ Compensation 

Programs (OWCP), the effective date is January 6, 2018. 

 For cancellation, the effective date is at the end of the day before the first day of the 

first pay period that begins in 2018. 

o For most non-postal employees, the cancellation date is January 6, 2018. 

o For U.S. postal employees, the cancellation date is January 5, 2018. 

o For compensationers under the Office of Workers’ Compensation 

Programs (OWCP), the cancellation date is January 6, 2018.