United States 

Office of 

Personnel Management

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency 

Benefits Administration Letter 

Number: 17-403 Date: October 6, 2017 

Subject: 2017 Federal Benefits Open Season: Conducting the Open Season 

This Benefits Administration Letter (BAL) is the third in our series of 2017 Federal 

Benefits Open Season BALs. This BAL (17-403) provides instructions on conducting 

the Federal Benefits Open Season. You can find previously issued Open Season BALs at 

www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/benefits-administration-letters. 

This BAL is divided into ten sections as indicated below to more efficiently provide 

information regarding your responsibilities for the upcoming Open Season. 

• Attachment 1: Inform Employees and Provide Information about the Federal 

Benefits Open Season 

• Attachment 2: Open Season Flyer, Poster, and Banner 

• Attachment 3: FSAFEDS Program Flyer 

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

Your Plan for a Paper Brochure 

• Attachment 5: Federal Benefits FastFacts: The 2017 Federal Benefits Open 

Season is Coming! 

• Attachment 6: Federal Benefits FastFacts: What to Consider During the 

Federal Benefits Open Season 

• Attachment 7: Insurance Benefits Flyers 

• Attachment 8: Save Money On... Flyers 

• Attachment 9: Advise Employees on the Federal Benefits Programs 

• Attachment 10: Process Enrollment Actions 

Please distribute Attachments 3 - 8 to your employees and inform them that the 2018 

Plan information will be available in late October. 

• FSAFEDS Program Flyer (Attachment 3) – explains how to enroll in FSAFEDS 

• Going Green – View Your FEHB Brochure Online or Contact Your Plan for a 

Paper Brochure (Attachment 4) - discusses the employees’ option of either 

viewing their brochure online or requesting a paper brochure 

• Federal Benefits FastFacts: The 2017 Federal Benefits Open Season is Coming! 

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(Attachment 5) - provides a snapshot of basic information on Open Season 

• Federal Benefits FastFacts: What to Consider During the Federal Benefits Open 

Season (Attachment 6) - provides a step-by-step process of what to think about 

during Open Season 

• 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 

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

FEDVIP, and FEHB work together to save employees money 

This year’s Federal Benefits Open Season will run from Monday, November 13 through 

Monday, December 11, 2017. 

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. 

If you have specific questions, please contact your agency’s benefits officer. If you do 

not know who this person is, please go to http://apps.opm.gov/abo where you will find a 

list of agencies and their Headquarters Benefits Officers. 

We look forward to working with you in the upcoming 2017 Federal Benefits Open 

Season for the 2018 Plan Year. Again, we encourage you and your employees to visit 

www.opm.gov/openseason. 

Sincerely, 

Alan P. Spielman 

Director 

Healthcare and Insurance 

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