United States Office of Personnel Management 

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency 

Benefits Administration Letter 

Number: 21-401 Date: September 2, 2021 

Subject: 2021 Federal Benefits Open Season: 

Announcement 

Welcome to the first in our series of 2021 Federal Benefits Open Season 

Benefits Administration Letters (BALs) for the Federal Flexible Spending 

Account Program (FSAFEDS), Federal Employees Dental and Vision 

Insurance Program (FEDVIP), and Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) 

Program. This BAL provides general information about this year’s Federal 

Benefits Open Season, which runs from Monday, November 8, 2021 

through Monday, December 13, 2021. 

As a reminder, 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. 

COVID-19 Impact on Open Season 

The 2021 Federal Benefits Open Season will take place as scheduled. The 

effective dates of Open Season enrollment actions will not be delayed due to 

COVID-19. You are responsible for ensuring that your employees are aware 

of the dates of Open Season, how to make changes, and which changes they 

can make. We recognize that this may be another challenging Open Season 

and appreciate your efforts to ensure you are prepared to administer Open 

Season, including timely processing of enrollments and enrollment changes. 

We strongly encourage you to be creative regarding how you share 

information with employees. This may include information on your email 

signature line, lunch and learn sessions, and social media. 

Employees find Open Season fairs a valuable resource for getting Open 

Season information. Due to COVID-19, we strongly encourage you to assess 
Benefits Administration Letter [21-401] 

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how in-person benefit fairs will be impacted. Consider other ways to provide 

information to employees such as virtual events, webcasts, or webinars. 

Many health plans host virtual events to provide information about Open 

Season to their enrollees and others. You may contact health plans for ideas 

and suggestions on providing information. Health plan contact information is 

available on our website at www.opm.gov/plancontacts. 

FSAFEDS 

Recent legislation allows carry over of all remaining funds in a participant’s 

Plan Year 2021 Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) or Limited 

Expense Health Care Flexible Spending Account (LEX HCFSA) when they reenroll in the same account(s) in Plan Year 2022. Additional information on 

FSAFEDS will be available in BAL 21-402 Ordering and Distributing Materials 

and Conducting the Open Season. 

Open Season Opportunities 

During the annual Open Season, eligible employees can enroll, change plans 

or plan options, change enrollment type, or cancel their enrollment for 

FEDVIP and the FEHB Program. Employees can also re-enroll or newly enroll 

in FSAFEDS. 

Pre-Open Season Materials (Attachments) 

The items below are pre-Open Season materials to help employees consider 

and assess the various choices available to them as they make their Open 

Season benefits decisions. You are responsible for providing these 

educational materials to your employees. Please distribute these materials 

to employees and post them on your agency’s intranet in mid-September. 

1. Sample Email to Employees (Attachment 1) – a sample email to inform

employees about the upcoming Federal Benefits Open Season

2. Circle ‘Round Your Benefits (Attachment 2) – a diagram to help

enrollees understand how the three programs that participate in Open

Season (FSAFEDS, FEDVIP, and FEHB) work together

Additional resources can be found at www.opm.gov/openseason. 
Benefits Administration Letter [21-401] 

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Upcoming Benefits Administration Letters 

You will receive BALs on the following topics in the upcoming months: 

BAL 21-402 - 2021 Federal Benefits Open Season: Ordering 

and Distributing Materials and Conducting the Open Season - 

We will inform you how to order and distribute Open Season materials 

including Program-specific materials. Materials will be posted on our 

website at www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/referencematerials/#url=Open-Season. We will provide you with information on 

employee counseling, annuitant inquiries, carrier contacts, Open 

Season actions, effective dates, and agency actions. 

BAL 21-403 – 2021 Federal Benefits Open Season: Significant 

Plan Changes - We will provide information on significant events 

affecting FSAFEDS and certain plans in FEDVIP and the FEHB Program 

which you must communicate to your employees. This BAL also 

provides instructions on the actions that employing agencies must take 

in certain situations, such as when an FEHB enrollee in a terminating 

plan or plan option fails to change plans during Open Season. We will 

release this BAL following the announcement of the 2022 premium 

rates. (If there are any subsequent changes, we will issue a follow-up 

BAL) 

You can find posted BALs on our website here. 

Timeline of Open Season Events 

What When 

BAL 21-402: Ordering and 

Distributing Materials and 

Conducting the Open Season 

Anticipated Issue Date: Early- Mid 

September 

2022 rates announced and posted 

on OPM website 

Late September 

BAL 21-403 Significant Plan 

Changes 

Anticipated Issue Date: Early-to MidOctober 

Open Season information posted on 

OPM website 

Early November 

Open Season November 8 - December 13, 2021 
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Benefits Administration Letter [21-401] 

Where to Go for More Information 

Visit our website at www.opm.gov/insure to learn more about these 

Programs. You will find specific Federal Benefits Open Season information 

on www.opm.gov/openseason by the first week in November. 

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. 

Sincerely, 

Laurie E. Bodenheimer 

Associate Director 

 Healthcare and Insurance