Ithaca College 2027 Open Enrollment Instructions

2026 Annual Open Enrollment is the time for Benefits Eligible IC employees to make benefit plan changes without having a qualified life event (e.g. family or employment change). Changes made during this period will be effective January 1, 2027. The open enrollment period will begin on October 26th and end at 5pm on November 6th. There will be no exceptions to the deadline due to the short amount of time we must process all changes and send updated files to our benefit partners.

Contents

Section 1: Review Your Information in IC HR Cloud

Section 2: Update Your Benefits Enrollments in IC HR Cloud

Section 3: Elect a Spending Account

Section 4: Finalize Benefits Enrollment

Section 1: Review Your Information in IC HR Cloud

Reviewing your information in IC HR Cloud for accuracy is an important step to ensure that your 2027 benefits enrollments are processed accurately and all enrollment information can be received in a timely manner. 

1. Review and/or Update Your Personal Information in IC HR Cloud
   • ​Click here to review/update your personal information in IC HR Cloud. This includes name, gender, dependent full-time student status (if applicable). etc.
   • Click here to review/update your contact information in IC HR Cloud. This includes your address, secondary phone numbers, and email addresses.
2. Review Current Benefit Enrollments:
   • Login to HR Cloud Here
   • Click on the Home icon in the top right of the page
   • Click the orange Benefits tile in your "Me" section
   • Select "Current Enrollment" in the drop-down menu under "Enrollment Summary" 
   • Click on "View all enrollments" 
     • To Print your enrollments, Click on the "Print All Benefits" button at the top right to open a PDF view
   • Review all plan selections and covered dependents. This includes Medical, Dental, Vision, Spending Accounts, Supplemental Life Plans, and Employer benefits
3. Review your dependents and contacts on your record
   • Login to HR Cloud Here
   • Click on the Home icon in the top right of the page
   • Click the orange Benefits tile in your "Me" section
   • Click on the Before You Enroll link on the right
   • Review current dependents/contacts under My contacts
     • This displays all of the current contacts on your record, not just those enrolled in your benefit plans

• What is the difference between a contact and a dependent?
  • A contact is someone added to your record who may serve as your emergency contact or be designated as a beneficiary for your life insurance. 
  • A dependent, on the other hand, is a spouse or child added to your record to be enrolled in health care benefits and/or be designated as a life insurance beneficiary. 
  • If you need to add a dependent, contact, or beneficiary to your record ahead of open enrollment:
    • Login to HR Cloud Here
    • Click on the Home icon in the top right of the page
    • Click the orange Personal Information tile in your "Me" section
    • Click on the Family and Emergency Contacts tile
    • Click + at the top right
      • Select Create a New Contact to add a new contact
        • Under Global Name, Enter your contact's information into the boxes
          • NOTE: in the Chosen Full Name box, enter your contacts name in Last Name, First Name format
        • Under Relationship, select your contact's relationship to you, the relationship start date, gender, date of birth
          • Click the toggle button if this person is an emergency contact
          • Under TIN Type, Select whether you will enter their Social Security Number or Tax ID Number. Enter that number in the TIN Number box
            • If the contact is not a dependent, Enter 000000000 if the number is unknown
          • Do not select anything from the Benefits Offered Conditionally box.
        • Under Phone details, Select the phone number type and enter the area code and phone number. Select the correct country if contact is located outside of the U.S.
        • Under Email details, Select type, and enter email in the box that appears
        • Under Address:
          • Select the "Use My Address" radio button if your contact lives with you or is a dependent, and then select your address from the drop down menu
          • If the person does not live with you and is not a dependent, Select the "Enter a New Address" Button, Select your contact's country, Select the type, and Enter the address in the "address search box"
        • In the Drag and Drop box, drop or upload supporting information for your dependents
          • Examples: Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificate, Tax Return, Social Security Card
        • Click Submit
      • Select Select Coworker as a Contact if:
        • Your contact is an employee of, is an affiliate of, or has ever been a student at IC or if your contact was added by your spouse
        • Select the start date of the work relationship
        • In the "search for a  coworker to add as a contact" box, type the contact's name, and select it. Add the relationship, select toggle button if an emergency contact. 
        • In the Drag and Drop box, drop supporting information for your dependents
          • Examples: Marriage Certificate, Birth Certificate, Tax Return, Social Security Card
        • Click Submit
    • If you are having issues entering your contact, please submit a dependent/contact add form linked here.

*Designating a life insurance beneficiary will be required during open enrollment. You will not be able to submit your enrollments without a beneficiary designated. 

Section 2: Update Your Benefits Enrollments in IC HR Cloud

This section outlines the specific steps you should take when making changes to your benefits during this Open Enrollment period. Please follow each step as outlined below, and reach out to a member of the Benefits team if you have any questions via the HR Help Desk here. 

1. Update your Benefit Enrollments in IC HR Cloud
   • Login to HR Cloud here
   • Click on the Home icon in the top right of the page
   • Click the orange Benefits tile in your "Me" section
   • Click on the Enroll Now button 
     • If this button is greyed out for you, please reach out to the benefits team here
   • In the Get to know your benefits section, there is a link to the IC Benefits Guide. Please review this guide if you need further information about our benefit offerings before you are ready to make elections. 
     • Click Continue when ready to move on
   • In the Verify people you'd like to cover section, you will see all contacts currently added to your record in HR Cloud. If anyone is missing, you can add contacts to your HR Cloud by following this Knowledge Base how-to article: Article - How to Add Contacts and/or ...
     • Click Continue when ready to move on
   • In the Enroll in benefits that matter to you section, click on the Edit button
   • Click accept in the Authorization section
   • Medical
     • Select Enroll for the plan you wish to choose
     • If you are waiving a benefit, select Enroll under the tile that indicates that you will wave/decline the offered benefit
     • When ready, click the next plan option on the right-hand side of the screen
   • Dental
     • Select Enroll for the plan you wish to choose
     • If you are waiving a benefit, select Enroll under the tile that indicates that you will wave/decline the offered benefit
     • When ready, click the next plan option on the right-hand side of the screen
   • Vision
     • Select Enroll for the plan you wish to choose
     • If you are waiving a benefit, select Enroll under the tile that indicates that you will wave/decline the offered benefit
     • When ready, click the next plan option on the right-hand side of the screen
   • Spending Account
     • Select Enroll for the plan you wish to choose
     • If you are waiving a benefit, select Enroll under the tile that indicates that you will wave/decline the offered benefit
     • If you need to update a contribution on a current election, click the edit pencil next to that enrollment
     • If enrolling in a spending account, you will be prompted to enter a coverage amount
       • This is an annual amount that you would like to contribute via your paychecks
       • Once you enter an annual amount, a per-paycheck amount will populate
       • When you click into the Coverage box, a max contribution amount will display. This is a true max that already considers the IC contribution to your spending account.
     • Click Save when done
     • When ready, click the next plan option on the right-hand side of the screen
   • Supplemental Life Plans
     • Select Enroll for the plan you wish to choose
     • If you are waiving a benefit, select Enroll under the tile that indicates that you will wave/decline the offered benefit
     • If you need to update a contribution on a current election, click the edit pencil next to that enrollment
     • Enter a Coverage amount 
     • Designate a Beneficiary
       • To designate a beneficiary, please ensure you add a % next to their name. Ex: you can have two beneficiaries both at 50%. You just need to ensure the percentages equal to 100%. You may also choose any of your contacts to be a contingent (backup) beneficiary. 
     • Click Save when done
     • When ready, click the next plan option on the right-hand side of the screen
   • Employer Benefits
     • Employer-provided benefits are automatic enrollments. You do not need to enroll in them, but you do need to designate a beneficiary for the two Basic life insurance plans
       • Basic Life Insurance
         • click the edit pencil next to that enrollment
         • To designate a beneficiary, please ensure you add a % next to their name. Ex: you can have two beneficiaries both at 50%. You just need to ensure the percentages equal to 100%. You may also choose any of your contacts to be a contingent (backup) beneficiary. 
       • Basic Accidental Death and Dismemberment 
         • click the edit pencil next to that enrollment
         • To designate a beneficiary, please ensure you add a % next to their name. Ex: you can have two beneficiaries both at 50%. You just need to ensure the percentages equal to 100%. You may also choose any of your contacts to be a contingent (backup) beneficiary. 
     • Click Save
     • When ready, click the next plan option on the right-hand side of the screen
   • Review and Submit
     • Give all benefit elections a final review
     • Click Submit when ready to submit your elections
     • You can come back in and make changes to your elections anytime within the enrollment window

*If you are enrolling in the High Deductible Health Plan, a Health Savings Account, or a Flexible Spending Account, please review Section 3 for helpful information.

Section 3: Electing Spending Accounts

When electing a Flexible spending Account or a Health Savings Account and adding the amount you wish to contribute during the calendar year, you will need to do the following:

1. Click Spending Accounts on menu at the right-hand side to access the spending accounts associated with Open Enrollment (includes FSA and HSA information). Your current HSA or FSA option will be selected by default.
2. Click on the pencil icon next to "Health Savings Account" or "Flexible Spending Account" and add the annual amount that you wish to contribute. Click OK.
3. Click "Unenroll" on any plan you will not use. If you do not, you will receive an error upon submission.
4. Click Continue. Once you click Continue, you will be able to continue down through your elections. After completing your elections, you will click Submit.

Section 4: Finalize Benefits Enrollment

1. Select Review and Submit in the upper right hand corner to re-calculate your per pay-period cost for all benefit elections combined and to save your re-enrollment changes. You will receive a Confirmation that your benefit elections were saved. Please save a copy for your records.
2. You can review the elections you make any time throughout the year by going to the Benefits app in HR Cloud and selecting Current Enrollment.

Want to print or download your benefits selections for your records?

1. In the Benefits app, Click on "View Enrollments," then "View Report," and download it to your device or print it out..
2. Under "Enrollment Summary" and Select "As of Date" Select 01/01/2027 by clicking the calendar icon.
3. Click on the "View all enrollments" link under "Enrollment Summary"  
   • To Print your enrollments, Click on the "Print All Benefits" button at the top right to open a PDF view