2026 Benefits Open Enrollment Period
Open Enrollment begins Monday, November 10, 2025,
and ends on Friday, November 21, 2025
Elections will be effective January 1, 2026.
Virtual Benefits FairIt's time to consider your needs, review your benefit coverages, and maybe make some changes for 2026 — and it's also the time when you need to reenroll for certain benefits if you want them to continue in 2026. The benefits you have in 2025 might not make sense for you in 2026. Your situation may have changed this year or be changing in 2026. During the Open Enrollment period, you can make changes to many of your benefit coverages. See details.
What's here
This website includes details regarding changes to the plans, plan designs and contributions, and instructions for making your Open Enrollment elections. We've added Frequently Asked Questions for quick reference.
Retirees on Medicare, this website is not for you. Your medical plan is administered through the exchange managed by SelectQuote Senior. Call SelectQuote Senior at 1-866-479-8317 (press Option 1).
Changes are coming
Some changes have been made to the benefit programs for 2026, such as Aetna Medical Plan premiums, the maximum amount you can contribute to the Aetna Medical Plan 4 Health Savings Account, and most Reimbursement Account limits. See details.
Note: 2025 Reimbursement Account annual contribution maximums were announced by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service after our Open Enrollment booklet was sent to print. The electronic version linked below ("BSA Benefits & You") has been updated to reflect the 2025 maximum contributions. Print versions reflect the 2024 maximums.
Learn more and get help
This year's Open Enrollment period will continue to feature a hybrid of virtual and in-person assistance.
- Our Benefits Office staff will be available by phone, online, or you can make an appointment to meet with them at the Lab. Contact Benefits Office staff at (631) 344-4275, (631) 344-5558, or (631) 344-8877; or by email at oe@bnl.gov.
- As in recent years, we will hold a virtual benefits fair with online videos and other materials from our Aetna Medical Plans, the Delta Dental Plans, the EyeMed Vision Care Plan, the Inspira Reimbursement Accounts, and TIAA, where you can learn about the plans offered.
Follow these steps
What is Open Enrollment?
During Open Enrollment, eligible employees may enroll in or drop medical, dental and/or vision care coverage, change from one medical or dental plan to another, add or drop covered family members, and/or sign up for reimbursement accounts and the vacation buy plan. All changes made during the Open Enrollment period are effective January 1, 2026. Outside of this period, you may only make changes to your coverage when a Qualifying Event occurs.
During the Open Enrollment period, you may also sign up for the health care reimbursement account, the dependent day care reimbursement account, the transit commuter reimbursement account, the parking reimbursement account and/or the vacation buy program. Your 2025 elections for these programs do not carry forward to 2026, so if you want to participate in these programs in 2026, you must enroll during the Open Enrollment period.
Important changes are coming to your benefits program. See the list of changes for 2026.
Adding others to your plan
When adding a spouse/domestic partner, dependent child, child you have legal custody or legal guardship, not currently on any of your benefit plans (medical, dental or vision) you will need to attach supporting document as proof of the relationship such as marriage certificates, birth certificates or court documents. Open Enrollment elections made without supporting documentation cannot be processed.
Choosing your benefits
Open Enrollment elections can be completed online for medical, dental and vision care benefits, reimbursement accounts, the vacation buy program, the new supplemental health plans, and more. Online enrollment requires that you have access to Workday. For those without access to Workday on the Brookhaven Lab internal network, computer kiosks are available in the Human Resources lobby in Bldg. 400. During Open Enrollment, you can do the following.
Medical, Dental, and Vision Care Plans
- You can elect or drop these benefits
- Add or drop eligible family members, and/or
- Elect a different medical or dental plan
If you are enrolled in the Aetna Medical Plan 4, you can change your contribution to the Health Savings Account at any time.
If you do not make changes to these benefit elections, you'll automatically remain in the Medical, Dental and/or Vision Care Plans you have on December 31, 2025, if any. Any dependent children who are on your coverage on December 31, 2025 who are no longer eligible on January 1, 2026 will automatically be dropped from your coverage. (For instance, a child who reaches age 23 in 2025 and is in the Dental Plan will no longer be eligible for coverage in 2026.)
Vacation Buy Plan
You are not automatically reenrolled in this plan from year to year. If you want to use this plan in 2026, you must reenroll.
Health Care and/or Dependent Day Care Reimbursement Accounts
You can elect this benefit. You are not automatically reenrolled in these accounts from year to year. If you want these benefits in 2026, you must reenroll. Otherwise, they will end on December 31, 2025.
Transit and/or Parking Reimbursement Accounts
At any time during the year you can:
- Elect or drop these benefits, and/or
- Increase or decrease your contribution amounts.
You must reenroll to continue contributions in 2026. Any unspent funds remaining in the account from 2025 will roll over into 2026, whether you reenroll or not.
Brookhaven Science Associates
Brookhaven Science Associates manages and operates Brookhaven National Laboratory on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. BSA is a partnership between Battelle and The Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University. | More
