CalPERS told employers that open enrollment for 2025 health plans begins Sept. 15 and ends Oct. 10, and that employers must finish processing all open-enrollment transactions by midnight on Nov. 7 to ensure carriers receive changes on time. Vanessa Albritton, webinar presenter, said health plan statements and the Search Health Plans tool will be available on Sept. 8 and that the agency will host a member webinar on Sept. 10.

“Please make sure you adhere to this cutoff and don't put off processing enrollments because this can delay transactions to the carriers, which can lead to delays in members receiving their ID cards,” Albritton said. She urged employers to communicate how employees should submit elections and to make use of myCalPERS where appropriate.

Employer options and file processing: Employers may allow employees to make health plan changes online through myCalPERS; if an employee changes a plan online, employers do not need to key or approve that transaction but will receive a notification. Other transactions—new enrollments, adding dependents and some deletions—still require employer review of eligibility and documentation. Employers using third-party uploads should ensure demographic data in their files matches myCalPERS; mismatches will cause file errors. Anthony Williams said response files with error details will be placed in the Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) folder where the enrollment file was submitted so agencies can correct and resubmit.

Resources and communications: CalPERS provides on-demand Cognos reports, an employers open-enrollment page with health fair resources and links to publications (Health Benefit Summary, Medicare Enrollment Guide, Health Program Guide), and employer bulletins. Albritton said the agency began sending open-enrollment emails in July and will continue through September; members who receive mail notices will get mailed letters where relevant.

Forms and audits: Agencies that use their own online platforms do not need to require employees to submit a paper HBD-12 form, but must collect all information contained on that form and be able to provide it for audits, per Circular Letter 600-010-19 (dated Feb. 25, 2019). CalHR’s benefits calculator will be updated with 2026 information by the first day of open enrollment for state members, CalPERS said.

Timing and events: Employers and members can access the Search Health Plans tool on Sept. 8 to compare provider availability and premiums. CalPERS will post recorded webinars and answered questions online and send employers materials, including member letters and an employer bulletin list, to aid employee communications.