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      2026 benefitbay® Employer Renewal Guide

      ICHRA Renewal Process for Employers Using benefitbay®

       

      We are pleased to offer an exceptional medical insurance renewal experience for your employees. Below is an overview to guide your company through a successful  Open Enrollment season!

      September 2025:

      • You will be notified when your contract is ready to sign. The company's signer should review and sign the contract no later than September 30th.
        • The contract will include terms and conditions, fees, and additional services that have been requested (e.g., 1095 reporting, COBRA, and Ancillary election options).
        • Final decisions regarding employer contributions will be made once rates are available in October (or later, depending on the state). The contribution amounts will be included in the ICHRA plan document.
      • Review and update your company profile in the benefitbay platform, as needed.
      • Update your company census (instructions below). It is important to update each benefit-eligible employee's salary and address information so that an accurate ICHRA affordability analysis can be completed.
      • Schedule the 90-day notice to be sent to all benefit-eligible employees on or before October 1, 2025 (instructions below).
      • IF YOUR COMPANY HAS ANY MEDICARE-AGED EMPLOYEES, work with your agent to schedule employee education sessions.
      • Review your company's User Roles on the Contacts tab to ensure everyone has been assigned correctly. The company's signer will be responsible for reviewing and approving the contract and the ICHRA plan document. Click here to review user role assignments to ensure each company contact has the correct access.

      If your company's pay frequency or benefit waiting periods must be changed, please contact your agent and benefitbay Customer Success Manager BEFORE making any changes. 

      Census Update Project: 

      • Download your company census and begin updating it with any employee changes.

      If your company uses the payroll integration, you may skip this step!

        • Here are the instructions to download the census
        • Please review and confirm each benefit-eligible employee's personal and income information. You can make edits directly in the file. 
          • If employees who have left the company are still on the census, first delete their information from the census and then process their termination in benefitbay (here is the article to process a termination). 
          • To add new employee information to the census, attach the new employee's details to the end of the existing census file. DO NOT INCLUDE A BENEFITBAY ID#; this will be assigned later when the new employee's information is added to the benefitbay platform. 
          • It is crucial to update all benefit-eligible employee information, especially salaries and personal addresses. This will ensure the ICHRA affordability analysis is accurate.
          • Once you have completed the updates, work with your agent to upload the census to your 2025 Coverage Period in the benefitbay platform.

      We encourage you to have your census updated and uploaded to benefitbay by October 1, 2025.

      90-day Notice:

      • Send the general 90-day ICHRA Notice to all benefit-eligible employees. A personalized ICHRA Notice will be available to employees when enrollment begins.

      For compliance purposes, this notice should be sent to all benefit-eligible employees on or before October 1, 2025.

      October 2025:

      • Once the updated employee census is uploaded, work with your agent to finalize the 2026 employer contribution amounts for your company.
      • When the 2026 contribution amounts are finalized and your agent has locked the model, the designated "Signer" for the company will log in to benefitbay and sign the 2026 ICHRA Plan Document.
      • Employee education will ensure a successful Open Enrollment. Work with your agent to schedule Open Enrollment education for all employees. Focus on the following areas:
        • Employees who currently have coverage must TAKE AN ACTION STEP! There is no option for a passive renewal (or auto-reenrollment). Employees must log in to benefitbay and follow the enrollment steps to either keep their current plan, change plans, or waive coverage. 
        • Once an employee's application for January 1, 2026 coverage is submitted, no changes can be made to the chosen plan before the new coverage date. It is critical for employees to thoroughly review their selected plan and ensure it meets their needs before clicking the "submit my application" button. 
        • Employees should be instructed to schedule only one enrollment call with a benefitbay enrollment counselor. Multiple appointments will restrict access for others who need enrollment couseling during the busy Open Enrollment season.
      • We encourage your Human Resources team to provide employee communication before the start of Open Enrollment.

      During Open Enrollment:

      • You can monitor your company's enrollment progress for all employees. Here are the instructions for this option.
      • Review the renewal report that highlights employees who had coverage in 2025 but haven't actively chosen a plan for 2026.  
      • Redirect any employees who have benefitbay platform questions or enrollment questions to support@benefitbay.com.

      ALL EMPLOYEES WILL BE REQUIRED TO LOG IN TO BENEFITBAY AND COMPLETE THEIR ENROLLMENT, EVEN IF THEY WANT TO RENEW THE SAME PLAN.

      Congratulations! You've made it!