Benefits

2024 Health Benefits

Health Benefit Eligibility

Employees 

Any regular employee, working at least 50 percent (50%) of the time is eligible to participate in the University’s benefit programs. Retirees from such positions may also be eligible based on their years of service at the time of direct retirement from the University. Graduate Assistants are also eligible for most health benefit plans with the exception of the state-sponsored retirement plans.

Contingent I and Contingent II employees working over 30 hours a week (75 % FTE) or more may be eligible for subsidized benefits.  Contingent employees working less than 30 hours a week may be eligible for unsubsidized benefits. Learn more about Contractual Benefits.

Eligible Dependents 

The spouse and eligible children of employees qualify to enroll in coverage with the appropriate documentation (see benefits guide). An “eligible child” is defined as a one of the following until the end of the month in which the child turns age 26:

  • A Biological Child
  • A Legally Adopted Child
  • A Step-child
  • A Grandchild*
  • A Legal ward*, Testamentary, or Court appointed guardian (not temporary for less than 12 months)
  • A Step-grandchild or other dependent child relative
  • A Child over the age of 26 and incapable of self-support due to mental or physical incapacity incurred prior to age 26

*Please refer to your benefit guide book for important tax information.

Note: A husband and wife who are both State employees may NOT have duplicate coverage under any plan by covering each other under separate enrollments. Also, children of a husband and wife who are both State employees may NOT be covered twice under both parents’ plans.

How to Enroll

As a new employee, you have 60 days from your payroll hire date to choose your benefit programs. Enrollment for benefits will be completed via the State of Maryland SPS Workday system. You will not be able to enroll until you receive a series of emails from the State that will include your user name (known as a “W” number) and a temporary access link to create a password.

Effective Date of Coverage: Benefits will be effective on the first of the month following your date of hire. The exception is if your hire date is the 1st day of any month, then your effective date will be the 1st of the month that you started work. 

Processing Time: Normal processing time for online benefits requests can take between 30-60 days from hire for your benefits to become active. 

Regardless of when you enroll within your 60 days of hire, your benefits coverage will still be effective on the first of the month following your date of hire. You will be responsible for paying any mandatory retroactive adjustment payments for periods of coverage back to your benefits effective date.

When Can I Change My Coverage?

Open Enrollment
Once a year, typically in October, there is an open enrollment period which allows all eligible employees to change, cancel or add to existing coverage. For example, you can change from one health insurance company to another during this time, or you can cancel coverage altogether.

Changes in Coverage Due to Qualifying Events
Once you have elected a plan, you must stay in the selected plan, at the selected coverage level, for the full calendar year, unless there has been a qualifying event.

A qualifying event is a change in family status, such as:

  • birth of a child
  • loss of a dependent
  • marriage
  • loss of coverage through a spouse or parent

You have 60 days from the occurrence of the qualifying event to make changes to your benefits. The changes made, however, must be because of and consistent with the change in status that has occurred.

For a detailed guide on how to initiate a Qualifying Life Event in SPS Workday, please visit the following page.

Continuation of Coverage

Please see the following page for Continuation of Health coverage under COBRA.

Visit AskHR.umd.edu with additional Benefits related questions.