Open Enrollment Prep: What to Review Before You Choose Your 2026 Benefits

Open enrollment is the annual opportunity to review your employee benefits and make elections for the upcoming plan year. It can also be easy to treat the process as a formality, especially when last year’s selections are still available.

That approach can create avoidable problems. Your healthcare needs, household circumstances, income, tax situation, and ability to handle unexpected expenses may have changed since the last enrollment period.

Before you submit your 2026 elections, use this guide to gather the right information, compare costs, and confirm that your benefits work together.

Start With Your Open Enrollment Materials

Before comparing plans, collect the documents and information you will need. Your employer’s benefits portal or human resources team may provide:

  • The open enrollment deadline and effective date of new elections
  • A summary of benefits and coverage for each medical plan
  • Monthly employee premiums
  • Deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums
  • Provider network and prescription drug information
  • HSA, FSA, and dependent care account details
  • Employer contributions or wellness incentives
  • Life and disability insurance coverage options
  • Retirement plan contribution information
  • Rules for changing elections after the deadline

Also gather your own information:

  • Names of your doctors, specialists, hospitals, and preferred pharmacies
  • Current prescriptions and expected medical services
  • Anticipated changes to your household or dependents
  • Childcare or eldercare expenses
  • Existing life and disability coverage
  • Your current retirement contribution rate
  • The amount of cash savings available for unexpected medical costs

Keep these materials together while comparing options. Benefits decisions are easier when you can evaluate the full picture rather than one feature at a time.

Compare Healthcare Plans by Total Cost

The lowest monthly premium is not necessarily the lowest-cost plan for your situation. Compare the major cost categories together:

Premiums

The premium is the amount deducted from your paycheck to maintain coverage. Multiply the per-paycheck or monthly premium by the number of pay periods in the year to estimate your annual premium cost.

Remember that premiums generally do not count toward your out-of-pocket maximum.

Deductibles

The deductible is the amount you generally pay for covered services before the plan begins sharing costs. A plan with a lower deductible may have higher premiums, while a plan with a higher deductible may have lower premiums.

Consider your expected healthcare use and your ability to pay a large bill early in the plan year.

Copays and coinsurance

A copay is typically a fixed amount for a covered service, such as a physician visit or prescription. Coinsurance is generally a percentage of the allowed cost after you meet the deductible.

Review the cost-sharing rules for:

  • Primary care and specialist visits
  • Urgent care and emergency services
  • Hospital stays and procedures
  • Imaging and laboratory services
  • Mental health services
  • Prescription drugs

Out-of-pocket maximum

The out-of-pocket maximum is the most you generally pay during the plan year for covered, in-network services. It usually includes deductibles, copays, and coinsurance, but not premiums or non-covered services.

A useful comparison is:

Annual premiums + expected cost-sharing = estimated annual healthcare cost

Also consider a more conservative scenario:

Annual premiums + in-network out-of-pocket maximum = potential worst-case annual cost

This is not a prediction of what you will spend. It is a way to understand the range of financial exposure under each plan.

Provider networks

Confirm that your current doctors, specialists, hospitals, urgent care locations, and pharmacies are in-network for the plan you are considering. A plan with attractive cost-sharing may be less practical if your preferred providers are excluded or treated as out-of-network.

For additional consumer guidance on premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs, review Healthcare.gov’s explanation of total healthcare costs.

Review HSA and FSA Decisions Carefully

Health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts can help manage eligible healthcare expenses, but they work differently.

Health savings accounts

An HSA is generally available only with an HSA-eligible high-deductible health plan. Contributions may receive favorable federal tax treatment, and unused funds generally remain in the account. However, eligibility can depend on other coverage and personal circumstances.

For 2026, the IRS contribution limits are:

  • $4,400 for self-only HSA-eligible coverage
  • $8,750 for family HSA-eligible coverage
  • An additional $1,000 catch-up contribution for eligible individuals age 55 or older

The 2026 HSA-compatible HDHP minimum deductibles are $1,700 for self-only coverage and $3,400 for family coverage. The maximum out-of-pocket limits for HSA-qualified plans are $8,500 for self-only coverage and $17,000 for family coverage.

Review the official IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-19 and your employer’s plan documents before making an election. Employer contributions may count toward the annual HSA limit.

Health FSAs

A health FSA allows employees to set aside pretax salary for eligible medical expenses. For 2026, the employee contribution limit is $3,400, subject to the plan’s rules.

FSAs may have use-it-or-lose-it provisions, carryover rules, or a grace period. Do not assume that unused funds will remain available indefinitely. Estimate eligible expenses conservatively and review your employer’s specific deadlines.

Dependent care FSAs

If available, a dependent care FSA may help eligible employees pay qualifying care expenses. For 2026, the federal limit is generally $7,500 per household, or $3,750 for married individuals filing separately, subject to applicable requirements and plan rules.

Because tax rules and household circumstances can affect the result, consult a qualified tax professional before relying on a particular tax treatment.

Reassess Life and Disability Coverage

Healthcare is only one part of financial protection. Open enrollment is also a useful time to review income replacement and survivor protection.

Consider:

  • Whether employer-provided life insurance would cover your household’s financial obligations
  • Whether you need additional voluntary life insurance
  • How much of your income disability coverage would replace
  • The waiting period before disability benefits begin
  • Whether benefits are short-term, long-term, or both
  • How premiums and potential benefits may be treated for tax purposes
  • Whether beneficiaries are current and correctly listed

Major life changes (such as marriage, divorce, a new child, a home purchase, or a change in dependent responsibilities) may affect your coverage needs.

Navigant’s insurance resource center includes educational material on life risks and insurance considerations. It is not a substitute for individualized insurance, legal, or tax advice.

Connect Benefits Choices With Retirement and Tax Planning

Benefits elections affect more than your paycheck. They can influence cash flow, taxable income, emergency savings, and retirement contributions.

Before finalizing your elections, ask:

  1. Will higher premiums reduce the amount available for retirement contributions?
  2. If I choose a higher-deductible plan, can I fund an HSA and maintain enough emergency savings?
  3. Will pretax contributions change my take-home pay in a way that affects my household budget?
  4. Should I revisit my traditional or Roth retirement contribution strategy?
  5. Are employer retirement plan matching contributions affected by my contribution rate?
  6. Have I reviewed beneficiary designations across retirement and insurance accounts?

Avoid making one decision in isolation. For example, selecting a lower-premium medical plan may create additional room in the household budget, but a higher deductible could require more accessible savings. Similarly, increasing FSA or HSA contributions may affect current cash flow even when the account provides tax advantages.

A qualified tax professional or financial professional can help evaluate how these decisions interact with your broader circumstances.

Do Not Auto-Enroll Without Reviewing Last Year’s Choices

Automatic enrollment may be convenient, but last year’s selections may no longer fit your needs. Common mistakes include:

  • Assuming plan premiums and deductibles have not changed
  • Failing to confirm that doctors or prescriptions remain in-network
  • Overlooking changes to employer HSA or FSA contributions
  • Choosing an FSA amount without estimating eligible expenses
  • Forgetting to update dependents or beneficiaries
  • Ignoring voluntary life and disability coverage
  • Allowing retirement contributions to fall below the employer match
  • Missing the enrollment deadline
  • Assuming a mistake can be corrected after the window closes

Even if you expect to keep the same coverage, log in and verify each election. Save a confirmation page or benefits statement for your records.

Open Enrollment Is Part of Workplace Financial Wellness

For employees, benefits education can make complex decisions more manageable and help connect workplace benefits to household financial priorities.

For HR and benefits leaders, open enrollment is an opportunity to provide more than a deadline reminder. A practical employee financial education program can include:

  • Plain-language explanations of plan terminology
  • Healthcare cost comparison worksheets
  • HSA and FSA education
  • Retirement contribution reviews
  • Life and disability coverage discussions
  • Benefits webinars or one-on-one educational sessions
  • Reminders about beneficiaries and enrollment deadlines

Clear benefits communication may also help employees feel more confident about the benefits their employer provides. Navigant Advisory Group offers workplace financial wellness education and serves as an independent connector to qualified financial professionals who may be able to address more specialized questions.

A Final Open Enrollment Checklist

Before the enrollment window closes:

  • Confirm the deadline and effective date.
  • Compare annual premiums, deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums.
  • Verify provider, hospital, pharmacy, and prescription coverage.
  • Review HSA, health FSA, and dependent care FSA rules and limits.
  • Consider life and disability coverage.
  • Check retirement contribution rates and employer matching requirements.
  • Update dependents and beneficiaries.
  • Review tax and cash-flow implications.
  • Submit elections and save confirmation records.

If you or your organization would like help making benefits education more accessible, contact Navigant Advisory Group to discuss workplace financial wellness resources or connections to qualified financial professionals.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for general educational purposes and does not constitute investment, financial planning, insurance, legal, or tax advice. Navigant Advisory Group LLC is an independent referral service and connector. It is not an investment adviser, broker-dealer, fiduciary, insurance agency, attorney, or tax professional, and it does not manage client funds or custody assets. Plan terms, tax rules, contribution limits, and eligibility requirements may change. Review your employer’s official plan documents and consult appropriately qualified professionals about your individual circumstances.