Open Enrollment 2025: What Individuals and Couples Need to Know
Open enrollment only comes once a year, but its impact lasts far longer. Beyond filling out forms, this is a chance to ask whether your benefits still fit the life you’re living today and the one you’re building for tomorrow.
At Mana, we encourage clients to treat open enrollment as more than a task to get through. It’s a moment to pause, reflect, and make intentional choices that support your health, family, and financial future.
In this blog, we’ll walk through the steps we recommend to all clients. You’ll find guidance tailored to both individuals navigating life transitions — including divorce — and couples who need to coordinate benefits across two employers. We’ll also highlight new and emerging benefits for 2025 that you may not have considered before.
Step 1: Mark your calendar
Every employer sets their own start and end dates, so confirm yours early. Missing a deadline means living with last year’s elections for another 12 months.
For couples, this can get tricky if each partner’s employer has a different open enrollment period. One spouse might have to finalize benefits weeks before the other’s window even opens. That makes it hard to compare options side by side.
Here are a few ways to navigate that situation:
Start with the earlier deadline. Gather plan details for both employers now, even if one partner’s enrollment hasn’t opened yet. Most HR teams can provide a benefits packet in advance.
Run comparisons in advance. Look at premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, and networks across both sets of options. Decide on a preliminary strategy so the partner with the earlier deadline isn’t making choices in the dark.
Document your decision-making. If you’re planning to stay on separate plans, confirm that in writing between you, so when the second enrollment window opens, you’re aligned.
At Mana, we see couples save both time and money when they coordinate enrollment decisions intentionally rather than treating them as two separate processes.
Step 2: Take stock of your benefits
Most people start with medical, dental, and vision coverage. That’s a good foundation, but open enrollment is also your chance to understand the full menu of benefits your employer offers.
In our 2021 blog, we highlighted fertility benefits, adoption support, caregiver leave, parental leave, charitable matching, education assistance, student loan repayment, and pet insurance. These remain highly valuable in 2025.
This year, we also looked at the latest research from SHRM and other industry surveys. A few additional benefits stood out:
GLP-1 drug coverage. With more employers covering medications like Ozempic and Wegovy for diabetes and weight management, check whether your plan includes them and under what conditions. Coverage can vary widely.
Hospital indemnity and critical illness insurance. These policies provide cash benefits if you’re hospitalized or diagnosed with a serious condition. They can be especially helpful if you have a high-deductible health plan or limited emergency savings.
Emergency savings accounts (linked to retirement). Some employers now let you set aside payroll contributions in a dedicated emergency savings account, with simple withdrawal access. This can be a practical way to build short-term reserves while still contributing to your 401(k).
Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs). These flexible, taxable stipends can be used for wellness, caregiving, professional development, or even financial coaching.
Caregiving and backup care benefits. More employers are offering stipends for child care or elder care, as well as vetted backup care services when you need them most.
Menopause and reproductive health support. Specialized programs are emerging to support employees navigating menopause, fertility treatments, or prenatal care.
AI and home-office stipends. A growing number of employers now reimburse AI productivity tools or provide allowances for ergonomic office setups at home.
Depending on your employer, there may be even more bespoke offerings. These are easy to miss if you don’t scan the entire packet. At Mana, we believe these benefits can be just as impactful as your core coverage when aligned with your stage of life.
Bonus Highlight: Group Long-Term Care Insurance in 2025
With the State of Washington’s new long-term care payroll tax (and other states exploring similar programs), more employers are beginning to offer group long-term care insurance during open enrollment.
Why it matters:
Cost savings. Group coverage can provide lower premiums or simplified health underwriting compared to buying a policy individually.
Hybrid options. Some plans combine long-term care coverage with life insurance or annuities, creating flexibility if you never need care.
Portability. Check if the coverage follows you if you change jobs, and what happens to premiums if it does.
Coordination with state programs. In Washington state, the window to use private LTC insurance as an exemption from the state payroll tax has closed, but group LTC can still supplement the modest public benefit. Other states are exploring similar programs, and it’s possible that future laws may allow opt-outs or credits for employees with private or group LTC coverage. Stay tuned to your state’s rules as this evolves.
For divorcees, LTC insurance can ensure your future care needs don’t erode your financial independence. For couples, it may be an opportunity to align coverage strategies and protect shared assets.
At Mana, we view group LTC insurance as one of the most significant new benefits to watch in 2025. It’s not right for everyone, but if it’s offered, it deserves careful review alongside your broader financial plan.
Step 3: Reflect on what’s changed in your life
Your needs evolve. So should your benefits. Ask yourself:
Has my health or my family’s health changed in the past year?
Did I get married, divorced, or welcome a child?
Do I need to adjust who is listed as my beneficiary?
Am I anticipating major expenses (medical procedures, childcare, education) that benefits could help offset?
Step 4: Tailor to your circumstances
For divorcees
Open enrollment can be especially important after divorce. Common steps we guide clients through include:
Reviewing beneficiaries. Ensure ex-spouses are removed where appropriate and new designations reflect your intentions.
Reassessing coverage. If you’re no longer on a spouse’s plan, confirm your new coverage matches your needs and budget.
Using tax-advantaged accounts. HSAs and FSAs can provide flexibility for medical expenses during this transition.
For couples
Couples often default to one spouse’s plan without comparing side by side. We encourage a more intentional approach:
Compare plans together. Look at premiums, deductibles, and networks across both employers. Sometimes it makes sense to stay on separate plans.
Coordinate benefits. One partner may have stronger medical coverage, while the other has better dental or vision.
Think long term. Benefits like fertility coverage, mental health services, or disability insurance can play a meaningful role in your shared goals.
Step 5: Be strategic with HSAs and FSAs
FSAs: Great for covering short-term expenses, but remember “use it or lose it.” Contribute only what you’ll spend.
HSAs: If you qualify, these can be a powerful long-term savings tool thanks to their triple tax advantages. Unlike FSAs, balances roll over year to year and can become part of your retirement health planning.
Step 6: Update your beneficiaries
Workplace benefits often pass directly to the person listed on file, bypassing your will. Each year, confirm your designations match your current wishes and that your estate plan is up to date.
Reflective Questions for 2025
As you review your options this year, consider:
Am I satisfied with my current coverage, and will it still include the providers I want to keep?
What life changes have occurred in the past 12 months that should shape my benefit choices?
Do my current elections reflect not just today’s needs, but the life I want to build in the years ahead?
Have I compared options with a partner (or, if divorced, restructured my benefits to match my new circumstances)?
Am I making the most of tax-advantaged opportunities like HSAs or FSAs?
Have I explored “hidden” or newer benefits—like GLP-1 coverage, emergency savings accounts, LSAs, caregiving support, or group long-term care insurance—that could meaningfully impact my finances?
Are my beneficiaries aligned with my wishes, and do they match my estate plan?
Am I preparing for future care needs by considering whether long-term care insurance, through my employer or individually, has a place in my broader plan?
Open enrollment is more than checking boxes. It’s an annual reminder to align your benefits with your values, your relationships, and your financial goals. This year, we’ve done the research on 2025 benefits trends so you can be confident that your decisions are grounded in the most up-to-date information. Taking the time to reflect now can prevent stress later—and help ensure that the benefits you choose support the life you’re working to create.
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Stephanie Bucko and Cristina Livadary are fee-only financial planners based in Los Angeles, California. Stephanie is the Chief Investment Officer and Cristina is the Chief Executive Officer at Mana Financial Life Design (FLD). Mana FLD provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management services to help clients grow and protect their wealth throughout life’s journey. Mana FLD specializes in advising ambitious professionals who seek financial knowledge and want to implement creative budgeting, savings, proactive planning and powerful investment strategies. As fee-only fiduciaries and independent financial advisors, Stephanie and Cristina never receive commission of any kind. Stephanie and Cristina are legally bound by their certifications to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice.