HR Quarterly Newsletter Winter 2026 Benefits Updates

HR Quarterly - Winter 2026

Benefits Updates Winter 2026

Benefit Office Hours: Winter Quarter Update

Beginning Wednesday, January 7, 2026, Benefits will offer Open Office Hours in addition to scheduled consultations. Open Office Hours are available for WWU employees with quick questions, follow-up questions, form drop-offs, or signature needs (e.g., Medicare or PEBB forms) and do not require an appointment. Open office hours will be available every Wednesday from 9:00 AM to 12:15 PM.

Due to a change in HR's Front Desk hours for Winter Quarter, employees will not need to check in at the Front Desk. Please come to HU 217 on Wednesdays to speak with a Benefits member. 

Open offices and scheduled consultations may not be available, or maybe adjusted depending on staffing, the week of February 23rd – February 27th, 2026. 

Employees who are newly eligible for PEBB or retirement benefits and want in-depth assistance should schedule a consultation for dedicated one-on-one time.

Scheduled consultations remain available on Tuesdays (1:45–4:00 p.m.) and Thursdays (9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.) and can be booked through the Benefits Booking Link. Appointments may be held in person or virtually via Teams. All Outlook calendar invites include a TEAMs link by default; in-person attendees should check in at HR’s Front Desk and can ignore the TEAMs link in their reminder emails.

PEBB Benefits: 2026 Plan Year Starts

Open Enrollment changes for 2026 are now in effect. Updated health care premiums and updated supplemental life insurance premiums due to age bracket changes, will appear on the January 10 paycheck. 2026 health care premium rates and life insurance age brackets are available on the PEBB website here under Explore Costs: https://www.hca.wa.gov/employee-retiree-benefits/public-employees.

Employees who made open enrollment plan changes should receive confirmation notices from their medical carriers in the coming weeks, including new ID cards if applicable. Vision and dental carriers may not send updates, so employees are encouraged to check their carrier websites for member information. Contact information and carrier websites can be found here: https://www.hca.wa.gov/employee-retiree-benefits/public-employees/contact-plans.

Employees enrolled in a Navia FSA or DCAP will see 2026 deductions begin with the January 10 paycheck. Access to 2026 funds is typically available in early January. However, 2025 carryover funds and 2026 CBA FSA contributions may not be available until mid to late January while HCA and Navia complete eligibility and reconciliation processes. 

Union employees (WFSE & PSE) eligible for the 2026 $300 CBA FSA contribution should receive a confirmation letter by the end of January. This employer-paid contribution does not count toward the 2026 FSA annual limit. Eligibility varies based on medical plan enrollment and salary.

More information is available on the PEBB FSA webpage.

Benefits FAQ Highlight: Address Updates

Each quarter, Benefits will spotlight a common question or fun fact relating to employee benefits —because “The More You Know” applies to benefits too, not just after-school TV.

One of our most frequent questions? Addresses. Recently moved? Moved years ago? Seeing the wrong address with your insurance or retirement provider? You’re not alone—and no one wants sensitive mail headed to their old haunt.

Your PEBB benefits and retirement vendors receive address updates from your W-2 address in Web4U. Once updated, changes typically take 1–2 weeks to reach insurance and retirement systems, rarely up to 3 weeks depending on file errors. That’s the longest part—promise.

Spot an incorrect address? Before you reach out to Benefits, consider the following first: 

  • Check what your current W-2 address is in Web4U.
  • Update  your W-2 address if needed.
  • Allow 2–3 weeks for the carriers’ (Regence, Kaiser, DRS, Fidelity, etc) system to update
  • Contact Benefits (via email or Open Office Hours) if it’s been 4+ weeks since the update or your Web4U address is already correct

A quick update now saves mail-related mysteries later!

WA Legislation Update

As of January 1st, 2026, several laws and regulations have gone into effect, some of these regulations impact employee retirement and PEBB benefits. 

WA Cares Fund

Beginning in 2026, the WA Cares Program updated its rules for exemptions and participation. Starting July 2026, eligible Washington residents may begin using the WA Cares program benefit, application instructions can be found here: https://wacaresfund.wa.gov/apply. As a reminder, employees must continue to provide HR with their ESD-issued exemption or discontinued exemption letter for payroll deductions to stop or start effective on the date noted in the letter.

As of January 1, 2026, non-immigrant work visa holders are automatically exempt. Those who wish to participate must contact Benefits to begin contributions.

Changes were also made to the private long-term care insurance exemption. From January 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028, individuals may discontinue their exemption by applying through ESD. Once approved, employees must provide an ESD letter to HR to resume WA Cares Program deductions. Find more information on exemptions here: https://wacaresfund.wa.gov/exemptions.

Finally, beginning July 2030, individuals who paid into WA Cares and later moved out of Washington State may use benefits outside the state.

IRS Elective Deferral 2026 Limits

The IRS has updated elective deferral limits for retirement accounts. WWU offers two supplemental retirement plans: the Deferred Compensation Program (DCP) through DRS and the Voluntary Investment Program (VIP) through Fidelity. Employees with elective deferral (ROTH, Simple or Traditional IRAs, 401(k)s, etc.) accounts outside WWU are responsible for ensuring total contributions stay within IRS limits.

For 2026, employees under age 50 may contribute up to $24,500. Employees age 50 or older in 2026 may contribute up to $32,500, including an $8,000 catch-up contribution.

The update also affects the combined employer and employee limit for 403(b) plans. Because WWU’s URP and VIP are both 403(b) plans, total contributions across both plans may not exceed $72,000 for employees under age 50, or $80,000 for those age 50 and over. While Benefits monitors this limit, employees remain responsible for managing their elective/supplemental contribution rates and staying within allowable IRS limits.

Secure 2.0 – Catch Up

Effective January 1, 2026, employer-required provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act take effect. HR is working with DRS and Fidelity to implement required reporting and testing related to the Roth catch-up provision for high earners participating in elective deferral (supplemental) retirement plans.

Employees who earned $150,000 or more in 2025 and are age 50 or older in 2026 must make their age-based catch-up contributions, which was increased to $8,000 for 2026, as Roth contributions if enrolled in a VIP and or DCP accounts. The standard elective deferral limit ($24,500) may still be contributed as pre-tax. 

Please note that Benefits will not offer the optional “super” catch-up contribution, which increase the catch-up rate to $11,250, for employees ages 60–63 under SECURE 2.0 due to payroll and system limitations.

Additional communications will be shared to employees as implementation continues in early 2026.