Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment 2026
Benefits Availability
Benefits will be suspending our Wednesday "drop in" hours for October and November, but are opening three (3) drop-in times where Benefits Team Members will be available to help answer questions about plan changes, and help employees make changes via Benefits 24/7, including enrollment or removing dependents. Benefits will also be available to help employees enroll in annual benefits such as the FSA or DCAP benefit via Navia. See Drop In Center Info. below! For all other questions, please email HR.Benefits@wwu.edu
Open Enrollment 2026
PEBB’s annual open enrollment will happen October 27th through November 24th, changes will go into effect January 01st, 2026.
The Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) Program’s annual open enrollment begins, Monday, October 27th, 2025, and ends Monday, November 24th, 2025.
Open enrollment allows employees the opportunity to make changes to health plans and dependent enrollments. Annual open enrollment changes are effective January 1st, 2026, with the new plan year premiums reflecting on an employees’ January 10th, 2026, paycheck. This means that even if an employee makes changes during the annual open enrollment period, their current enrollment will stay the same through December 31st,2025.
All open enrollment changes must be made via your Benefits 24/7 account. Employees should claim and log into their Benefits 24/7 profile prior to the open enrollment period starting. Further information on how to do that can be found on the Help with Benefits 24/7 webpage.
2026 PEBB employee enrollment/change form will not be accepted without prior confirmation from Benefits.
Open Enrollment 2026 Drop In Center & Info.
To learn more about open enrollment, including the in person and virtual benefits fair, and changes coming in 2026 please visit and review the October For Your Benefits Newsletter and the PEBB open enrollment webpage.
Employees can also attend one of the many in person PEBB Benefit Fairs that will be happening across Washington State. PEBB also provides a Virtual Benefits Fair that is available anytime. Alongside the PEBB Benefits fair, the Benefits team will be hosting their own annual Open Enrollment Drop-In center. Dates & times for the Benefits drop-in centers are below.
It is recommended that employees have logged into and claimed their Benefits 24/7 account prior to attending one of the drop-in times. However, if an employee is having issues, a Team member can help troubleshoot the issue.
- Tuesday, October 28th - 11:30 AM – 4:00 PM in Haggard Hall 101
- Thursday, November 13th - 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM in Haggard Hall 101
- Wednesday, November 19th - 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM in Humanities Building 210
Premium Changes for 2026
Monthly PEBB healthcare premiums are subjected to change every plan year. For the 2026 plan year, majority of plans across Kaiser Permanente WA, Kaiser Permanente NW and the Uniform Medical Plan will be increasing for 2026. These increases range from as low as 10% to 57%, or $13 to $57 dollar increase in monthly premiums.
Employees can visit the 2026 PEBB Employee Monthly Medical Premiums for monthly premium rates.
You are not required to stay in the same plan each year.
Benefits encourages employees to review their and their families healthcare needs for the upcoming year and to consider these various factors when choosing a medical plan:
- Overall cost (premiums, deductibles, copays/coinsurance, and maximum out-of-pocket limits).
- Whether your current providers accept the plan.
- Whether your current prescriptions will be covered and the cost.
- Whether you can use your preferred pharmacy.
Employees can also view the following resources listed below to help in making the best healthcare choice for the 2026 plan year:
2026 PEBB Medical Benefits At-A-Glance
2026 PEBB Employee Monthly Premiums
Online Medical Benefits Comparison
Changes to PEBB Benefits for 2026
Need to find or confirm In Network Provider? – Please contact the applicable PEBB plan via the Contact your Plan webpage. This also includes confirming services covered, prescription drug coverage or information pertaining to ID card number for the 2025 plan year.
Employees who are enrolled in a UMP Plus Network (Puget Sound High Value Network and UW Medicine Accountable Care Network) for the 2025 plan year, should have received notice from the HCA indicating that new elections will have to be made for the 2026 plan year. Impacted employees who do not change their plans by the end of open enrollment will be defaulted into the Uniform Medical Plan Classic plan, alongside any medically enrolled dependents.
Fund Changes – Increase to Navia FSA & DCAP Benefits
Two changes will be coming to the Navia benefit for employees enrolling into the Dependent Care Assistant Program (DCAP) and those eligible for the Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) under a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
Effective January 1st, 2026, the DCAP annual benefit will be increasing. The 2026 limit has been set at $7,500 for a single person or married couple filling jointly, and $3,750 for each married person if filing separately. Employees can find out more information on DCAP benefit on the PEBB DCAP webpage.
The annual FSA limit for 2026, for the first time, will be in line with the IRS annual limit and will no longer be a year behind. The 2026 annual limit has increased to $3,400. This limit does not include any carryover amounts or the CBA FSA funds for eligible employees. Employees may hold over the annual limit if carry over and CBA funds apply to the employee.
For CBA represented Western employees, the contribution has increased to $300 for the 2026 plan year. The salary threshold has also increased, classified employees who make an annual salary of $68,004 or below as of November 1st, 2025, may be eligible. The annual salary is based on an employee’s full-time salary, more information can be found on the PEBB FSA webpage under the FSA Contribution for represented employees.
During open enrollment employees should utilize the Open Enrollment resources put out by PEBB, Benefits drop-in center times and PEBB Benefits fair to help make the best educated decision for themselves and their dependents.
Questions pertaining to this year’s open enrollment period should be directed to HR.Benefits@wwu.edu or asked during one of the drop-in centers by Benefits.