BNY Mellon Benefits Guide
What Is a Qualified Life Event?
You may change your elections during the year if you experience one of the following qualified life event changes:
- Legal Marital Status – Events that change your legal marital status, including marriage, death, divorce, legal separation (according to state law) or annulment
- Number of Dependents – Events that change the number of your eligible dependents, including birth, adoption, foster care, placement for adoption or death of a dependent
- Employment Status – Events that change your employment status, or the employment status of your spouse/domestic partner or dependent, including termination of employment; a strike or lockout; a start of or return from an unpaid leave of absence; a change in worksite; or any other employment status change that results in a gain or loss of eligibility under the relevant employer plan (for example, a switch from non-benefited to benefited). If your status changes from non-benefited to benefited or vice versa, your benefit costs will change
- Dependent Eligibility – An event that causes the gain or loss of a dependent's eligibility for benefits
- Residence – A change in where you, your spouse/domestic partner or dependent lives
- Eligibility for Medicare – You may change your health plan election if becoming Medicare-eligible precludes you from participating in the health plan (e.g., a health savings account) you are enrolled in at such time