Benefits FAQ

All benefits information for Classified Staff is available through the State of Colorado Division of Human Resources

New Hire employee benefits will begin on the first of the month following your hire date.

Benefit eligible rehires and transfers with a break in service of less than 31 days your benefit elections will be sent to Mines from your previous agency via Benefitsolver and will be active to your date of hire. 

New Hire employees can enroll within 31 days from their date of hire.  

Benefit eligible rehires and transfers with a break in service of less than 31 days your benefit elections will be sent to Mines from your previous agency via Benefitsolver.

Current employees if you experience a Qualifying Life Event you must:

• Enter the event and make your election changes in Benefitsolver within 31 days of the event date
• AND provide the required supporting documentation within 45 days of the date of the event.

Do not wait until you have the required supporting documentation to enter the event in Benefitsolver.

Qualifying Life Events (QLE):

• Marriage, divorce, or legal separation
• Birth or adoption/placement of adoption of a child
• Death of a dependent
• Loss or gain of other group health coverage for you and/or dependents
• Change in Medicaid/Medicare eligibility for you or a dependent (within 60 days)

All employees will have the option to enroll or make changes annually during Open Enrollment for the following plan year.

Eligible employees are automatically enrolled in Mines paid Short-Term Disability and Basic Life with AD&D coverages.

For more information, visit Eligibility & Documentation.

You can expect to receive your physical insurance card in the mail within 7-14 business days of enrollment. 

Benefitsolver is your site to manage and maintain your benefit elections.

Go to Benefitsolver.com and enter your username and password or click on “register” if you are a first time user. The company code is “soc”. 

Enter the event and make any election changes in Benefitsolver within 31 days of the event, AND provide the required supporting documentation within 45 days from the date of the event.

Do not wait until you have supporting documentation to enter the event into Benefitsolver.

PLEASE NOTE: Your new election must be because of the qualifying event and your supporting documentation must correspond with that change of coverage. The documentation must provide the specific date of that change.

We offer in person or virtual benefits counseling by appointment only.

Monday – Thursday 11am – 1pm In-Person Appointments

Monday – Friday 11am – 1pm Virtual Teams Appointments

Email us at benefits@mines.edu 

All voluntary retirement options, 401k, 403b, and 457 are offered to all Mines employees regardless of benefits eligibility status.

401k and 403b elections are made in Workday. 457 plan elections are made within your PERA account.

Once you have decided which plan you would like to enroll in, please use the following job aid, Change Voluntary Retirement Savings Job Aid (Workday)

To enroll your child in daycare, complete these steps:

1. To enroll your child, call the Bright Horizons’ Enrollment Team at 1(877) 827-0394. A representative can help you to sign up and submit the $150 registration fee.

2. To view rate information, visit Mines Early Childhood Center for a quick rate table or visit the FAQ page on Bright Horizon’s Early Childhood Center for more extensive rate information.

3.  If you need direct assistance, please contact the Center Director, Lauren Carrasco, at minesecc@brighthorizons.com.

HSA

Health Savings Accounts are tax-free because contributions, investment earnings and healthcare expenditures are not taxed. In order to open and contribute to an HSA one must be enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), which have several qualifying regulations themselves, such as minimum deductibles and maximum out of pocket limits.

Distributions from an HSA account are tax-free for qualified healthcare expenses, so long as amounts are not reimbursed by insurance or any other source. An individual can use their HSA to pay for qualified healthcare expenses for self, spouse, or tax dependents

For more information about eligible expenses, please refer to IRS Publication 969; Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans, available at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p969.pdf

FSA

A Flexible Spending Account, or FSA, lets you pay for eligible out-of-pocket expenses not paid for by your insurance plan. An FSA allows you to use pre-tax dollars and cover expenses for yourself, your spouse and eligible dependents, saving you money.

Eligible healthcare expenses for the Healthcare Reimbursement FSA include more than just your deductible and co-pays. Generally, any medically necessary health expense that you can deduct on your tax return is considered an eligible expense.

For more information about eligible expenses, please refer to IRS Publication 502: Medical and Dental Expenses, available at www.irs.gov/publications/p502/index.html

Please find a list of common benefits terminology here Benefit Terminology