Welcome to the Benefits Enrollment Help Center

This page is designed to support you through each step of the benefits enrollment process. Below, you'll find a comprehensive, step-by-step guide that walks you through the entire enrollment system as well as a video. 

For more targeted assistance, use the navigation menu at the top of the page to access individual sections—such as Health Coverage Enrollment, Dental Coverage Enrollment, Group Life Insurance Enrollment, and more. Each section provides specific instructions to help you complete your enrollment accurately and confidently. 

Our goal is to make the enrollment process as straightforward and informative as possible, helping you to secure the coverage and support you deserve.

Logging In and Accessing Your Enrollment

To complete your benefit elections online, follow the steps outlined below:

  1. Log in to Employee Self-Service
    Go to hris.uiowa.edu and sign in using your HawkID and password.
    If you experience login issues, use the "Forgot Password" link or contact the ITS Help Desk for assistance.
  2. Navigate to the Benefits Enrollment Section
    From the main menu, select:
    Benefits & Wellness ⇢ Benefits ⇢ Benefits Enrollment
  3. Start Your Enrollment
    Choose the link labeled:
    "OPEN - Edit Your Benefit Elections" to begin.
  4. Review and Agree to Begin Enrollment
    After selecting your enrollment event, you will see the Benefits Enrollment Welcome page. Review this information carefully.
  5. Agree and Continue - Add and Review your Dependents/Beneficiaries
    When ready, in the bottom-right corner of the screen, click the black button labeled:
    "I Agree - View & Update Dependents/Beneficiaries."

Adding Dependents & Beneficiaries

  1. Add Dependents and Beneficiaries (Required Step)
    All employees must complete this step during enrollment:
    • You must name at least one beneficiary for the mandatory group life insurance plan, even if you are not enrolling in coverage or adding dependents.
    • If you skip this step and go directly to the enrollment screen, your dependents and beneficiaries will not appear for coverage selection or beneficiary designation. You will need to exit the enrollment screen and select the black button labeled "I Agree - View & Update Dependents/Beneficiaries."
  2. "Review Dependents/Beneficiaries" screen:
    1. To add a new dependent or beneficiary, select the blue "Add New Dependent/Beneficiary" button at the bottom of the page.
    2. On the next screen, "Change Dependents/Beneficiaries," you will be prompted to enter the dependent's legal first and last name, relationship to you (e.g., child, spouse, sibling), date of birth, sex, and social security number. Once completed, select the "Submit" button.

    3. You will continue this process until you add all dependents you want to cover on insurance and any additional beneficiaries. Then you will return to the main Benefits Enrollment screen and select the gold button labeled "I Agree - Continue to Benefits Enrollment."

      If you already have an established list of dependents and beneficiaries, you should review it to ensure it is up-to-date. 

Adding/Updating Dependents and Beneficiaries

Adding/Updating Dependents and Beneficiaries

Dependents

Children may be covered by health and dental insurance until the end of the calendar year when they turn 26 without tax implications. Coverage for single children who are full-time students or disabled can continue as long as they remain in that status.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has determined that if an employer allows employees to insure dependent children past the age of 26 who do not qualify as the employee’s tax dependents, there is a value that must be added to the employee’s taxable salary when reporting income earned on the annual W-2.

Taxable health and dental information for Faculty and Staff

Beneficiaries

Check to make sure the beneficiaries listed are correct. You can make any additions at this time. Later in enrollment, you will be asked to assign beneficiaries when selecting eligible insurance plans. Anyone you plan to designate as a beneficiary must appear on this list.

To correct beneficiary or dependent information, permanently delete a beneficiary, or if a beneficiary is not appearing under a benefit area where you want to cover them, please contact the University Benefits office.

As you are enrolling online, there are a few things to remember:

  • You will always be the beneficiary of Spouse and Dependent Life Insurance.
  • Life insurance proceeds are divided between primary beneficiaries. Contingent beneficiaries only receive proceeds if there are no living primary beneficiaries.

Electing and Submitting Your Benefits

Now that you've finished adding, changing, or removing your dependents and beneficiaries, you are ready to complete your benefit elections. 

  1. Return to the List of Open Events
    After saving your dependent and beneficiary updates, you will be returned to the Open Events page.
  2. Begin Your Benefit Elections
    Choose the link labeled:
    "OPEN - Edit Your Benefit Elections"
  3. Agree to Continue
    On the Benefits Enrollment screen, locate the gold button in the lower left-corner and select:
    "I agree - Continue to Benefits Enrollment."
  4. Select Your Benefits
    On the next screen, you will begin choosing your benefit options. You will also assign dependents and beneficiaries to the coverage plans where they are eligible.
    • Eligible dependents and beneficiaries will appear under "Dependents and Beneficiaries Not Covered" within each benefit.
    • To add someone to coverage:
      1. Select the box next to their name.
      2. Select the blue "Recalculate" button.
      3. After the page refreshes, they should appear under "Covered Dependents and Beneficiaries."
    • You must repeat this step for each benefit where you want to add coverage.
  5. Review Each Benefit Option
    Use the menu at the top of this webpage to navigate through each benefit category (e.g., health, dental, life insurance). Each section includes general enrollment instructions to help guide your selections.
    • Long-Term Disability (LTD)
      • LTD is required for all eligible employees.
      • It is provided at no cost to you.
      • This coverage cannot be changed or waived.
      • You will see it listed on your enrollment screen, but no action is required.
  6. Review Your Elections and Finish Enrollment
    After reviewing all benefit sections and adding dependents and beneficiaries where needed, select the blue "Recalculate" button one final time.
    • If there are errors, they will appear at the top of the page.
    • Read each message carefully to understand what needs to be corrected.
    • A common error is not designating a beneficiary on a life insurance policy.

If no errors appear, review your Account Overview carefully. If the calculations are unclear, visit the Benefits Enrollment Account Overview for more information. 

When everything looks correct, select the green "Finish Enrollment" button.

  1. Final Review and Submission
    You will then see another Account Overview page. Review it carefully before submitting your elections.
    • If changes are needed, select "Cancel - Return to Enrollment" and make your updates.
    • If everything is correct, select "Finish Enrollment." 

You will then see a Benefits Enrollment Results page. This confirms that your benefit elections have been successfully submitted to the University Benefits Office.

How to Enroll Video

A step-by-step tutorial on how to enroll in benefits through Employee Self-Service. 

HawkID or HealthCare ID & Password

You will need your HawkID or HealthCare ID to log in to Employee Self-Service.

Duo Security Two-Step Login

Before you begin, make sure you have set up your two-step login with Duo Security. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding the Benefits Enrollment Account Overview

The Account Overview shows how your benefit choices affect your paycheck. It summarizes your credits, costs, and any additional deductions. 

  • General Monthly Credit: You receive a monthly credit of $90 from the University to help offset your benefit costs. This amount may change based on what you select. 

  • Total Credits: This is the total amount of credits you are receiving in a month to use toward pre-tax benefit costs - your general credit plus any additional shared savings credits you receive from your benefit selections.

  • Benefit Costs (Excluding spending accounts): This shows the cost of the benefits you have chosen, before and after Tax, with the total of both added together in the last column of the chart. This does not include your spending account allocations, if applicable.

  • Spending Account Allocations: If you elected to contribute to a Flexible Spending Account, this section shows how much you’ve allocated.

  • Additional Deduction: This is the amount that will be deducted from your paycheck after applying credits to your elections, if applicable.  

Columns 

  • Before Tax: Amount deducted before taxes (reduces your taxable income) - This includes your credits, health, dental, group life, voluntary life, AD&D, and FSA contributions.

  • After Tax: Amount deducted after taxes - this includes Spouse/dependent life and/or any other voluntary benefit you may enroll in. 

  • Total: Combined amount for each category.  

Account Overview Example

Below is an example of an employee's Benefits Enrollment Account Overview who enrolled in the following for 2026:

  1. General Benefit Credit - ($90)
  2. UIChoice Family coverage - $488
  3. Dental II Family coverage - $30.80
  4. Group Life, $50,000 - ($40) shared savings credit
  5. Voluntary Term Life, 3.5x salary - $26.25
  6. AD&D, 200k Family - $6.00
  7. Spouse/Dep Life 40/20 after-tax - $16.40
  8. Health Care FSA - $100
  9. Dependent Care FSA - $500

Once the employee selects the blue "Recalculate" button, their Account Overview appears with the final calculation of their benefits as the image shows below.

image of a benefits enrollment account overview from employee self-service enrollment system in 2026

How to Calculate the Benefits Account Overview

How to calculate the Account Overview using the assigned numbers above for each benefit:

  1. Total University Credits:

    • Add:

      • General Benefit Credit = $90

      • Group Life Shared Savings Credit = $40

    • Total Credits = $90 + $40 = $130

  2. Calculate Benefit Costs (Before Tax, Excluding Spending Accounts):

    • Add:

      • UIChoice Family = $488

      • Dental Family = $30.80

      • Voluntary Term Life = $26.25

      • AD&D = $6.00

    • Total Benefit Costs = $488 + $30.80 + $26.25 + $6.00 = $551.05 

(Spouse/Dependent Life is after-tax, so exclude it from pre-tax calculation)

  1. Apply University Credits to Benefit Costs:

    • Subtract:

      • Total Credits = $130 

      • Benefit Cost = $551.05

    • Remaining Benefits Cost = $551.05 - $130 = $421.05
      (This means all credits are used, and you owe $421.05 pre-tax)

  2. Your Spending Account Allocations:

    • Add:

      • Health Care FSA Election = $100

      • Dependent Care FSA Election = $500

    • Total Spending Account Allocations = $100 + $500 = $600
      These are additional elections, so they add to your pre-tax deductions.

  3. Additional Deduction

    • Add:

      • Pre-Tax Benefit Cost = $421.05

      • Spending Account Elections = $600

    • Total Pre-Tax Additional Deduction = $421.05 + $600 = $1,021.05

    • Add: 

      • After-Tax Benefit Cost = $16.40 (spouse/dependent life)

    • Total Additional Deduction = $1,021.05 + $16.40 = $1,037.45

Summary

  • University Credits: $130
  • Benefit Costs (Pre-Tax): $551.05 + $16.40
  • Remaining Credits: $0 (all used)
  • Additional Deduction: $1,021.05 pre-tax, and $16.40 after tax = $1,037.45

Example: Employee who has leftover credits but is contributing extra to an FSA account
  1. General Benefit Credit - $90
  2. UISelect, Employee Only - $0
  3. Dental Employee Only - $0
  4. Group Life, $50,000 - $40 shared savings credit
  5. Voluntary Term Life, 3.5 times - $5.74
  6. AD&D, 300K single - $4.80
  7. Health Care FSA - $250.00

How to calculate the Account Overview using the assigned numbers above for each benefit:

  1. Calculate Total University Credits:

    • Add:

      • General Benefit Credit = $90

      • Group Life Shared Savings Credit = $40

    • Total Credits = $90 + $40 = $130

  2. Calculate Benefit Costs (Before Tax, Excluding Spending Accounts):

    • Add:

      • UISelect Employee Only = $0

      • Dental Employee Only = $0

      • Voluntary Term Life = $5.74

      • AD&D = $4.80

    • Total Benefit Costs = $5.74 + $4.80 = $10.54 

  3. Apply University Credits to Benefit Costs

    • Subtract:

      • Total Credits = $130 

      • Benefit Cost = $10.54

    • Remaining Credits = $130 - $10.54 = $119.46
      Leftover credits ($119.46) will default to the health care FSA account if they are not used towards any other pre-tax benefit costs:

  4. Your Spending Account Allocations:

    • Health Care FSA Election = $250

    • Remaining Credits Already in the Account = $119.46

    • Additional Deduction = $250 - $119.46 = $130.54

University Benefits

319-335-2676
319-335-2776
benefits@uiowa.edu

University of Iowa
120 University Services Building
1 W. Prentiss Street
Iowa City, IA 52242
United States