The 2026 open enrollment checklist for benefits admins

Open enrollment is the one period of the year where every mistake compounds. A bad plan setup means wrong deductions for twelve months. A missed EDI test means employees aren't actually enrolled with the carrier. This checklist is the one we wish every benefits admin had pinned to their monitor before window opens.

90 days out: confirm the plan year

• ›Final rates from every carrier, in writing, including employer/employee split.
• ›Plan documents signed off by legal and finance.
• ›ACA affordability calculation for the new year. Recheck if you have hourly employees near the threshold.
• ›Contribution strategy: any changes to HSA seed, FSA match, dependent care, commuter?

60 days out: build it in the system

• ›New plans created with correct effective dates, tier structures, and rate tables.
• ›Eligibility rules tested against real employee scenarios — full-time, part-time, contractors, leaves of absence.
• ›Decision support / plan comparison tooling configured and reviewed by HR.
• ›Open enrollment window dates locked in, with reminders scheduled in the HRIS.

45 days out: EDI feeds

This is the step that quietly breaks open enrollment for half the teams that run it. Every carrier needs a test 834 file with the new plan year structure. Validate it with the carrier — don't assume "file received" means "file passed." Get a written sign-off from each carrier that the production feed is ready to flow.

30 days out: communications

• ›Pre-OE comms: what's changing, what's not, and where to find help.
• ›Manager briefing — they'll get the first round of questions.
• ›Live or recorded info session, with the slide deck posted somewhere employees can re-watch.
• ›Spanish-language version if your workforce needs it. Don't assume — ask.

Window open: monitor daily

• ›Daily enrollment rate by population. Flag any group lagging.
• ›Watch for stuck elections — failed dependents verification, missing beneficiary info, declined coverage without acknowledgment.
• ›Reminder cadence: day 7, day 14, last 72 hours, last 24 hours.
• ›Helpdesk staffed for the full window, not just business hours of week one.

Window close: the audit

Within 48 hours of close, reconcile three lists: who you expected to enroll, who actually enrolled, and who declined coverage. Anyone unaccounted for needs a personal follow-up. Then validate that the first production EDI file matches your election counts to the row. If it doesn't, do not let it flow.

Through the plan year: QLEs

Qualifying life events are where compliance and employee experience collide. Document the supported events, the required documentation, and the approval workflow. Set deadlines and enforce them. Late QLEs are the most common source of plan-year payroll corrections.

The Tallo angle

Tallo handles plan setup, decision support, EDI feeds, and QLE workflows in one record — and reconciles benefits deductions cleanly into whatever payroll provider you already run. If your current setup means living in three spreadsheets every November, there's a better way.