Annual Enrollment is your opportunity to review and update your benefit elections and eligible dependents for the 2026 plan year. All members of the State Health Plan (SHP) must take action during Annual Enrollment.

Important: All SHP members will be defaulted into the Standard PPO Plan (current Base PPO 70/30 plan). Employee who wish to enroll in the Plus PPO Plan (current Enhanced PPO 80/20) must actively do so.

(This annual enrollment period does not apply to Postdocs and House Officers who are not eligible for the plans involved.)

State Health Plan

• The State Health Plan will be introducing salary-based premiums for the 2026 benefit plan year. Salary-based premiums will apply to the employee-only premium and is based on the employee’s base salary. Dependent premiums will not be salary-based, and there will be a reduction in premiums for some dependent coverage tiers.
• New State Health Plan names will be introduced in an effort to move away from numerical/actuarial plan names.
  • The Base PPO 70/30 Plan will be known as the Standard PPO Plan.
  • The Enhanced PPO 80/20 Plan will be known as the Plus PPO Plan.
• Increases in out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and coinsurance.
• The State HealthPlan will be partnering with Lantern, a trusted provider that helps connect plan members to a high-quality, carefully selected surgeon when you need a planned, non-emergency procedure. There will be no cost ($0) for the surgery for members who use a Lantern provider – no deductibles and no copays. Members will be getting more information directly from Lantern on this benefit. Medicare-primary members (retirees) are not eligible.
• The Clear Pricing Project (CPP) is ending Dec. 31, 2025. You may remain with your current CPP to continue receiving applicable benefits through the end of 2025. If you switch your primary care provider at any time throughout the rest of this calendar year and you select a provider who does not participate in the Clear Pricing Program, you won’t receive the discount the program offers. To receive the program discount, you must ensure the provider you pick is listed as a Clear Pricing Program provider. Your ID card listing your new provider will typically arrive seven to 10 days after you make the change.
  
  During annual enrollment, the State Health Plan will make available a list of providers that will indicate which providers are part of the Preferred Providers program. If the primary care provider listed under your plan coverage is designated as a preferred provider, you won’t need to take any additional action. In 2026, members may select and see a Preferred Provider, and will receive the lowest copay if they do so.
  (PCP changes are immediate. If changing providers for 2026, wait until after Jan. 1, 2026 to do so.)
• No wellness credit, so there will no longer be a tobacco attestation.
• Teledoc Health will no longer be offered by the State Health Plan after Dec. 31, 2025. Other virtual care options such as telehealth or virtual services may be available if your provider offers these services.
• All members, regardless of action taken during Annual Enrollment, will receive a new ID card before 2026.

NCFlex Plans

• Increases in dental premiums.
• Health Care FSA 2026 Contribution Limit = $3,300.
• Dependent Day Care FSA 2026 Contribution Limit = $7,500.

UNC System Office Plans

• For 2026, a more robust MetLife Legal Plan will be offered by the UNC System Office, and the NC State MetLife legal plan will end Dec. 31, 2025.
• New enrollments in supplemental disability plans (Lincoln and The Standard) will be allowed during AE without answering any medical questions (EOI).
• For UNC System life insurance (Securian):
  • Existing employee participants may increase coverage by 1x salary, not to exceed guaranteed issue, the lesser of three times salary or $500k.
  • Existing spouse participants may increase one benefit level, not to exceed the guaranteed issue of $50k.
  • Employees who are newly enrolling or were previously denied coverage may enroll in coverage at 1x salary without answering any medical questions (EOI).

Reminders

• Be sure your mailing address is current in MyPack to ensure you receive updated information via mail.
• Check/update beneficiaries as needed.
• Ensure dependents are enrolled in applicable plans.

You can link to both enrollment platforms via MyPack Employee Self Service. Enrollment instructions and applicable plans are as follows:

“My State Health Plan” (BenefitFocus)	“My UNC & NCFlex Benefits” (Empyrean)
You will need to log into the BenefitFocus platform to enroll/make changes to your elections for: Medical (State Health Plan) To make changes, go to MyPack Portal and log in. Under Employee Self Service click on the “Benefit Details” tile. Click on “My State Health Plan.” You will be logged into the online benefits enrollment portal. Select “Get Started” on the home page and follow the prompts. After you have made your choices, and they are displayed for you to review and print, you must scroll down to the bottom and click “Save Changes” or your choices will not be recorded. Don’t overlook this critical step! Be sure to save/print a copy of your Confirmation Statement to review and save for your records before logging out. You may also enroll via the BENEFITFOCUS Mobile App. (Note that the benefits enrollment portal contains SSNs, so by downloading the app, SSNs will show.)	You will need to log into the Empyrean platform to enroll/make changes to your elections for: Accident AD&D (Core or Voluntary) Cancer Critical illness Dental Flexible Spending Accounts MetLife Legal (UNC System plan) TRICARE coverage UNC System Life Insurance Vision Voluntary Disability To make changes, go to MyPack Portal and log in. Under Employee Self Service click on the “Benefit Details” tile. Click on “My UNC & NC Flex Benefits.” You will be logged into a separate enrollment portal. After logging into the site, you will see a pending event (i.e., open enrollment). Click “Continue” and follow the prompts. After you have made your enrollment choices, and they are displayed for your review, you must scroll down and click “Submit My Elections.” One last pop-up message will appear and you must click “Accept” or your choices will not be recorded. Don’t overlook this critical step! Be sure to save/print a copy of your Confirmation Statement to review and save for your records before logging out.
Questions? Call the eligibility and enrollment call center at 855-859-0966, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. - 10 p.m., and Saturday*, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. *Remember that AE ends on Friday, Oct. 31.	Questions? Call the Empyrean University Benefits Service Center at 833-862-1490, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Be sure to attend an Annual Enrollment Information session and review the webinars posted detailing changes for next year. If you need help enrolling in your benefits, call the applicable enrollment vendor based upon the plan at 855-859-0966 (BenefitFocus) or 833-862-1490 (Empyrean) to enroll over the phone. Our goal is to ensure all staff and faculty complete the Annual Enrollment process correctly.

During the Annual Enrollment period, you may make changes to your UNC System benefit plans. These include:

Note: If you do not wish to make changes to these UNC System benefit plans for 2026, there is nothing you need to do.

Annual Enrollment presentations will be conducted in-person across campus* and via Zoom. You are cordially invited to attend sessions to learn about benefit plan changes and updates for 2026. The schedule for larger sessions is below. Zoom sessions will have registration links, and a confirmation email including the Zoom link will be sent before the event.

You may attend as many sessions as you’d like.

*Smaller department sessions that have been scheduled are not listed. Check with your department HR rep for a session located near you.

Date/Time	Location	Registration
Tues., Sept. 30 1 p.m.	CVM North Theater, C120	N/A
Wed., Oct. 1 8:30 a.m.	French Session: Biltmore Hall, Room 2010	N/A
Thurs., Oct. 2 8:30 a.m.	Spanish Session: Biltmore Hall, Room 2010	N/A
Fri., Oct. 3 9 a.m.	Talley, Room 3285	N/A
Mon., Oct. 6 2 p.m.	Zoom Session	N/A
Wed., Oct. 8 8:30 a.m.	Biltmore Hall, Room 2010	N/A
Fri., Oct. 17 10 a.m.	Zoom Session	N/A

View the presentation for these sessions

If you cannot attend a session at NC State, you may attend one of the sessions sponsored by the State Health Plan.

Tips

• Review information carefully.
• Take time to plan for the upcoming year.
• Remember to re-enroll in FSAs for the upcoming year.
• Don’t wait until the last minute!
• Review, add and/or update beneficiaries in the enrollment portal for applicable plans.
• All enrollments must be completed online and submitted no later than Oct. 31, 2025.
• For online enrollment, don’t forget to save. Once you submit your election during the Annual Enrollment period, you may not make changes.
• Print/save your confirmation statement from BOTH online enrollment platforms or record the date/time of your phone enrollment or save a screenshot from app enrollment.
• State Health Plan premiums are deducted in advance, so the first premium for 2026 is deducted in the December 2025 paycheck.
• Review your State Health Plan premium deduction in December 2025 for accuracy, compare what was deducted to your confirmation statement and contact Benefits if you see an error.
• Review your January 2026 paycheck for accuracy of all other deductions. Compare what was deducted to your confirmation statement and contact the Benefits Office if you see an error.

Additional Resources

• BenefitFocus Enrollment Center Contact Number: 855-859-0966
• UNC System (Empyrean) Enrollment Center Contact Number: 833-862-1490
• UNC System 2026 Annual Enrollment Site
• UNC System 2026 Open Enrollment Summary Guide
• State Health Plan 2026 Annual Enrollment Site
• 2026 Active Member Decision Guide
• 2026 Active Member Decision Guide (en Español)
• State Health Plan 2026 Rate Sheet
• State Health Plan 2026 Comparison
• State Health Plan 2026 Outreach Events Flyer
• State Health Plan Lantern Surgery Information
• 2026 NCFlex Annual Enrollment Site
• 2026 NCFlex Enrollment Guide for Universities
• 2026 NCFlex Enrollment Guide (en Español)
• 2026 Annual Enrollment Highlights Podcast (Disclaimer: This podcast was generated using artificial intelligence. For official and comprehensive benefits information, please refer to the prevailing plan documentation.)