Life Events - Marriage
Marriage creates a need to adjust your participation in several available benefit programs and provide the university with updated personal information. You may also wish to review your federal, state and, if applicable, city tax withholding elections. The following is a checklist of issues for you to consider:
Personal Information Update- You will need to complete and return a Change of Employee Personal Information Form in order to change any of these items: name, address, phone, title, marital status, emergency contact, or to add/delete dependents on any of the current benefit plans. You can also change your mailing address and/or emergency contact information by logging into FlashLine, clicking on the MyHR tab and selecting Personal Information under Employment Details.
Medical/Dental/Vision Enrollment Changes- You will need to complete and return a Group Insurance Enrollment Form to change your enrollment in the medical/dental/vision plans. This includes changes for single/family coverage or opt-out of the coverage and designation of a primary care physician for any covered family members. Under Internal Revenue Service regulations, you must submit this form to the Benefits Office within 31 days of your marriage if you wish to make any changes.
Reimbursement Accounts- If you wish to enroll in a Dependent Care and/or Health Care Reimbursement Account or if you wish to change your level of participation in one of these accounts, you must complete a new Reimbursement Account Enrollment Form. Under Internal Revenue Service regulations, you must submit this form to the Benefits Office within 31 days of your marriage if you wish to make any changes.
Payroll Tax Withholding- If you need to change your federal, state or local income tax withholding you should contact the Payroll Department at 330-672-2637 or you can obtain most forms on the Payroll Department Web site. All completed forms must be returned to the Payroll Department.
Life Insurance beneficiary- If you need to change the beneficiary for the group term life insurance provided to you by Kent State University, you must complete and return a Change of Beneficiary Form. Completed forms should be sent to the Benefits Office.
Retirement Plan- You should contact the retirement system in which you participate (OPERS, STRS or ARP provider) to update beneficiary information and any personal information which has changed. You can reach OPERS at (800) 222-7377, STRS at (888) 227-7877. Listings of the contacts for the ARP vendors are provided for you in the Resources column. Please keep in mind that the university cannot change your personal information with the retirement systems; you must contact them to make any changes.
If you are participating in a §403(b) Tax Deferred Annuity or the §457 Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Plan, you should contact the 403(b) provider for your account and/or the Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Plan and advise them of any changes in your personal information. You can reach the Ohio Public Employees Deferred Compensation Plan at (877) 644-6457.
Tuition Benefits- If your new spouse plans on attending Kent State or is currently enrolled, you should contact the Benefits Office at 330-672-3107 to get information regarding eligibility for tuition benefits in the form of a fee waiver.