Family Finance DeskIssue #30 · May 27
The open enrollment checklist for households with kids.
Two weeks in October decide most of your family's healthcare and benefits math for the next year. A short list of what to actually change.
Compare the total cost — premium plus expected out-of-pocket — of the HDHP and the PPO. The HDHP paired with an HSA usually wins for healthy families. The PPO usually wins the year someone knows they'll need surgery.
Open the dependent care FSA if childcare is in the picture. $5,000 pre-tax is real money. Use it or lose it.
Re-run the life insurance number. Twenty-year level term at 10–15x income. If the employer group policy is your whole plan, you don't have a whole plan.
Update beneficiaries. Everywhere. The 401(k), the IRA, the life policies, the HSA. Beneficiary designations override wills.