Ithaca College open enrollment 2026: what to check before November 6

Three plans, and the rate sheet does most of the deciding

IC offers three Aetna plans for 2027: the HDHP Blue, the HDHP Gold, and the Choice POS II (the copay plan). The two HDHPs come with a health savings account, and Ithaca College puts $1,000 into it if you cover just yourself, $1,500 if you cover anyone else. The copay plan gets nothing.

Here's what that looks like for someone in the $58,000 to $94,000 salary band, in network:

Take a family on the copay plan with a bad year: $13,747 in premiums plus the $12,000 out-of-pocket max is about $25,700. Same family on the Blue plan, same bad year: $4,077 in premiums plus $10,000, minus IC's $1,500, is about $12,600. In a healthy year the gap is wider, because the Blue family pays $4,077 and the copay family pays $13,747 for the privilege of $25 office visits. Single coverage tells the same story at smaller numbers.

The copay plan still makes sense if you use out-of-network providers, or if you'd rather pay a known amount every paycheck than face a $5,000 bill in February. Those are fair reasons. Just know what they cost.

Run your own salary band and your own tier. For most IC households, the Blue plan plus the HSA is cheaper in both good years and bad.

If you take an HDHP, put your own money in the HSA too

IC's deposit is a start. The 2027 limit is $4,500 for single coverage and $9,000 for family, and IC's piece counts toward it. If you're 55 or older you can add another $1,000. Your share comes out of your paycheck before income tax and before FICA, which no other account can say. If you can afford to pay medical bills out of pocket and leave the HSA alone, do that. Twenty years of untouched growth in an account that's never taxed is the best deal in the tax code.

Two cautions from the guide. If your spouse has a general-purpose health FSA at their job, you're not eligible for an HSA, so coordinate before you both enroll. And if you'll turn 65 or go on Medicare in 2027, talk to the benefits team before picking an HDHP.

Set a payroll contribution now, even if it's a hundred dollars a paycheck.

FSAs reset to zero. Re-elect them.

Your medical plan rolls forward if you do nothing. Your FSA elections don't; HR Cloud sets them back to $0 every year. If you want one in 2027 you have to say so.

The health care FSA covers copays, deductibles, glasses, and dental, up to $3,500 for 2027, and up to $700 of unused money carries into the next year. You can't have one alongside an HSA, so this is for people on the copay plan. The dependent care FSA covers daycare, after-school care, and summer day camp, up to $5,000, and anything unspent is gone. At Ithaca daycare rates you'll hit $5,000 by spring, so estimate on the low side and you'll still use it all.

If you have a kid in daycare and no dependent care FSA, you're paying tax on $5,000 you don't have to.

Your 403(b): put in 3%, get 8%

IC's retirement plan runs through TIAA, and the deal is simple. If you're eligible for the employer contribution and you put in at least 3% of your pay each paycheck, IC puts in 8%. There is no other place in your financial life where 3% buys you 8%, so if you're under that line, fix it this week.

Your contribution isn't part of the HR Cloud enrollment; you change it on TIAA's site or by calling them, which is why most people haven't touched it since orientation. Past the 3%, you can defer up to $24,500 for 2026, plus $8,000 if you're 50 to 59, or $11,250 if you're 60 to 63. The 2027 figures should be out any day. Pre-tax in a high-earning year. Roth in a sabbatical year at half pay.

While you're logged in, look at what the money is in. A lot of IC faculty are still in whatever the default was their first week on campus. The best portfolio for most of you is a boring one: a few low-cost index funds you can name, and the menu has them.

At least 3% so IC pays its 8%. More if you can. And make sure the money is in something you chose on purpose.

Life and disability

IC gives you $50,000 of life insurance and the same in AD&D, paid by the college. For a faculty member with a mortgage and kids, $50,000 is not enough. You can buy more through payroll in $20,000 steps up to $500,000, and open enrollment is the one time a year you can add coverage without a health questionnaire: $20,000 if you're new to it, $40,000 more if you already have some, up to $200,000. Group rates are usually cheaper than anything you'd buy on your own.

Disability is also college-paid and worth understanding. Long-term disability pays 60% of salary up to $7,500 a month after 180 days, which is solid. Short-term disability pays two-thirds of salary but caps at $400 a week. If you're out for four months, that cap is the hole in your budget. Know it's there and have savings to cover it.

Last, HR Cloud will ask you to name a beneficiary on the basic life and AD&D policies. Do it, and check the one on your TIAA account too. A beneficiary form overrides your will. I've seen more than one that still named an ex.

Add life coverage while no one's asking health questions, and know the $400-a-week short-term cap.

Your spouse's plan might be the better one

If your spouse or partner has benefits somewhere else, the right answer is often to split: the family on whichever medical plan is better, dental or vision through the other employer, the HSA or FSA wherever the limits are friendlier. Remember the HSA rule above: their health FSA can knock you out of an HSA. If your partner is at Cornell, their deadline is November 13, but yours is first, so this conversation has to happen this week.

Sit down with both benefit summaries at the same time. It takes an hour.