Employee and Retiree Service Center → Retirees → Benefits → Open Enrollment

Retiree Benefits Open Enrollment:
October 6–31, 2025 

Retiree Benefits Open Enrollment is coming soon! Open Enrollment is your chance to review your benefit options and make changes to your current plans. Any changes you make to your benefits plan during Open Enrollment will be effective January 1, 2026.

This fall's Open Enrollment will begin Monday, October 6, and will end Friday, October 31. You will receive the 2026 Retiree Benefit Summary in the mail at your home address. You also will receive the 2026 Retiree Benefit Rate Schedules booklet, which details the monthly cost of benefits at each cost sharing arrangement while factoring in Wellness Initiatives credits.* The 2026 Retiree Benefit Summary will explain available benefit options, detail the process to make changes to your benefits, and include the benefits enrollment form. As Open Enrollment approaches, that information also will be available on this web page.

New for 2026

• Preferred Care Management will be added to Cigna medical plans. With care management, network physicians, outpatient providers, and others collaborate to find the right services to meet your and your family’s healthcare needs. Cigna nurses help manage your care by bringing resources and people together. Prior authorizations (obtaining approval before receiving care) will be required for a number of medical services. Cigna-member retirees will be defaulted to Preferred Care Management.
• Current Cigna medical plans—those without Preferred Care Management—will remain available with a 7 percent increase in retiree cost share. Retirees will have the option to enroll in a plan without Preferred Care Management during Open Enrollment.
• Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy will be covered under the Cigna medical plans.
• Hearing aids—2 devices per 36 months, up to $3,000.
• Glucagon-like Peptide 1 Agonists (GLP-1) and weight management programs will be offered to prevent coverage of off-label use of GLP-1 diabetes drugs for weight management while minimizing member disruption.
• Cigna’s Open Access Plus plan annual deductibles will change from $300 (individual)/$600 (family) to $500 (individual)/$1,000 (family) for out-of-network providers.
• Vision plan benefits frequency changes from every 18 months to every 12 months for exams, frames, lenses, and contact lenses.
• Retiree contributions toward premiums will increase by 1 percent.

Open Enrollment Virtual Assistance

From October 6–31, ERSC will offer individual assistance virtually. You will be able to register for a 15-minute Microsoft Teams session with an ERSC representative. To sign up, do the following:

1. Open the sign-up screen.
2. Read the information.
3. Scroll down to select your preferred date and time.
4. Click the blue Sign Up button. A checkmark will appear.
5. Click the blue Save and Continue button at the bottom of the screen.
6. Provide your name and email address in the spaces provided.
7. To finish, click the brown Sign Up Now button.
8. You will receive an email that confirms your appointment and a reminder email the morning of your appointment with the Microsoft Teams meeting information.

Open Enrollment Benefit Fairs

You will have the opportunity to learn more about your Open Enrollment options at in-person Open Enrollment Benefit Fairs (see chart below for details). Representatives from ERSC and benefit plan vendors will be available to answer your questions. Dates, times, plan/vendor options, and access information are as follows: 

*Base benefit rates are the rates a retiree will pay for MCPS-provided health benefits if non-Medicare-eligible retirees/dependents did not participate in the Wellness Initiatives program; i.e., did not complete a health risk assessment or a biometric health screening by the posted deadlines.