Postdoctoral Benefit Program Portal
Important Dates
Please click here to download the 2024 PRBP Benefit Program guide, a useful resource for reviewing the plans and features of the University of Chicago Postdoctoral Researcher Benefit Program
Period of Initial Eligibility (PIE):
All newly appointed Postdoctoral Researchers and Visiting Scholars are eligible to enroll 31 days from their appointment start date. Failure to enroll yourself or your dependents during the PIE period will result will disqualify you from enrolling in the plans until next open enrollment.
Coverage Begins:
Coverage for benefits begin on your Job Begin Date displayed in Section 1 of the enrollment form. Regardless of any administrative delays in the process of finalizing your employment record, your enrollment will be retroactive back to your appointment start date. All benefits are billed one month in advance. This means that deductions taken from your paycheck at the end of the current month are to pay for the next month's coverage. For example, if your job begin date is in October and you enroll in November, your November paycheck will have deductions for October, November and December.
Welcome!
Gallagher Benefit Services is pleased to offer the University of Chicago Postdoctoral Researcher Benefit Program (PRBP).
This comprehensive program is comprised of the following plans and insurance carriers:
- Medical: BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois HMO or PPO
- Dental: Metlife PPO
- Voluntary Vision: VSP
- Life and AD&D Insurance: The Standard
- Short-Term Disability: The Standard
- Long-Term Disability: The Standard
- J1 and J2 Visa Holder Medical Evacuation/Repatriation Requirements: The Standard
- Voluntary Supplemental Life Insurance: The Standard
Important Information
Eligibility:
All University of Chicago Postdoctoral Researchers and Visiting Scholars are eligible to participate The University of Chicago Postdoctoral Researcher Benefit Program. Insurance coverage is effective based on your job start date.
Eligible Postdoctoral Researchers and Visiting Scholars have 31 days from their job start date to enroll yourself and your eligible dependents (family members) in the various benefit plans. This timeframe if known as your Period of Initial Eligibility (PIE). Failure to enroll during your PIE will delay your enrollment until the next Open Enrollment period, which occurs during the month of November of each year.
The major family member eligibility categories are the following:
- Spouse
- Natural or adpoted children to age 26 regardless of student status
- Stepchildren may be included if they live with the Postdoctoral Researcher/ Visiting Scholar and are supported at more than 50% and claimed as a tax dependent
Please note: Eligible Postdoctoral Researchers/ Visiting Scholars who wish to enroll their eligible family members must do so during their PIE period. The Postdoctoral Researchers/ Visiting Scholars and their family members must be enrolled together. Failure to enroll yourself, or enroll your dependents within the PIE period could result in a significant delay in access to coverage, or the inability to enroll yourself and / or your dependents until the next open Enrollment Period. However, you may enroll eligible family members at a later time due to a qualifying event as listed in the section below.
CURRENTLY ENROLLED? POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHERS/VISITING SCHOLARS NEEDING TO ENROLL A DEPENDENT (QUALIFYING EVENTS):
If you are currently enrolled, you may be able to enroll a newly eligible family member(s) if you experience one of the following qualifying life events:
Qualifying Events
- Legal Marriage
- Family member(s) arrival in the U.S.
- Birth of a Child
- Dependent loses coverage
- Loss of Eligibility of Medicaid/Medicare
- Involuntary loss of other medical coverage
- Adoption of a Child
You have 31 days from the date of the qualifying life event to enroll your eligible family member(s) by submitting an enrollment form on this site.
OPEN ENROLLMENT
Open Enrollment is an annual period of time designated by the University of Chicago to allow you to make changes to your current enrollment that are otherwise not allowed throughout the rest of the year, unless you experience a qualifying life event. For instance, if you previously waived coverage for yourself and/or any eligible family members, during the designated open enrollment period, you may enroll both yourself and your dependents if you so desire in the available plan choices. For any plans in which you enroll, coverage always begins on January 1st. The annual open enrollment period is usually communicated and takes place during the month of November.
