NUFlex is the University of Nebraska’s flexible benefits program. A flexible benefits program allows you to choose from a group of benefit options that best suit your circumstances and lifestyle. Our centralized benefits are the same on each of our four campuses (UNO, UNK, UNMC, and UNL).
Our medical, dental and vision plans are three separate plans.
- You can choose to enroll in all or some of the plans.
- You can change/update your benefits enrollment each year in October when NUFlex Annual Enrollment is open.
- You can also enroll different dependents in different plans; however, you must be enrolled in a plan in order to enroll dependents.
- The medical and dental premiums are deducted before taxes.
You can learn more by watching these Benefit videos or get instructions and videos to help you through the process.
- Health Benefits: View information on enrollment, elections, contacting providers, and announcements about your coverage.
- Flexible Spending: Review eligibility and enrollment information for Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts.
- Dependent Care: Review eligibility and enrollment information for Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts.
- Health Savings Account (HSA): You must be enrolled in the high deductable health plan to enroll in the employer-sponsored HSA.
Eligibility for Benefits
New employees or a newly benefits-eligible employees should complete the Record of Prior Service Form, and their Benefits Enrollment within the first 31 days. We will send an email encouraging you to complete both items.
New Employee Benefit Enrollment
Full-Time & Part-Time Employees are eligible for the NUFlex benefits program if you are employed in a "regular" position with an FTE of .5 or greater.
Temporary Employees are eligible for the NUFlex benefits program (except for university contributions to retirement) if you are employed in a "temporary" position for more than six months with an FTE of .5 or greater.
Benefits for eligible temporary employees include the following: health and life insurance, sick and vacation leave, injury leave, civil leave, inclement weather leave, and military leave. Temporary employees are not eligible for tuition remission, administrative leave, funeral leave, holiday pay, or university contributions to retirement.
To provide clarity and consistency across the university campus, temporary employee benefits eligibility is as follows:
- If a temporary worker’s original assignment is fewer than six months, they are not benefits eligible.
- If a temporary worker’s original assignment is greater than six months, they will be benefits eligible with no waiting period.
- If a temporary worker’s original assignment was fewer than six months, but at a later date their assignment is extended to greater than six months, the worker will be benefits-eligible at the time of the extension and is not required to work six months to be eligible.
Departments are responsible for notifying temporary employees when they become eligible for insurance benefits.
Changes to Benefits
When major life changes occur, like marriage, birth of a child, spouse losing or gaining coverage from their job, divorce, etc., employees are able to make a change to their benefits within 31 days of the Qualifying Life Event. A Benefits Change Form will need to be submitted, along with proof of the life change event, which can be done electronically within 31 days. For the birth of a child or adopting a child, employees have a 60-day window to complete the Benefits Change Form to get the new dependent added to insurance.
If you are already in a benefits-eligible position and you transfer to another benefits-eligible position and there is no break in service, it is NOT an opportunity to re-enroll in benefits. You would keep your current benefits. There must be a 31-day break in service to be able to re-enroll in benefits. This applies when there is an increase or decrease in FTE as well. E.g. John Smith ends his .75 FTE temporary benefits-eligible position on February 2, and is hired into a 1.0 FTE regular benefits eligible position on February 3. John would NOT be able to re-enroll in benefits.
Please refer to the University of Nebraska Benefits site for information.