This was covered in previous FAQ - The benefit enrolment window change does not affect buying and selling of annual leave. The UK annual leave calendar is 1st April – 31 March so the buying and selling of annual leave and carry over will continue to align with these dates.
There will be no impact to the rates employees are paying in 2025. The deduction rates are renewed every year at our annual renewal. Currently, the rates are reflecting the April 2025 renewal. Following our January 2026 renewal, any changes or increases to deductions will be processed automatically, as they previously have been every April. All employees are currently paying a pro-rata of the annual premium to end in December – employees only paying for 9 months coverage before renewal.
E.g. Employee Only Travel insurance worldwide coverage is £89.04 annually. Employees will only pay £66.78 pro rata amount to cover until December.
There will be no change to the tax simulation, as this is done based off the current monthly deductions, against the tax level for the employee. Benify have done some changes to the tax calculator to make it much cleaner and more straightforward. It’s now presented in a simple, easy-to-follow calculation. Plus, we’ve added an “Impact on pay” summary row so your employees can clearly see how their benefits affect their tax and/or NI.
No impact - Bonus sacrifice is not a benefit effected by benefit renewal windows, so will not be impacted by this change. Employees will continue to opt into this benefit as they did before, as this is done in line with bonus payout, rather than a benefit annual renewal.
The policy excess is per policy year. As the current policy will stop in December, and new policy will renewal in January, excess paid in this policy year will be different to the excess to be paid in the 2026 policy. This is the same process it has been, however now there are just changes to the start and end dates of the policy. If EEs used the policy from April to December, then the excess paid during this time will cover this. If the service is used post the January renewal, then the new excess will be payable. This is the same process that was followed previously.
Correct – the travel policy wording states valid from 1st April 2025 - 31st December 2025. If colleagues would like to make changes to their travel insurance, then this should be done in November as the new policy will be from Jan 2026 – December 2026. It should be noted that EEs can opt into the travel insurance at any time, but the changes are only limited to the renewal period.
As December will be a busy period for employees, clashing with Q4 closing, and the holiday season, we have decided to make the enrolment window the month of November, to give employees the full month to opt in, rather than a shorter December period.
The £200 annual excess applies per coverage year, which is aligned to the policy renewal date. With the new renewal date in January, a new £200 excess will apply from January 2026, if treatment is required under the new policy year.
If you have already paid the £200 excess under the current policy year, please note that due to the date change, a new £200 excess will be applicable for treatment from January 2026. This means that if you require treatment after 1st January 2026, a new excess payment will be required, as it falls under the new coverage year.
The change in renewal date is part of a broader alignment of our benefits calendar and provider agreements. This shift allows us to streamline benefits administration and ensure consistency across our benefits offering.
No. Due to the change in renewal date, all employees are only currently paying premiums on a pro rata basis for the period April 2025 to December 2025. This means you are not being charged for a full year of cover currently.
From January 2026, the new policy year will begin. Premium deductions will be adjusted accordingly to reflect the new annual coverage period, starting in January and ending in December each year moving forward.