Benefits Plan Year-End Checklist for School Districts

June is here. For the majority of Arizona school districts, that not only means the end of the current plan year, but also the completion of Open Enrollment. While teachers and students may already be out for the summer, HR departments are still busy closing out the year, juggling staffing changes and end-of-year benefit tasks and responsibilities all at the same time.

This is why a strong year-end benefits checklist matters. Taking the time now to review enrollment, eligibility, payroll, participation, compliance requirements and more can help your district and your team head into the new plan year with fewer surprises – and fewer headaches.

Reconcile Enrollment, Eligibility and Deductions (by Mid-June) 

Before the current benefits year closes, review employee coverages, eligibility and deductions carefully across systems and confirm that everything is reflected accurately before the final June payroll runs. Inaccuracies can quickly turn to overcharges or undercharges, and an accounting nightmare. Summer staffing changes can make this process messy quickly, especially when resignations, retirements, and internal transfers are all happening at once.

Be sure to:

• Audit enrollments against payroll deductions for all benefit plans. Make sure the coverage tier and deduction amounts match the carrier files or the carrier’s system for the upcoming benefit year.
• Review all benefit changes and confirm that they have been processed correctly, and that any required paperwork has been provided by the employee.
• Confirm that any termination dates or COBRA events are accurately reflected in the system, ensuring that ineligible employee or dependent coverages are removed correctly.

These issues are much easier to fix before the start of the new plan year than after. 

Don’t Forget about FSA Dollars 

The rules, deadlines, and tasks surrounding flexible benefits programs can easily be overlooked or forgotten when summer is approaching. Reiterating the rules and reconciling accounts is key to reducing employee forfeitures and complaints.

• Remind employees what happens to unused health FSA and dependent care FSA balances at year‑end: use‑it‑or‑lose‑it, grace periods, or carryover amounts, and the deadlines for claims submissions.
• Reconcile plan‑year contributions and reimbursements to catch eligibility errors, negative balances, and over‑reimbursements. Coordinate corrections with your FSA vendor and payroll

Stay Ahead of Summer Staff Transitions and COBRA Responsibilities

Summer is when districts see the most movement. Teachers retire, staff resign, and new employees begin their onboarding journey for the upcoming school year. Each of these transitions comes with responsibilities that need attention, ideally before July 1. 

For new hires, they must have all the required information to make their new journey with your district a success. 

• Ensure that your District’s onboarding materials, including handbooks and any required notices, packets, and forms, are up-to-date and ready to distribute to new hires who begin after July 1.

For those experiencing a qualifying event such as retiring, job loss, reduction in work hours, etc., COBRA timelines matter.  Per Department of Labor COBRA notice requirements, notices must be sent within specific timelines. 

• Election notices with details on enrolling in COBRA must be sent within 44 days after a qualifying event or 14 days after the plan receives notification of a qualifying event. 
• Retirees especially should receive additional communication before and around when their active coverage ends and what steps they need to take moving forward.

Review Compliance Requirements Before July 1

Mid-year plan years can be tricky when the majority of compliance calendars are built around January 1st. June is a great time to review compliance responsibilities before deadlines start stacking up later in the year. A few recommended “to-dos”:

• Verify that required health plan notices for the current plan year have been delivered.
• Arrange for the distribution of updated documents tied to July 1 plan changes.
• Ensure that any current plan-year design changes are reflected in your plan documents and Wrap SPDs before the plan year closes on June 30.

The IRS ACA employer shared responsibility provisions page is a useful reference for districts reviewing ACA filing requirements and employer reporting responsibilities.

Keeping records organized now makes future reporting much easier once the school year starts back up.

Assess Benefits Participation and Utilization 

Participation and utilization trends often tell a much bigger story than utilization data alone. When you look at participation alongside utilization, patterns become easier to spot. You can see where value propositions are strong, which plans continue to grow or lose traction, and when and where costs are shifting. Take some time to debrief and assess how Open Enrollment went and how your plans performed during the year as compared to prior years. 

• Review plan participation during 2026-27 Open Enrollment. Identify shifts, increases, and decreases in key areas such as medical enrollment, dependent coverage, HSA / FSA contributions, wellness program, and EAP usage. Which plans gained or lost enrollment? Why? What changed? 
• Analyze plan utilization in the current benefit year. Which plans showed higher utilization than others? Where are costs increasing? Where are costs decreasing? What factors are driving those changes?
• Evaluate the performance of employee education, communication, and support efforts, including group or virtual meetings, online presentations, benefit materials, inbound calls, frequently asked questions, enrollment platform questions or issues.

Use any insights gained to make strategic improvements in key areas. If your district is already preparing for renewal discussions, our blog on reviewing participation, utilization, and medical trends is a helpful next step. Districts that walk into renewal conversations already understanding their own numbers are usually in a much stronger position.

Summer gives HR and benefits teams time to review what worked, what caused confusion, and where communication gaps showed up. Small improvements made during the summer can make a major difference once the school year begins again in the fall. 

How VSMG Supports Arizona School Districts 

Year-round, VSMG works exclusively with Arizona school districts throughout their entire benefits cycle, including renewal planning and strategy, utilization and participation analysis, wellness initiatives, compliance support, and communication services. Contact us today to learn more. If your school district is looking for ways to improve upon last year’s Open Enrollment, our blog on communication strategies to make your Open Enrollment a success is a great place to start. 

About VSMG

Built by and for Arizona public sector employers, VSMG is a leading employee benefits consultant, dedicated exclusively to serving the needs of Arizona’s school districts, municipalities, and other public entities for over 21 years. We are the largest provider of employee benefits consulting services to Arizona school districts, serving over 40,000 benefit-eligible employee lives, and the only nonprofit consultant offering these services.