ComplyDIY · BenefitLab

At-a-Glance What this is, who needs it, and what happens without it.−

What A plain-language summary of each benefit plan option offered, the employer's contribution, and the employee's cost, broken down by coverage tier and pay period.

Who Any employer offering group health, dental, or vision benefits. Distribute to all benefits-eligible employees, and consider sharing with all employees so they understand what's available.

When Before each open enrollment period; also at new hire onboarding and any time plan options or costs change mid-year.

Risk No legal penalty, but employees who don't have clear cost information make uninformed enrollment decisions, waive coverage they would have wanted, or show up on January 1 without the coverage they expected. It also generates a disproportionate volume of HR questions at open enrollment.

Deadlines & Frequency Tie distribution to open enrollment, onboarding, and mid-year changes.+

OE

Annual open enrollment

Before the OE window opens; distribute at least 2 weeks before elections are due.

Hire

New hire onboarding

On or before the first day; new hires typically have 30 days to elect.

Change

Mid-year plan change

Reissue updated materials promptly when costs or plan options change.

Trigger	Timing	Notes
Annual open enrollment	Before OE window opens	Employees need time to compare options; distribute at least 2 weeks before elections are due.
New hire onboarding	On or before first day	New hires typically have 30 days to elect coverage; they need cost info before they can decide.
Mid-year plan change	As soon as finalized	If costs or plan options change outside of open enrollment, reissue updated materials promptly.
Qualifying life event	When event is reported	Employees adding dependents mid-year should receive current cost information so they can make informed changes.

Trigger: Annual open enrollment

Timing: Before OE window opens

Notes: Distribute at least 2 weeks before elections are due.

Trigger: New hire onboarding

Timing: On or before first day

Notes: New hires typically have 30 days to elect coverage.

Trigger: Mid-year plan change

Timing: As soon as finalized

Notes: Reissue updated materials promptly.

Trigger: Qualifying life event

Timing: When event is reported

Notes: Provide current cost info for informed mid-year changes.

What You Need: Docs & Data Most of it comes from your carrier or broker.+

Rate sheet from your carrier or broker: Full monthly premium by plan and coverage tier (employee only, employee + spouse, employee + children, family). Your broker should send this before renewal.
Employer contribution amounts: How much the company pays toward each tier. If you contribute a flat dollar amount, this is easy; if you contribute a percentage, calculate the employee share for each tier.
Pay period count: How many pay periods per year (typically 26 for biweekly or 24 for semimonthly). Divide the monthly employee cost by the appropriate fraction to get the per-paycheck deduction.
Plan design details: Deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, copays, and coinsurance for each plan. Available in the carrier's rate proposal or the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC).
Dental and vision plan details: Same data points: premium, employer contribution, and key benefit features (annual max, frequency, allowances).
HSA contribution (if applicable): If you offer an HDHP with an employer HSA contribution, include that amount; it effectively reduces the employee's out-of-pocket cost and should factor into the comparison.

How To Do It: Step-by-Step A solid highlights sheet takes about an afternoon once the rate sheet arrives.+

1

Get the rate sheetAsk your broker for the renewal rate proposal and employer contribution amounts. If you're building this mid-year, request the current active rate sheet.

2

Confirm your contribution strategyDecide what the company will contribute toward each plan and tier before finalizing employee costs. The numbers change depending on your contribution, so lock this in first.

3

Calculate per-paycheck costSubtract the employer contribution from the full premium to get the employee monthly cost. Divide by the number of monthly pay periods (e.g., divide by 2 for biweekly). Round to the nearest cent.

4

Pull key plan detailsFrom the SBC or carrier proposal, pull deductibles, OOP maximums, copays, and coinsurance for each plan. Keep it to the most decision-relevant details; employees don't need every line of the plan document here.

5

Use the templateFill in the sample template in the green section below. Customize the number of plan columns to match how many options you offer.

6

Add an employer HSA contribution line if applicableIf you contribute to employees' HSAs under your HDHP, add a line showing the annual employer HSA contribution; it's a meaningful part of the total compensation picture.

7

Have your broker review itA quick review catches math errors and outdated plan details before the materials go to employees.

8

DistributeInclude in your OE packet, post to your HR portal, and add to new-hire onboarding materials. See Delivery Rules for format guidance.

Delivery Rules No required format; just make it easy to find and use before the window closes.+

Format: PDF is the most common format; it preserves the layout across devices. A printed handout works well for in-person OE meetings. Both is fine.
Timing: Distribute before the OE election window opens; at least 10 to 14 days is a reasonable target so employees have time to review and compare options.
New hires: Include in the onboarding packet or email the PDF directly with a link to enroll. New hires typically have 30 days from their start date to elect coverage.
HR portal: Post the current year's highlights sheet in a place employees can return to it, not just in the initial enrollment email.
Language access: If a significant portion of your workforce is not English-proficient, consider a translated version or at minimum offer to walk through it with those employees.

Proof & Recordkeeping Keep a copy of what you distributed and when.+

Dated copyA dated PDF copy of each year's benefits highlights sheet, saved in your HR files.
Distribution recordEmail send date, OE packet date, or new-hire onboarding checklist noting the highlights sheet was provided.
Mid-year updatesIf costs change mid-year, retain a copy of the updated sheet and the date it was distributed.
Supporting figuresBroker confirmation or rate sheet from the carrier supporting the figures shown, useful if the math is ever questioned.

Common Traps & FAQs Most mistakes are math errors and a missing per-paycheck breakdown.+

Common traps

No per-paycheck cost: Employees think in paychecks, not monthly premiums. Always include both. "The employee pays $312/month" is useful; "$144/paycheck" is what actually lands.

Showing total premium without the employer's share: If you only list what the employee pays, employees don't see the total value of the benefit. Show the full premium, employer contribution, and employee share side by side.

Using last year's numbers: Premiums change at renewal. Always update the highlights sheet with current-year rates before distributing. Using stale numbers can lead to payroll deduction mismatches.

Skipping dental and vision: Employees often overlook voluntary benefits when they're not presented clearly alongside medical. Include all plan types in one document.

No employer HSA contribution line: If you contribute to employees' HSAs under an HDHP, leaving that off the highlights sheet understates the value of the high-deductible option and skews the comparison unfairly.

FAQs

Is a benefits highlight sheet legally required?
No. There is no federal law requiring a separate benefits highlights document. However, the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC), which is required, covers clinical plan design but does not show your employer contribution or the employee's actual cost. The highlights sheet fills that gap.

Can I just point employees to the SBC instead?
The SBC is a required document and employees should receive it, but it isn't designed to help employees compare costs. It shows benefit structure (deductibles, copays) but not what the employee will actually pay per paycheck. A highlights sheet is a separate, practical tool that complements the SBC.

Do I need a separate document for each plan, or one combined sheet?
One combined document that puts all plans side by side is almost always better. Employees need to compare options to make a decision; sending separate documents for each plan makes that harder, not easier.

Official Guidance & Links Resources for the benefits communication process, including the required SBC.+

Special Cases & State Variations A few situations call for adjustments to how you present cost info.+

Multiple contribution tiers by employee class: Some employers contribute differently for full-time vs. part-time employees, or for different employee groups. If so, create separate cost columns or separate highlights sheets for each class; one sheet with conflicting numbers causes confusion.
Employer HSA contributions on an HDHP: Show the employer HSA contribution as a line item in the HDHP column. Consider adding a note showing the effective first-dollar deductible after the employer HSA deposit; it makes the HDHP option much more competitive on paper.
Defined contribution / private exchange model: If you give employees an allowance to shop on a private exchange, the highlights sheet becomes a description of the allowance and how to use it rather than a traditional side-by-side comparison.
Waiver incentives: If you offer employees a cash payment or HRA contribution for waiving coverage, note that on the highlights sheet as an alternative to enrollment; some employees will prefer it.

Sample Benefits Highlights Template Fill in the bracketed fields. Use one column per plan option.+

Fill in the bracketed fields with your plan data. Use one column per plan option. Distribute with your open enrollment packet and include in your new-hire onboarding materials.

[Company Name], [Plan Year] Benefits Highlights

Medical Coverage

	[Plan Name, e.g., PPO]	[Plan Name, e.g., HDHP]
Carrier	[Carrier Name]	[Carrier Name]
Network	[e.g., BlueCare Network]	[e.g., National PPO]
Individual Deductible	$[Amount]	$[Amount]
Family Deductible	$[Amount]	$[Amount]
Out-of-Pocket Max (Individual)	$[Amount]	$[Amount]
Primary Care Visit	$[Copay] / [X]% after deductible	[X]% after deductible
Specialist Visit	$[Copay] / [X]% after deductible	[X]% after deductible
Emergency Room	$[Copay] / [X]% after deductible	[X]% after deductible
Generic Rx	$[Copay]	$[Copay] after deductible
HSA Compatible?	No	Yes

Monthly Costs, Medical

Coverage Tier	Total Premium	Employer Pays	Employee Pays / Month	Employee Pays / Paycheck*
Employee Only	$[Amount]	$[Amount]	$[Amount]	$[Amount]
Employee + Spouse	$[Amount]	$[Amount]	$[Amount]	$[Amount]
Employee + Child(ren)	$[Amount]	$[Amount]	$[Amount]	$[Amount]
Employee + Family	$[Amount]	$[Amount]	$[Amount]	$[Amount]

*Based on [26 / 24 / 52] pay periods per year. Deducted pre-tax.

Dental Coverage

	[Plan Name]
Carrier	[Carrier Name]
Annual Maximum	$[Amount] per person
Preventive (Class I)	[X]%, no deductible
Basic Restorative (Class II)	[X]% after deductible
Major Restorative (Class III)	[X]% after deductible
Orthodontia (if included)	[X]%, lifetime max $[Amount]
Employee Only / Mo.	$[EE Cost] ($[Employer] employer / $[Employee] employee)
Employee + Family / Mo.	$[EE Cost] ($[Employer] employer / $[Employee] employee)

Vision Coverage

	[Plan Name]
Carrier	[Carrier Name]
Eye Exam	$[Copay] / 1x per [12/24] months
Frames Allowance	Up to $[Amount] / year
Contact Lens Allowance	Up to $[Amount] / year (in lieu of glasses)
Employee Only / Mo.	$[EE Cost] ($[Employer] employer / $[Employee] employee)
Employee + Family / Mo.	$[EE Cost] ($[Employer] employer / $[Employee] employee)

This summary highlights key plan features. For full benefit details, refer to the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) or the plan document provided by your carrier.