Get Ready to Enroll in Your 2021 Santander Benefits
2021 Annual Enrollment: Tuesday, October 27 – Thursday, November 12
Below you’ll find a summary of the changes you’ll see to 2021 Santander benefits, and the tools and resources available in SanBenefits to help you make the most of your benefits.
What’s Changing for 2021
Employee Contributions and Updated Salary Bands for Medical/Rx Contributions
Good news — employee contributions for dental will remain the same for 2021, and employee contributions for vision will decrease. For vision, you will also see enhanced out-of-network coverage.
For medical coverage, Santander will absorb more of the cost increase for next year to limit the increase in employee contributions to 4%, which is less than the national average in medical cost increases (projected to be 7% for 2021), and many employees will continue to pay less than they did in 2019. We also are adding a new salary band for employee contributions for medical and prescription drug coverage, for a total of four bands.
Life Insurance Enhancements
Core: Santander will continue to offer core life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) insurance of two times your benefits pay* at no cost to you. For 2021, we’re increasing the maximum amount of coverage you can have under each benefit from $700,000 to $1,000,000 to provide additional financial protection.
* Benefits pay is your base salary excluding bonus, overtime and incentive pay. If you are paid on a commission basis, your eligible pay is calculated in accordance with the Commission Benefits Pay Policy.
Supplemental: If your current supplemental life insurance coverage is under the guaranteed issue amount during 2021 Annual Enrollment, you can increase your supplemental life insurance by up to $50,000 without having to complete Evidence of Insurability (EOI) (subject to the guaranteed issue amount). Whether or not you currently have supplemental life insurance, you can take advantage of this one-time special enrollment opportunity to increase your coverage.
For supplemental coverage for your spouse or domestic partner, an additional coverage level of $150,000 will be available in 2021. Electing this coverage amount will require EOI.
Changes to the Choice Plus PPO
For 2021, the Choice Plus PPO’s annual in-network deductible will increase by $250 for employee-only coverage and $500 for family coverage. The copay for primary care visits will increase to $30 per visit, although all in-network preventive care will continue to be covered at no cost to you. There are no changes to the HSA Choice Plus plan for 2021.
Enhanced Leave of Absence Benefits
To provide you with additional financial protection when you’re unable to work as a result of illness, injury or pregnancy, we’ve enhanced the benefits percentages under the Santander Short-Term Disability Program. For the SanUS Parental Leave Program, we are removing the one-year waiting period for new hires so that all new parents have the time they need to bond with their new child and balance the demands of work and home.
New Critical Illness Insurance Coverage Options through MetLife
Critical illness insurance can help ease the financial burdens of serious illnesses like heart attack, cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease and more. Though medical coverage can be a big help in covering the costs of medical treatments, it doesn’t cover other expenses you may continue to face - like housing costs, school tuition, and the cost of food.
For 2021, you can choose to enroll in MetLife’s critical illness insurance that provides a lump-sum cash benefit if you’re diagnosed with a serious health condition. You can use the money as you see fit. Two levels of coverage are available ($15,000 and $30,000). You pay the full cost on an after-tax basis through payroll deductions.
New Digital Estate Planning Option through MetLife Legal Plans
It’s not always easy finding the time to complete important estate planning so that your family and your assets are protected. To make it easier, especially during a time when a lot of us are spending more time at home, the MetLife Legal Assistance Program (formerly the MetLaw Hyatt Legal Program) now offers a digital estate planning solution that lets you complete your estate planning digitally, through a secure online process. It’s a new feature added for 2021 when you enroll in legal services.
Expanded Auto and Home Insurance Discounts
We’re expanding the options you have for auto and home insurance discounts to include more top-rated national insurance companies. Simply provide your insurance coverage needs and receive quotes from several companies at once for a premium discount of up to 15%. Quotes will be available any time, starting in January.
New Pet Insurance Benefits
Don’t forget about your furry friend! We’re excited to introduce MetLife pet insurance as a new benefit option for 2021.
You can enroll at any time starting in January.
Benefits Tools and Resources
Choosing the best benefits for you and your family can be difficult. The following tools are available in SanBenefits to help you with this process.
- The MyChoice decision support tool to help take the guesswork out of understanding which Santander benefits may best match your needs.
- Sofia, the SanBenefits virtual assistant, who is available 24/7 to answer your general questions about Santander’s benefits.
- Information to set up the MyChoice Mobile App on your mobile device for easy access to SanBenefits for enrollment, reviewing benefits coverage and much more.
- Visit Benefit Scout from Securian, Santander’s life insurance carrier, to use a simple calculator tool that can help you decide how much life insurance you may need.
This site describes certain Santander benefit plans and policies. Your eligibility for and entitlement to a benefit mentioned herein are governed by the terms of the official plan document or policy. Santander reserves the right to amend or terminate its plans and policies in full or in part at any time for any reason. In the event of a conflict between this site and the official plan document or policy, the official plan document or policy will control. Your employment is at will.