Never a better time to think about life insurance

In addition to thinking about your health coverage during Annual Enrollment, it's important to take the time to consider your life insurance needs. Group term life insurance can protect your family's financial future from the unexpected loss of your life and income during your working years. Life insurance proceeds can be an important tool in helping your family maintain its financial wellness. It can help you put your family first.

• If you are a full-time benefits-eligible member of the Johns Hopkins University faculty or staff, $10,000 of basic life insurance is provided to you at no cost.
• You may purchase additional coverage—up to eight times your annual base salary—to a maximum benefit of $3 million (basic and supplemental coverage combined).

The Annual Enrollment period, Oct. 13 to 29, is your opportunity to change your supplemental life insurance coverage (which otherwise can be changed only when you experience a qualifying life event). Take the time to consider how your family would be impacted financially from the loss of your income in the event of your death. While no one likes to think about loss of life, having enough life insurance offers peace of mind.

A one-time opportunity

Life insurance gives you the ability to financially care for loved ones when you're gone. Make sure you have the right coverage now. During this year's Annual Enrollment, you have a one-time opportunity to increase your existing supplemental life insurance coverage without answering health questions.

You may increase your existing coverage by one level, up to eight times your annual base salary (not to exceed a total of $3 million when combined with the $10,000 basic life insurance benefit). Generally, your Annual Enrollment opportunity allows an increase of one level to four times your annual base salary to a maximum of $500,000, without providing evidence of insurability, or EOI.

If you don't have existing supplemental coverage, or if you choose to increase your existing coverage by more than one level, you will be asked to answer three questions about your health history, along with providing your height and weight. This is a simple process. Don't let it deter you from choosing the amount you need. If you want to know whether a specific medical condition would disqualify you, call Securian Financial at 800-872-2214. You can learn more about the application process here.

Note: If you are a newly hired faculty or staff member, you can elect up to four times your annual base salary without completing evidence of insurability, unless the insurance amount is greater than $500,000. EOI may be required for supplemental life insurance you elect after your initial enrollment or during future enrollments.

Evaluate your needs

Need some guidance to find the life insurance amount that's right for you? Use Securian's online benefits decision tool, Benefit Scout, to learn more about your life insurance benefits and ask any questions you might have. Then, by answering a few simple questions, you can determine the coverage that meets your needs and budget. Visit lifebenefits.com/jhu.

How life insurance benefits are taxed

Up to $50,000 of JHU-paid life insurance coverage may be provided as a tax-free benefit. However, the cost of any JHU-provided life insurance coverage greater than $50,000 will be reported on your W-2 form as part of your taxable income (this is called "imputed income"). For example, for $60,000 of life insurance, only the IRS imputed cost for $10,000 insurance ($60,000 minus $50,000) would be considered taxable income.

The proceeds from a life insurance benefit are generally paid to a beneficiary income tax–free.