Benefits Fair

Today we had a Benefits Fair at work.  This is an annual event coinciding with Benefits Open Enrollment, which is a 2 week period where you have to make all your benefit selections for the year ahead – things like choosing your medical, dental and vision coverage; choosing whether you want to pay for various supplemental insurances; and suchlike.  It’s all very complicated, especially when having to consider things like HSAs (Health Savings Accounts) and FSAs (Flexible Spending Accounts) – don’t even ask what they are if you don’t know, just another symptom of the lack of universal healthcare and so having to set aside money to cover the potential cost of healthcare here.  I don’t remember ever having to go through this charade when working back in the UK, and despite the length of time I’ve been in the States now I still don’t really fully understand everything nor enjoy the selection process (and if I had a family to consider as well, it would be positively nightmarish).  I’m sure I’m probably not making the best selections – but I won’t worry about it too much until the time comes when I need to properly utilize the benefits.  The fair is basically where a lot of the vendors set up tables and are available to discuss or answer any questions on the services they provide – or, in my case, an opportunity to pick up a load of freebies, some of which make for some excellent gifts (I’ll be bringing some back to the UK this Christmas!).  The only thing I was gutted about was that apparently there was a raffle I could have entered with some pretty decent prizes – but I didn’t even notice it, so I missed out.  Boo.