Benefits for Active HCPSS Employees
HCPSS offers a range of benefits to support employees’ health and well-being. These include medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage, as well as flexible spending accounts, retirement savings plans, life insurance and more.
Jump to: Eligibility | HCPSS Benefits | View Your Benefits | Manage Your Benefits
Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment for Plan Year 2026 will take place
October 27-November 14, 2025.
Eligibility
Employees who meet the following criteria are eligible for benefits:
- Employees who are regularly scheduled to work at least 17.5 hours per week are eligible for benefits.
- Employees must work 30 or more hours per week to be eligible for Short-Term and Long-Term disability benefits.
- The effective date for insurance coverage is the first day of the month following your benefits eligibility date. For example, if you enroll on March 11th, your benefits will be effective on April 1st.
HCPSS Benefits
Below is a list of benefits HCPSS has to offer. Click on the links provided to access detailed information about each benefit, including a benefits summary, annual costs, and how to find a participating provider.
See HCPSS’ Employee Benefits Guide for complete details on the benefits available to you as an active HCPSS employee.
Dental
HCPSS offers dental coverage through Cigna PPO and Aetna DMO.
Vision
HCPSS offers a comprehensive vision plan through Vision Service Plan (VSP).
Prescription Drugs
CVS Caremark manages prescription benefits for HCPSS.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
HCPSS offers two Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) administered by Navia Benefit Solutions: a Health Care FSA and a Dependent Care (Day Care) FSA.
Life Insurance
HCPSS offers Basic Term Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance at no cost to employees, along with the option to purchase Voluntary Supplemental Life Insurance and Voluntary Whole Life Insurance through MetLife.
Disability and Accident Insurance
HCPSS offers Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance, as well as Critical Illness and Accident Insurance as income protection benefits.
Retirement Savings Accounts
HCPSS offers two supplemental retirement options: a 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan and a 403(b) Tax-Sheltered Annuity.
Federal Credit Unions
HCPSS employees, students, and parents are eligible to join two credit unions: Howard County Education Federal Credit Union and Educational Systems Federal Credit Union
View Your Current Benefits
Both active and retired employees can view their current benefits elections in Workday.
- Active Employees can log into Workday using their Active Directory username and password. Once logged in, click on “Benefits and Pay,” then “Benefits,” and “Benefit Elections.”
Manage Your Benefits
HCPSS uses Workday to manage employee benefits. Active employees must log into that system to enroll in benefits and make changes to personal information. Active employees will also update their benefits in Workday.
Enroll in Benefits
New hires have the option to enroll in HCPSS benefits as part of the onboarding process. If they chose to enroll in benefits, they must do so within 30 days of your hire date/first day of work (which is also called the benefits eligibility date). If an employee misses that window, they will have to wait until the Open Enrollment period to enroll.
Update Your Benefits
Active employees and retirees may update their benefits during the annual Open Enrollment period and when they experience a qualifying life event.
Contact
The HCPSS Benefits Call Center is available to answer any questions you may have Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm. Please call (410) 313-7333 and select option 1. A Benefits Office representative will be in touch with you.
You may also email the Benefits Office staff at benefits@hcpss.org.
Drop-In Office Hours are available by appointment on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Schedule an appointment by calling (410) 313-7333 and choosing option 1.
For additional assistance, please visit the webpage associated with the benefit in which you are interested, where vendor-specific customer support information is provided.
Required Notices
Machine Readable Files
In late 2020, federal agencies responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Treasury (the Departments)—issued the Transparency in Coverage (TiC) final rule. The rule requires insurers and self-funded plans to post the following machine-readable files (MRF) to a publicly available website:
- In-Network Rate File: Applicable in-network provider rates, including negotiated rates, derived amounts, and underlying fee schedule rates for all covered items.
- Out-of-Network Rate File: Historical data outlining the different billed charges and allowed amounts a plan or issuer has paid for covered items or services furnished by out-of-network providers (minimum of 20 entries).