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Marriage

Congratulations! Getting married can have a big impact on your benefits, taxes and finances. Don’t forget to talk with your spouse about the choices that make the most sense for your new family. If you have health care coverage, you generally have a limited number of days after your marriage to change benefits, so don’t miss the deadline. Otherwise, you must wait for the next period of open enrollment.

Here are some steps you may take:

Retirement Planning

While you are setting up your joint finances, you may wish to:

  • protect yourself and your family and start building assets for your future through the Benefits for Life program or Tax Deferred Annuity program if you aren’t already participating.
  • ask your employer to offer Benefits for Life or Tax Deferred Annuity programs if you do not receive these benefits.
  • get in the savings habit by starting regular contributions to The Annuity Supplement.
  • roll over to MMBB your traditional Individual Retirement Account or other retirement account through a former employer.
  • change your beneficiary designations as needed for life insurance and retirement programs to be sure they are up-to-date. Under some plans, your spouse automatically becomes your beneficiary unless you name someone else.

Health Insurance

  • Check health plan eligibility and costs. Your spouse and any children you acquire by marriage may be eligible for health coverage.
  • Add your spouse and any new children to your plans if you wish. If you’re enrolled in MMBB-sponsored medical and dental insurance, you have 30 days after the marriage to add the new family members. Don’t miss the deadline or you’ll need to wait for the next period of open enrollment to add them. Generally the period of open enrollment occurs during the fourth quarter of a calendar year.
  • If you wish to become covered by your spouse’s medical and dental plans, you may want to drop your own coverage.
  • If you move and your current health plans feature a provider network, see if your move takes you outside the plan’s network area. If so, you may wish to switch plans. Even if you stay within the network, you may want to change providers to doctors and dentists who are closer to your new home.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

  • Begin or adjust contributions to your health care flexible spending account. A health care FSA lets you set aside pre-tax dollars to pay family health care costs not covered by another plan. Your marriage may make you responsible for either more or fewer expenses.
  • Begin or adjust contributions to your dependent care flexible spending account. A dependent care FSA lets you set aside pre-tax dollars to pay eligible dependent care expenses for a child under age 13 or a disabled adult. Your marriage may change your needs.
  • This section can help you model the effect a new child could have on your future savings needs and how much you want to set aside for a health care FSA or a dependent care FSA.
  • If you do not have access to an FSA, speak with your employer about providing an FSA as part of their benefit package.

Personal Affairs, Taxes and Estate Planning

  • Update your records. Contact your employer to change:
    • Your marital status
    • Your name or address
    • Your dependents
    • Your emergency contacts
    • Your tax withholding

And don’t forget other records, such as Social Security, your driver’s license, your passport, your car registration, your bank, the Post Office, etc.

  • To update your MMBB records to reflect a name change as a result of your marriage, please submit either a copy of your marriage certificate (not marriage license) or a letter (mailed, not faxed) to MMBB.
  • Check to see how your personal insurance stacks up against your new situation. Consider adjusting your life insurance and accident insurance amounts as needed. You may wish to purchase dependent life insurance coverage as well.
  • Speak to your lawyer to create or change your will or other legal documents. Prenuptial agreements are becoming more common. You may also want to discuss beneficiary designations and trust or guardianship arrangements. It’s a good idea to begin or update your estate plan; at least be sure that the way you and your spouse hold property optimizes the tax benefits available.

Take Care of Yourself

  • If you serve a church, coordinate with the congregation to see that the good work continues while you take the time you need. Otherwise, check your employer’s policies for time off if you’re planning a honeymoon.
  • In the midst of wedding plans, be sure to take care of yourself. Watch your nutrition and exercise, and get help when you need it.