Annual Enrollment Opens October 16 – NRECA Employee Benefits Weekly

With your cooperative’s group benefits plans now in place for 2026, your employees can enroll or change their benefits for the coming plan year.

The annual enrollment period runs from October 16 to November 21 for benefits administrators (BAs), with a preview period for BAs occurring October 16-17 and a BA review period November 20–21. Employees’ benefits can be updated during your co-op’s assigned wave. Wave 1 (blue) is October 20–November 3, and Wave 2 (yellow) is November 4–19.

2026 annual renewal and annual enrollment waves (map)

Note: To turn online annual enrollment on or off for your participants, or to request a different wave for your co-op, call the Member Contact Center at 866.673.2299. Please provide a day’s lead time so the system can process your request.

Remember that materials highlighting benefit options are available to share with your participants. Under “Educate” on the Annual Enrollment Guidance page in the BA Guide, you’ll find a PowerPoint presentation customizable for your cooperative, a handout and a brochure; you can order hard copies of the brochure by contacting the Member Contact Center at 866.673.2299 or contactcenter@nreca.coop and using the code GRPBR23026.

You’ll also find an annual enrollment overview video that guides participants in completing the annual enrollment process through the NRECA Employee Benefits website, if your co-op uses this feature.

If you have questions about annual enrollment, talk with your field representative.