Dear Colleagues,
With the historic decision last week by the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutional right to marriage for same-sex couples, the State of Tennessee’s Benefits Administration has begun accepting and processing insurance applications from same-sex married couples.
This change applies to all eligible UT faculty and staff. Applicants who were married in another state prior to the ruling are eligible to apply through August 25, a period of 60 days from the date of the ruling. Applicants who marry after the ruling will have 60 days from the date of their marriage to apply.
Applicants who have 60 days from the date of the Supreme Court ruling to apply may make the coverage effective on the June 26 decision date but will be required to pay the full month’s premium for the added spouse and/or dependents. Applicants may also choose to make the coverage effective date July 1.
More information can be found at the UT Human Resources page at http://humanresources.tennessee.edu/announcements/2015-07-07-marriage-benefits.html.
All applications and copies of supporting documents should be returned to Kathy Taylor, UTC Benefits Specialist, Office of Human Resources at 720 McCallie Avenue.
If the application is received outside the initial eligibility period, or if the employee is requesting to add other eligible dependents along with their spouse, the rules regarding enrollment by special qualifying event or open enrollment will apply.
All eligible employees may also add their spouse and dependents during the annual enrollment period this fall.
If you have questions, you can contact:
- Kathy Taylor at UTC Office of Human Resources, 423-425-4452 or Kathy-Taylor@utc.edu
- Tennessee Benefits Administration Service Center at 800-253-9981, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT
- UT Payroll Office at 865-974-5251 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- UT Human Resources Call Center at 888-444-UTHR from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sincerely,
Steve Angle
Chancellor