If you wait until September to think about open enrollment, you’ll spend October apologizing. July is when good OE seasons quietly start.
Lock the boring decisions early
- Health FSA: carryover or grace period?
- Employer HSA contribution formula for next year
- Whether dependent care communications will highlight the $7,500 limit with real examples
- ICHRA/QSEHRA notice owners and legal review dates (if applicable)
- COBRA and billing contacts during the OE blackout weeks
Build education around what changed in 2026
Employees lived through a year of new HSA flexibility (DPC, bronze/catastrophic treatment, permanent telehealth rules) and a bigger dependent care cap. OE is your chance to explain what that meant in your plan, not in a national headline.
Capacity planning
Ask your TPA now about OE file schedules, employee meeting support, and claim-volume spikes after January 1. The best administrators are already penciling those weeks; the question is whether you’re on the pencil.
Future-you will be grateful you started while there’s still calendar white space.