Eligibility

At Belkin, we remain committed to providing benefits that are competitive, comprehensive and sustainable. It's important that you take the time to learn about the coverage options available to you, compare the features and costs, and decide which options are best for your situation and budget.

New employees will have 31 days from their date of hire to make their benefit enrollment decisions. These decisions will remain in effect through December 31, 2024. If you miss this new hire enrollment period, you may have to wait until Open Enrollment to elect coverage with Belkin. Open Enrollment is typically held annually in early November with all changes effective January 1 of the following year.

If you have questions, contact the Belkin Benefits Team at BenefitsUS@belkin.com.

This website provides an overview of your benefits, with the information you will need to choose the benefits that are right for you and your eligible dependents for the coming year. Take the time to read all your enrollment materials carefully, and don’t forget to bookmark this website for future reference.

Eligibility

You are eligible to participate in Belkin’s benefits program if you’re a full-time or part-time employee scheduled to work at least 30 hours per week. New employees are eligible to participate in Belkin’s benefits plans starting the first of the month following their date of hire. You may also enroll your eligible dependents for benefit coverage. Your cost for dependent coverage will vary depending on the number of dependents you cover and the particular plan you choose. When enrolling dependents, you must select the same plans for your dependents as you select for yourself. Eligible dependents include:

• Your legal spouse—same or opposite sex—or qualified domestic partner of the same or opposite sex
• Children under the age of 26, regardless of student, dependency, or marital status
• Children who are fully dependent on you for support due to a mental or physical disability, and who are indicated as such on your federal tax return, may continue coverage past age 26

A child between the ages of 19 and 26 may be eligible for medical, dental, and vision coverage, as well as optional life and optional AD&D insurance, regardless of marital status, even if the child no longer lives with his or her parents, is not a dependent on a parent’s tax return, or is no longer a student. If you are the legal guardian of a child, or are in the process of adoption, the child may also be an eligible dependent. Contact the Belkin Benefits Team at BenefitsUS@belkin.com with any questions.

Qualifying Domestic Partner

You can include your qualifying domestic partner in your medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as optional life and optional AD&D insurance. In order to enroll your partner, you must provide a copy of your state domestic partner registration or complete the Affidavit of Domestic Partnership. A qualifying domestic partner is a same-sex or opposite-sex domestic partner who meets the following eligibility criteria:

• A domestic partner must be at least 18 years of age.
• You and your partner share a common residence.
• Neither you nor your partner may be married to anyone and you must share — and intend to share indefinitely — a mutual, exclusive, enduring relationship.
• You must consider yourselves life partners, share joint responsibility for your common welfare, and be financially interdependent.
• You must not be related by blood to the extent that marriage would be illegal in your state of residence.

Tax Information for Qualifying Domestic Partners

If you enroll a domestic partner in coverage through Belkin, the value of the health insurance coverage that is provided to your domestic partner (and his or her dependent children, if any) must be imputed into your gross income because the value of this coverage is not eligible for federal tax-free treatment unless such domestic partner is considered your federal tax dependent under the Internal Revenue Code.

Any premiums owed for domestic partner coverage will be paid with after-tax contributions from your paycheck. Further, the value of amounts that Belkin contributes towards your domestic partner’s (and his or her dependent children, if any) medical, dental, or vision coverages will also be taxable as “imputed income” to you. The amount of imputed income is based on the fair market value of the coverage that is provided to your domestic partner and is recalculated annually.

In general, state income tax treatment of domestic partner benefits is the same as the federal income tax treatment. However, certain benefits for domestic partners and their children who are not your federal tax dependents may be eligible for special state income tax treatment in a few select states. Please speak to your tax advisor regarding whether your domestic partner and his or her children, if any, qualify for special state income tax treatment or whether they can be considered your federal tax dependents. If they do qualify as a federal tax dependent or for special state income tax treatment, please provide written documentation of such to the US Payroll Team at Payroll@Belkin.com.

Covering Dependent Children

If you’d like to enroll your child in your Belkin benefit plans, you must make sure he or she is an eligible dependent child, as defined by our insurance carriers and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You must provide the Social Security number of each eligible dependent child 1 year or older who you wish to enroll in benefits. In most cases, an eligible dependent child must meet these minimum criteria:

• Has a certain relationship to the employee – such as natural, step, or adopted child of the employee, spouse, or eligible domestic partner.
• Has the same principal residence as the employee for more than one-half of the taxable year (typically only applicable to dependent children under the age of 19).
• Meets certain age requirements.

You are required to provide proof of your dependents’ eligibility upon request. False or misrepresented eligibility information will cause both your coverage and your dependents’ coverage to be irrevocably terminated (retroactively to the extent permitted by law) and could be grounds for employee discipline up to and including termination. Failure to provide timely notice of loss of eligibility will be considered intentional misrepresentation. If your coverage is terminated retroactively due to fraud or misrepresentation, you will forfeit any contributions made.

Dependents Who Are Not Eligible

The following individuals are not eligible for medical, dental, or vision coverage, regardless of whether they are your tax dependents:

• A spouse, domestic partner, or child living outside the United States.
• A spouse or domestic partner who is eligible for coverage as an employee and is enrolled in coverage through Belkin.
• Your parent or your domestic partner’s or spouse’s parent.
• A domestic partner who does not meet the eligibility requirements.

Benefit Premiums – Belkin Pays the Majority of Your Costs

Belkin cares about you as an employee. At Belkin, we strive to offer a market-competitive, valuable benefits program. Our goal is to provide a variety of health, life and other insurance benefits that allow you to choose the coverage best suited to your needs. You are at the core of everything we do, and you deserve to be rewarded with a quality benefits program.

As health care costs continue to rise, Belkin has committed to continue to absorb as much of these increases as we can.

Belkin encourages you to use our tools and resources to learn more about your plan options and how to affordably and efficiently navigate your health care. Here’s how you can help keep health care costs affordable:

• Take advantage of preventive care which is covered 100% when utilizing in-network providers.
• Know when to visit an urgent care center over the emergency room. Often, urgent care centers are less expensive and faster than the emergency room.
• When possible, ask for generic prescription drugs over the brand name equivalent. Generic drugs are just as safe and effective, and often less expensive.
• Take advantage of Virtual Visits. You can speak to a doctor virtually at any time—without leaving your home.
• Use in-network doctors and facilities when possible. Typically, in-network providers are less expensive.