Life Events - Getting Married

This qualified change in status will allow you to make changes to and enroll in benefits mid-year. The benefits affected by marriage are listed below.

Important Deadline

You have 30 days from the date of your marriage to add your new dependent to your benefits coverage. There are two ways to make the change:

  • To enroll online, call the HR/Payroll Service Center at 734-615-2000 locally, 5-2000 from the Ann Arbor campus, or 866-647-7657 toll free for off-campus long-distance calling to report your marriage. You will be asked to provide your marriage date. Once the Service Center representative has received all the necessary information and entered it into the system, you will receive an email with instructions for adding your new dependent to your benefits online using Self Service > Benefits. You cannot add a dependent online without first talking to a Service Center representative. You must make the change within 30 days.

OR

  • To enroll on paper, complete and submit the Benefits Enrollment/Change Form (PDF) within 30 days. You may be asked to provide a copy of your marriage certificate.

If you do not enroll online or submit your completed form within the 30-day deadline, you must wait until the next available Open Enrollment period to make changes to your benefits enrollments.

You may add your new dependent to the following benefit plans:

  • Health Plans
    You will be allowed to add your newly acquired dependent to the U-M health plan, dental plan option, or vision plan in which you are enrolled.

  • Dependent Group Term Life Insurance
    If not previously enrolled, marriage allows you to newly enroll in this benefit.

You may also need to update:

  • Your beneficiary designation. You must complete separate beneficiary designation forms for your life insurance plan and for your TIAA-CREF and/or Fidelity retirement savings investments.

  • Your address, phone number, and emergency contact information. Go to Wolverine Access and and select the Faculty & Staff tab, and then select Employee Self-Service to log in, and then select Campus Personal Information..

  • Your federal and state W-4 tax withholding information. Go to Wolverine Access and select Faculty & Staff tab, and select Employee Self-Service to log in, and then select Payroll and Compensation.

When Two Members of a Household Work at U-M