Glossary
Actively at Work
You are "actively at work" if you are fulfilling your job responsibilities at a Company-approved location on the day coverage is supposed to begin (e.g., you are not out ill or on a leave of absence).
Annual Enrollment
The period of time each year designated by the Company when you may generally enroll in plans and make changes to your benefit elections, if allowed by the plan.
Approved Spouse and Domestic Partner
Adding a spouse or same gender or opposite gender domestic partner to certain benefits coverage is permitted upon employment or during the Annual Enrollment period for coverage effective the following January 1st if you satisfy the plans' criteria, or immediately upon satisfying the plans' criteria if you previously did not qualify. To obtain spousal or domestic partner coverage, you will need to complete an Affidavit of Eligible Family Membership via PeopleLink (www.mmcpeoplelink.com), declaring that:
Spouse / Domestic Partner
  • You have already received a marriage license from a U.S. state or local authority, or registered your domestic partnership with a U.S. state or local authority.
Spouse Only
  • Although not registered with a U.S. state or local authority, your relationship constitutes a marriage under U.S. state or local law (e.g. common law marriage or a marriage outside the U.S. that is honored under U.S. state or local law).
Domestic Partner Only
  • Although not registered with a U.S. state or local authority, your relationship constitutes an eligible domestic partnership. To establish that your relationship constitutes an eligible domestic partnership you and your domestic partner must:
    • be at least 18 years old
    • not be legally married, under federal law, to each other or anyone else or part of another domestic partnership during the previous 12 months
    • currently be in an exclusive, committed relationship with each other that has existed for at least 12 months and is intended to be permanent
    • currently reside together, and have resided together for at least the previous 12 months, and intend to do so permanently
    • have agreed to share responsibility for each other's common welfare and basic financial obligations
    • not be related by blood to a degree of closeness that would prohibit marriage under applicable state law.
Marsh & McLennan Companies reserves the right to require documentary proof of your domestic partnership at any time, for the purpose of determining benefits eligibility. If requested, you must provide documents verifying either the registration of your domestic partnership with a state or local authority or your cohabitation and/or mutual commitment. 
Once your Affidavit of Eligible Family Membership is completed and processed, you may cover the dependent child(ren) of your spouse or domestic partner.
Complete your affidavit, via PeopleLink (www.mmcpeoplelink.com). Select the Health tab and under Spending Accounts, click Health Savings Account. Then go to Take Action in the right navigation bar and select Enroll, view, change benefits.
Base Salary
Your salary excluding overtime, bonuses, commissions or other extra compensation.
Before-tax (Pre-tax) Contributions
Contributions taken from your paycheck generally before Social Security (FICA and Medicare) and federal unemployment insurance (FUTA) taxes and other applicable federal, state, and other income taxes are withheld.
Claims Administrator/HSA Administrator
Vendor that administers the Plan and processes claims; the vendor's decisions are final and binding.
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
A Federal law that lets you and your eligible family members covered by a group health plan extend group health coverage temporarily, at their own expense, at group rates plus an administrative fee, in certain circumstances when their coverage would otherwise end due to a "qualifying event", as defined under COBRA.
A "qualifying event" under COBRA includes loss of coverage as a result of your leaving the Company (other than for gross misconduct); a reduction in hours, your death, divorce or legal separation; your eligibility for Medicare, or a dependent child's loss of dependent status; or, if you are a retiree, loss of coverage due to the Company filing for bankruptcy.
Eligible MMA Employees
As used throughout this document, "MMA Employees" are defined as employees classified on payroll as U.S. regular employees of MMA Corporate, Insurance Alliance, MMA-NIA or the MMA Anchorage office.
Eligible Marsh & McLennan Companies Employees (other than MMA)
As used throughout this document, "Marsh & McLennan Companies Employees (other than MMA)" are defined as employees classified on payroll as U.S. regular employees of Marsh & McLennan Companies or any subsidiary or affiliate of Marsh & McLennan Companies (other than MMA and any of its subsidiaries).
High Deductible Health Plan
A high deductible health plan is a health plan that satisfies certain tax law requirements including having a statutory minimum deductible and a statutory maximum out-of-pocket expense limit.
IRS Publication 502
Go to www.irs.gov and enter "502" in the "Search" box for more information about IRC Section 213 qualified medical expenses. Note that certain items listed in Publication 502 may not qualify for Health Care Flexible Spending Account reimbursement, such as premiums for dental or vision insurance.
Plan Year
The plan year is January 1.
Qualified Family Status Change (Status Change, Qualified Change in Family Status)
An event that changes your benefit eligibility. For example, getting married and having a child or your spouse or dependent lose other coverage. You can make certain changes to your before-tax benefit elections that are due to and consistent with the change in family status.
Qualified Medical Child Support Order (QMCSO)
A court order, judgment or decree that (1) provides for child support relating to health benefits under a plan with respect to the child of a group health plan participant or requires health benefit coverage of such child in such plan and is ordered under state domestic relations law or (2) is made pursuant to a state medical child support law enacted under Section 1908 of the Social Security Act. A QMCSO is usually issued requiring you to cover your child under your health care plan when a parent receiving post-divorce custody of the child is not an employee.
Qualifying Event
A "qualifying event" under COBRA includes loss of coverage as a result of your leaving the Company (other than for gross misconduct); a reduction in hours, your death, divorce or legal separation; your eligibility for Medicare, or a dependent child's loss of dependent status; or, if you are a retiree, loss of coverage due to the Company filing for bankruptcy.
Qualifying Family Member(s)
According to the IRS, a qualifying family member includes any person who is your spouse, child, or other person whom you may claim as a dependent on your tax return.
You can make withdrawals for qualified medical expenses for you, your spouse or your eligible family members.
Unless your approved domestic partner or his or her children qualify as your dependents as described in IRS Publication 501, the federal government does not permit you to use HSAs for expenses incurred by your approved domestic partner or his or her children on a tax-free basis.
Social Security
The Social Security tax is made up of two taxes—one that funds a covered worker's retirement, disability, and survivor's benefits, and another that funds Medicare benefits. The combined tax rate is currently 7.65%. Of this amount, 6.2% is allocated to Social Security benefits and 1.45% is allocated to Medicare. For 2003, the maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security tax is $87,000. Earnings in excess of that amount are exempt from the 6.2% Social Security tax; however, the 1.45% tax that is allocated for Medicare applies to all earnings, without limitation.
Social Security Benefit
The retirement benefit you receive from the government when you retire, based on your age, the number of years you contributed to Social Security and your Social Security contributions during those years. In order to qualify for Social Security coverage, you must have 40 quarters of Social Security contributions
Waiting Period/Elimination Period
The amount of time you must wait before being able to participate in a plan.