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| Now Showing: Life Event Guide to Benefits |
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| BIRTH OF DEPENDENT CHILD | |
The birth of a child has one of the most long-term effects on your
family as a whole. Your child can be under your care for more than two
decades. The planning and care for a child begins before it is born,
when the parents know they are expecting. After the child
is born, new parents are busy mainly with day-by-day adjustments. But there are long range concerns for the future arising, including savings and college financing. Parents with more than one child also have to face decisions dealing with allocating
a limited amount of resources among an ever-growing family. At this time,
benefits become increasingly important.
In addition to the work and celebration that takes place in welcoming a new
addition to the family, parents should be aware of the changes that a new
child places on their benefits. The following checklist should serve as a
convenient guide to the benefit issues that will usually need to be considered.
Apart from issues directly involving benefit plans, you may be interested
in the web links and notes that are included for the convenience of all
parents.
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Benefit Plan Issues
- You must complete a new Performer Information Form and include proof of the birth of your new dependent. This must be done within 30 days of the birth in order to ensure Health Plan coverage. Valid proof is a recorded copy of the birth certificate. You may download a copy of a Performer Information Form, complete it, and return it to the Plan Office along with the recorded copy of the birth certificate. Click here to download the Performer Information Form.
- You should review your designations of beneficiary on both the Pension and Health Plans. You may wish to change your designations to reflect the changes in your household. Your beneficiary choices are recorded on the Performer Information Form. Click here to download the Performer Information Form.
- Review the well child benefits available from the Health Plan. Click here to view the relevant section of the plan summary.
- If you take parental or family leave, your benefit rights may (to a certain extent) be protected by provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
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Planning Notes
Many financial planners recommend that new parents update a number of personal plans and documents soon after the birth of a child. Here is a list of some of your personal documents and arrangements which you may want to update, revise, or consider.
- Will
- Living Trust
- Estate Plan
- Durable Power of Attorney
- Designation of Beneficiary in your IRA, 401k, Retirement Plan, Life Insurance, any other program
- Adequacy of Life Insurance
- Adequacy of Disability Insurance
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External related links
(These are listed for your convenience. The sites and the contents of the sites are not sponsored or endorsed by your benefit plans. Use them at your own risk.)
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- Selfgrowth.com - -A comprehensive reference site providing links to articles and other
websites concerning issues of interest to parents. It offers a broad range of
information; everything from online help on being a parent, single, traditional, or otherwise.
The advice covers the entire age range for children.
- abcparenting.com - -Articles and web resources of general interest to parents of children of all ages.
Deals with topics such as education, health/medical, safety, motherhood &
fatherhood, support, etc.
- family.go.com - Information on food, pets, travel, babies and pregnancy, activites in which parents
can participate with their children, and more.
- kidsmoney.org - Site set up to show parents ways they can teach their children the value
of money. Presents ideas on how children can earn money. Best of all, the
site is available in several languages.
- College Board - -As a national nonprofit association it serves to connect students and
their families with colleges. Features information on financial aid
services, admission & enrollment, placement & advising, and testing (SAT &
ACT).
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