What’s New – Briggs & Stratton

What’s New?

The 2024 Annual Enrollment is scheduled for 10/30/23 – 11/15/23!!

Make sure to evaluate your 2024 choices and determine what benefits fit best for you and your family. Click here to view the What’s New mailer.

What’s New

This is the one time of year when you can make changes to your benefit plans without needing a qualified life event. Plus, there are some pretty important changes that you need to know:

IMPORTANT PLAN AND PROGRAM CHANGES

Each year, Briggs & Stratton grants each employee the opportunity to evaluate the many benefit options available so that you can make the best decision yourself and your family members. At the same time, we are working hard to improve the level of service to our employees.

The new benefit portal is designed to bring your benefits to life, enabling employees to not only understand the value of the benefit programs offered to them, but also to connect with these benefits in a way that provides employees confidence in their elections. For 2024, every employee must enroll for benefits.

Take a look at what’s changing in 2024. Please note, all page numbers refer to the location within the What’s New mailer.

BENEFIT	WHAT’S CHANGING IN 2024			CONSIDERATIONS
BENEFIT ADMINISTRATION AND SERVICE
New benefits portal – mybascobenefits.com	This benefit portal can help you enroll; it provides videos and documents to help you learn more about our benefit offerings. Log into mybascobenefits.com to: • review your current elections • view all the plans and prices for 2024 • pick the plans and coverage that you wish • or “waive” coverage entirely			• When was the last time you reviewed your benefit elections? • Do have the right level coverage? • Are you using the benefits you elected last year? • Verify the cost of each benefit program. • Are you using the healthcare accounts to save money pre-tax for healthcare expenses?
One-on-one sessions with benefit counselors to answer questions and help employees enroll	Briggs & Stratton has scheduled meetings with certified benefit counselors who can help employees enroll in the new benefit portal. A face-to-face enrollment helps you carve out time in your day to review your benefits so that you can’t be distracted. Stop by to: • Ask questions • Learn how to log into mybascobenefits.com • Get assistance with your 2024 enrollment			• Do you need access to a computer to enroll? • Do you need help with registration? • Would you like a personalized review of the benefits so you can ask questions like: • What coverage fits my current lifestyle and budget? • Are there any benefits to consider based on my current health status? • How do I use the benefit once I enroll? • What do I do if I plan on adding or removing dependents during the 2024 plan year?
MEDICAL & PHARMACY BENEFITS
HSA Plan deductible for family (HSA Plus) will increase in 2024	The IRS announced that the minimum deductibles for HSA Plans will increase based on inflation. If you are enrolled in the HSA Plus plan with your family members, the single deductible will increase from $3,000 to $3,200 in 2024. However, as a family unit, you will not pay more than $3,700 in a calendar year.			• Make sure you are contributing as much as you can afford into your Health Savings Account. • Shop around for certain healthcare services such as prescriptions, urgent care and telemedicine. Use cost-efficient providers to reduce your out-of-pocket while you are meeting your deductible. • Make sure that you get your routine physical this year and you take advantage of your preventive benefits. Preventive care is covered at 100% and can help you identify health issues early, before your medical care becomes expensive.
Coaching programs to help participants improve their health status	Briggs & Stratton has partnered with Anthem to offer coaching for eligible medical plan participants who:			A health coach can provide personalized support wherever you are on your health journey.
	• have high blood pressure, • are experiencing back and joint pain, • are at risk for diabetes or • need to lose weight.			• Do you need help reaching your wellness goals? • What can you do to improve your health? • Do you have questions about your treatment?
	When you participate, the program will reduce your copays for certain preventive prescriptions and supplies.			• How can you reduce your prescription expense?
Preventive prescription drugs	Preventive prescriptions are prescribed to keep you healthy. The plan provides a higher level of coverage for certain prescription drugs as shown below:			Take inventory of the medication and supplements that have been prescribed by your doctor, and consider:
	• Prescriptions covered at 100% - Drug classes include fluoride products, iron supplements, prenatal vitamins, smoking cessation products, statins, bowel preps, contraceptives, antiretroviral therapy and prescriptions to prevent breast cancer. • Maintenance medications covered 100% after a copay - Maintenance medications are those prescriptions you may take on a regular basis to treat chronic conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes.			• Are you taking any prescriptions which are on the expanded list? • Would you consider putting money aside in your Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account to save money tax-free for the new costs? • Would you participate in a coaching program to reduce the cost of your prescription medication?
	o $5 for generic o $10 for name brand
Mandatory generic program	Generic drugs are only approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) if they have the same active ingredient, strength, dosage form and route of administration as the name brand drug. The plan will cover generic medications. If you or your physician requests the name brand, you will pay the difference.			• Consider calling Health Advocate or Express Scripts to find out the full cost of your medication. • Are you taking any name-brand drugs that are available in generic form? • Are you comfortable in paying more for a prescription?
Assistance with specialty pharmacy	Specialty medications are prescribed to participants with rare and complex medical conditions. These prescriptions are expensive, which is why the copay for these prescriptions is $250 per month.			• Call Health Advocate or Express Scripts if you need to find out if you are taking a specialty prescription medication. • Do you need to adjust your contributions to your Health Savings Account? • See more on page 10.
Assistance with specialty pharmacy	In order to assist our plan participants, Briggs & Stratton is rolling out copay assistance which will help you receive the manufacturer’s rebate and reduce pharmacy costs that contribute towards your deductible and out-of-pocket.
WELLNESS PROGRAM CHANGES
Wellness Rewards earned by 9/30/2023	In January 2024: • Employees enrolled in the PPO or EPO Plans will receive premium credits each pay period.			• Continue to participate in the wellness program. • In January 2024, you will see a premium credit on your paycheck, which lowers the cost of your medical coverage. • Review the program in more detail on page 7.
	Wellness Credits	Hourly	Salaried
	Employee	$7.69	$16.67
	Spouse	$3.85	$8.33
	Employees enrolled in the HSA Plan will still receive their credits as an annual deposit into their HSA account.
ACCOUNTS THAT HELP YOU SAVE
HRA Accounts will be closing 6/30/2024	Employees will be able to use the money in their HRA Account to pay for eligible expenses through 6/30/2024. Any funds left in the account on July 1, 2024 will be forfeited.			• If you are enrolled in the PPO Plan or the EPO Plan in 2024, you may use your HRA money to pay for: o Medical Expense (deductibles, coinsurance, copays, prescription drugs). o Dental & Vision expenses. o Unreimbursed healthcare expenses for your spouse or eligible dependents. • If you switch and enroll in the HSA Plan in 2024, your account will be considered a “limited purpose HRA,” and can be used for dental and vision expenses only. • If you are not enrolled in a Briggs & Stratton medical plan, your account will be active through your last day of coverage. You have 90 days to submit claims for reimbursement.
Contribution Limits for Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)	The IRS contribution limits for 2024 are: • $3,050 for Healthcare FSA and limited purpose FSA. • $5,000 per household for Dependent Care FSA ($2,500 for married individuals filing a separate tax return).			• Will you have health expenses that remained unreimbursed in 2024? If so, you might consider increasing your Healthcare FSA deduction. • Reminder: While you have until March to submit your Healthcare FSA claims, receipts must be dated no later than December 31, 2024 to avoid forfeiting your money.
HSA Contribution Limits	• The IRS contribution limits (employee + employer) will increase in 2024: o $4,150 for Single. o $8,300 for employee +1 or Family. • The catch-up contribution remains at $1,000. • Your HSA contributions will “roll-over” to 2024. Note: Make sure to review the contribution amount during Annual Enrollment, as midyear changes will impact the amount defaulted for 2024.			Your HSA contributions are made on a pre-tax basis each pay check. • Check your balance. Can you invest in any of the mutual funds available? • If you are participating in the Wellness Program, you may be eligible for an employer contribution. • Make sure you consider this when making your election.
401(K) RETIREMENT BENEFIT CONTRIBUTION LIMITS
Annual maximum contribution increases	• In 2023 employees may contribute up to $22,500 per year.* • Catch-up contribution remains at $7,500 per year. *Watch for projected increase			• Make sure you are saving enough for your retirement. Can you contribute more? • Make sure you contribute 6% to get the full company match. • You may increase, decrease or stop your contributions at any time during the year.