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In This Issue

May 28, 2026

• Introduction
• Road to My Insurance Benefits Go Live
• Important Dates for Data Conversion
• Policy Changes
• My Insurance Benefits Training
• Future State Processes & Guidance
• Resources
• Talking Points to Share With Your Staff
• Support

Introduction

^{All Employers |  All Insurance Benefits}

Welcome to My Benefits Employer News, a newsletter to keep you informed about ETF’s new insurance administration system. Save time by only reading the articles relevant to you—the first line of each article identifies which employers and benefits the article applies to. View previous issues. 

Road to My Insurance Benefits Go Live

^{All Employers |  All Benefits}

Stay on track with the transition to the new My Insurance Benefits. Use the graphic below to follow progress, monitor upcoming milestone dates, and prepare for go-live events. Members with UWHC, local employers, as well as retirees and non-STAR agencies (WHEDA, WHEFA, WEDC, Fox River, and Beyond Vision), will go live on July 1, 2026. 

Important Dates for Data Conversion

^{All Employers | All Benefits}

The timeline below outlines essential dates, including system launches, electronic enrollment freeze dates, and employer actions that require your attention.

All scheduled electronic enrollment freezes are currently underway. Employers, other than UW and state agencies who use STAR, should collect and hold completed applications until they gain access to My Insurance Benefits.  

All local employer HR Administrators will gain access on June 15, 2026.

Remember, members gain access July 1, 2026. The changes will be processed with the vendors on July 1, 2026.As you prepare for this transition, please review the timeline to understand the milestones leading up to the launch:

Note:

• There is no freeze for supplemental insurances for state agencies. This includes income continuation insurance, Delta supplemental dental, MetLife vision, TASC pre-tax savings account, and Securian Accident Plan.
• There is no freeze for pre-tax benefit program enrollments. Employers will continue to send census files to TASC, sending their last census file before My Insurance Benefits goes live on July 1, 2026. The coverage effective date is based on normal rules.

Important Reminders for Employers 

• Starting May 22, local employers must collect paper applications for health and life insurance, tracking all new hires, terminations, and qualifying life events. Hold these completed applications and key them into My Insurance Benefits between June 15-30.
• Local employers should continue entering and updating information in the ETA and WRS applications (WRS Account Update, WRS Transaction Upload) starting Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
• During the enrollment freeze, date and eligibility rules still apply.
• Coverage continues for anyone currently enrolled through the freeze. If a new hire or an employee with a qualifying life event and new dependent with an effective date on or before June 1 requires proof of insurance prior to July 2026, ETF can assist you in securing emergency health coverage. Contact the Employer Insurance Unit for support at ETFSMBEmployerInsurance@etf.wi.gov.

Policy Changes

New Life Insurance Rules Now In Effect

^{All Employers | Life Insurance}

As first mentioned this past February, two new rules were approved by ETF’s Group Insurance Board and are now in effect as of May 7, 2026:

1. The first rule aligns the life insurance coverage and premium effective dates for enrollments and changes received on or after May 7. See Life Insurance Coverage and Premium Effective Dates Align and this Premium & Coverage Effective Date Changes Job Aid for more information.
2. The second rule changes the number of days retiring employees have to automatically continue their life insurance by starting their annuity from 31 days to 30 days. See Automatic Continuation of Life Insurance Retiree Requirement for more information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the ETF Employer Insurance Unit for assistance.

My Insurance Benefits Training

Have you Signed up for My Insurance Benefits Training?

^{Local Employers | All Insurance Benefits}

Live virtual training continues for local employers, with two learning paths based on which benefits you offer. On demand videos are available after the live, virtual courses complete for those unable to attend. If you have not already, please sign up for the Course 205: Cutover for Employers to learn more about actions required by employers between June 15 and June 30, 2026. Visit the My Insurance Benefits Training page to register or view recordings of any classes you may have missed.

Future State Processes & Guidance

Changes to Wellness Incentive Reporting in 2026

^{All Employers | Reporting}

Employers typically receive reports identifying employees who have earned the Well Wisconsin incentive three times per year to support accurate tax and W-2 reporting. Beginning October 1, these reports are expected to be distributed on an updated schedule of approximately May 5, September 5, and November 5.

Due to the My Insurance Benefits transition, employers will not receive a September 2026 report. Reporting is expected to resume with the November 2026 distribution.

If you have questions about report timing or distribution, please contact the Employer Insurance Unit at ETFSMBEmployerInsurance@etf.wi.gov.

Resources

Updated Employer Resources Page for My Insurance Benefits

^{All Employers | All Insurance Benefits}

The My Insurance Benefits Resources for HR Admins page includes a number of tools to support HR administrators as we prepare for the July 1 launch of My Insurance Benefits. In addition to system guides, ETF has also created a new tool that helps with some of the most complicated tasks in the Employer Insurance Administration System (IAS) Procedures (ET-111). Checklists for new hires and terminations will also be updated before July 1.

Additionally, the updated page also includes new toolkits for employers to share with members at important points in time including a series of tools for new hires and qualifying life events. Toolkits gather many reference materials in one place so it’s easy to share with members. These additions join our existing library of job aids, manuals, and updated forms, ensuring that your HR administrators have the most current information to assist your employees effectively.

Release Notes for My Insurance Benefits and the ETA

^{All Employers | All Insurance Benefits}

Monthly release notes are available to provide a quick overview of recent updates, enhancements, and fixes made to My Insurance Benefits, the Employer Transaction Application, and other tools you will use with the new insurance administration system. New release notes are published monthly. Visit the Release Notes page to view upcoming and past releases.

Successful DOA Launch of My Insurance Benefits

^{All Employers | All Benefits}

The Department of Administration (DOA) successfully launched the new My Insurance Benefits system on May 1, 2026, providing access to State of Wisconsin agencies and employees who leverage STAR. The implementation was supported by a highly effective production conversion that achieved a 99+% success rate for automated migrations of member and benefit data. HR Administrators with their central benefits team and at each agency were directly involved in making this launch successful. The insights and knowledge gained from this milestone will help ensure a successful roadmap as ETF launches My Insurance Benefits with UWHC, non-STAR agencies, and local employers on July 1.

Resource Links

^{All Employers | All Insurance Benefits}

Frequent Questions

^{All Employers | All Insurance Benefits}

Q: For the Employer Transaction Application (ETA), can I make multiple changes within one day per employee?

A: When making changes for an existing employee, please limit changes to one per day to ensure all information is reported correctly to ETF.

Talking Points to Share With Your Staff

^{All Employers | All Insurance Benefits}

The former myETF Benefits (mEBS) administrator system officially transitioned to read-only access at the end of the day on May 21, 2026. Employers retain access to view historical data within the system, but all MEBS enrollment activity and updates has ended as ETF continues implementation of the new My Insurance Benefits system. Local employers should continue updating the Employer Transaction Application (ETA) and hold completed applications until they gain access to My Insurance Benefits.

Support

^{Local Employers | All Insurance Benefits}

If you need support related to My Insurance Benefits, please contact ETF’s employer liaisons at ETFSMBIASEmployerSetupQuestions@etf.wi.gov.

^{State Employers | All Insurance Benefits}

If you need support related to My Insurance Benefits, please contact the IAS Project Manager with whom you currently work.

The information in this publication represents the state of the Insurance Administration System Program at the time of this writing. This is an active program; therefore information is subject to change according to ongoing discovery and testing.