2026 Annual Enrollment
For Active Employees
2026 Annual Enrollment is
October 29 - November 12
During this annual enrollment window, you will be able to make changes to your benefit elections for 2026. Take a moment to review the important changes below to help you make informed decisions as you enroll in or adjust your Health & Insurance Benefits for the upcoming year.
Any elections or changes that you make during annual enrollment are effective January 1, 2026, and will remain in effect during the 2026 calendar year unless you experience a qualifying life event.
Enroll in Your 2026 Benefits
To review, change, or enroll in your benefits for 2026, during the enrollment window simply navigate to the Bayer Benefits Center (Fidelity NetBenefits®) website by pressing “Enroll Now” below, or by downloading the NetBenefits app. If you have any questions or need assistance with the enrollment process, call the Bayer Benefits Center at 1-888-473-1001, Option 1. Representatives are ready to assist you from 8:30 A.M. to 8:30 P.M. ET, Monday through Friday.
ENROLL NOW
Enrollment Details
Steps to Enroll
- Review your benefits options to help you make an informed decision:
- Check out the “What’s new” section to see benefits changes in 2026.
- For plan details and rates for Dental, Vision, Spending Accounts, Insurance benefits and more, view the “Health & Insurance" page.
- Starting October 29, 2025, through November 12, 2025, log on to the Bayer Benefits Center website at benefits.bayer.us and select the notification labeled “Take action” to compare and choose your benefits.
- From there, you can review plan details, connect to ALEX® for decision support, and start the enrollment process.
If you have any questions or need assistance with the enrollment process, call the Bayer Benefits Center at 1-888-473-1001, Option 1, from 8:30 A.M. to 8:30 P.M. ET, Monday through Friday.
Set Up for Success: Take a Moment to Review Your S&RP
Annual Enrollment is a good time to review and adjust your Bayer Savings and Retirement Plan (S&RP) elections. After you complete your annual enrollment elections, take a moment to review your S&RP options to ensure you’re on target to meet your current and future financial goals.
Coverage for Expatriates
Medical, dental, and vision coverage for U.S. employees on an expatriate assignment is provided through a Bayer global health plan. If you have a spouse/domestic partner or dependent child that will remain in the U.S. (with a U.S. address) while you are on an expatriate assignment, they will be allowed to remain enrolled in U.S. health benefits if they continue to meet eligibility requirements. Note: If your spouse or domestic partner has access to coverage through their employer and remains enrolled in Bayer’s U.S. medical coverage, the $100 monthly working spouse surcharge will apply.
Please contact the Bayer Benefits Center at 1-888-473-1001, Option 1, to enroll. If your dependents join you on your expatriate assignment, coverage in the U.S. will end. Please contact your Global Mobility transfer case manager with questions.
What if I Don’t Enroll?
If you do not make an active benefit election for 2026, your current benefits from 2025 will roll over to 2026 with the following exceptions:
- Working Spouse Surcharge for 2026: Effective January 1, 2026, Bayer will be implementing a working spouse surcharge. This means that if your spouse or domestic partner has access to medical coverage through their own employer and chooses to enroll in a Bayer medical plan, a monthly surcharge of $100 will be applied. If you do not make an active election for 2026 you will default into paying the additional monthly surcharge of $100. This surcharge will be applied to your 2026 medical premiums.
- The working spouse surcharge will not apply if your spouse or domestic partner was only enrolled in dental or vision.
- HSA* and FSA** contributions: Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contributions do not carry over from 2025 to 2026; you must actively elect contributions during this Annual Enrollment period if you wish to participate in 2026.
*Health Savings Accounts are not available for employees located in Hawaii or Puerto Rico
**Flexible spending accounts are not available for employees located in Puerto Rico. Hawaii employees are not eligible to participate in the Limited Purpose Flexible Spending Account (LPFSA).
After Annual Enrollment ends, you can make corrections to your 2025 benefit elections through November 26, 2025, by calling the Bayer Benefits Center at 1-888-473-1001, Option 1. After November 26, 2025, you can’t make changes to your benefits unless you have a qualified change in status.
What's New
Refer to the 2026 Annual Enrollment Newsletter for a comprehensive overview of benefit changes for 2026 noted below:
Introducing a Working Spouse Surcharge for Medical Plans
Beginning January 1, 2026, Bayer will be implementing a working spouse surcharge. This means that if your spouse or domestic partner has access to medical coverage through their own employer and chooses to enroll in a Bayer medical plan, you will pay an additional $100 per month on your medical premium. The surcharge does not apply for dental and vision coverage.
For more details, please review the Working Spouse Surcharge FAQs.
If you currently have a spouse or domestic partner enrolled in Bayer medical coverage and you do not make an active election during Annual Enrollment, the $100 monthly surcharge will be applied automatically for 2026. If you are defaulted into this surcharge, you will not be able to make changes until the next annual enrollment for 2027, unless you have a qualified life event.
Important Note: In order for your domestic partner’s children to be enrolled in Bayer medical coverage, your domestic partner must also be enrolled. Should you choose to remove your domestic partner due to the surcharge, your domestic partner’s children will not have coverage beginning January 1, 2026.
Who does the working spouse surcharge apply to?
The surcharge will apply if your spouse/domestic partner is employed and has medical coverage (outside of Bayer) available through their own employer AND continues to be covered under Bayer’s medical coverage.
The working spouse surcharge does NOT apply if:
- Your spouse/domestic partner is not employed
- Your spouse/domestic partner is employed but the employer doesn’t offer medical coverage
- Your spouse/domestic partner is retired or is eligible for COBRA, Medicare, Medicaid, TriCare or VA benefits
- Your spouse/domestic partner also works at Bayer
We encourage you to consider the options that your spouse or domestic partner has through their employer. This is a personal and financial decision based on cost and coverage through Bayer versus the cost and coverage available through your spouse or domestic partner‘s employer.
Medical Plan Updates
Preventive Care Enhancements:
- Effective January 1, 2026, additional preventive breast cancer screenings, such as ultrasounds and MRIs, will be covered 100% for participants enrolled in the Aetna and Anthem medical plans when filed with a preventive diagnosis or inconclusive mammogram result.
Medical Plan Changes:
- Bayer’s national medical options are self-insured, meaning Bayer pays the majority of the cost of all medical and prescription claims. Contributions for medical premiums will increase for 2026. There will be no changes to dental or vision premiums.
- Telemedicine copay will increase only for those enrolled in the national Health & Savings and regional medical plan options. There are no copay changes to the 90% and 85% PPO plans.
- General Medical Visit copay will increase to $57
- Dermatology Visit copay will increase to $89
- Health & Savings Plan annual deductibles will increase.
- You + Spouse/Domestic Partner: $3,400 ($100 increase)
- You + Child(ren): $3,400 ($100 increase)
- You + Family: $4,200 ($100 increase)
Increased Savings Account Contributions:
- Health Savings Account (HSA) contribution limits will increase.
- You-only coverage: $4,400 ($100 increase)
- Family coverage: $8,750 ($200 increase)
- Employees ages 55 and older can contribute an additional $1,000 in catch-up contributions
- Health Care FSA (HCFSA) and Limited Purpose FSA (LPFSA) contribution limits will increase.
- Contribution limit: $3,300
- Carryover: If you enroll in an FSA for 2026, you may carry over up to $660 of unused funds remaining in your HCFSA into 2026.
- Dependent Care FSA contribution limit will increase to $7,500 ($2,500 increase).
Benefit Plan Options
To view the rates for the medical and prescription drug plan options, you need to be logged in from a Bayer device. Alternatively, you can access them by visiting benefits.bayer.us and navigating to the Reference Library.
For additional benefit details, visit the Health & Insurance page.
For part-time employees working 20-29 hours per week:
- You are eligible for all full-time benefits except long-term disability
- The cost of medical and dental coverage is two times the full-time employee rate.
- To determine your rates, you will need to double the applicable monthly contributions. Please log on to the Bayer Benefits Center website to view your rates.
For Tobacco Users: There is an annual surcharge of $260, or $10.83 per pay period. This applies to the employee and the spouse/domestic partner. If both are tobacco users, the annual surcharge will be $520, or $21.67 per pay period. For Tobacco cessation support from the National Medical Plans click below. If you are enrolled in a regional plan option, call the number the number on the back of your medical plan ID card to see what is available.
Decision Support
ALEX®
During enrollment you have access to ALEX®, an interactive online platform to model different scenarios to help you make your health care selections.
ALEX outlines the most cost-effective options for you and your family in the following plans:
- Medical, prescription drugs, dental and vision
- Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), which include health care, limited purpose, and dependent day care accounts
- Basic and supplemental life, and basic and supplemental AD&D, including spouse and family coverage
- Short- and Long-Term Disability (STD and LTD)
ALEX will help you compare benefits costs, estimate healthcare expenses, determine what contribution amounts to consider for the HSA and FSAs, and what coverage might be best for you for life and AD&D insurance and LTD.
When you have finished working with ALEX, you’ll receive recommendations for your elections, and then you’ll be directed back to the Benefits Enrollment page.
Plan Comparison*
Choose at least two medical coverage options and check the features you’d like to compare, such as copays and deductibles. Refer to the Summary of Benefits and Coverage section available upon enrollment in the Bayer Benefits Center website to access the Plan Comparison.
*Not applicable for Puerto Rico
Enrollment Reminders
Additional reminders can be found on the Health & Insurance page.
Changing Coverage During the Year
Once you make your annual enrollment election, you will not be able to change your coverage until the next Annual Enrollment period, unless you have a qualified change in status such as marriage, divorce, birth of a child, or loss of coverage under another group health plan. For further information, view the qualified changes in status and changing your benefit elections details, or refer to the Health & Welfare Benefits Plan Summary Plan Description in the Reference Library section of benefits.bayer.us.
Enrollment Confirmation Statements Reflecting Your 2026 Elections
Upon completion of enrollment through the Bayer Benefits Center website, you will receive an email confirmation. Please save a copy of your 2026 elections for your records.
A confirmation statement will be mailed to your home address only if you enroll by speaking with a representative, call and request a mailed statement, or do not make an election for 2026 and your coverage defaults after the correction period ends on November 26, 2025.
2026 ID Card
If you make changes to your medical plan for 2026, you can print your temporary Confirmation of Enrollment Card online from The Bayer Benefits Center website. A new card will be mailed to you in January. If you do not make changes for 2026, you will not receive a new ID card.
Designating a Beneficiary
It’s important to validate your beneficiaries to ensure that your vested account balances will be distributed according to your wishes. Please be sure to review your choices regularly and update them after certain life events, such as a marriage, divorce, birth of a child, or a death in the family.
To navigate to your beneficiary elections online, go to benefits.bayer.us, click the Accounts & Benefits tab and select Update your Beneficiaries and follow the online instructions.