EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Overview

What happens when you get married? What happens when you adopt or have a child? What happens when your dependent child no longer needs/is eligible for coverage? What happens when you begin a leave of absence or a sabbatical? Domestic Partner (Spousal Equivalent)

Preparing to Retire Terminating Employment COBRA

Domestic Partner (Spousal Equivalent)

MIT benefits eligible employees may elect to include their same sex or opposite sex domestic partners on their health and/or dental plans.

A domestic partner is a same sex or opposite sex domestic partner who meets the following eligibility criteria:

Partner must be at least 18 years of age.
Partner and the employee must not be married to anyone, and must share a mutual exclusive, enduring relationship and intend to remain so indefinitely.
Must have shared common residence for at least 4 months and intend to do so indefinitely.
The partner and employee consider themselves life partners share joint responsibility for their common welfare and are financially interdependent.
Partner is not related by blood to a degree of closeness, which would prohibit legal marriage in the state in which we legally reside.

Dependent Coverage

The MIT employee can cover their spousal equivalent’s children

If they are unmarried dependent children of his/her spousal equivalent.
The children reside regularly with you and your spousal equivalent.
The children qualify as dependent of either the employee or spousal equivalent for tax purposes.
The employee and domestic partner (spousal equivalent) are required to provide coverage for the children because of a court order.

Unmarried dependent children must meet the eligibility requirements for the particular benefit plan(s) requested with respect to their age and/or full-time student status.

Taxability of Benefits

The costs associated with adding coverage for your domestic partner and/or dependents are as follows:

The employer’s contribution for the benefits that coverage a partner are treated as taxable income to the employee so that in addition to paying the premium for family health and/or dental coverage, the employee also will have to pay an imputed income tax, in most cases.

Under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 125, the value of the coverage for a domestic partner (spousal equivalents) and/or the dependent(s) of the domestic partner are taxable as “imputed income” to the employee. The amount of “imputed income” is based on the market value of the coverage purchased for these additional family members and is recalculated annually.

NOTE: Roommates, siblings, or parents do not qualify under this definition.

See the Health and Dental Coverage Taxable Income and Incremental Costs form for cost information (available at top right).

Please note that for all plans, you must meet the eligibility requirements for benefits participation. Please refer to the benefits eligibility chart to determine if you are eligible to receive employee benefits.

Return to the full list of status changes.

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