Human Resources

Life Insurance 

Fairfax County Government provides basic life insurance administered by The Standard equal to one times the employee's annual salary at no cost to the employee. This coverage can be supplemented with enrollment in Optional Life insurance up to four times the employee's annual salary. The cost of this coverage is paid by the employee. Rates can be calculated using the formula provided in the Life Insurance Highlights.

All plan members must elect a beneficiary to ensure the money is distributed in accordance with the member's wishes. Adding a beneficiary is one of the fastest and easiest things you can do for your loved ones. Without a named beneficiary, your assets could pass through the probate process which can lead to delays in payment, unintended distributions of the funds and tax implications for your loved ones. To update your beneficiary for life insurance coverage, visit the Ready Enroll online beneficiary portal. Updating your beneficiary information through the online portal allows for easy access to your records from anywhere at any time. 

Ready to get started? 

• Visit the online portal at https://standard.benselect.com/fairfax
• Your username is your Social Security Number with no dashes.
• When logging in for the first time, your PIN is the last four digits of your Social Security Number followed by the last two digits of your birth year.

Long Term Disability

The county offers eligible employees the option to enroll in a Long Term Disability insurance plan administered by The Standard. This plan can assist you financially in the event that you are unable to work for an extended period of time due to injury or illness. The benefit for an approved qualified disability is income replacement of 60% of your monthly salary, up to $15,000, in the event that you are out of work for more than 60 days. Long term disability benefits are tax free as you pay for this coverage with after-tax dollars. You can find the formula to calculate the cost of this coverage in the Long Term Disability highlights. 

Fairfax County Government offers employees the opportunity to participate in three types of Flexible Spending Accounts, or FSAs, administered by TASC.

• Healthcare FSA
• Limited Purpose FSA
• Dependent Care FSA 

With an FSA, participants set a portion of their pay aside on a tax-advantaged basis to pay for eligible health and dependent care expenses. Funds contributed by employees can be used to pay for things they likely already have to pay for but allows them to reduce their taxes and increase their take-home pay. 

This plan was designed to complement the Pension Defined Benefit Plan and to help employees realize a financially secure and rewarding retirement. The 457 Plan managed by T. Rowe Price offers the opportunity to save a portion of wages on a pre- or post-tax (ROTH) basis. Plan design features include a wide range of investment options with differing levels of risk and return, financial planning services, and self-directed brokerage arrangements.

Qualifying Events are special circumstances, like changes in your family status, your job, or the job of your spouse, that impact benefits eligibility and may allow an employee the opportunity to add or change benefit elections during the plan year. Requested changes must be made on account of and must be consistent with the qualifying event and must be requested within 30-calendar days of the qualifying event. 

Common qualifying events include: 

• Birth/Adoption of a child

• Marriage 

• Divorce 

• Change in employment status of self or spouse 

If you experience a qualifying event, it is the employee's responsibility to notify the Benefits Division in the Department of Human Resources directly. Notification must be made within 30-calendar days of the event. Mid-year qualifying event changes cannot be made in FOCUS or by your Agency. Employees have 30-calendar days to make notification of the event and an additional 30-calendar days (60-calendar days from the qualifying event date) to provide all required documentation. Failure to submit documentation within the timeframe will result in no verification of a qualifying event or dependent eligibility.  

All mid-year enrollment/election changes take effect the first of the month following the qualifying event except for health plan enrollment of a dependent child as the result of a birth/adoption/permanent placement for adoption. This change will take effect on the date of the birth/adoption/placement. Financial benefit elections, plan changes, and all other benefit elections as a result of a birth/adoption/placement for adoption will take effect on the first of the month following the qualifying event. 

If you have experienced a qualifying event, please notify the Benefits Division at DHRBenefitsDivision@fairfaxcounty.gov.