Federal Benefits Open Season 2026: Dates, 2027 FEHB Premiums and the FSAFEDS Deadline

Federal Benefits Open Season runs November 9 through December 14, 2026. Whatever you pick in those five weeks sets your health, dental, vision and FSA coverage for the 2027 plan year.

The number that matters most this year: the average enrollee share of FEHB premiums rises 10.9% in 2027, according to OPM’s Open Season highlights. That’s the third straight year of double-digit increases, after 12.3% in 2026.

If you do nothing, most of your coverage rolls over and you simply pay the new rate. One benefit doesn’t roll over at all, and a handful of plans are disappearing. Here’s what to check before December 14.

Open Season 2026 Dates and When Changes Take Effect

Open Season opens Monday, November 9 and closes Monday, December 14, 2026. Your 2027 changes don’t all start on the same day, though. It depends on who you are and which program you’re changing.

The January 10 date for employees is the start of the first full pay period of 2027. Your old FEHB plan covers you through January 9, so there’s no gap.

Plan brochures and OPM’s Plan Comparison Tool go live in early November. That gives you a few days to look at your plan’s 2027 rate before the window even opens.

What 2027 Premiums Look Like

The 10.9% figure is an average of the enrollee share, which is the part that comes out of your paycheck or annuity. Individual plans can rise much more than that, and a few actually go down.

Your share rises faster than the total premium because the government’s contribution is set by formula. It pays the lesser of 72% of the program-wide average premium or 75% of your plan’s premium, so the government share grows more slowly than the total.

OPM blames rising hospital and physician costs, more behavioral health care, and higher drug spending, especially on GLP-1s and specialty drugs.

2027 Premiums for the Biggest Nationwide Plans

These are the 2027 employee shares per biweekly paycheck for the nationwide plans most feds are in, from OPM’s 2027 rate tables. The change is versus 2026.

The standout is MHBP Standard. Its Self and Family share jumps $182.58 per paycheck, or about $4,750 a year. GEHA High goes the other way and gets cheaper.

Retirees pay monthly instead, at roughly 26/12 of these amounts. Annuitants can find their exact monthly figures in the same OPM rate charts.

Here’s how that hits a real paycheck. Kevin, a GS-11 in Denver, has FEP Blue Basic Self Plus One. He pays $319.25 per paycheck in 2026 and $350.48 in 2027, or $812 more over 26 pay periods.

Employees pay their share pre-tax through premium conversion, which softens the hit a little. Retirees pay theirs after tax.

Most civilian feds face a 2027 pay freeze, so Kevin’s gross pay doesn’t rise to cover it. My 2027 GS pay chart post covers the freeze and which groups are carved out.

What Rolls Over Automatically, and What Doesn’t

FEHB, PSHB and FEDVIP enrollments carry over into 2027 if you don’t touch them. FSAFEDS does not. OPM is blunt about it: anyone who wants an FSA in 2027 has to re-enroll, even if they’ve had one for years.

That’s the most expensive thing to forget in Open Season. Miss it and you’ll have no health care or dependent care FSA for all of 2027, unless you have a qualifying life event.

It can also cost you money you already set aside. FSAFEDS only carries leftover health care FSA dollars into 2027 if you re-enroll for 2027. The minimum election is $100, so even a small re-enrollment keeps your carryover.

The money adds up.

Denise, a VA nurse in the 22% tax bracket, puts $2,000 a year into a health care FSA for her daughter’s braces and prescriptions. Pre-tax, that saves her roughly $590 in federal income and payroll taxes. If she skips re-enrolling, she gives that up.

A few FSAFEDS details for 2027:

• Dependent care FSA: up to $7,500 per household, the higher limit that started in 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA). Compare it with the Child and Dependent Care Credit before choosing, because you can’t use both on the same expenses.
• Health care FSA: the 2026 limit is $3,400. The IRS hadn’t announced the 2027 limit when I wrote this; I’ll update this post when it does.
• New debit card: starting this Open Season, FSAFEDS offers a Visa FSA card for health care and limited-expense FSAs. You can still choose paperless reimbursement instead.
• Active employees only: retirees can’t use FSAFEDS.
• Don’t cut it close: the FSAFEDS cutoff on December 14 is set in Eastern time. If you’re on the West Coast or overseas, finish a day early.

Plans and Options Ending After 2026

Nine FEHB plans are leaving the program. If you’re in one of them, you need to choose a new plan. If you don’t, OPM puts you in Compass Rose Standard for 2027, which may not include your doctors.

• Independent Health Standard and HDHP
• Blue Care Network of Michigan, Southeast High
• UHC Choice Primary West High and Choice Plus Primary West High
• Health Net of California: Northern High, plus Southern Standard, Basic and High

On the postal side, UnitedHealthcare’s Choice Plus Primary Postal East plan is ending. Its enrollees default to FEP Blue Focus.

MHBP is also dropping its Value Plan and Consumer Option in FEHB. Those enrollees move to MHBP Standard unless they pick something else, and that’s the plan with the $182.58-per-paycheck family increase in the table above. If you’re in either option, this is the year to shop.

Two Rule Changes That Are New This Year

Adding a family member now takes paperwork. Under the FEHB Protection Act, anyone adding a spouse or child during Open Season has to submit documents that prove the person is eligible. Think marriage certificates and birth certificates. Have them ready before you start, because missing documents can hold up coverage.

Weight-loss drugs come with a behavioral program. Every FEHB and PSHB plan still covers at least one GLP-1 for obesity. For 2027, though, plans will require you to take part in an intensive behavioral therapy program before and during treatment. If you’re on Wegovy or Zepbound for weight loss, check how your plan handles this.

How to Make Your Changes

Where you go depends on your status:

• Federal employees: your agency’s self-service system (Employee Express, MyPay, NFC’s EPP and similar).
• Federal annuitants: OPM Retirement Services Online, or OPM’s retirement line at 888-767-6738.
• Postal employees and annuitants: the PSHB System portal, which has been redesigned for this Open Season.
• FEDVIP and FSAFEDS: BENEFEDS for dental and vision, and FSAFEDS for flexible spending.

Start with OPM’s Open Season page, which links to the Plan Comparison Tool and the 2027 rate charts.

Where Feds Lose Money in Open Season

These are the slip-ups I see most often from readers:

• Comparing only premiums. A low premium with a $5,000 deductible can cost more than a mid-tier plan if you see doctors regularly. Add up the premium plus your likely out-of-pocket costs.
• Assuming rollover means nothing changed. Your plan carries over, but its 2027 drug formulary and network can change. Check that your prescriptions and doctors are still covered.
• Shopping the wrong list. USPS employees and retirees have been in PSHB since 2025, not FEHB. Postal annuitants who are entitled to Medicare Part A generally must also have Part B to keep PSHB, with exceptions for some older enrollees.
• Missing the HSA angle. If you pick a high-deductible plan, the plan deposits money into an HSA for you. You can’t also use a regular health care FSA, only a limited-expense FSA for dental and vision.
• Overfunding the HSA. The 2027 HSA limit is $4,500 for Self Only and $9,000 for Self Plus One or Self and Family, plus $1,000 at 55 or older. The plan’s own deposit counts toward that limit, so subtract it before you set your payroll amount.
• Forgetting Medicare coordination. Retirees with Medicare should compare plans against the 2027 Part D cap of $2,400 and the 2027 Part B premium outlook.

How Open Season Hits Retirees on Fixed Income

Annuitants feel the premium jump right away, on January 1. The 2027 COLA is 3.6% for CSRS retirees, but only 2.6% for FERS retirees, and most FERS retirees under 62 get none.

FEHB premiums are taken out of the annuity, so for many FERS retirees a large share of the COLA will go straight to premiums.

Take Linda, a FERS retiree with a $2,500 monthly annuity and FEP Blue Standard Self Plus One. Her 2.6% COLA adds $65 a month. Her premium goes up $84.52 a month, so her net check actually shrinks.

Unlike PSHB, FEHB doesn’t require retirees to enroll in Medicare Part B. Many retirees take it anyway, since FEHB plans often waive deductibles and copays for members who have both. My 2027 FERS COLA breakdown shows the dollar gap between CSRS and FERS.

Premiums are just one part of your year-end money check. My year-end tax planning list covers the other moves that need to happen before December 31.

What I’m Watching Before the 2028 Plan Year

Next year’s cycle follows a predictable calendar, so here’s what to look for:

• November 16, 2026: comments close on OPM’s request for information about offering more, fewer or different FEHB plan options. Nothing changes for 2027, but it could shape the 2028 plan lineup.
• Late September 2027: OPM announces 2028 FEHB and PSHB premium changes. After three straight double-digit increases for enrollees, I’m watching whether GLP-1 spending keeps pushing rates up.
• Fall 2027: the IRS sets the 2028 health FSA limit, which rises with inflation each year.
• November 2027: Open Season usually runs from the second Monday in November to the second Monday in December. That points to roughly November 8 through December 13, 2027. OPM confirms the exact dates each fall.

I’ll update this page when OPM announces the 2028 numbers.

This article is for general information and should not be construed as official OPM guidance. Check your plan brochure or agency benefits officer for decisions about your own coverage.