Annual enrollment for 2025 benefits is October 1-24.
Read the 2025 annual enrollment newsletter (also mailed to your home), with its benefits and well-being journey map that shows every Merck benefit plan, program and resource available to you over the course of your life’s journey.
Once you’re ready to enroll or make changes, click the Enroll Now button at the top of the page. Be sure to enroll or make any changes by October 24, 2024.
If you take no action, your current benefit elections will roll over for 2025, except for flexible spending account (FSA) elections. To participate in a health care and/or dependent care FSA in 2025, you must actively (re)enroll by October 24, 2024, even if you participated in 2024.
Following four years of no increases and a minor increase last year, we are increasing contributions by just 2% for 2025 to help keep pace with inflation. Merck continues to subsidize most of the cost of medical and prescription drug coverage and has been absorbing the majority of plan cost increases.
We are pleased to share that employee contributions for dental and vision coverage will remain the same. In fact, the combined 2025 employee medical and dental contributions will be at the same level they were in 2020.
You can view your 2025 employee contributions here.
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are a smart way to save money on taxes when you pay for eligible health care and/or dependent care expenses. Learn more about FSAs here.
For 2025:
Optional life insurance rates will increase, but are still a great deal and among the lowest rates offered by employers.* We benefited from rate decreases several years ago and they are still lower than they were in 2021. Since it’s “group” coverage, the more people who participate, the better our rates can be.
To estimate your contributions for optional life insurance, go to merckratetool.com.
* Life insurance rates are based on your age and annual salary. If you move into a new age band or your salary changes, your contributions for life insurance will change in the following month.
In case you didn’t hear the news, effective retroactive to January 1, 2024, we’ve eliminated the fertility Lifetime Benefit Maximums in the Merck medical plan (also known as fertility limits).* This is a direct result of our efforts to review and improve our benefits. If you had fertility-related expenses in 2024 that would have been covered without the Lifetime Benefit Maximum, contact a Horizon Health Guide for help submitting medical claims or CVS Caremark for help submitting prescription drug claims.
* Fertility Lifetime Benefit Maximums were $25,000 for medical and $10,000 for prescription drugs.
If you or your loved one* is suffering with a complex mental health condition (post-traumatic stress, bipolar, eating or substance use disorders, etc.), Lyra now provides dedicated, high-touch support to help you coordinate end-to-end care. Lyra’s complex care solution helps you:
Treatment options may be virtual, in person or in a residential setting where an individual stays 24/7. For more information go here or call Lyra at 844-737-9423.
Additionally, with 12 free counseling or coaching sessions per calendar year for you and your loved ones, Lyra is more than a mental health provider — they are a partner in your mental well-being.
* Loved ones include your spouse or domestic partner, any of your household members, and your dependents living outside the household (up to age 26).
At Merck, we take preventive care seriously. That’s why we make it easy and, best of all, we will pay you!* In addition to your annual physical, dental and vision exams, remember that these preventive care actions are equally important:
* Earn $50 through the online wellness platform (see “New ways to earn rewards” below) after completing two preventive care activities each year.
In 2025, Virgin Pulse will become Personify Health. When you complete preventive care activities, like a screening or vaccination, you’ll receive a dollar reward and points. And, there will be slightly different rewards for each point threshold.
What’s not changing? You and your spouse or domestic partner can still earn up to $225 each for completing wellness activities.
For more information about our 2025 wellness program with Personify Health, go here.
We’re pleased to provide a new benefit — the SurvivorSupport® Financial Counseling Service through Goldman Sachs Ayco — to help safeguard the financial well-being of our families. Effective immediately, your family can receive professional financial counseling if you or your spouse or domestic partner passes away. The SurvivorSupport® program may help navigate a wide range of topics, including Merck benefits, taxes, estate settlement and longer-term retirement and cash-flow planning.
This service is provided at no cost and no enrollment is required: An advisor will reach out directly by phone and letter.
For more information, go here.