The City of San Diego offers employees a “cafeteria style” benefits plan and credits to use towards flexible benefits including medical, vision, dental plans, FSAs and basic life insurance. The amount of credits you’ll receive is based on your bargaining unit, date of hire, and whether dependents are covered on your medical plan. You can access a summary of your credits by selecting the appropriate bargaining unit tile above. For additional information please refer to your bargaining unit MOU. Flexible Benefit Plan Credits are paid out throughout the year on a bi-monthly (twice per month) basis.

If an employee chooses a mix of benefits that add up to the amount of flexible benefit plan credits allotted to them, then the employee owes nothing more for their benefits.  If the benefits exceed their flexible benefit plan credits, the employee pays the difference through payroll deductions throughout the year.

Certain tiers have a cash-back option if the costs of elected benefits are less than the Flexible Benefit Plan Credits. The cash-back option also includes the ability to allocate excess credits toward a 401(k). Under the cash-back option, any remaining flexible benefits credits will be included in the employee's paycheck as taxable income. If your coverage falls under a tier that does not have the cash-back option, then you will not be eligible for the 401(k) flex option or excess credits paid as taxable income. 

Employees are allowed to make changes to their flexible benefits outside of the open enrollment period when they have a qualifying event, such as a marriage, birth or a change in employment status. Please visit the Qualifying Events Website for more information. There is a Qualifying Event Chart which includes a list of events that qualify for mid-year changes, the allowable changes, and verification documents which you will need to provide (e.g. birth or marriage certificate). Be sure to submit the online Qualifying Event Form within 30 days of the qualifying event.

Please call a Risk Management representative at 619-236-5924 or email Benefits@sandiego.gov.

Your coverage election options are based on the dependents you have listed in the “Dependents & Beneficiaries” section. Return to the “Dependents & Beneficiaries” step and add the dependents you would like to include in your health plan(s).

Please refer to the 2025 Open Enrollment Guide. In the Benefits Application, you may also click on the calculator icon to see your bi-monthly running total of costs.

If you change or enroll in benefits during Open Enrollment, benefits will be in effect Jan. 1, 2025.

If you enroll in benefits as a New Hire, Rehire or are newly benefits-eligible due to a Job/Class Change (e.g. promotion to a benefits-eligible position), you may elect benefits to begin the month following your date of hire/promotion or delay it an additional month.

Upon separation from the City, your health plan coverage will continue through the last day of the month in which you had your last day of “active” employment with the City. For example, if your last day of active employment was May 7, your coverage will continue through May 31.

Please visit the COBRA website for information on continuation periods, FAQs and how to sign-up for benefits through WageWorks.

It can take up to two weeks for the City to process your separation at which time your COBRA information will be mailed out to you.

Flexible Benefit Plan credits and any related transactions will be distributed over 24 paychecks instead of all 26 paychecks during the plan year. Flex Benefit Plan transactions will be skipped on the following pay periods: