Overview & Eligibility Requirements

The Office of Human Resources serves as a resource for faculty and staff seeking benefit information and assistance. Shortly after being hired and completing required onboarding tasks, benefit-eligible employees will receive a benefit enrollment task in their Workday inbox.  Individuals have 30 days from their start date to complete this enrollment.

Master Insurance Contracts

This handbook is meant to highlight some important features of the college’s benefit plans. The group insurance and retirement-related programs are described more fully in the summary plan description (SPD) available on the Smith Benefits website. Complete information on the group insurance plans is contained in the college's master contracts with the insurance carriers. Complete information on retirement-related programs is contained in the master contracts with the various retirement investment companies. This information is maintained by the Office of Human Resources. In the event of any contradiction between the information appearing in this handbook and the SPDs, the master contracts or plan documents shall govern in all cases.  

Benefit Plan Revisions

As changes are made in existing benefit plans or as new plans and policies are established, new descriptions will be distributed by the Office of Human Resources. The effective date of each new or revised plan or policy will be the date determined by the President and/or the Board of Trustees, whether or not new descriptions have actually been issued.

Reserved Rights

Smith College reserves the right to amend or terminate any of these programs or to require or increase employee contributions toward any benefits at its discretion. This reserved right may be exercised in the absence of financial necessity.