For newly hired employees, most benefits are effective on your date of hire. However, certain benefits such as Voluntary Life Insurance may have a delayed start date. These provisions can be found within the actual section that describes the benefit program. For benefits elected during a fall Open Enrollment period, the benefits are effective the following January 1. For benefit changes due to a Qualifying Life Event, the effective date will be the actual date of the event such as the birth/adoption of a child, marriage, divorce, or gain/loss of coverage.