N E W P A R E N T G U I D E
A Guide for MassMutual Employees Describing benefits and programs as of January 1, 2019, this guide is for
MassMutual employees planning to add a new child to their family. Whether you
or your spouse or domestic partner is pregnant, in the process of adopting, or
considering either, this booklet offers an overview of MassMutual resources and
other information that can help you through each stage of the journey.
Table of contents
Beginnings
Considering adoption? 1
Maternity medical care 1
Planning for child care 2
Getting Ready
Three months before 4
Finding a pediatrician & more
Two months
before 4
Understanding leave options One month before 7
Requesting your leave
Breastfeeding support 8
One week before 9 When Your Child Arrives 9
Returning to Work 10
Quick Links 12
Contacts 12
DISCLAIMER: This communication provides some basic 2019 benefits information. It has been prepared for employees of
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company; The MassMutual Trust Company FSB and MassMutual International LLC. It is
not for retirees, career contract advisors, field staff, general agents or general managers or employees of Barings LLC, Barings
Multifamily Capital LLC, or OppenheimerFunds, Inc. This is not a summary plan description (SPD) or summary of material
modifications (SMM). It reflects programs in place as of January 2019. Your receipt of this material is not a promise or
guarantee by the company of your eligibility for any one or all the benefits and programs described or of continued employment. The company reserves the right to terminate, modify, amend or suspend any or all of its benefit plans and programs at any time,
and from time to time. In case of conflict between this information and the plan terms, the plan terms and documents shall
govern. Provisions are based on current law and regulations, which are subject to change.
Considering Adoption?
Through the Adoption Assistance Program,
MassMutual reimburses eligible employees for
certain adoption expenses (up to $7,500 per
adoption, pro-rated for part time employees) for
eligible foreign or domestic adoptions.
If you are considering adopting, you may want to
contact your Cigna Employee Assistance Program
(EAP). Their work/life specialists can refer you to
adoption specialists and agencies, support
organizations, and more. Call Cigna at 1-800-548-
3980 any time and say “Employee Assistance
Program” at the prompt. The EAP is free and
available to all employees and their household
members.
Maternity medical care
Understanding your medical coverage can help
ensure that you and your baby get the best care
available. If you’re enrolled in a MassMutual
medical option, read on for resources that can help.
Ovia Health is a maternity and family benefit
that supports your health and parenting journey
with three apps:
Ovia Fertility helps women boost their
chances of conceiving with cycle tracking,
expert research, fertility tips, and
personalized health insights.
Ovia Pregnancy supports healthy
pregnancies by providing timely articles,
health and wellness tips, and answers to
almost every pregnancy question.
Ovia Parenting supports families with
expert parenting articles, daily tips and
guidance (based on your child’s age, up to
age 4), and the ability to share milestones
with friends and family.
Download the Ovia Health app that’s right for you
from the App Store or Google Play — and identify
MassMutual as your company.
Estimate maternity costs: Log on to
MyCigna.com, choose Estimate Health Care Costs,
then Health Care Professional Directory. Choose the
Procedure tab. Enter your preferred location. Type
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“delivery” in the Looking For box. (You may want to
look at both vaginal and cesarean delivery costs.)
You can view results by Doctors or Hospitals. When
you click on Doctors, you’ll see a list of in-network
providers in your area, their affiliated hospital(s),
and the total estimated cost of maternity care, which
includes prenatal office visits, delivery and a
postpartum checkup.
If the provider is affiliated with more than one
hospital, you’ll see the total price associated with
delivery at each hospital.
The You May Owe column lists your current,
personalized estimated out-of-pocket cost based
on how much you’ve paid this year toward your
annual deductible and out-of-pocket maximum.
Keep in mind that the You May Owe cost is only
an estimate, and that estimates can change during
the plan year and with the start of a new plan
year. Ultrasound, genetic testing, amniocentesis
and certain labs and procedures are not included
in this estimate; you may use Cigna’s search tool
to research those costs. Certain other screenings
are considered preventive and paid for by the
plan at 100%. For more guidance on costs, call
Cigna at 1-800-548-3980.
Another free resource available to MassMutual
medical option participants is ConsumerMedical,
an independent service that can help you
understand treatment options and costs. Contact
ConsumerMedical at 1-888-361-3944 or
www.MyConsumerMedical.com. The Company
code for registering online is MASSMUTUAL.
If you’re enrolled in the HSA2000 or
HSA1350 medical option: If you’re able, you
may want to adjust your before-tax contributions to
your Cigna Choice Fund® health savings account
(HSA) in anticipation of your maternity medical
expenses. You may increase your bi-weekly payroll
deductions through Workday, or you may contribute
an after-tax lump sum through HSA Bank (subject to
IRS contribution limits).
Be careful not to exceed the IRS annual contribution
limit, and keep in mind your employee contribution,
the annual company contribution and any wellness
incentive dollars you may earn when calculating
your maximum contribution. See the Cigna HSA
calculator for help deciding on your per-pay-period
contributions
Planning for child care
Child Care Subsidy Program: Through this
program, MassMutual subsidizes a portion of the
tuition for children of eligible MassMutual
employees at participating Bright Horizons and
Children’s House centers. The subsidy ranges from
10% to 40% of monthly tuition depending on your
household income and number of children
participating.
While MassMutual employees have priority access
for openings at these centers, availability is limited.
Read more about the Child Care Subsidy Program
on myHR.
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KinderCare® discount: MassMutual employees
are eligible for a 10% discount on child care
provided within the KinderCare® network of more
than 2,000 full-time and before- and after-school
child care locations nationwide, including
KinderCare Learning Centers®, CCLC Child Care
Centers® and Champions Before- and After-School
Programs®. Find a center near you at
www.careiseverywhere.com. Contact centers
directly about rates, space availability and hours. To
get the discount, provide the center with a recent
MassMutual pay statement as proof of employment.
For other discounts on child care available to
MassMutual employees, see the discounts page on
MX.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
referrals: Call your EAP to request referrals for
day care, before- and after-school programs and
camps based on availability in your area and your
criteria. Within two business days, you’ll receive
referrals to up to three licensed child care options
with openings that meet your criteria.
Call 1-800-548-3980 and say “Employee
Assistance Program” at the prompt. Ask for
work/life referrals.
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account:
When your child arrives, you may be eligible to use
a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
(DCFSA) for certain eligible childcare expenses.
You may make before-tax contributions of up to
$5,000 per year, deducted from your bi-weekly pay
($2,500 if married and filing taxes separately) to
your DCFSA. You may use these funds to reimburse
yourself for eligible child care expenses of eligible
dependents. You must use the balance in your
account or lose it; any funds remaining in your
account on March 31 of the following year are
forfeited. It’s important to understand that both the
DCFSA and Child Care Subsidy are considered
employer-provided child care subsidies and both
apply toward your before-tax maximum (see box).
Discuss your options with a tax advisor or the Ayco
Financial Counseling service. (The KinderCare®
discount is not an employer subsidy and does not
affect this limit.)
Important tax note: The maximum before-
tax child care subsidy that you may
receive in any plan year is $5,000.
If the total of your subsidy through the
Child Care Subsidy Program plus your
annual DCFSA contribution exceeds the
IRS before-tax dependent care assistance
limit ($5,000 or $2,500 if married and filing
separate tax returns), the excess portion is
reported as taxable income and is
subject to federal and state taxes.
For some, the federal child-care tax
credit may be more advantageous than
using the DCFSA and/or Child Care
Subsidy. Consult your tax advisor for more
information.
Review IRS Publication 503 for more
information.
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Getting Ready
Below is a month-by-month list of ways
to help prepare for your child’s arrival.
3 months before
Call Ayco Financial Counseling: Ayco is a
free-to-you, confidential financial counseling
service. Ayco’s financial coaches can look at your
finances holistically and meet with you (and your
spouse/partner, if you’d like) to discuss budgeting
for your growing family, saving for college,
investing and more. They understand MassMutual’s
benefit plans and can help you make the most of
your options.
Call the Ayco Financial Counseling service at
1-866-325-0092 Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET, or
by appointment Mon.-Thurs. 5-8 p.m., ET; or
Email [email protected], with “I’d like
to speak to an Ayco counselor”
Visit the Aycofn® website for online tools.
Research your benefit options: You may be
eligible to change your benefit elections during the
plan year as a result of the birth of your child.
Medical, dental, life, long-term disability buy-up,
and health care and dependent care flexible spending
accounts (FSAs) are some of the options you can
add or change when your child arrives. There are
strict deadlines to make these changes. Email
[email protected] or call Ext. 46825 internally,
or 1-800-767-1000, ext. 46825 to learn more.
Interview pediatricians: If you’re enrolled in a
MassMutual medical option, find in-network
pediatricians by logging on to myCigna.com.
Choose Find a Doctor, Dentist or Facility, then the
Doctor tab. Enter your preferred location. Type
“pediatrician” in the Looking For box.
It’s a good idea to call several pediatricians to find
one who meets your needs. Ask about office hours,
policy for same-day sickness appointments and how
often you’ll see your primary doctor versus the other
doctors in the practice. Many pediatricians offer free
new-parent interviews to help you determine if it’s a
good match. You may want to ask if this is an option
when you call.
2 months before
Understanding Leave Options: If you haven’t
already, now is a good time to start thinking about
your plans for taking a leave when your child arrives
including planning with your manager. Doing so
will help ease the transition for you and your work
team.
Parental Leave and federal and state job-protected
leave options are available to all parents for the
purpose of bonding with a new child; Maternity
Leave is available to the mother giving birth for
recuperation after childbirth. Read on for an
overview of the types of leave available and options
for paid leave.
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If you’re pregnant:
You are eligible to take a combination of 10 weeks
of Maternity Leave and eight weeks of Parental
Leave, all of which is paid at 100% of base pay.
Maternity Leave is continuous leave beginning on
your child’s date of birth; Parental Leave may be
taken continuously or intermittently. Parental Leave
may be taken at any time within 12 months of your
child’s birth.
If you have a medical complication for which you
need to extend your time away from work, you may
apply for Short-Term Disability (STD) before your
Parental Leave begins. You are eligible for these
benefits if you are an employee regularly scheduled
to work 20 or more hours per week. (If you are an
eligible part-time employee, your leave will be pro-
rated to your regular hours of work.)
Things to do now:
Print out the Pregnancy Checklist and review it
with your manager. It’s a step-by-step guide to
your leave options and returning to work.
Read Having a Baby, Maternity Leave and
Parental Leave on myHR.
Contact HR Employee Services with any
questions.
All parents:
Parental Leave: Parents who are MassMutual
employees regularly scheduled to work 20 or more
hours per week who are employed at MassMutual on
the date of birth or placement for adoption are
eligible to take eight weeks or 320 hours (pro-rated
for part-time employees) of Parental Leave paid at
100% of base pay. Parental Leave may be taken
continuously or intermittently within 12 months of
your child’s birth or placement for adoption.
With input from your manager, you can use
intermittent Parental Leave to:
Work shorter days, or
Work fewer days per week, or
A combination of the above, until you’ve
exhausted your available Parental Leave
hours.
*Federal Family and Medical Leave (FML)
provides 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected
leave. Your state may offer similar types of
leave; if eligible, the more generous leave
will apply.
**If you wish to extend your time, talk with
your manager about using accrued vacation
or unpaid personal time during your FML
period.
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Whether taken continuously or intermittently,
Parental Leave runs concurrently with family and
medical leave (see next section). Learn more about
Parental Leave on myHR and read the Parental
Leave FAQs.
If you’re planning an intermittent leave,
please work out a schedule with your
manager.
How paid leaves work with job-protected
leaves: If you’re eligible for a job-protected federal
or state leave (eligibility is based on length of
service and hours worked; see next section), your
job-protected leave will run concurrently with
Parental Leave (and Maternity Leave). You may
have more weeks of available family and medical
leave than Parental Leave. If so, you may choose to
use some or all of your remaining family and
medical leave to bond with your child within one
year of the child’s birth or placement for adoption.
When taking family and medical leave, you must use
any available paid leave (e.g., Parental, Maternity)
and any available unused vacation (carried over
and/or accrued) before taking unpaid family and
medical leave.
If you aren’t eligible for a job-protected leave, you
may still be eligible for eight weeks of Parental
Leave.
Job-protected leaves: Federal and state family and
medical leave laws protect your job while you care
for your newborn or newly adopted child. State
leaves vary in eligibility guidelines and length: some
are more generous than federal leave and some less.
Important: If the leave available under the laws of
the state in which you work or conduct your job is
more generous than the leave available under federal
law, the more generous state leave law will apply.
Family and medical leave may be taken
continuously or intermittently. For intermittent
leave, please work out a schedule with your
manager.
Federal, Connecticut and Massachusetts leaves are
described below. Contact Human Resources
Employee Services for information about other state
leaves.
Federal Family and Medical Leave: Provides up to
12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per rolling
12-month period. To be eligible, an employee must
have:
completed 12 months of service with
MassMutual, and
worked a minimum of 1,000 hours for
MassMutual in the previous 12 months.
Connecticut Family and Medical Leave: Provides
up to 16 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per
24-month period. To be eligible, an employee must:
work in Connecticut,
have completed 12 months of service with
MassMutual, and
worked a minimum of 1,000 hours for
MassMutual in the previous 12 months.
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Massachusetts Parental Leave: Provides eight
weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the birth
or placement for adoption of a child. Under this
leave, a parent of newborn/newly adopted
multiples (i.e., twins, triplets) may take eight weeks
per child, consecutively. To be eligible, an
employee must:
work in Massachusetts, and
have completed three months of service with
MassMutual.
Personal leave: Personal leave may be requested
to extend your time out of work. Personal leaves are
granted at manager’s discretion [and are unpaid].
Questions? Contact HR Employee Services with
questions about what kinds of leave you are eligible
for and how Parental Leave and vacation time may
be used in your situation.
If your child comes early:
If you’ve applied for Maternity Leave, notify
Lincoln Financial Group and your manager.
If you haven’t applied for any leaves,
contact HR Employee Services to begin an
application, and notify Lincoln Financial
Group and your manager.
If you’ve applied for Parental Leave only, to
change your Parental Leave start date,
notify Lincoln Financial Group and your
manager.
One month before:
Requesting your leave
To request Maternity and
Parental Leaves:
Apply for Maternity Leave with Lincoln
Financial Group based on your due date. If
approved, Lincoln Financial Group will also
approve your Parental Leave at the same time.
Print out a Maternity Leave Claim Form
(available on myHR > Maternity Leave), sign
it, and give it to your medical care provider.
This form must be returned to Lincoln
Financial Group.
Print out and review the Pregnancy Checklist.
Bring it with you when you discuss your leave
with your manager.
See “All parents” for next steps.
To request Parental Leave only:
Contact Lincoln Financial Group 30 days prior
to the child’s due date or expected placement
date (if possible) to open a Parental Leave (and
family and medical leave, if applicable). Note
that Parental Leave and family and medical
leave for bonding must be taken within 12
months of the date of birth or placement for
adoption.
See “All parents” for next steps.
All parents:
If you haven’t already, schedule a meeting with
your manager to discuss plans for your leave
and return to work, including:
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How your work will be handled in your
absence.
How to manage your mail, email and
voicemail.
Return-to-work date.
A schedule for any intermittent leave you
plan to take.
Flexible work arrangements, if desired and
available in your business unit.
Provide any requested documentation to Lincoln
Financial Group.
If taking any intermittent leave, submit the
schedule you worked out with your manager.
Other parents: Remember that when taking
continuous or intermittent family and medical leave,
you must use available Parental Leave and accrued,
unused vacation time before taking time without
pay.
Contacts:
HR Employee Services
Phone: Internal: Ext. 46825; External: 1-
800-767-1000, ext. 46825
Email: [email protected]
Lincoln Financial Group
Web: www.MyLincolnPortal.com
(Company Code: MassMutual)
Phone: 1-800-213-8195
Fax: 1-800-694-6312
Breastfeeding support
If you plan to breastfeed, before your baby arrives,
learn about resources to help you succeed at
breastfeeding.
Mothers’ Rooms, located on most
MassMutual campuses, offer privacy and
refrigeration for expressing breast milk.
Mothers’ Rooms in the Springfield main
building and in Enfield are equipped with
breast pumps; you must provide your own
compatible tubing and breast-shields
(Medela 67116).
If you’re enrolled in a MassMutual medical
option:
Purchase of non-hospital-grade breast
pump (or rental of breast pump up to
purchase price), tubing, adapters, breast
shields, polycarbonate bottles, and
certain other supplies are covered. Pads
and freezer bags aren’t covered.
To ensure in-network coverage: Get a
prescription for a breast pump, and
make initial order through CareCentrix
at 1-877-466-0164.
Breastfeeding support and counseling
from a licensed practitioner are also
covered.
Learn about the lactation support services at
hospitals and health centers near you.
Most hospitals provide lactation
counseling during your stay.
Many hospitals offer free, drop-in
breastfeeding clinics with lactation
counselors.
Page 9 of 12
Many hospitals offer breast pump
rentals.
One week before
The excitement is building! Remember to do these
three things:
Verify your accrued, unused vacation time if
you’ll be using any for your leave.
Remind your manager to email HR@
MassMutual.com on your first day out of
work to let them know your last day worked.
Set up your out-of-office email and
voicemail messages.
When Your Child Arrives
If you’re taking Maternity Leave:
Notify Lincoln Financial Group within three
days of your baby’s birth by calling 1-888-440-
6118. (A family member or friend may do this
for you.)
All parents:
The birth or placement for adoption of a child is
a mid-year qualifying event that allows you to
add or change your MassMutual health and
welfare benefit options. You must do this
within 60 days of birth or placement. If you
do not take action by the 60-day deadline,
your new child will not have medical
coverage through MassMutual, even if you
already have family coverage.
Some of the options that you may consider
adding or changing at this time may include
medical and life insurance coverage and/or a
dependent care flexible spending account
(DCFSA). You may also want to add your child
as a beneficiary to your plans.
Log on to Workday to add your new child to your
benefits and make any desired changes to your
benefit plans. You will need to upload proof of birth
or legal placement for adoption for your benefit
changes to be complete. Changes must be consistent
with and on account of your mid-year qualifying
event.
Page 10 of 12
Contact HR Employee Services at
[email protected] or 1-800-767-1000, ext.
46825 if you need assistance.
Once enrolled, your child’s coverage will be
retroactive to the date of their birth or
placement.
If you don’t add your child to your coverage
within 60 days, you’ll have to wait until the next
annual benefits enrollment to make changes that
will be effective the following January 1;
retroactive coverage will not apply.
Returning to Work
Day one: Remind your manager to send an
email to [email protected] with your name
in the subject line and your return-to-work date
in the message. (Alternatively, you may send
this email on behalf of your manager, copying
them in.)
Options to know about
Whether this is your first child or an addition to
a house full of kids, you’ve got a brand new
person to take care of, which means more
demands on your time, energy, finances, and
other resources. Many of the resources
mentioned earlier in this booklet can also help
you once your child arrives, such as Ayco
Financial Counseling for financial issues; the
Cigna Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for
work/life resources and counseling; and more.
The back page of this guide lists them all for
easy reference.
Highlighted below are some options that can
help you in your parental juggling act.
Flexible work arrangements: In some business
units, employees may request flexible work
arrangements, which are agreed-upon work
hours (or work locations) that differ from the
standard five-day-week/eight-hour-day.
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Managers and employees can enter into flexible
work arrangements based on job responsibilities
and business needs. These arrangements can
include compressed work weeks, part-time work
weeks, extended flextime hours, telecommuting
and job-sharing.
Massachusetts Small Necessities Leave Act: The
Small Necessities Leave Act allows employees
to take up to 24 hours of unpaid leave in a 12-
month period to attend certain family activities.
This time is in addition to time allowed under
the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.
While a Massachusetts state law, the company
extends its provisions to all employees in all
states.
Occasional Illness: You are eligible for 40
hours of paid occasional illness time each year.
You may take occasional illness time to care for
your sick child or for their diagnosis, treatment,
or well-child visits, as well as to attend to your
own or your spouse or domestic partner’s
sickness or medical care. If you need to provide
care and necessary attention for a loved one’s
serious health condition, please see Caregiver
Leave in myHR wherein eligible employees
may take up to two weeks of continuous or
intermittent paid leave.
Quick links
Use the links below to get more information about the resources mentioned in this
booklet. Access this booklet online any time at
https://benecontent.massmutual.com/FORMS/NewParentGuide.pdf.
Adoption Assistance Program
Child Care Subsidy Program
Benefit Contacts
Family and Medical Leave
Flexible Work Arrangements
Having a Baby
Health Care Handbook
KinderCare® Child Care Discount
Lincoln Financial Group Maternity Leave
RequestForm
Maternity Leave
Mothers Rooms
Parental Leave
Parental Leave FAQ
Personal Leave
Pregnancy Checklist
Short-Term Disability
Small Necessities Leave Act
Contacts
See a list of employee benefit contacts.