Enrolling for Coverage

What To Know

Open Enrollment runs November 2–18, 2026. Take time to review what’s changing and make any updates for 2027.

If you want to maintain similar coverage in 2027, no action is needed for most benefits. However, you must reenroll in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) if you want to participate in 2027.

Unless you experience a qualified change in status, like marriage, divorce, or the birth/adoption of a child, the next time you can make benefits changes will be Open Enrollment in fall 2027 for benefits effective January 1, 2028.

Thriving forward starts with making informed choices today.

What’s New for 2027

We’re excited about what’s next for Exelixis and grateful for the people whose talent, dedication, and passion make our mission possible.

In 2027 you’ll continue to have access to comprehensive benefits, with select programs transitioning to new partners with expanded resources. All the information is below, but we also created detailed Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Employee Contributions

(See Your Contribution Costs below)

• No increases in employee contributions for medical, dental, or vision coverage

Medical and Prescription Drug Plans

• Cigna will replace Blue Shield as the administrator for the HDHP with HSA and EPO medical plans. Cigna offers a broad national provider network that includes 98% of Blue Shield providers, along with a large pharmacy network that includes Amazon Pharmacy.
  • If you’re enrolled in the Blue Shield HDHP with HSA or EPO plan, you’ll automatically be mapped to a comparable Cigna plan with the same covered dependents if you take no action.
  • If you’re enrolled in the HDHP with HSA, review and choose your 2027 HSA contribution amount.
  • Call Cigna One Guide at 1-888-806-5042 for help comparing plans, checking provider participation, and understanding prescription drug coverage.
• HDHP deductibles will increase to meet IRS requirements.
• Prescription drug coverage will move to Cigna.
• Kaiser Permanente coverage will continue with no changes.
• Questions about Cigna? Join the Cigna Medical, Dental, and HSA Bank Education Session on Wednesday, November 4. Attend in person 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m. PT in 1951-1 Training Rooms B and C or virtually on Zoom. (Zoom details are available on Exelixis’ intranet.)

Health Savings Account (HSA)

• HSA Bank will replace HealthEquity as the HSA administrator effective January 1, 2027. You’ll receive additional information about transferring your existing HealthEquity balance and accessing your funds during the transition.
  • Exelixis will continue to contribute $1,000 for employee-only coverage and $2,000 for employee-plus-dependent coverage. You’ll receive the full Exelixis contribution in your first paycheck in 2027.
  • The total 2027 HSA contribution limit, including your contributions and contributions from Exelixis, is increasing to $4,500 for employee-only coverage and $9,000 for employee-plus-spouse, -child(ren) or -family coverage. The catch-up contribution for employees age 55+ remains $1,000 (see chart below).
  • Review your contribution amount to make sure it reflects the new 2027 limits and the contribution Exelixis makes on your behalf.

2027 HSA Contribution Maximums

Dental and Vision

• Cigna Dental will replace Guardian as the administrator for the Core and Buy-Up plans. Cigna offers an extensive nationwide dental-provider network.
  • Your current Guardian Core or Buy-Up election will map to the corresponding Cigna Dental plan with the same covered dependents.
• VSP will continue to administer vision benefits with no changes to plan options.

401(k) Retirement Savings Plan

• Exelixis will match 100% of the first $12,000 you contribute to the 401(k), an increase from $11,000 today.
• The pretax contribution maximum is increasing to $24,500.
• If your prior-year wages from Exelixis exceed the applicable IRS threshold, any catch-up contributions must be made as Roth contributions. The threshold will be added once confirmed by the IRS.
• Visit Fidelity Netbenefits to review your contribution rate and beneficiary information.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

• FSA annual contribution limits are projected at $3,500 for Health Care and $7,500 for Dependent Care.
• Remember, to participate in an FSA in 2027, you must reenroll during Open Enrollment.
• If you’re enrolled in the HDHP with HSA, you cannot enroll in the Health Care FSA, but you can enroll in the Limited Purpose FSA for dental and vision and post-deductible medical expenses.
• Commuter monthly contribution limits are expected to increase to $350 for both transit and parking accounts. We’ll share more information about upcoming administrative changes and any actions you may need to take soon.

Life, Disability, and Voluntary Benefits

• Sun Life will replace Prudential as the carrier for life, disability, and voluntary benefits. Your current elections and beneficiaries will transfer without interruption, so no action is required to continue your existing coverage.
• You’ll also have a new option for 2027, Voluntary Hospital Indemnity Insurance. Available through Sun Life, this coverage pays a fixed cash benefit if you’re admitted to a hospital or another covered facility.
• During Open Enrollment, Sun Life will offer a one-time guaranteed-issue Voluntary Life Insurance opportunity, allowing you to elect certain coverage without providing evidence of insurability.
• Questions about Sun Life? Join the Sun Life Education Session on Tuesday, November 3, 12–12:45 p.m. PT on Zoom. (Zoom details are available on Exelixis’ intranet.)
• Exelixis’ California Voluntary Disability Insurance (VDI) will be effective January 1. You’ll be enrolled automatically unless you declined coverage or did not make an election during the May enrollment period, or you previously opted-out by contacting the Benefits team.

Backup Care and Family Support

• Wellthy, our current caregiving concierge provider, will replace Bright Horizons for backup care and family-support benefits including caregiving navigation, college coaching, tutoring, preferred child care providers, and camp placement assistance.
• You’ll continue to receive 10 backup care days per calendar year. New parents will receive 10 additional backup care days during their child’s first 12 months.
• Questions about Wellthy? Join the Wellthy Education Session on Monday, November 9. Attend in person 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT in 1951-1 Training Room A or virtually on Zoom. (Zoom details are available on Exelixis’ intranet.)

Emotional and Physical Well-Being

• Modern Health and ComPsych Guidance Resources will continue. Modern Health will introduce a new integration with Cigna. More information will be shared as soon as it’s available.
• Like Kaiser, Cigna will offer physical well-being programs, replacing Wellable. Offerings include wellness tools, discounts, health-assessment resources, and condition-specific support.
• The Wellness Subsidy Program will continue at $75 per month through Forma with no changes to eligible items.
• No changes are planned for Adoption and Surrogacy benefits, Forma, MetLife Legal, Milk Stork, Navia, NorthStar, Pet Insurance, or Progyny.

What You Need To Do

Open Enrollment

Open Enrollment is your chance to review your Exelixis benefits, make updates, and choose the coverage that will help you thrive forward.

Here are the steps to take between November 2 and November 18:

1. Explore what’s changing for 2027, even if you want to keep the same coverage.
2. Confirm that your providers and prescriptions will be covered with no changes to eligible items.
3. Review your beneficiaries and contribution amounts.
4. Attend an Open Enrollment education session, Office Hours, or Health Fair (detailed below).
5. Log in to Workday by November 18 if you want to make changes or contribute to an FSA.
6. Save or print your confirmation statement.

Open Enrollment Reminders

• If you do not make changes, most of your current elections will continue automatically. FSA elections will not continue, so you must reenroll if you want to contribute to an FSA in 2027. If you have an FSA right now, you WILL NOT be automatically reenrolled for 2027.
• If you enroll in the HDHP with HSA, Exelixis contributes to your HSA every calendar year. Even better, you can access the entire annual contribution in January!
• Outside of Open Enrollment, you can make benefit changes only if you experience a qualified change in status, like marriage, divorce, or the birth or adoption of a child.
• All changes you make during Open Enrollment will take effect January 1, 2027.

Open Enrollment Events

During Wellness Weeks, November 2–18, we’re offering fun activities to support your overall wellness!

Remember to check out Exelixis’ intranet regularly to find out about all the great events happening at the company.

Open Enrollment Education Sessions

Join live in Alameda or virtually via Zoom. Register for virtual sessions using the Zoom links on Exelixis’ intranet.

Intro to Open Enrollment: High Level

• Session will cover benefits changes for 2027, actions you need to take, and upcoming events.
• Attend in person Monday, November 2, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT, 1951-1-Training Room A or virtually on Zoom.
• Office Hours 12–1 p.m. PT

Intro to Sun Life Insurance

• Virtual session will cover Sun Life and disability insurance and voluntary benefits
• Attend Tuesday, November 3, 12–12:45 p.m. PT on Zoom

Intro to Cigna medical, Dental, and HSA Bank

• Session will cover Cigna medical, dental, and HSA Bank
• Attend in person Wednesday, November 4, 10:30 a.m.–12 p.m. PT, 1951-1-Training Rooms B and C or virtually on Zoom
• Office Hours 12–1 p.m. PT

Intro to Backup Care with Wellthy

• Session will cover Wellthy family support resources.
• Attend in person Monday, November 9, 11:00 a.m.–12 p.m. PT, 1951-1-Training Room A or virtually on Zoom.
• Office Hours 12–1 p.m. PT

Intro to Open Enrollment: High Level

• Session will cover benefits changes for 2027, actions you need to take, and upcoming events.
• Attend in person Wednesday, November 11, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT, 1851-1-Training Room A or virtually on Zoom.
• Office Hours 12–1 p.m. PT

Health Fair

Attend live in Alameda.

• Tuesday, November 10, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. PT, 1951-1-Training Room B and C

Your 2027 Contribution Costs

Here are your per-paycheck contributions for each medical, dental, and vision plan. To help you make your decisions, read about each plan’s features and benefits below. Also, some rates for voluntary plans will be changing. Visit Workday to see new rates for 2027.

(Remember: Cigna will be the new administrator for the HDHP with HSA, EPO, Dental Core, and Dental Buy-Up plans, but there are no changes to the plans’ features and benefits.)

Some 2027 plan summaries are still being finalized and will be available soon.

New Hires

You have 30 days to enroll starting on the date you were hired. Benefits are effective on your hire date with two exceptions: Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and the MetLife Legal coverage, which begin on the first day of the month following your hire date. Once you’ve reviewed the information on this site about your benefits and made your decisions, you can enroll using Workday.

Important things to note about your benefits for 2026 and 2027:

• You have 30 days to enroll in benefits that will be effective through the end of 2026.
• Once your New Hire Benefit Event is completed, the Open Enrollment Benefit Event will appear, and you can make your benefit elections for the 2027 Plan Year. If you make any changes to your New Hire enrollment within the 30 days, it will re-trigger the Open Enrollment Benefit Event, and you can make additional changes for the 2027 Plan Year.

If you don’t enroll within the 30-day period or during the Open Enrollment period, you won’t have another chance to enroll until the next Open Enrollment for 2028. This will be the fall of 2027 for benefits effective January 1, 2028, unless you have a qualified change in status.

Review the HIPAA Privacy Notices.

Eligibility

You and your dependents are eligible for health benefits if you work at least 30 hours per week.

Your eligible dependents include:

• Your legal spouse
• Your qualified domestic partner
• Your children up to age 26, including your natural or adopted children, your stepchildren, and your qualified domestic partner’s children
• Mentally or physically disabled children of any age, as long as they became disabled before age 26

Enrolling Your Domestic Partner

You may enroll your qualified domestic partner in medical, dental, vision, voluntary life, and voluntary Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage.

Your partner may qualify as a domestic partner if:

• Neither you nor your partner is married or legally separated from any other person.
• You and your partner are each other’s sole domestic partner and intend to remain so indefinitely.

Domestic partners can qualify for benefits coverage in one of two ways:

• Register your domestic partnership as required by your state. You must also complete the Affirmation of the Existence of Registered Domestic Partnership section of the Affidavit of Domestic Partnership form.
• Apply as non-registered partners. This is for individuals who choose not to register or who are not eligible to register their domestic partnership with their state. You must submit an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership form to the Human Resources department during enrollment.

Important: Tax treatment of domestic partner coverage depends on whether your domestic partner qualifies as your tax dependent under IRS rules. If your domestic partner is not a tax-dependent, employer-paid coverage may be subject to imputed income, and premiums may be deducted on an after-tax basis. Please review the Domestic Partner Policy for details. You can read more about the Exelixis Domestic Partner Policy and find forms.

Making Changes During the Year

Due to IRS regulations, once you’ve made your elections for the plan year, you cannot change your benefits until the next Open Enrollment period. The only exception is if you have a qualified change in status. Your status change will determine the benefit election changes you can make, when those changes take effect, and the deadline for applying to make the changes.

Examples of qualified status changes include:

• Marriage, legal separation, or divorce
• Birth or adoption of a child
• Change in employment status for you or your spouse that results in gaining or losing coverage
• Change in a dependent’s benefits eligibility status (e.g., a dependent child exceeds the maximum age for coverage)
• Loss of a dependent (death)

If you have a qualified status change and wish to change your benefits, you must request the change by logging in to your Workday account or by contacting the Benefits Team within 30 days of the life-event change. If you miss the 30-day window, you may not change your benefits until the next Open Enrollment.

Note: If you experience a qualified life event between now and the end of 2026, the 2027 Open Enrollment Benefit Event will re-trigger after the Qualified Life Event Benefit Event is finalized.

Enroll now using Workday.

Questions

Submit your benefits-related questions by logging a ticket through the Exelixis ticketing system.

Resources

See Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for 2027

See benefit plan summaries for previous years

See additional resources

View recordings of OE meetings