2026 Open Enrollment

The enhancements we’ve made to your benefits can be summarized in four words.

• Simplified: We removed the complexity, making your benefits easier to understand.
• Competitive: The enhancements make your benefits competitive with our industry and peer groups.
• Flexible: Newly added programs offer more choices to meet your specific needs.
• Convenient: New resources provide easier access to program information and support decision making.

You’ll see the Benefits. Simplified. logo on all benefits materials going forward. This logo is a reflection of our commitment — and a reminder to you — that we’re making benefits easier to understand and use.

Our new benefits website might be the most obvious change — and one that affects everyone!

This fresh, easy-to-use site is the perfect place to learn all about your new benefits, and it’s not just for you. We recognize that family members often help make benefits decisions, so we wanted to give you a place where they could go too. 

You can use a smartphone, tablet or computer to access our new website 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from wherever you or your family members are.

Each benefit has its own webpage. Explore the website now to learn more about your 2026 benefit options, and return frequently throughout the year or anytime you have a question about your benefits.

We’ve simplified our list of six medical plans to three UnitedHealthcare (UHC) medical plans:

• Plan One: PPO Plan
• Plan Two: PPO Plan
• Plan Three: High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with Health Savings Account (HSA)

These plans offer clearer costs and easy-to-understand coverage. Note that there is no one best option. Each plan is designed differently, so you can choose the plan that best meets your needs. See all the details of the new medical plans.

In addition to these UHC medical plans, the local medical plans will continued to be offered. For more details, review the Summary of Benefits and Coverage.

• Kaiser California
• Kaiser Washington
• Kaiser northwest states
• BCBS of Alabama
• SIMNSA 

To protect you against unexpected health care costs, you can enroll yourself and your family in new supplemental health care coverage through MetLife, which includes protection for critical illnesses, accidents, and hospital stays.

Here is an overview of the supplemental health care coverage available to you:

• Critical illness insurance helps you pay for care when you can no longer care for yourself. It provides a cash benefit upon diagnosis of a covered critical illness or condition. There are two different plans to choose from: a $10,000 benefit plan or a $20,000 benefit plan.
• Accident insurance helps cover expenses when injuries happen, so you can focus on recovering instead of worrying about the costs from your injury. The plan pays a cash benefit directly to you on a per-accident basis, whether it occurs on or off the job. There are two plans to choose from — the low plan and the high plan — and benefits are cumulative, meaning you can receive multiple cash payments for one accident.
• If you or your covered dependent is admitted to the hospital due to a covered event (including maternity), hospital indemnity insurance pays you a cash benefit to help you cover out-of-pocket expenses. There are two plans to choose from —the low plan and the high plan. The benefits are cumulative, meaning you can receive multiple cash payments for one incident.

Your company-provided short-term disability coverage is increasing from 50% of your base pay to 60% of your base pay. Other enhancements include:

• Receiving short-term disability payments directly through Republic Services payroll allows for a simpler, faster process, so you can focus on getting better.
• Having one leave administrator through Sedgwick.
• Childbirth is considered a covered event with a 6-week benefit under the plan.

Note: Since Republic Services has enhanced the disability benefit to 60%, the employee buy-up option is no longer needed and has been removed.

Beginning January 1, 2026, all employees are eligible for six weeks of paid parental leave when taken during the first six months after a birth, an adoption or a foster care placement.

Birthing mothers can take both paid parental leave and short-term disability leave at the same time, extending their paid leave up to 12 weeks.

It’s now easier to choose life insurance. We have a new plan administrator, New York Life, and we’ve made the process simpler so you can enroll with confidence. 

During Open Enrollment, your current buy-up coverage will be grandfathered at its current amount. However, you can buy up to the next multiple of salary without any required evidence of insurability (EOI). This means if your base pay is $75,000 and your current life insurance election is $250,000, your carryover election will show as $250,000. You can buy up to 4x your salary of $300,000 without providing EOI.

We also increased the amount of guaranteed coverage for spouse life insurance to $50,000. Any election above this amount will require EOI. 

We’ve added pet insurance through MetLife so your furry and feathered family members can be covered too.

Pet insurance helps cover your pet’s health care expenses, including annual vaccinations, preventive care, injuries and prescriptions. It generally works by reimbursing you for certain veterinary care after you’ve taken your pet to see a vet and submitted a claim.

MetLife offers pet insurance that provides coverage for wellness visits, illnesses and accidents/surgeries. You have the option to create your own plan by choosing your deductible, coinsurance and out-of-pocket maximum. Your plan cost and the coverage level you receive will depend on the design you select and the age of your pet(s).

• Health Savings Account: You can contribute up to $4,400 if you have employee-only coverage and up to $8,750 if you cover your family. Republic Services will contribute too. Any money in your HSA will roll over to the following year.
• Health Care Flexible Spending Account: You can contribute up to $3,300. You can carry over up to $660 to the following year. Any additional money left in your account at the end of the year will be forfeited.
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account: If you’re single or married and file a joint tax return, you can contribute up to $7,500 per household. If you’re married and file separate tax returns, you can each contribute up to $3,750. 

We made improvements to your benefits that provide more simplicity and flexibility and align with our industry and peer groups. 

If you don’t enroll during Open Enrollment, your current benefit choices will not carry over into 2026. This means if you currently have medical coverage with UHC and do not reenroll, you will not have medical coverage in 2026. You must reenroll in your flexible spending accounts (FSAs) too. These accounts do not roll over from year to year.

Remember: You won’t be able to make changes until the next Open Enrollment period. The only exception is if you experience a qualifying life event, like marriage, divorce, or the birth or adoption of a child.
 

No. You’ll still use the Benefits Service Center website to enroll in your benefits. You’ll need your user name and password to log in to enroll.

The benefits website can be used by you, your spouse, and your family to find information about your Republic Services benefits throughout the year at any time, no matter where you are. For example, it looks great on your smartphone. Try it!

You’ll see the Benefits. Simplified. logo on all benefits materials going forward. This logo is a reflection of our commitment — and a reminder to you — that we’re making benefits easier to understand and use.