An open enrollment reminder email works in the final week when it says one thing: the date and time enrollment closes, what happens if the employee does nothing, and the one link or phone number that gets them finished. Most last-week reminders repeat the kickoff email with a louder subject line. The people who still have not enrolled already ignored that email once. They need a shorter, sharper message, and many of them need it somewhere other than their work inbox.
This article walks through how to write the reminder sequence for the last seven days of open enrollment, what to put in each message, and how to reach the employees email will never touch. It is written for HR teams, and for brokers who send reminders on a client's behalf.
Know who you are actually reminding
By the final week, the audience has changed. The careful planners are done. The people left fall into a few groups, and each needs a slightly different reminder.
- The busy but willing. They intend to enroll and keep putting it off. A clear deadline and a direct link are usually enough.
- The people who think nothing applies to them. In a passive enrollment year, many assume their coverage rolls over unchanged. Tell them plainly whether that is true, and what they would miss, such as a dependent who needs to be re-added or an election that does not carry over. Our article on active versus passive enrollment covers how to explain that difference.
- The unreachable. Frontline, shift, and field employees who rarely check company email, if they have one. A reminder email cannot help them at all.
- The confused. They opened the guide, got lost, and stopped. With 86% of employees saying they are confused by their benefits, this group is larger than most teams expect. They need a person or a phone number, not another PDF.
If your enrollment system can tell you who has not started, who started and did not submit, and who finished, use that. Sending "You still need to enroll" to someone who finished yesterday erodes trust in every message after it.
What every final-week reminder email should say
Keep each reminder short enough to read on a phone without scrolling much. A good open enrollment reminder email has five parts, in this order.
- A subject line with the date. "Benefits enrollment closes Friday at 5 p.m." beats "Don't miss out!" every time. Put the day and the time zone if you have people in more than one.
- The consequence of doing nothing. One sentence. "If you do not enroll, you will keep your current medical plan but your spouse will not be covered next year unless you add them." Write the version that is true for your plan.
- The one action. A single button or link to the place they enroll. Not a link to the benefits guide, the vendor page, and the FAQ.
- Help that answers. A phone number or a named contact, with the hours someone will pick up this week.
- How to confirm it worked. Tell them what they should see after they submit, so they know they are finished. This sets up the post-enrollment confirmation message you send next.
Leave out the full list of plan changes, the wellness vendor spotlight, and the welcome letter from leadership. Those belonged in the kickoff. In the final week, every extra paragraph is a reason to close the email and decide later.
A simple seven-day reminder schedule
You do not need a reminder every day. You need a few well-timed messages, each a little more direct than the last, and each sent through the channel the person actually uses.
- Seven days out: an email to everyone who has not submitted, with the deadline, the consequence, and the link. Send a text with the same link to employees who have opted in.
- Four days out: a manager card. Ask supervisors to mention the deadline at a pre-shift huddle and post the QR code where their crew takes breaks.
- Two days out: a second email, shorter than the first, to people who still have not started or who started and did not submit. Name which situation they are in.
- Deadline morning: a final text and a one-line email. "Enrollment closes today at 5 p.m. Here is the link. Questions? Call this number until 6."
Adjust the timing to your calendar, and put the dates into your broader open enrollment timeline so the reminders do not collide with payroll or holiday messages.
Reach the employees email will not
An email-only reminder plan quietly assumes everyone reads work email. Many do not. Warehouse crews, drivers, nurses, retail and restaurant teams, and anyone on leave can go the whole enrollment window without seeing a single message. We have written about why email-only open enrollment leaves people behind, and the final week is where that gap shows up in the numbers.
Pair each email with at least one channel that reaches people off the corporate network: a text with a short link, a mailer to the home, a printed card at the time clock, or a page the household can open without a login. Text messages work especially well for deadline reminders because they are short and get seen quickly. Save them for the moments that matter so people do not tune them out.
Watch the numbers during the week, not just after it. If one site or shift is far behind on day four, send the manager a direct note that day. The point of a reminder sequence is to change who finishes before the deadline, not to explain afterward why they did not.
For brokers sending reminders for clients
Brokers often draft or send reminders under the employer's name. The same rules apply, with two additions. First, agree with the HR contact on who owns the help line, so the phone number in the reminder actually answers. Second, keep a simple record of what went out, when, and through which channels, and how completion moved afterward. That record is useful at renewal, when a client asks what you did beyond the quote. A white-label program like the one on our brokers page runs those reminders under your brand and keeps the reporting for you.
Key takeaways
- Final-week reminders should state the deadline, the consequence of doing nothing, one link, and a phone number that answers.
- Target people by status: not started, started but not submitted, and finished.
- Send a few well-timed messages that get shorter and more direct as the deadline nears.
- Pair every email with text, manager cards, or home mail so frontline and shift employees are reached.
- Track completion by site and shift during the week so you can act before the deadline.
Frequently asked questions
How many open enrollment reminder emails should we send?
In the final week, two or three emails is usually enough, paired with a text and a manager reminder. More than that tends to teach people to ignore the subject line. Send each one only to people who have not finished.
What is a good subject line for an open enrollment reminder?
Put the deadline in it. "Benefits enrollment closes Friday at 5 p.m." is clear, specific, and easy to act on. Avoid vague urgency like "Last chance!" without a date.
Should we remind employees in a passive enrollment year?
Yes. Tell them plainly what rolls over and what does not, and name anything that requires action, such as re-adding a dependent. People who assume nothing applies to them are often the ones who miss a change.
How do we reach employees without a company email?
Use text messages with a short link, a QR code at the time clock or break room, a card managers can use at a huddle, and mail to the home. Point every channel to the same page and the same phone number.
Score your enrollment reminders with the Employer Benefits Communication Scorecard, or book a demo to see LinQed Online send them by text, email, and print.
A co-founder of Touchpoints with two decades of experience in employee benefits communication. He partners hands-on with benefits firms and employers nationwide to build strategies that deliver real outcomes.
