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Language Foundation

plan year

A plan year is the fixed 12-month period that an insurance or employee benefit plan uses for administration and within which the plan’s coverage terms, costs, and annual limits apply.

In plain English

This is the set 12-month span a plan runs on for its yearly administration. During that period, the plan's coverage rules, what it costs, and any yearly limits are the ones that apply.

In context

Here, "plan year" names the plan’s fixed 12-month administrative period, within which its coverage terms, costs, and annual limits apply.

Situation
Enrolling in policies and reading coverage, member, beneficiary, and effective-date labels
What it communicates
names the administrative year used in enrollment materials

Meaning limits

The term itself does not state the specific start and end dates of that 12-month period.

Examples

“Her annual visit limit starts over each July with the new plan year, not on 1 January.”

Core meaning

“Claims for the December treatment were processed under the previous plan year.”

In context

  • calendar year Contrast

    A calendar year runs from January 1 to December 31, but a plan year is a fixed 12-month cycle that may start on a different date.