Domestic Partner
You are generally eligible to enroll your Domestic Partner in a Barnes designated health and welfare benefit plan if you are eligible to participate in such plan and you are a salaried or non-union hourly employee of Barnes.
The Company defines a domestic partner as a relationship between two people (same- or opposite-sex) who meet all of the following criteria:
- Each of you is of legal age (at least 18 years of age or older), mentally competent to enter into contracts and a legal U.S. resident.
- You have joint responsibility for each other’s welfare and share living/household/financial obligations.
- You have resided in the same household with each other for more than 12 months and are continuing to reside in the same household together.
- You have had an intimate, committed relationship for more than 12 months, intend to do so indefinitely and have no such relationship with any other person.
- You are not related by blood to your partner to a degree of kinship that would prevent a marriage between you from being recognized under the law of the state in which you reside.
- Neither of you is married to any third party.
You may enroll your Domestic Partner for eligible benefits by completing a plan enrollment application and submitting the Affidavit of Domestic Partnership along with the two required items of proof, as explained in the Barnes Domestic Partners Benefits Procedures, during:
- your initial eligibility period;
- the annual open enrollment; or
- within 31 days after a family status change.
If you fail to enroll your Domestic Partner within these time frames, you must generally wait until the next open enrollment period for the benefit plan to add your Domestic Partner.
If you are no longer in a domestic partner relationship, you must complete a
Notice of Dissolution of Domestic Partnership within 31 days after the domestic partnership ends and remove any coverage under the Barnes Plan for your former domestic partner.
Enrolling a Domestic Partner or your Domestic Partner's child(ren) can affect your taxable income. Unless your Domestic Partner or his/her child(ren) are considered to be tax dependents under IRS rules, the value of any Barnes benefit contributions for benefits coverage for such persons will be treated as "imputed income" (meaning the value will be shown on your pay stub as taxable income even though you don't receive actual dollars in your paycheck). Imputed income is subject to federal and state income taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes, and any other required payroll tax. This means you'll pay the applicable federal, FICA, state, local and any other applicable payroll taxes on the imputed amount (which will be shown on your pay stubs) throughout the year and included on your W-2 Form at the end of each year.
Also, any employee share of required contributions or premiums for the benefit coverage must generally be made on an after-tax basis. So the cost of the employee share of the premium to add your Domestic Partner (and his/her child[ren]) to a covered benefit program will be deducted from your pay on an after-tax basis (unless your Domestic Partner is considered a tax dependent by the IRS).
Tax implications for domestic partner coverage can be complex. We encourage you to consult with your tax advisor to understand the implications before applying for domestic partner benefits.
