Financial and Legal Options
LegalShield Special Enrollment
As mentioned during the Town Hall with Dr. Leshin, the Legal Services and Identity Theft Protection plans offered through LegalShield are now available for enrollment without requiring a qualified life event. This special enrollment period will be offered from January 23, 2025, through November 30, 2025. Coverage elected during this period will remain active through December 31, 2025.
You can enroll directly at: shieldbenefits.com/cit.
LegalShield offers unlimited legal consultation and advice on personal legal matters, for one flat monthly premium. For more information on the services covered, please refer to the Legal Services flyer here.
To continue this benefit beyond the current plan year, you will need to enroll again during the 2025 Open Enrollment period.
Enrollment Details
- To enroll in Legal Services during this special enrollment period, visit shieldbenefits.com/cit. After enrolling, you will receive a letter in the mail with your membership number within 5-7 business days.
- If you need immediate assistance, please call LegalShield’s Member Services department at (888) 807-0407, 24 hours after enrollment. They can provide your membership number and assist with accessing your LegalShield and/or IDShield accounts.
- Coverage will take effect the next business day after your payment is received.
- Automatic payment is available and strongly recommended to prevent any lapse in coverage. You can setup recurring monthly payments using a credit card, which will be billed automatically until the membership is cancelled.
- Please note that enrollments will be processed directly through LegalShield and will not be recorded in Workday.
- Premium payments for the plan will be made directly to LegalShield and will not be deducted from payroll.
For more details, visit shieldbenefits.com/cit or call (888) 807-0407. For questions on the special enrollment or the Legal Services plan, contact AskHR at (818) 354-4447 or submit an AskHR Inquiry.
Personal Financial Options
The Caltech Credit Union
The Caltech Credit Union is offering special short term, low-interest rate loans with no payments due for 60 days for members affected by the fires. In addition, the Credit Union can help members with payment modifications and/or loan extensions if needed.
- Click here for more information about Wildfire Relief Assistance.
- Turn your mobile device into a virtual branch. Visit the app store for your device and search for "Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union".
- Members can call (800) 592-3328, extension 403 for more information. Please note that mandatory evacuations may impact Credit Union availability.
- For JPL employees who are not already Caltech Credit Union members, they may go online to begin the membership process.
TIAA (Retirement Savings)
Employees covered by JPL's retirement plan with TIAA-CREF may be eligible for a hardship withdrawal or loan from their retirement plans. Under the Secure 2.0 Act new options for withdrawals and loans are available for disaster relief in case of federally declared major disasters. Call (800) 842-2252 or Login to your account for more information about options, eligibility and to complete loan request forms.