2025 Identity Theft Protection

Penn State Employee Benefits is excited to share a new benefit offering for Faculty & Staff starting January 1, 2025; Identity Theft Protection benefit through ID Watchdog.

While there is a free benefit through Highmark and Experian for those who participate in the Highmark medical plans, this new benefit from ID Watchdog is a more comprehensive monitoring service that extends to more than just your immediate household family. This benefit extends to you, your spouse, your children (any age, living with you or elsewhere), other family members in your household, your parents and in-laws, as well as grandparents.

Below is an extensive list of the services through this new benefit that help Penn State employees and their families protect their identities, more-so than many other providers. You can also review the services offered through our dedicated ID Watchdog + Penn State page. You will want to review the ID Watchdog Premium information for the applicable details regarding the Penn State group plan offering.

You may enroll or disenroll from this plan each open enrollment period. Outside of open enrollment, you will only be able to change this plan coverage with an approved benefit change due to an IRS qualifying life event, such as marriage, divorce, birth, adoption, or others.

ID Watchdog Plan features:

  • Equifax Child Credit Lock
  • Dark Web Monitoring
  • Equifax Child Credit Monitoring
  • High-Risk Transactions Monitoring
  • Subprime Loan Block within the monitoring lending network
  • Subprime Loan Monitoring
  • Social Accounts Monitoring
  • Public Records Monitoring
  • Registered Sex Offender Reporting
  • USPS Change of Address Monitoring
  • Device Security (including Parental Controls for children)
  • Personalized Identity Resolution
  • Personal VPN
  • Identity Theft Insurance
  • Home Title Fraud
  

Learn more(PDF) about these features.

ID Watchdog was named Best in Class in 2024, as well as a Leader in three different categories, by Javelin Strategy & Research within their 2024 Identity Protection Services (IDPS) Scorecard. In addition to being named Best in Class, they were recognized as a Leader in the categories of (1) Detection, Monitoring and Alerting; (2) Prevention; and (3) Resolution. Recognition across such a diverse set of categories reflects the comprehensive coverage and support that ID Watchdog will provide.

They offer end-to-end protection and resolution services to support employees by monitoring for signs of potential fraud across billions of data points such as activity from credit reporting, the dark web, public records, and many many more.

Participation in this new benefit is fully paid by the employee with two different plan options outlined below. Enrollment in this benefit will require you to make an election within Workday during Benefits Open Enrollment. After open enrollment elections have been finalized and processed by ID Watchdog, you will receive a Welcome Email that provides further instruction on using your new benefit via their website or mobile app.

Identity Theft Protection Premium Contributions

Coverage Monthly Cost
Employee Only $6.75
Family $12.10

Deductions are made post-tax from employee payroll.

Identity Protection After University Employment

You can continue your identity theft protection services with ID Watchdog simply and affordably if you leave University employment. Don’t let employment status change leave you and your family at risk. You already know that identity theft protection is important in today’s digital world. Continue your existing plan at the same low monthly rate and with the same features.

Continue your service in just a few minutes with the following steps:

  1. Call 1-866-513-1518; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

  2. Update your billing information to a credit or debit card

You may cancel at any time; however, MetLife does not provide partial month refunds.