Author: demeuses

If you have a child in college that you cover as a dependent on your State Group Health Insurance plan, prepare for the possibility that your child needs care while they are away. Here are some tips about how services will be covered if/when they need to seek care.

Regardless of whether they attend school within or outside of your health plans service area, they should seek care for most services only from in-network providers.

However, if there is an emergency or urgent care situation, they can seek care outside of your health plans service area and the services will be covered at the in-network level. After an emergency or urgent care visit, in most cases, they must return to your health plans service area for follow-up care.

For additional information, including about mental health services, contact your health insurance carrier, or review the College Students and Health Benefits article.

 

Source: Universities of Wisconsin Office of Human Resources

Fidelity participant fees in the Universities of Wisconsin 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Program (SRP) have been reduced effective July 1, 2024.

Using benchmarking information, the UW 403(b) SRP successfully negotiated a reduction in Fidelity’s recordkeeping fees by $4.00 annually per tier. The change will be reflected on September 30, 2024, statements.

Both TIAA and Fidelity have guaranteed their fees through December 31, 2026. The new Fidelity fees are detailed below.

Account Balance (as of the last day of the previous quarter)	Quarterly	Annual
< $5,000	$1.00	$4.00
$5,000 to $50,000	$6.00	$24.00
$50,000.01 to $100,000	$13.50	$54.00
$100,000.01 to $200,000	$23.50	$94.00
>$200,000	$36.00	$144.00

 

How to Change your Contribution Amount
Follow the instructions on the View and Update Benefit Savings tip sheet to adjust your contributions. Remember to monitor your contributions on your earnings statements.

Not Contributing to the UW 403(b) SRP yet?
Get started today! You can make either pre-tax or Roth (after-tax) contributions or a combination of both. Go to the UW 403(b) SRP web page to find out how to enroll. Watch the on-demand webinar SRP: Investing in Your Financial Future: Intro to the 403(b) Program to learn more about the program.

 

Source: Universities of Wisconsin Office of Trust Funds

Faculty, Academic Staff and Limited Appointees with a 12-month appointment have an annual opportunity to bank unused vacation after completing ten fiscal years (July 1 through June 30) of continuous service. The deadline to bank unused vacation allocated in fiscal year 2023-2024 is September 30, 2024.

Vacation and carryover balance hours that are eligible to be banked may be viewed beginning July 1. The Banked Leave Conversion Tipsheet includes instructions for viewing your leave balances and banking unused vacation.

How Much Vacation Can You Bank?

Years of Continuous Service	Hours That Can be Banked *
First 10 Years	0
10+ to 25 Years	40
25 Years and Over	80

* The amount of vacation that can be banked is prorated for part-time employees.

There is no limit to the total number of hours (balance) that can be retained in your Banked Leave account. Once vacation is banked the hours do not expire.

When Can Banked Leave Be Used?

With your supervisor’s approval, banked leave hours may be used whenever you are allowed to use paid leave.

What If You Terminate Employment?

Unused banked leave hours will be paid to you at your wage rate at termination.

Policies:

• UW System Administrative Policy 1210 (formerly BN1) Vacation
• UW-Madison Vacation Policy (UW-5052)

If you have questions after reviewing the available information, reach out to your Payroll/Leave Contact.

Source: Universities of Wisconsin Office of Human Resources

If you are a nine-month Faculty, academic staff, limited appointee, student assistant, or employee-in-training who had summer prepay insurance premiums deducted from your spring, 2024 paychecks, and you have had an employment or family status change, reach out to your benefits contact for information on how your insurance benefits and deductions may be affected.

What are Summer Prepay Deductions?

Summer prepay insurance premiums are deducted from spring paychecks to cover the cost of continuing insurance coverage through the summer months (i.e., contract break) and are in addition to regular biweekly insurance premium deductions.

What if Your Employment/Family Status Changes Over the Summer?

Employment Status: If your summer or fall 2024 employment status changes after summer prepays were deducted, you may receive deduction refunds. If you will be terminating employment and will not return in fall 2024, reach out to your benefits contact to determine your employment termination date and insurance coverage end dates.

Family Status: If you experience a family status change such as marriage, birth of a child, or divorce, reach out to your benefits contact for information on how your insurance benefits may be affected.

Note: Nine-month employees’ insurance premium deductions will resume on the September 5, 2024, paycheck.

Review the Universities of Wisconsin Employee Benefits Summer Prepay Insurance Premiums web page for information on:

• Employee eligibility for summer prepay deductions
• Which insurance plans have summer prepay deductions
• How employment or family status changes may affect deductions

Questions
If you have questions after reviewing the web page, reach out to your benefits contact.

Source: Universities of Wisconsin Office of Human Resources