Annual Benefits Enrollment – Virtual Benefit Fair Sessions

Virtual benefit fair sessions with benefit vendors will provide you information and a chance to ask questions of the vendor in a group setting. Click here to see a list of live webinars hosted by benefit vendors during ABE. Webinars are hosted by the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF), the health plan carriers, the supplemental plan carriers and the spending and savings account plan administrator.

Annual Benefits Enrollment – Virtual One-on-One Sessions

Need assistance as you review your current benefits and make changes for 2022?  Have a question or two that you would like to talk through with a benefits specialist?  Register here for a 15-minute appointment.

Can’t make one of the individual session times or have a question that you would like answered now?  Submit your questions directly to payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu and one of our benefits specialists will respond back to you as soon as possible.

Reminder: Extended Vacation Carryover Deadlines Approaching

Due to the disruptive effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on employees schedules and the ability to take planned time off, the UW Admin Policy 1200-Interim 05: Interim: Vacation, Compensatory Time and Personal Holiday Carryover extended Academic Staff and Limited appointees ability to carryover unused vacation and personal holiday hours through June 30, 2021.  UW System has announced UW Admin Policy 1200-Interim 08: Extended Vacation Carryover, extending vacation carryover through October 9, 2021.

As a result, Academic Staff and Limited employees will have until October 9, 2021 to use any remaining fiscal year 2019 and/or 2020 vacation carryover balances.  On October 10th, unused vacation carryover in excess of the normal policy limits (176 hours, prorated for part-time employees), will be lost and carryover will revert to the standard limits set forth in UW Admin Policy  1210: Vacation, Paid Leave Banks, and Vacation Cash Payouts (i.e. vacation may be carried over for one fiscal year).

For University Staff, the current interim policy extends vacation carryover through December 31, 2021.

Employees with questions pertaining to their leave balances can contact Human Resources at payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu or (920) 465-2390 for assistance.

Annual Benefits Enrollment: September 27 – October 22, 2021

The Annual Benefits Enrollment (ABE) period is September 27-October 22. This is your annual opportunity to enroll in or make changes to most of your benefits unless you have a qualifying life event. Changes made during ABE are effective January 1, 2022.

Plan now so you are ready for the enrollment period. Find all of the ABE resources on the ABE web page.

Prepare
• Review your current benefit enrollments in the Benefit Information module in MyUW Portal
• Visit the ABE web page for the 2022 benefit plan changes and ABE resources:
Annual Benefits Enrollment Highlights video for an overview of benefit changes for 2022
• Department of Employee Trust Funds Health Benefits Decision Guide
Virtual Benefit Session schedule

Decide
• Use ALEX, your virtual online benefits counselor. ALEX walks you through your options and suggests benefit plans based on your answers to a series of questions.
• You must enroll in these plans each year to participate:

      • Flexible Spending Account (FSAs): Health Care FSA, Limited Purpose FSA, and Dependent Day Care
      • Health Savings Account (HSA): Required if you enroll in a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP)
      • State Group Health Insurance Opt-Out Incentive

• You may be eligible to enroll in, change, increase, decrease, or cancel coverage for the plans listed below. For some plans you can add or remove dependents. Visit the ABE web page for additional information and premiums for each plan.

      • State Group Health Insurance
      • Uniform, Preventive and Supplemental Dental Insurance
      • Vision Insurance
      • Individual & Family Life Insurance (current enrollees only)
      • Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
      • Accident Insurance
      • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs): Health Care FSA, Limited Purpose FSA, and Dependent Day Care
      • Health Savings Account (HSA)

Act
Beginning September 27, self-enroll on the My UW portal
1. Log into the My UW portal
2. Go to the Benefit Information module
3. Click on the Self Service button

All enrollments and changes must be submitted by 4:30 p.m., Friday, October 22, 2021

Source: UW System Human Resources

2022 Benefit Highlights

The Annual Benefits Enrollment (ABE) period is September 27 – October 22, 2021. This is your annual opportunity to enroll in or make benefit plan changes. Changes made during ABE are effective January 1, 2022. Here are some highlights of the 2022 benefits.

State Group Health Insurance
The health plan designs (health plan and high deductible health plan) and most health plan components (deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance) will remain the same. There will be a modest increase in employee premiums effective January 1, 2022. Premiums will be available prior to ABE.

These are the health insurance plan carrier changes:

  • Quartz Community will split into Quartz Central and Quartz West. Since Quartz Community will no longer be offered, employees enrolled in Quartz Community will need to select a different health insurance carrier.
  • Aspirus will be offered for select counties in Central Wisconsin

Here are some of the enhancements to covered services:

  • Coverage will be added for corrective jaw surgery
  • Access to coverage for continuous glucose monitors will be expanded to the pharmacy benefit
  • Timeframe requirement will be removed for extractions and dental repairs due to accidents
  • The age for colonoscopy screenings to begin will be reduced to age 45

Uniform and Preventive Dental Insurance Plans
These plans provide coverage for preventive dental services, most basic dental services, and orthodontia services (up to age 19). Coverage for composite/resin fillings for the back teeth will be added to these plans for 2022. Employee premiums effective January 1, 2022 will decrease for uniform dental (employee only coverage) and will increase for the preventive plan.

Supplemental Dental Insurance Plans
These plans (Select and Select Plus) provide coverage for most basic and major dental services. In addition, one of the plans (Select Plus) covers orthodontia services for children and adults. You may enroll in one supplemental dental insurance plan (and either the Uniform or Preventive Dental plan). Employee premiums will increase effective January 1, 2022 and will be available prior to ABE.

Vision Insurance Plan
This plan provides coverage for an annual eye exam as well as materials (contacts and/or glasses). There is no change in employee premiums for 2022.

Accident Insurance Plan
This plan is designed to protect employees and their families in the event of an injury due to an accident. For 2022, cash benefit payment amounts for most covered injuries (due to an accident) will increase. In addition, a cash benefit will be added for outpatient rehabilitation therapy, when necessary due to an accident. This plan includes an Accidental Death & Dismemberment component. There is no change to premiums for 2022.

Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance Plan
This plan will continue to be offered. Employees may enroll in both the Accident Insurance plan and the AD&D Insurance plan. There is no change to premiums for 2022.

Pre-tax Spending and Savings Accounts
Here are the annual contribution limits for 2022 for the pre-tax spending and savings accounts:

  • Healthcare Flexible Spending Accounts: $2,750
  • Dependent Day Care Account: $2,500 or $5,000 (depending on tax filing status)
  • Health Savings Accounts: $3,650 for single health insurance, $7,300 for family health insurance

The Healthcare FSA will have a carryover limit of $550. The Dependent Day Care Account does not have a carryover provision. Health Savings Account balances continue to rollover from one year to the next.

403(b) Program
UW System is making changes to enhance the 403(b) Program, the University’s supplemental retirement savings plan.

Changes to the program will focus on cost-effectiveness, simplification and ease of use for 403(b) participants. UW System’s goal is to make it easier to enroll, select investments, and monitor investment performance on an ongoing basis.

Along with upcoming program changes, the 403(b) program has been rebranded to the UW 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Program (SRP), from the UW Tax-Sheltered Annuity (TSA) 403(b) Program.

In addition to the name change, the 403(b) Program will be undergoing enhancements to the recordkeepers (providers) and investment line-up effective January 1, 2022.

  • TIAA and Fidelity will remain as active recordkeepers in the program
  • T. Rowe Price, Ameriprise, and Lincoln will no longer be offered as recordkeepers

If you are a current program participant or enroll in the program in the next few months, you may need to take action based on these upcoming changes.

Watch for emails in September with additional information about ABE and the 403(b) Program changes.

Source: UW System Human Resources

 

403(b) Program Enhancements: Town Halls

UW System is making changes to enhance the 403(b) Program, the University’s supplemental retirement savings plan.

Updates to the program focus on cost-effectiveness, simplification, and ease of use for 403(b) participants. UW System’s goal is to make it easier for participants to enroll, select investments, and monitor investment performance on an ongoing basis.

UW System will host town halls to discuss the upcoming 403(b) program changes and actions participants may need to take. Town halls are scheduled for:

  • Friday, September 17, 2021 at 12:00pm
  • Tuesday, October 26, 2021 at 2:00pm
  • Monday, November 15, 2021 at 11:00am

Employees will have an opportunity to ask questions during each town hall. Access links to join on the 403(b) Program Enhancements web page. If you’re unable to attend, recordings of each town hall will be made available on the web page shortly afterwards.

Current participants in the program will also receive additional communication from UW System and their providers in the coming weeks.

Source: UW System Office of Trust Funds

Submit Missing Leave Reports by September 30th to Avoid Sick Leave Reduction

Faculty, Academic Staff and Limited appointees (who have or had an active leave-eligible appointment) are required to submit monthly leave reports for each appointment, whether or not leave is used. Employees are required to report leave when it is taken, or if no leave is taken, to enter a “No Leave Taken” at the end of the month.

Employees who were required to take either individual or consecutive furlough days must also submit leave reports for the months furlough was taken. If no leave was taken for a month, a “No Leave Taken” entry must be made.

Submit Leave Reports by September 30, 2021

Failure to submit all leave for fiscal year July 2020 through June 2021 by September 30, 2021, will result in a permanent reduction of sick leave hours.

Even one unsubmitted leave report will reduce an employee’s sick leave balance resulting in less sick leave available to use if needed. Long term, a reduction of sick leave hours will result in fewer hours available to use for the Sick Leave Credit Conversion Program which allows employees to pay for health insurance in retirement.

How do I Know if I have Missing Leave Reports?

Employees with missing leave reports receive email reminders every two weeks listing their missing reports. Employees may also check for missing leave reports at any time in the MyUW portal.

Employees who do not submit all leave reports for fiscal year July 2020 through June 2021 before September 30, 2021, will receive an email notifying them of the permanent reduction in their sick leave hours.

Submitting Leave Reports

For information on how to submit leave reports, review missing leave reports, enter absences or no leave taken, review the resources on the Time and Absence Help Page.

Questions

If you have questions or are unable to report your leave in the MyUW portal, Human Resources at (920) 465-2396 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu.

To review the sick leave policies:

Source: UW System Human Resources