Category: Fiscal Wellness

NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN THE WISCONSIN RETIREMENT SYSTEM

The Department of Employee Trust Funds is pleased to formally announce that they have expanded their outreach and education.   Please see the EFT flyer to read the requirements for who is eligible to attend these group sessions and how to schedule an appointment.

You can find locations and dates around the state at their interactive website http://www.etf.wi.gov/members/presentation_map.html.   With the exception of the one public presentation per district, please note that for all other dates and times participants must call and schedule an appointment and there is limited availability.    In order to be eligible the participant must:

* Have a CURRENT retirement estimate and packet

* Plan to retire in the next 12 months

Included will be a step by step explanation of:

* Your retirement estimate

* Your Annuity options

* The application process

Call 608-266-5717 or toll free at (877) 533-5020, ext. 65717 to schedule an appointment.

Please e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN THE WISCONSIN RETIREMENT SYSTEM

WRS Contribution Rates for 2011

Most UW System employees covered by the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) will be required to pay 0.2% (two tenths of one percent) of WRS-covered earnings to the WRS for 2011. Protective employees will have to pay a 0.8% (eight tenths of one percent) contribution rate, employees covered by the Building Trades bargaining agreement will have a 1% contribution rate (no change from 2010) and LTEs will have a 2.5% WRS contribution rate for 2011.

UW System will continue to pay the remainder of the WRS contribution rate for 2011.  The WRS contribution rate paid by UW System on behalf of most employees will be 11.4% of earnings (9.1% for LTEs, 10.6% for Building Trades employees and 20.5% for protective occupation employees).

Any required WRS contributions are automatically deducted from an employee’s paycheck.  Unclassified employees (paid monthly) will first have a WRS deduction on the January 3, 2011 paycheck and classified employees (paid bi-weekly) will have the first deduction on the January 13, 2011 paycheck.  The contribution amounts are relatively small.  For example, 0.2% of an annual salary of $40,000 amounts to $3.08 per biweekly paycheck and $6.67 per monthly paycheck.

Background

WRS contribution rates are approved by the Employee Trust Funds (ETF) Board.  These rates are based on current benefit levels and recommendations from the ETF Board’s independent consulting actuary.  The contribution rate increases for 2011 are mainly due to the large investment losses that occurred during the downturn of the stock market in 2008.

The 2009 – 2011 compensation plan and the collective bargaining agreements that are currently in force limit the amount an employer may contribute to the WRS on behalf of the employee.  The increase in the WRS contribution rates for 2011 exceeds how much UW System is allowed to contribute on the employee’s behalf.

For additional information, see http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/WRSratefaq.pdf.

Please e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions.

**Important information regarding vacation carry over, compensatory time, annual leave conversion, and personal & floating holidays**

Attn:  Classified Employees and their Supervisors:

UW-Green Bay requires that vacation for classified employees be taken in the calendar year in which it is earned.  It is UW-Green Bay’s practice to allow up to 40 hours of vacation to be carried over into the following year, if approved by the employee’s supervisor.  A request to carry over more than 40 hours of vacation must be approved by Human Resources.  Any vacation carried over from 2010 into 2011 must be used by June 30, 2011.

Please complete the Vacation Carry Over Request Form ONLY if requesting to carry over more than 40 hours of vacation into 2011.

Requests must be submitted to HR, ES 107, no later than Friday, December 10, 2010.  A scanned, signed copy of the form may be e-mailed to hr@uwgb.edu in lieu of a hard copy submission.

If a new employee completes his or her original probationary period between July 1 and December 31, 2010, all vacation may be carried over (without supervisor or HR approval).  However, the leave must still be used by June 30, 2011.

 In-so-far as possible, all 2010 Compensatory Time earned should be used by December 30, 2010.  Under exceptional circumstances, approval to carry unused compensatory time into 2011 may be granted by the immediate supervisor.  All 2010 compensatory time must be used by April 30, 2011 or it will be paid.

Personal holiday hours may not be carried into 2011 and if not used by December 30, 2010 will be forfeited.  Also, please remember that Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, resulting in a floating holiday.  You must use this floating holiday by December 30, 2010 or it will be lost.

In 2011, classified employees will be granted three floating holidays due to the dates of certain legal holidays during the year.  Please visit the Legal Holidays section of our website for additional details.

Eligible employees able to utilize the Annual Leave Conversion Option will receive written notification by the end of November.

Please contact Human Resources at 465-2390 if or via e-mail at hr@uwgb.edu you have any questions.

There are important changes to benefits for 2011 that may require you to take action during the Benefit Enrollment & Change Period.  Even if you are satisfied with your current benefit plans, please take time to read about changes to the benefit plans so you know how you may be impacted and if you need to take any action.

The Annual Benefit Enrollment and Change Period begins on October 4^th and ends on October 29, 2010 for most plans.  Watch for an email near the beginning of the enrollment and change period that includes important details about changes to your benefit plans and your enrollment and change opportunities.

The My UW System portal will also have personalized benefit enrollment and change information available in early October.   Please review the UW System Benefit Enrollment and Change period website for details.

You may take the following actions during the benefit enrollment and change period:

• Change health insurance plans

• Change from single to family health insurance or add additional eligible family members to family health insurance (including      married children under age 26 and unmarried children under age 27)

• Enroll in plans that have an open enrollment (vision, dental, EPIC Benefits+)

• Enroll in Employee Reimbursement Account (medical expense and dependent care)

• Cancel vision or dental coverage for the 2011 plan year (must submit application by December 1)

• Remove eligible dependent children ages 19-27 or a domestic partner from benefit plans

Watch for benefit plan changes for 2011:

• Stand-alone dental insurance – there will be a new dental plan, Dental Wisconsin, and Anthem DentalBlue will no longer be available to employees not represented by a union.  Action needs to be taken by these employees to apply for the new dental plan.  Coverage will automatically end on December 31, 2010 for Anthem DentalBlue.

• The EPIC Dental & Excess Medical insurance plan changed its name to EPIC Benefits+ and has added an optional vision insurance benefit to their plan.

• Many over-the-counter drugs will no longer be a reimbursable medical expense under the Employee Reimbursement Account (ERA) program.

• Coverage and benefit levels under the Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance plan will be expanded.

• Premiums for State Group Health and State Group Life Insurance will be deducted one month in advance of coverage.  Premiums are currently deducted two months in advance of coverage so in order to make the change to paying premiums one month in advance, there will be no health or State Group Life Insurance deduction from your November earnings.  Normal premium deductions will resume on your December earnings.

• Married children under age 26 will be eligible for coverage under State Group Health Insurance.

• State Group Health has a new health plan available in several eastern Wisconsin counties- WEA Trust PPP. For more information, please see the 2011 It’s your Choice Decision Guide.

Please e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions.