ETF has updated the face-to-face learning opportunities schedule to include dates into the spring of 2018. These include benefit fairs, benefit presentations and group retirement appointments scheduled in your area of the state.
View the face-to-face learning opportunities schedule for your area.
If you have any questions please contact Human Resources at (920) 465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu with any questions.
Employees will not have access to their online timesheet, earnings statements and other related documents and services during a UW Human Resources System (HRS) outage that will occur on Sunday, December 3rd from 6:00 a.m. to Noon. This outage is due to system maintenance. The following self-service features that employees access through the My UW System portal will be unavailable during this outage:
This HRS outage will also affect currently posted recruitments, as applicants will not be able to get into TAM (Talent Acquisition Manager) to apply for positions during this time on Sunday morning.
Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.
Due to preparation for the 2018 program year, the StayWell wellness portal will not be available after December 23, 2017 through early January 2018.
Continue working on your health goals
Try one or more of the confidential StayWell services available to you through December 22, 2017, like Self-Directed Coaching, the Mindfulness Series and more. For more information on the resources available, log in to wellwisconsin.staywell.com.
Watch for 2018 program information
Information on the 2018 Well Wisconsin Program will be coming to you in January. Watch your mail for your Well Wisconsin Program brochure which will contain all the details on earning your 2018 incentive.
ETF is offering a series of 30-minute, live, interactive webinars designed to increase your understanding of Wisconsin Retirement System benefits. Individuals can also ask questions at the end of these sessions.
Additional Contributions
Find out how making additional contributions to your WRS account can potentially increase your retirement. This webinar also provides examples of how contributions grow over time with interest, how to pay additional contributions (payroll deduction or direct pay), etc.
Choosing When to Retire
This webinar will focus primarily on choosing your optimal termination and WRS benefit effective dates. The focus will include not only the “December versus January” decision, but also how retirement timing at any point during the year can affect your retirement annuity amount and other employee retirement benefits as well.
Beneficiary Designations-What Happens to My Account When I Die?
Do you have a beneficiary designation on file with ETF and does it reflect how you’d want your WRS death benefits paid? This webinar reviews the importance of having a beneficiary designation on file and keeping it updated as life events occur. We’ll also review the process of how to correctly complete a designation form, what it means if you do not have one on file with ETF, and how to request a copy of your current form.
Retirement Annuity Options
Choosing a WRS annuity option is one of the most important decisions you will face. This webinar will cover all of the WRS annuity options and help you understand them so that you can make an informed decision. We will also explain the important differences between a beneficiary and a named survivor.
Please contact Human Resources at (920) 465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu with any questions.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program can help employees pay off their student loans. This program forgives the remaining balance on qualified federal loans after borrowers have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer, such as the University of Wisconsin System. Further information can be found at the Department of Education website at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service.
There are a number of federal income-based repayment plans, including the Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE) and the Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE), both of which has monthly payments of ten percent of discretionary income (the difference between your annual income and 150% of the poverty guideline for your family size). Whether the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is right for an individual can vary. A student loan borrower needs to work for ten years in a public service qualifying employer to receive the loan forgiveness benefit. Therefore, for many borrowers, the standard 10-year repayment option may be the best option and examining the total cost of different federal repayment options can be helpful.
The above information was provided by the UW-System Office of Academic and Student Affairs.
The Department of Education recommends that if you would like to qualify for this program now or in the future, you would complete the Employment Certification form as soon as possible. You would complete sections 1 and 2 of this form, as well as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness fax cover sheet (https://uwservice.wisconsin.edu/docs/publications/voe-uws-pslf-request.pdf), and fax or mail (don’t email due to the confidential information on the form) the forms to the UW-Service Center.
As the end of 2017 approaches, make sure your current address is up-to-date for W-2 Tax Form distribution and take time to read about important reminders for your 2018 Benefit enrollments.
In late January 2018, your 2017 W-2 Form will be sent via U.S. mail to your mailing address as listed in the MyUW portal. If you do not have a mailing address, your W-2 will be mailed to your home address. If neither address is in the MyUW portal, your W-2 will be mailed to your office address.
To ensure your W-2 Form is sent to your preferred address, follow these steps:
Changing your address in the portal will not change your address for all of the benefit plans in which you are currently enrolled. For instructions on how to change your address for your benefit plans visit: Change in Name or Address.
In addition to the hard copy W-2 Form that you will receive, an online copy of your W-2 Form will be available in late January in the MyUW portal Payroll Information module in the Tax Statements tab.
If you have questions, contact your human resources office.
In observation of the Thanksgiving holiday, the campus will be closed Thursday, November 23 and the following offices will be closed Friday, November 24. All offices will resume normal operations on Monday, November 27th.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving and joyous Holiday season!
Forms for University Staff employees who are eligible for the Annual Leave Conversion Option (also known as banked leave or sabbatical) are now available on our My UW System Portal, under the Time and Absence section, Leave Reports tab. Please click on the “2017 Banked Leave Report” link to open the form, and then print it.
Here is a link to the Vacation Policy, showing when University Staff employees are eligible to bank vacation hours (page 5): https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/download/policies/ops/bn1.pdf
Page three of these instructions shows how to check your paid leave balances.
Please contact the Payroll & Benefits office at 920-465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu if you have any questions.
As we near the end of the 2017 calendar year, University Staff employees are reminded to review their leave balances.
Vacation Carry Over
Normally, vacation time must be used within the calendar year during which it is earned. Employees may carry over any unused earned vacation into the following calendar year. Any vacation carried over from the previous calendar year must be used by December 31 of the following calendar year.
The Human Resources System (HRS) will automatically take any vacation absences entered first from carry over balances before taking from the current year’s allocations.
Compensatory Time
Compensatory time is able to be carried into the following calendar year if approved by the immediate supervisor. If carried over, unused compensatory time must be used by April 30th of the following year or it will be paid out on the pay period that includes May 1st.
Personal and Legal Holidays
Personal and Legal holiday hours may not be carried into 2018 and if not used by December 31, 2017, will be forfeited.
We have two floating legal holidays this year, for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Your legal holiday balance includes both observed and floating legal holidays. The remaining observed legal holidays this calendar year include Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can take your available “Legal Holiday Balance-YTD” and subtract these two observed legal holidays to see if you have any floating legal holiday hours left to use.
Annual Leave Conversion Option (Banked Leave or Sabbatical)
Forms for employees eligible for the Annual Leave Conversion Option will be available soon on your My UW System Portal, under the Time and Absence section, Leave Reports tab. We will post a notification when these forms are available.
Please note that the above information applies to University Staff positions, not Academic Staff, Limited, or Faculty positions.
How do I check my paid leave balances? Please review page three of these instructions.
Please contact the Payroll & Benefits office at 920-465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu if you have any questions.
2018 Income Continuation Insurance Premium Rates
Income Continuation Insurance (ICI) premium rates for 2018 will increase effective February 1, 2018. For more information, see Employer Bulletin Vol. 34, State E.
Please contact Human Resources at (920) 465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu with any questions.
