Category: Payroll & Benefits

As a Universities of Wisconsin employee, you are eligible for the UW 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Program (SRP) – a voluntary supplemental retirement savings plan administered by the Universities of Wisconsin specifically for UW employees.

Choose either TIAA or Fidelity in the UW 403(b) SRP. Both offer the same 18 best-in-class choice of mutual funds, a guaranteed interest option, and access to a brokerage window. You decide how much to save, which of the fund options to invest in, and whether to contribute on a pre-tax and/or Roth (after-tax) basis. You can start, change, or stop your deductions at any time.

Enrollment is easy with the EZ enrollment form.

Before enrolling, schedule a free individual counseling session or attend a live or on-demand webinars offered through TIAA or Fidelity.

Individual Counseling Sessions
To help you better understand the UW 403(b) SRP and available options, attend an individual counseling session. No matter where you are in life – just getting started or planning for retirement – a session with a financial consultant can help you create a plan for your goals.

These one-on-one counseling sessions are a free service available to participants in the UW 403(b) SRP as well as those considering participation. Counseling sessions are open to all employees, and you are not obligated to open an account with a recordkeeper.

• TIAA
  Schedule an appointment at tiaa.org/public/login/schedule-meeting or call (800) 732-8353, weekdays, 7 am to 7 pm (CST).
• Fidelity
  Schedule an appointment at digital.fidelity.com/prgw/digital/wos/Appointments or call (800) 642-7131, weekdays, 7 am to 11 pm (CST).

Live and On-Demand Webinars
Whether you are a current contributor to the 403(b) or looking for more information, check out the Live and On-Demand Webinars available to all UW employees. The on-demand webinar: SRP: Investing in Your Financial Future: Intro to the 403(b) Program is a good resource for new enrollees.

Additional Resources
Additional resources are available on the UW 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Program web page.

 

Source: Universities of Wisconsin Office of Trust Funds

The 2025 Annual Benefits Enrollment (ABE) period is September 30 – October 25, 2024. This is your annual opportunity to enroll in or make changes to most of your benefits. Changes made during ABE are effective January 1, 2025.

Plan now so you are ready for the enrollment period.

The Universities of Wisconsin Office of Human Resources is hosting virtual presentations to review the upcoming benefit changes and actions you need to take. Presentations are scheduled for:

• Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at 12:00 PM
• Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 5:00 PM
• Wednesday, October 9, 2024, at 2:00 PM
• Thursday, October 17, 2024, at 9:00 AM
• Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at 12:00 PM

To attend a virtual presentation, go to the ABE Presentation web page (https://⁠www⁠.wisconsin⁠.edu/abe/presentations) for the meeting link.

The presentations will be approximately 45 minutes. You will have an opportunity to submit questions during the presentation (excluding personal health information) that will be answered at the end, as time permits.

A recording of the presentation and question & answer document will be available on the ABE Presentation web page following the first presentation.

You will receive emails reminding you to review your benefits and take action by Friday, October 25, 2024, 4:30 PM.

Sincerely,

Universities of Wisconsin Office of Human Resources

The Annual Benefits Enrollment (ABE) period is September 30-October 25. 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, 2025.

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

Review

• •  Review your current benefit enrollments at my.wisconsin.edu in the Benefits and Well-Being tile. For help finding current enrollments, see the View Benefit Enroll Confirmation Statement tipsheet by clicking the three dots in the upper right and selecting Help from the drop down.
  • Review the ABE web page (https://www.wisconsin.edu/abe/) for the following resources:
    • ABE 2025 Highlights video
    • Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) Health Benefits Decision Guide
    • Benefit plan comparisons
    • Onsite benefits fairs and virtual benefit session schedules

Decide

• • You may be eligible to enroll in, change, or cancel coverage for the plans listed below. For some plans you can add or remove dependents.
    • State Group Health Insurance
    • Dental Insurance
    • Vision Insurance
    • Individual & Family Life Insurance
    • 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)
  • 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

Enroll

• • Beginning September 30, enroll from the Benefits Enrollment tile on my.wisconsin.edu. For help enrolling, see the ABE Self-Enrollment Guide by clicking the three dots in the upper right and selecting Help from the drop down. All enrollments and changes must be submitted by Friday, October 25, 2024, 4:30PM.

After you enroll, you will receive an e-mail within 48 hours with instructions on how to review your benefits elections for 2025. Review your benefits elections and dependents to ensure they are accurate.

For more information, review the ABE web page (https://www.wisconsin.edu/abe/). If you have questions after reviewing the available information, reach out to UW Employee Benefits at serviceoperations@support.wisconsin.edu 

The Annual Benefits Enrollment (ABE) period is September 30 – October 25, 2024. This is your opportunity to enroll in or change your benefits and dependents for the upcoming calendar year. Changes made during ABE are effective January 1, 2025. Below are the highlights for 2025.

State Group Health Insurance
The plan designs (health plan and high deductible health plan), copayments, and coinsurance will remain the same. Employee premiums for all plan designs will increase.

The annual deductibles for the High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) will increase to $1,650 for individual coverage and $3,300 for family coverage to remain compliant with the IRS minimum deductible requirement.

Dean Health Plan Prevea360 West & Mayo Clinic will be renamed Dean Health Plan Medica West & Mayo Clinic starting January 1, 2025. If you are currently enrolled in a plan with Dean Health Plan Prevea360 West & Mayo Clinic, you will automatically be enrolled with Dean Health Plan Medica West & Mayo Clinic with the same plan design and dependents unless you make a change during ABE.

All other health insurance carriers will continue to be offered for 2025.

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). Employee premiums for Uniform Dental, individual coverage, will increase. Employee premiums for all other dental insurance plans, and coverage levels will remain the same.

Supplemental Dental Insurance Plans
The Select and Select Plus plans provide coverage for major and restorative dental services. The Select Plus plan covers orthodontia services for children and adults. Employee premiums for the supplemental dental insurance plans will remain the same.

Vision Insurance Plan
The vision insurance plan provides coverage for an annual eye exam and materials (contacts and glasses). Employee premiums will remain the same.

Individual & Family Life Insurance
During this enrollment period only, there will be an enhanced enrollment opportunity offered for employee coverage for the Individual & Family Life Insurance Plan. All eligible employees may enroll in employee coverage up to $100,000 or increase employee coverage by up to $100,000 (up to the plan maximum), without proof of good health (evidence of insurability).

A new Accidental Death & Dismemberment benefit equal to your employee, spouse, and child coverage will automatically be included at no additional cost.

The premium rate for spouse coverage will decrease. The premium rate for employee and child coverage will remain the same.

Accident Insurance Plan
This plan provides a lump sum payment to you for specific injuries due to an accident. This plan includes an accidental death & dismemberment component. Employee premiums will remain the same.

Flexible Spending Accounts
Below are the annual contribution maximums for 2025:

• • Healthcare and Limited Purpose Flexible Spending Account (FSA): $3,200 (increase)\
  • Dependent Day Care Account: $2,500 or $5,000 (depending on tax filing status)

The Healthcare and Limited Purpose FSA carryover limit will increase to $640. To be eligible for carryover from 2024 to 2025, you must:

• • Have a minimum balance of $50 in your FSA at the end of the run-out period (March 31, 2025)
    OR
  • Enroll for the 2025 plan year with a minimum contribution amount to your FSA of $50

Carryover does not apply to the Dependent Day Care Account.

Health Savings Account
The below maximum contribution amounts for 2025 include the increased annual employer contribution amounts ($828 for individual coverage and $1,650 for family coverage).

• • Individual: $4,300 (increase)
  • Family: $8,550 (increase)

All remaining funds in your Health Savings Account immediately roll over year to year.

Next Steps
Some universities will host onsite benefits fairs during ABE to help you understand the benefits for 2025. Check the benefits fairs schedule to see if your university will be hosting a benefits fair. Then, mark your calendar to attend!

Watch for emails in September for more information about ABE and actions required.

Source: Universities of Wisconsin Office of Human Resources

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

Missing leave reports must be submitted by September 30, 2024, for fiscal year July 2023 through June 2024.

Failure to submit leave reports 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 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 sign into my.wisconsin.edu to check for missing leave reports at any time. UW-Madison employees can also access from the MyUW portal (my⁠.wisc⁠.edu).

To check for missing leave reports, access the Review Missing Leave Reports tipsheet on the Time and Absence Help page.

Policies

The following sick leave policies are available for reference:

• UW System Administrative Policy 1212 (formerly BN 3) Sick Leave (section 6.G.III.1 and VII.1)
• UW-Madison Sick Leave Policy (section VIII and XI)

If you have questions, reach out to your Payroll/Leave Administrator.

 

Source: Universities of Wisconsin Office of Human Resources

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