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Know Your Benefits: WRS Employee Benefits Seminar in Cleveland Attend a Wisconsin Retirement System employee benefits seminar and come away with a greater understanding of your WRS benefits and how they work. These one-hour evening presentations, hosted by the Department of Employee Trust Funds in cities throughout Wisconsin, are designed for all members, especially those who are within five years of retirement. Topics covered include the retirement process itself, return-to-work rules, the Core and Variable Trust Funds, beneficiary designations, purchasing service, how “life events” affect your benefits, and much more. Questions are encouraged – stick around for the Q&A session afterward!
WRS Employee Benefits Seminar Wednesday, November 8 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Lakeshore Technical College Centennial Hall, Room L177 1290 North Avenue, Cleveland
Please contact Human Resources at (920) 465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu with any questions.
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Category: Payroll & Benefits
HR System Maintenance November 3rd to 6th
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 from 4:00 p.m. on Friday, November 3, 2017 to Monday morning, November 6, 2017. 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:
- Online timesheet
- Absence reporting
- Updates to personal information
- Access to electronic earnings statements, tax statements (W-2, 1042-S, etc.), leave statements and other HR, Payroll and Benefits documents
This HRS outage will also affect all currently posted recruitments, as applicants will not be able to get into TAM (Talent Acquisition Manager) to apply for positions. We will have a notice posted on our career opportunities page and on individual postings throughout the weekend. Campus employees who are involved in recruitments will also not be able to access TAM during this time.
Please plan ahead to take care of HR, payroll, benefits or recruitment related tasks in the portal before the outage begins. Once the HR system is updated, we will have similar functionality that we are used to – there will be minimal impact on the system look and feel. Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.
Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) Webinars Offered in November
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.
- Mon, Nov 6, 2017 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
- Thurs, Nov 9, 2017 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Mon, Nov 13, 2017 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
- Wed, Nov 29, 2017 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
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.
- Fri, Nov 10, 2017 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
- Wed, Nov 15, 2017 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
- Tues, Nov 21, 2017 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Thurs, Nov 30, 2017 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
How to Use ETF’s Online Retirement Calculator
ETF’s online retirement calculator, one of the most-used tools on our website, allows you to calculate an unofficial projection of your WRS retirement benefit at any point in the future. This webinar will cover where to find and how to use the calculator, specific information required for data entry (e.g., desired retirement date, spouse or partner’s birthdate, etc.) and how to interpret the results. There will be time at the end of the webinar to ask specific questions on this topic.
- Thurs, Nov 2, 2017 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Wed, Nov 8, 2017 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
- Thurs, Nov 16, 2017 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
- Thurs, Nov 30, 2017 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Variable Fund
In this webinar we will discuss the Variable Fund – what it is, how it differs from the Core Fund, and the effect participation in this fund may have on your retirement benefit calculations. We will also discuss how to elect to participate in the Variable Fund, how to cancel Variable participation, and the impact the timing of these decisions may have on your Wisconsin Retirement System benefits.
- Mon, Nov 6, 2017 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
- Tues, Nov 7, 2017 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
- Mon, Nov 20, 2017 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- Thurs, Nov 30, 2017 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Please contact Human Resources at (920) 465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.eduwith any questions.
SECC Statewide Annual Campaign
The Statewide Employees Combined Campaign (SECC) annual workplace campaign is officially underway! You can make a pledge anytime between now and November 30, 2017.The SECC Campaign is available for state and university employees outside of Dane, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. SECC raises money to support a wide range of charities doing important work like protecting our natural resources, providing health services and research, defending civil and human rights, and preventing violence.
To make your pledge:
- Go to seccstatewide.wi.gov
- Choose the link that corresponds with your employment
- University
- State
- Retiree
- Login or register following the instructions online
- Find out more information about the charities available to support
- Follow the instructions on the website to complete your pledge
The CHOICE is yours…
You decide:
- How you want to give – choose payroll contribution, cash or check.
- Where your dollars go – when you designate your gift to specific charities, only the charities you choose will receive money from you.
Pick from more than 300 state, national and international charities.
Check out a list of common questions and concerns.
Learn more about the impact of your gift.
Thank you for your work as an employee of the State of Wisconsin and University of Wisconsin system! State employees have a great impact on the quality of life for all citizens of Wisconsin every day at work and then by giving back through the Statewide SECC campaign.
Benefits & Wellness Fair held October 5th
The annual Benefits & Wellness Fair was held on Thursday, October 5th and over 200 employees and retirees attended. A big thank you to the more than 40 vendors who were on hand to help us with our benefits and wellness questions!
ETF Presentations and Health Vendor Fair – Tuesday, October 17
A representative from the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) will be on campus on Tuesday, October 17th to present information to the campus community regarding changes to the State Group Health Program. ETF will talk through the timing of the decisions in a typical year, why this year was different with self-insurance as a consideration, how the budget bill impacted decisions, and some of the numbers used in the decision.
Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Times: 8:30 – 9:15 a.m.
9:30 – 10:15 a.m.
10:30 – 11:15 a.m.
Location: Room 103 in the University Union
No registration required.
Representatives from health plans available to employees for 2018 will also attend on this date. Vendors will be present to talk through specific questions employees may have from 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Please see below for the locations of vendors. All rooms are located in the University Union.
Dean Health Insurance – Prevea360 – Manistique Room
Network Health – Manistique Room
Security Health Plan – Valley – Wequiock Room
WEA Trust – East – Wequiock Room
As a reminder, feel free to stop in to a Benefit Open Lab Session to have your Annual Benefit Enrollment questions answered or to get help with your eBenefits election process from one of our Benefit specialists.
Need to choose a new health plan for 2018? Here are some helpful tips!
The following health plans are no longer available for 2018: 
- Anthem Blue Preferred Northeast
- Arise Health Plan
- Health Tradition Health Plan
- Humana Eastern
- Humana Western
- UnitedHealthCare of Wisconsin
If you were a member of one of these plans you will need to choose a new provider for 2018. Not sure where to begin? Explore plan designs and benefits offered by using the interactive tool, Alex. After determining what plan design is best for you, explore ETF’s state health plan map to see which health plans are available in your area and review the plan’s provider directory to determine if your doctors are covered.
Once you’ve decided, visit the MyUW Portal to submit your elections today!
Not sure where to begin and need some additional guidance? Visit one of the Benefit Open Lab Sessions to talk to a benefits counselor and get your questions answered!
Interested in all the plan changes for 2018? Click here to view the 2018 update presentation highlighting plan changes.
Fidelity Presentation and Individual Appointments on December 6th
Elisa Waligora, Retirement Planner with Fidelity, will be at UW-Green Bay on Wednesday, December 6th to present “Identify and Prioritize Your Savings Goals” at Noon to 1:00 p.m. She invites employees to register for a one-on-one meeting with her that day.
Date: Wednesday, December 6, 2017
- Identify and Prioritize Your Savings Goals Presentation at Noon to 1:00 p.m.
- Individual appointments available between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Location: Heritage Room in University Union
Register at www.getguidance.fidelity.com
2017-2019 State Budget Bill Signed- Domestic Partnership Impacts
On September 21, 2017, Governor Walker signed the 2017-2019 State Budget Bill. The budget bill contains a provision that eliminates the Chapter 40 domestic partnership program which will impact employees who are in a domestic partnership. At this time, the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) is reviewing the signed budget bill to identify implications for the Wisconsin Retirement System and ETF-administered benefit programs (including health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance and vision insurance). We will update this article when we receive more information on the impacts.
Once ETF provides a review of the budget bill, a targeted communication will be sent to employees who currently cover a domestic partner/domestic partner’s child(ren) to inform them of the impacts and any action they may have to take.
Resource: ETF Initial Review of 2017-2019 State Budget
Source: UW System Human Resources
Benefits Open Lab Sessions
Stop in to a Benefit Open Lab Session to have any of your Annual Benefit Enrollment (October 2nd – October 27th) questions answered or to get help with your eBenefits election process from one of our Benefit specialists. All Benefit Open Lab Sessions will be held in IS 1129 J unless indicated below.
- Monday, October 2nd
- 3:00 to 4:00 p.m
- Tuesday, October 10th
- 8:00 to 9:00 a.m
- Friday, October 13th
- 2:00 to 3:00 p.m
- Wednesday, October 18th
- 3:30 – 4:30 p.m
- Friday, October 20th
- 12:00 – 1:00 p.m
- Monday, October 23rd
- 8:00 – 9:20 a.m
- Wednesday, October 25th – CL 102
- 3:00 – 4:30 p.m
- Thursday, October 26th – IS 1129 B
- 10:00 – 12:00 p.m
- Friday, October 27th
- 8:30 – 10:30 a.m
Please contact payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 with any questions.