Category: Payroll & Benefits

The Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) has released the 2017 health insurance premium rates.  The Uniform Dental Benefits for 2017 will continue to be provided by Delta Dental of Wisconsin.  You will once again have the option to select health insurance with or without uniform dental benefits.

  2017 Health Insurance Premiums

Please see ETF’s news release for additional information regarding premiums.  We will continue to provide more information on the 2017 Annual Benefits Enrollment period as information becomes available.  Please contact Payroll & Benefits at x2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu if you have any questions.

 

Did you know that not all pharmacies charge the same to fill your prescription?  Or, that you can sometimes save money and time by requesting a 90-day prescription from your doctor?  Find out how to reduce your out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs by watching this video by the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF): Pharmacy Benefits Video  This e-learning provides an overview of the member’s cost-share for generic, brand name and specialty drugs, along with six tips for saving money.  Topics include accessing in-network pharmacies and comparing prices, working with your care provider and pharmacy benefit manager, Navitus Health Solutions, to identify effective, low-cost drugs, and the appeals and grievances process.

 

UW-Green Bay observes 9 legal holidays each year (click here for dates), in which university offices are closed.  There are exceptions for instances when a legal holiday falls on an employee’s regularly scheduled day off (i.e. Saturday or Sunday), in which floating legal holiday is granted.  If the legal holidays of January 1, July 4, or December 25 occur on a Sunday, university offices will be closed on the following Monday in observance of the legal holiday.

In 2016, Christmas Eve (12/24) falls on a Saturday, in which employees are granted floating legal holiday. Christmas Day (12/25) falls on a Sunday and the university will observe it by being closed on the following Monday, 12/26/16.  Likewise, New Year’s Eve (12/31) falls on a Saturday and employee’s will also be granted floating legal holiday for that day.  New Year’s Day 2017 will be observed with the university being closed on Monday, 1/2/17.

As a reminder, floating legal holiday may be used any time during the year it is earned.

• University Staff employees must use the floating legal holidays during the calendar year it is earned, which means that both the Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve floating legal holiday must be used by December 31, 2016.
• Academic Staff and Limited employees must use floating legal holiday during the fiscal year it is earned, and will need to use these floating legal holidays by June 30, 2017.

Use of floating legal holiday should be reported as “Legal Holiday” on either your timesheet (University Staff) or absence entry (Academic Staff/Limited). Please review the instructions for entering a floating legal holiday: http://www.uwgb.edu/hr/documents/FloatingLegalHolidayProcess.pdf

 

Please contact Payroll & Benefits at payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu with any questions regarding legal holidays.

As we wrap up the summer pay periods, please remember that leave-eligible, unclassified employees will be required to submit a “summer leave report” if working any summer service or summer session appointments.

Similar to last summer, there will be no online entry for the summer session/service leave reports. Click here to find one summer leave report that you will use to keep track of all leave taken during your employment over the entire summer.

Specific notes regarding this process:

• Please print the attached leave report.
• In the top section, fill in your name and employee ID only.
• Record absences for any leave taken while you are under contract during the summer (including work performed that was paid via a lump sum payment).
• If you do not use any leave time for a given month, enter zero in the “Total Hours” row.
• Sign the summer leave report.
• Request an approval signature from your summer department chair/supervisor (if working multiple appointments, you may need to request more than one signature).
• Any sick leave used during the summer will be charged to your primary appointment.
• This leave report is due to Human Resources by Tuesday, September 6, 2016, regardless of whether or not leave is used!

Please contact payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu with any questions.

 

Live Webinars Scheduled in August

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.

WRS Retirement Benefit Calculation:  This webinar will explain the methods used for benefit calculations and the components of each method. Anyone who has requested or is planning to request an estimate will have a better understanding of how that amount was calculated. Individuals will have the opportunity to ask questions on this topic, at the end of the session.

• Wed, Aug 10, 2016 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Wed, Aug 17, 2016 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Thu, Aug 18, 2016 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
• Tue, Aug 23, 2016 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.

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.

• Tue, Aug 9, 2016 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Thu, Aug 11, 2016 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Tue, Aug 16, 2016 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Mon, Aug 29, 2016 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Register for a webinar

Please contact Human Resources at (920) 465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu with any questions.

The Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) has announced an increase for 2017 Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) contribution rates effective January 1, 2017. According to ETF, the 2017 contribution rates are increasing primarily due to higher life expectancies and lower-than-expected trust fund investment performance. WRS contribution rates are set on an annual basis.

Your contribution rate is determined by your WRS employment category. Most UW employees are covered by the General/Teacher WRS category. High level administrators (chancellors, president, vice presidents, provosts) are covered by the Executive category.  Employees whose main duties are related to law enforcement or the protection of the public (police officers, fire fighters) are covered by the Protective category.

The 2017 rates will apply to all paychecks paid in 2017 beginning on January 3, 2017 for Faculty/Academic Staff and Limited Appointees paid monthly, and January 5, 2017 for University Staff paid bi-weekly.  As a reminder, WRS contributions are taken on a pre-tax basis for state and federal tax purposes.

For More Information:

• Sign up for an ETF-sponsored webinar, WRS Employer and Employee Contribution Rates
• Review the ETF brochure, Your Benefit Handbook
• Review the ETF webpage, WRS Contribution Rate History