Category: Payroll & Benefits

Academic Staff and Limited Employees eligible for ALRA (Annual Leave Reserve Account)

Academic Staff and Limited employees who have completed ten years of qualifying service as of 6/30/2015 have the option to bank unused vacation up to 40 hours.  Those who have completed 25 years of qualifying service as of 6/30/2015 can bank unused vacation up to 80 hours.  The unused vacation hours are taken from the 2014-15 FY balance first, then from the 2015-16 FY, until the elected or maximum hours are reached (pro-rated for part-time employees).

The ALRA election will be submitted through Employee Self Service on the My UW System Portal, similar to entering leave.  

To submit your ALRA election, you will need to complete the following steps:

 

1. Log into the My UW System Portal and click on the Enter Absence link under the Time and Absence section.
2. You will now see the Request Absence page.  This is where you fill out the specific information for your ALRA conversion.
   • Start Date:  7/09/16  (Please use 7/09/16 as both the start and end date, we need to use a weekend date in July for ALRA entry, and to maintain consistency will all employees, we are requesting you use 7/09/16)
   • End Date: 7/09/16
   • Filter by Type: Leave it set to All
   • Absence Name: Select Convert Vac to ALRA
3. After selecting the Absence Name, a convert field will appear for you to fill out.  Enter the hours you would like to convert.  As a reminder, converting must be in whole hours.  HRS will verify eligibility and availability before converting vacation to ALRA.
4. Click Submit.  Conversion is auto approved.

 

ALRA designations should be entered through the Request Absence screen by 8/5/16.

Please contact payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu with any questions on the ALRA process.

What is a beneficiary?

A beneficiary is the person or persons you designate to receive any benefits payable upon your death. Naming beneficiaries ensures that your assets are distributed according to your wishes after your death.

Keep your beneficiary designations up-to-date

To protect your beneficiary(ies), review and update your beneficiary designations regularly. You may change your beneficiary designations at any time.  Review of your designations for possible changes is especially important when you have experienced a life event, such as the birth or adoption of a child, marriage, divorce, etc. Your assets are distributed according to the beneficiary designations that you have on file, so it is important to review and make any needed changes whenever your personal circumstances change.

How do I know what benefits I have?

Go to the Benefit Information module in My UW System, and click the “View Benefits Summary Detail” link to see your current benefit enrollments. Contact the benefits office with any questions regarding your coverage and coverage levels.

Completing/updating your beneficiary designations

Beneficiary designation forms can be found at: https://www.wisconsin.edu/ohrwd/formspubs/.  Click on each individual plan for the beneficiary designation form for that plan.  Follow the instructions to submit the form.

Make sure you keep a copy of each completed beneficiary form for your records. Return completed forms to the address on the form, not to the Benefits office.

If you are unsure of your current beneficiary designations, please complete a new beneficiary designation to ensure that your designations are current.

The following plans have a beneficiary designation form:

• EPIC+ Benefits Beneficiary Designation
• State Group Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation
• Individual and Family Group Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation
• UW Employees, Inc. Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation
• University Insurance Association Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment Beneficiary Designation
• Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) Beneficiary Designation
• Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) Beneficiary Designation (alternate)
• Wisconsin Deferred Compensation 457 Program Beneficiary Designation

If you have a Tax-Sheltered Annuity (TSA) or Deferred Compensation account, make sure you review and update your beneficiary designations as needed. Contact the plan directly to update your beneficiary designations or, if you are enrolled in the TSA program, update your beneficiary online.

Source: UW Service Center

As a reminder, students must reduce their working schedules down to 25 hours per week for the next two weeks to make sure we are in compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). This change will be from June 26 to July 9. Starting July 10, students can go back up to 40 hours per week.

If you have any questions about this, please contact HR at hr@uwgb.edu or x2390.

This is a reminder to all Non-Instructional Academic Staff & Limited Employees:  As we are nearing the end of the 2015-2016 Fiscal Year, you should be reviewing your vacation and personal holiday leave balances.  You can locate your balances on your last earnings statement or the My UW System Portal.  Please read the information below to avoid losing leave hours not used by 6/30/2016.

Personal Holiday:

• Personal Holiday hours not used by 6/30/16 will be dropped as of 7/1/16.  They do not carry over to the next fiscal year.

Vacation:

• Vacation Carryover hours from the 2014-2015 fiscal year that have not been used by 6/30/16 will be dropped as of 7/1/16.
• If you are eligible for Annual Leave Reserve Account (ALRA), you may bank vacation (up to your eligible maximum hours) first from the 2014-2015 Vacation Carryover as of 6/30/16 and then from your 2015-2016 Vacation Allocation.
• A communication regarding ALRA will be sent to employees in July.
• All remaining 2015-2016 Vacation Allocation hours as of 6/30/16 will automatically be carried over into the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year on 7/1/16 as Vacation Carryover.

Legal Holiday:

• There are no more legal holidays in the 2015-2016 fiscal year.  Your balance on your most recent earnings statement should be 8 hours (Memorial Day will be processed on the June payroll).
• Floating legal holiday hours not used by 6/30/16 will be dropped as of 7/1/16.

Please contact Payroll at payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu if you have any questions.

 

The University of Wisconsin System will begin using The Work Number^® to provide automated employment and income verifications, starting Monday, June 6, 2016.

The Work Number simplifies the verification process and accelerates credit decisions through an online system available to verifiers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  More than 200,000 credentialed verifiers rely on The Work Number for rapid access to information critical to their decision process, and over 2,900 employers nationwide have entrusted The Work Number to provide this service.

Here’s How it Works:

1. The University of Wisconsin System Service Center securely transmits employment and income data to The Work Number on a regular cycle, so the information remains current.
2. When you apply for credit or other services where proof of employment or income is required, you provide consent to the credit grantor to verify that information when signing the application.
3. The verifier—who has been carefully screened and credentialed before gaining access to the system—looks up your record on The Work Number database.
4. The verifier must provide a valid reason or permissible purpose for requesting the information, as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
5. With the above conditions met, the verifier can validate your employment or income in seconds, accelerating the decision process.

How to Initiate a VOE Request:

1. Please direct the lending institution, property manager or other business requesting employment or income information to contact The Work Number. The web address for The Work Number is theworknumber.com.  The phone number for Commercial verifications is 1-800-367-5690.
2. Please note that you may be required to provide your Social Security Number and the University of Wisconsin’s Employer Code: 18032

 

If you run into any issues with the VOE process or have any other questions regarding The Work Number, please contact the Human Resources Office at 920-465-2390 or hr@uwgb.edu.  Additional information regarding the change to VOE process can be found here.

 

As we begin 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 June

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.

5 Basic Steps to Your Retirement: Consider this webinar your quick reference guide to starting the retirement process within the next 12 months. We’ll review: choosing a termination date, how to request a retirement estimate – and how to read and understand it. We’ll also cover how to schedule a retirement appointment and – drum roll here — how to submit the retirement application.

• Thu, Jun 2, 2016 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Tue, Jun 14, 2016 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Tue, Jun 21, 2016 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
• Wed, Jun 22, 2016 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Retirement Annuity Options:  This webinar will help to increase your understanding of the WRS annuity options and to explain the difference between a beneficiary and a named survivor. There will be time at the end of the webinar to ask questions regarding the annuity options.

• Fri, Jun 3, 2016 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Thu, Jun 16, 2016 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Tue, Jun 28, 2016 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Buying Service:  If you are eligible to purchase service, doing so would increase your retirement or disability benefit. Find out how by viewing this webinar. We’ll cover the types of service you may be able to buy, how and when you can buy service, and much more. Eligible types of service include service earned during prior WRS covered employment and forfeited through a separation benefit and some types of service earned with other government employers.

• Tue, Jun 7, 2016 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• Mon, Jun 20, 2016 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Thu, Jun 30, 2016 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

WRS Benefits: For New and Mid-Career Employees:  This one-hour webinar is for employees who are five years – or more – from retirement. The information presented will help ensure sound, strategic decisions over the course of your career. Topics include vesting, ways to enhance a WRS retirement benefit, purchasing service, military service credit, the Core and Variable Trust Funds, contribution rates, the importance of a beneficiary form and how to complete one, and how “life event” changes affect retirement benefits.

• Wed, Jun 8, 2016 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
• Wed, Jun 15, 2016 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
• Thu, Jun 23, 2016 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 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.

• Thu, Jun 9, 2016 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
• Tue, Jun 21, 2016 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Thu, Jun 23, 2016 6:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
• Wed, Jun 29, 2016 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Register for a webinar

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

If you were covered by the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) in 2015, your WRS Annual Statement of Benefits is now available in My UW System. Go to the Benefit Information module and click on the Statements tab. Click on “2015 ETF Annual Statement of Benefits (WRS) Issued 2016” to view or print your statement.

The WRS Annual Statement of Benefits provides you with information about your WRS account as of January 1, 2016. The Explanation of Annual Statement of Benefits provides you with information to help you understand your statement. The Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) has also published an Introductory Letter for the statement.

It is recommended that you review each section of your statement using the explanation as a guide:

• 2015 Earnings and Service
• Years of Creditable Service as of January 1, 2016
• 2015 Employee Required Contributions (Note: In section 3, the small amounts shown in Employer Paid Employee contributions occur due to rounding in calculations used to produce this statement or from the payroll system.  This does not apply to all employees.)
• Additional Contribution
• Primary Beneficiary Designation(s) for WRS Required Account
• Separation Benefit
• Death Benefit
• Formula Benefit Data
• Money Purchase Balance (Total required employee and matching employer contributions, including interest.)
• Retirement Benefit Projections

NOTE: New WRS participants who enrolled in late December 2015, and whose first wages were paid in January 2016, will not receive a statement because no WRS contributions were paid in 2015.

Additional Resources

A schedule of the Live Webinar: Understanding Your Annual WRS Statement of Benefits is available on the WRS Annual Statement of enefits Help Page along with other resources.

Please contact the Human Resources office at 920-465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu if you have any questions.

In 2016, all covered state group health insurance plans will offer $150 for completing the Well Wisconsin Incentive Program.  There are two steps to completing the program.

 

1. Participate in a biometric screening.
   • If you participated in the biometric screening on Monday, April 18^th, results will be sent to your health plan on the 15^th day of the following month.  Please allow time for the health plans to process this information, as the turnaround time for these results to be integrated with your Health Risk Survey will vary by health plan.
   • If you did not participate in the on-site screening, you may still complete the biometric portion with your doctor.  A special form will need to be completed by your doctor.  Visit http://wellwisconsin.wi.gov  and click on your insurance plan in the column to the left for a direct link to the form, under the heading ‘”Taking Your Assessment with Your Doctor.”
2. Complete the online Health Risk Survey required by your health plan.
   • Use your biometric screening results to complete the survey.  Visit http://wellwisconsin.wi.gov  and click on your insurance plan in the column to the left for a direct link to the online Health Survey.  This quick, easy survey is designed to help you gauge well-being factors to pinpoint possible health risks.

NOTE:  All participants should check their health insurance provider’s information on the Well Wisconsin website for any additional information and requirements that may be necessary to qualify for the incentive. 

Once the biometric screening and health survey is completed, the $150 incentive is issued by your health insurance provider and sent directly to your address on file.  Please note that it may take up to 12 weeks after the 15^th day of the following month before you receive the incentive payment.   Some health insurance providers pay on a quarterly basis.

 

Effective January 1, 2016, adult children will no longer be eligible for the Well Wisconsin Incentive program.  The incentive will continue to be available for active employees and retirees participating in the State of Wisconsin Group Health Insurance Program and their enrolled spouse/domestic partner.  This is the result of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) recent ruling on the applicability of Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) to employee wellness programs and the proposed rule amending GINA to allow spouse participation.

Well Wisconsin program and other taxable wellness-related incentives.  According to the federal government and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) financial reimbursements for wellness-related expenses such as gym memberships, fitness classes, the cost to participate in Community Support Agriculture (CSA), and rewards for participating in health or wellness programs or challenges are classified as a fringe benefit that must be treated as a taxable wage subject to income and payroll taxes.

• Federal regulations require the payroll centers to receive financial data regarding incentives issued to employees and their covered family members.  Your health information is protected by federal privacy regulations and will never be shared with your employer.

To learn more about your wellness assessment, go to (wellwisconsin.wi.gov).