Category: Payroll & Benefits

Employee Resources

Uncertainty about the future and financial concerns can affect an employee’s personal well-being and cause stress in your life.  The Office of Human Resources and the Counseling and Health Center have developed an Employee Resource webpage at http://www.uwgb.edu/hr/employees/resources.html that provides web links to information about:

* UW-Green Bay Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

* State Group Life Health Insurance Plan contacts and procedures for seeking non-urgent care for mental and behavioral health issues

* A Brown County community resource guide that includes information about topics such as counseling, domestic abuse, and support groups

* Brown County United Way 211 (phone number that connects people with community services)

You can also access this webpage by going to the Human Resources home page, and click on “Employee Resources” under the “Employee Quick Links” section.  Please contact Human Resources at x2390 or the Counseling and Health Center at x2380 if you have questions or need additional information.

Long Term Care Insurance

Consider the following realities:

  • Did you know that over 40% of those receiving long-term care services are between the ages of 18-64?
  • Did you know that the average cost of certain kinds of long-term care services can cost more than $50,000 annually?
  • Did you know that almost 70% of individuals your parents/grandparents age (or those aged 65 or older), will require at least some type of long-term care?
  • Are you aware that Medicare and private health insurance do NOT cover these kinds of care expenses?
  • Did you know that there is a new plan that pays a monthly CASH BENEFIT – starting DAY ONE?

Are you prepared for these possibilities? Do you have the resources to pay for this care when you need it?  Protect your hard-earned assets and learn about your State of Wisconsin Long Term Care voluntary benefit that is offered to State and University employees from HealthChoice.  Many people feel that Long Term Care Insurance is an integral part of planning for retirement.

Attend the session being offered on Wednesday, March 23rd, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. presented by Mark Anderson, Account Executive for HealthChoice.  His presentation will provide you with important information on the HealthChoice Long-Term Care insurance CA$H-First policy.  The presentation will be held in the University Union room 103.

Health Insurance Satisfaction Survey

Attention All Participants in the State of WI Group Health Insurance Program:

Each year the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) contracts with a survey vendor (Synovate) to conduct a health insurance satisfaction survey.  The survey is expected to begin on Thursday, March 3rd.  Randomly selected employees will be contacted via e-mail beginning this week.  The survey will take 10 to 15 minutes to complete and your responses will be kept confidential.  This study is important because the results will be published in a health plan report card in the 2012 It’s Your Choice Decision Guide (Open Enrollment) booklets and will also be considered during health plan premium negotiations for the 2012 plan year.

Please e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions about this survey.

T. Rowe Price Webinars

T. Rowe Price, one of the investment companies in the UW TSA 403(b) Program, is sponsoring the following webinars:

  • Financial Markets Update
    Thursday, March 10th at 12:00 noon
    Thursday, March 10th at 6:00 p.m.
  • Retirement Investing From Beginning to End
    Wednesday, April 13th at 9:30 a.m.
    Thursday, April 14th at 10:00 a.m.

You can watch the presentations on your own computer, and listen to the audio portion on your telephone.  The March 10 “Financial Markets Update” requires preregistration, and the April 13 and 14 “Retirement Investing From Beginning to End” does not.  For more information, please go to http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/retsav/trpwebinar.htm.

Please e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions.

Budget Repair Bill Resources

Below are resources related to the Budget Repair Bill:

* Office of State Employment Relations (OSER) Budget Repair Bill Questions & Answers: http://oser.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=7209

* UW-System Budget Repair Bill FAQs (pertaining to benefits): http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/repairbillfaq.pdf

* UW-System Budget Repair Bill website: http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/budgetbill.htm

* Estimator that employees can use to determine the increase to their Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) contributions and health insurance premium:  http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/budgetBillEstimator/index.php

* Health insurance premium comparison chart: http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/repairbillhealth.pdf

* Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) document regarding fringe benefits and the Accumulated Sick Leave Conversion Credit Program (ASLCC): http://www.etf.wi.gov/news/Budget_Repair_Bill_Whats_New.pdf

* Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) document regarding retiring on short notice: http://www.etf.wi.gov/news/Retiring%20on%20Short%20Notice%202%20_2_.pdf

Some employees may have received an e-mail referencing future vacation requests.  Please note that we have no information regarding any changes to vacation or leave requests.  All requests should be handled in accordance with the current processes within each department.

Please e-mail hr@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions.

ETF Effective Interest Rates Announced

NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN THE WISCONSIN RETIREMENT SYSTEM

Please see the following release from the Department of Employee Trust Funds regarding the interest rates applied to the WRS accounts for active members and eligible inactive members:   http://www.etf.wi.gov/news/ht_20110211.htm

Please e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions.

TSA Fee Increase

Please click on the following link to view the new TSA Investor newsletter: http://www.wisconsin.edu/hr/benefits/retsav/tsaspring11.pdf.  This newsletter is being made available earlier than usual to announce an increase in the TSA fee.

In this newsletter, you will find articles regarding the following topics:

* TSA fee increase

* TSA program services the University provides

* New low-cost TIAA-CREF mutual fund share classes for UW employees

* Fidelity funds with K (institutional) share classes

The TSA fee is being increased from $9.00 to $15.00. The last fee increase was in 1999. At that time, the $6.50 fee from 1995 was increased to $9.00. We have been able to hold the fee to $9.00 for the past 12 years, but inflation and increased costs have necessitated the increase.  If you have already paid the $9.00 fee, you will only be charged the difference of $6.00.

Please e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions.

HRS and How It Will Impact You

To find out more about HRS (the new Human Resource System) and how it will impact you, please mark your calendar to attend one of the following presentations in the 1965 Room in the University Union:

* Thursday, February 10th from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

* Friday, February 18th from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

* Monday, February 21st from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

* Thursday, March 3rd from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

You can also view the power point presentation online at http://www.uwgb.edu/hr/documents/hrs.pptx.

Please e-mail hr@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions.

WRS News

The Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) and the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) have joined together to create a new joint publication, WRS News.  WRS News replaces ETF’s former publication, Trust Fund News and SWIB’s former publication, The SWIB Report.

The first issue of WRS News, January, 2011, is available for you at http://etf.wi.gov/publications/WRS%20News/wrs_news201101.pdf

WRS News will provide members of the Wisconsin Retirement System with news and information on the direct relationship between the management and investment of WRS assets and your WRS benefits.

The newsletter is divided into two sections:  ETF’s Benefits section will provide updates and information about WRS retirement benefits.

SWIB’s Investment section will include news about the investment performance of WRS assets, how WRS assets are invested, federal and state laws that impact investments, and other related topics.

WRS News will be published in January, May and September.  The newsletter will be available on the MY UW SYSTEM portal, http://my.wisconsin.edu for employees system-wide, and on the MY UW-Madison portal, http://my.wisc.edu, on the Work Record tab, for UW-Madison employees.  You will not receive direct email notification when each new issue is published.  Please check the portal for the most recent issue.

Please e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions.