T. Rowe Price Webinar

NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES REGARDING INFORMATIONAL WEBINAR

T. Rowe Price, one of the investment companies participating in the UW System TSA 403(b) program, is sponsoring the webinar “Retirement Investing From Beginning to End” on February 7 and 8, 2011.   You can watch the presentation on your own computer.   Listen to the audio portion on your telephone.   There is no registration required.   This 40-minute program is a comprehensive presentation that explains asset classes, reviews the concepts of risk and return, and helps employees make the most of their investment choices.

For more information, 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.

2010 WRS Returns

NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN THE WISCONSIN RETIREMENT SYSTEM

Please see the attached press release regarding the 2010 WRS returns:  http://www.swib.state.wi.us/2010_returns.pdf.   There is additional information available on SWIB’s main page as well:  http://www.swib.state.wi.us/.

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

2011 Tax Update

There have been some notable changes regarding taxes for 2011.  The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 that became law on December 17, 2010 enacted a two percentage point payroll tax cut for employees, reducing their Social Security tax withholding rate from 6.2% to 4.2% of wages paid.

There has been a change to the Federal Tax Withholding Tables for 2011.  IRS Notice 1036 provides a summary of the recent tax law changes and includes the 2011 percentage method income tax withholding tables.  State of Wisconsin income tax rates will remain the same for 2011.  Employees are encouraged to review their federal income tax withholding every year;  any major life changes may prompt you to submit a new W-4 Form to change your tax withholding.

For further information, please see the HR, Payroll and Benefits News section in the My UW System Portal.  If you have questions e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390.

Rehired Annuitant Information

NOTICE TO ALL SUPERVISORS AND EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN THE WISCONSIN RETIREMENT SYSTEM

As a reminder, for those employees considering retirement and supervisors considering rehiring recently retired employees, please review the Q&A found in the link below.  There are several rules and statutes governing rehired annuitants that must be followed to minimize jeopardizing the recently retired employee’s benefits.

http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/lifevent/rehired.htm?__utma=1.1454196849.1269866245.1292428108.1292865477.42&__utmb=1.2.10.1292865477&__utmc=1&__utmx=-&__utmz=1.1289846704.35.11.utmcsr=uwgb.edu|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/hr/benefits/&__utmv=-&__utmk=33985825

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

WRS Investment Returns Are Up

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) just released the WRS investment returns through November 30th.  The Core Fund is up 7.6% and the Variable Fund is up 8.0%.  You can visit SWIB’s website for more information:  http://www.swib.state.wi.us/.

In addition, the UW System Administration has updated documents that outline how market conditions affect your WRS benefits:  http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/retsav/wrsdownturn.html.   For employees still considering on whether to retire at the end of 2010 or beginning of 2011, you can review the Retiree Q&A for information for help:  http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/retsav/downturnretireeQA.pdf.

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

Floating Holidays (for Unclassified)

Use of Floating Legal Holidays – December 25, 2010 and January 1, 2011

All employees eligible to earn and use legal holidays should note that Christmas Day, Saturday December 25, 2010, and New Year’s Day, Saturday, January 1, 2011, are floating legal holidays since these holidays fall on a regularly scheduled day off (a Saturday) for most employees.

Unclassified Employees

For unclassified employees (those paid monthly), floating holiday time can be used anytime during the fiscal year in which it is granted (July 1 – June 30), but MUST be used by the end of the fiscal year. For example, the December 25, 2010 floating holiday must be used by June 30, 2011.

The January 1, 2011 floating legal holiday must be used by June 30, 2011.

Unused floating holiday time is lost after June 30.

Floating holiday time is allocated to the employee during the pay period in which the holiday falls and will appear on the next leave statement.  When floating holiday time is used before the holiday occurs, the balance will appear as a negative number on the statement and in the leave accounting system.

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

WRS Small Group Sessions

NOTICE TO ALL EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATING IN THE WISCONSIN RETIREMENT SYSTEM

The Department of Employee Trust Funds is pleased to formally announce that they have expanded their outreach and education.   Please see the EFT flyer to read the requirements for who is eligible to attend these group sessions and how to schedule an appointment.

You can find locations and dates around the state at their interactive website http://www.etf.wi.gov/members/presentation_map.html.   With the exception of the one public presentation per district, please note that for all other dates and times participants must call and schedule an appointment and there is limited availability.    In order to be eligible the participant must:

* Have a CURRENT retirement estimate and packet

* Plan to retire in the next 12 months

Included will be a step by step explanation of:

* Your retirement estimate

* Your Annuity options

* The application process

Call 608-266-5717 or toll free at (877) 533-5020, ext. 65717 to schedule an appointment.

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

Floating Holiday Reminder

Reminder to all Classified Employees:

This year, Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, resulting in a floating holiday.  Please note that floating legal holiday may be used at any time during the year it is earned.  You must use this floating holiday by December 30, 2010 or it will be forfeited, as it cannot be carried over into 2011.  You may use this floating holiday prior to it being earned on December 25, 2010 and usage of this time will appear as a negative balance on your earnings statement until after the holiday occurs.

Use of floating holiday should be reported as “Legal Holiday” on your bi-weekly timesheet.

For more information regarding legal holidays, please visit our website.  If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources or Payroll.