TIAA CREF Counseling Sessions

TIAA CREF INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING SESSIONS – March 26-27, 2012

TIAA CREF is offering individual and confidential counseling sessions where you can discuss your financial situation with a TIAA CREF consultant.  They will be available to help you achieve your financial goals by investing in financial solutions and help simplify your retirement planning.

Please see the flyer for more information about TIAA CREF sessions at UWGB.   To schedule a consultation with representative Chad Stein, call 1-866-843-5640  Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 8:00pm (EST), or register at www.tiaa-cref.org/letstalk1.

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

Health Insurance Survey

HRS Benefits – ETF Annual Heath Insurance Satisfaction Survey Message is Legit

We have been receiving questions regarding a message from the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) that was sent to some UW System employees regarding participation in an Annual Heath Insurance Satisfaction Survey.

We wanted to take a minute to confirm that the message is genuine.  Each year the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) contracts with a survey vendor to conduct the Consumer Assessment of Health Care Systems (CAHPS) survey.   This year, ETF has contracted with the vendor Morpace to conduct a survey of selected state employees and retirees starting the week of March 5th.  The study is expected to be completed in May, but could go as late as the early part of June.

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.

T. Rowe Price Retirement Webinar

T. Rowe Price, one of the investments companies in the UW TSA 403(b) Program, has made available the recorded webinar Retirement Investing from Beginning to End (http://www.wisconsin.edu/hr/benefits/retsav/trpwebinar.htm).  This 22-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.   The plan’s investment options are profiled using market capitalization, investment style, and geographic characteristics.

Please take advantage of the opportunity to view this free webinar which will be available until 6/30/2012.

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.

New Personnel System Website

The 2011-13 biennial budget (Act 32 of 2011) created s. 36.115, authorizing and directing the development of two distinct new personnel systems (human resource related policies and procedures) separate from the existing personnel system under ch. 230, one for all UW-Madison employees and one for the balance of all University of Wisconsin System employees. These new personnel systems will encompass policies and procedures for both unclassified and classified employment categories.  A website has been developed to communicate the development of this new system, which is located at http://web.uwsa.edu/personnelsystems/.

Work groups covering the topics of benefits, compensation, employee environment, employee movement, employee categories and recruitment and assessment have recently been established to obtain feedback about potential policies and procedures for the new system. The following UW-Green Bay employees are serving on four of these work groups:

Benefits – Cliff Abbott, Secretary of the Faculty and Academic Staff and Professor in Computing Science

Compensation – Sheryl Van Gruensven, Director of Human Resources

Employee Movement – Eileen Kolb, Advisor, Registrar Office

Employment Categories – Joe Schoenebeck, Laboratory Preparation Technician, NAS

Please review the University Personnel Systems website for general information, additional information on the workgroups and the timeline for implementation of the new personnel structures. This website will be updated regularly as new information becomes available.

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.

Talent Acquisition Manager (TAM)

Beginning on February 20th, 2012, unclassified search and screens, adjunct faculty and Limited Term Employee (LTE) recruitments will be handled in Talent Acquisition Manager (TAM), which is a module of HRS.  Once implemented, TAM will have a considerable impact on the way recruitments are handled.  The system will change the way that candidates apply for positions, will provide convenience for users, and reduce the need for the use of paper.  TAM will greatly streamline and modernize the current processes.  Please note that recruitments for classified permanent positions are not going to be conducted in TAM.

TAM brings a variety of new opportunities in the way recruitments are handled including:

  • Security which ensures that applicant data is protected
  • Decreased amount of paper use and reduced likelihood that files are misplaced or lost
  • Real time applicant status monitoring with the use of applicant tracking
  • Increased chances of attracting quality candidates by providing an online application process
  • Reduces UW’s carbon footprint by creating a paperless application process

To learn more about the functionality of TAM and how it will impact you, please attend one of the following informational sessions: 

Date:          Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
Time:         10:00 – 11:00 a.m. or 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Location:    Alumni Rooms A/B

Date:         Friday, February 10th, 2012
Time:        11:00 a.m. – Noon
Location:   Alumni Rooms A/B

In addition, search and screen committees and the appropriate administrative support individual will be given an overview of TAM at the launch of each new search and screen.

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.

T. Rowe Price Live Webinars

T. Rowe Price Live Webinars — Weeks of February 6 and February 13

T. Rowe Price will offer two live webinars this spring semester – Retirement Investing from Beginning to End and Retirement Milestones – both at various times. These are live presentations over the web, and there will be time for you at ask questions and get your questions answered. You may sign up and watch the presentations on your own computer. Listen to the audio portion on the telephone.  Registration Link – Web Meetings: http://rpstrowepricereg32.fugent.com.

Retirement Investing from Beginning to End – 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. The plan’s investment options are discussed and profiled using market capitalization, investment style, and geographic characteristics.

Retirement Milestones – This 30-minute interactive program is designed for active plan participants age 50 and older. However, employees younger than age 50 may find the webinar interesting. Topics such as retirement savings progress, retirement income calculations, and age 50+ milestones are discussed in this program. Retirement milestones reviewed in this program include age 50 catch-up contributions, age 55 and separate service options, and Social Security and Medicare eligibility dates.

Monday, February 6 – Investing, 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Tuesday, February 7 – Investing, 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 8 – Milestones, 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Thursday, February 9 – Milestones, 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Monday, February 13 – Milestones, 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, February 14 – Milestones, 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Wednesday, February 15 – Investing, 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, February 16 – Investing, 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

The UW System Enroll in the TSA Program website helps you through the enrollment process and provides links to online enrollment. The UW TSA 403(b) Question and Answer Guide is a list of frequently asked questions and describes the Program in detail.

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.

New ETF Retirement Video

New ETF Video: When Should I Retire?
Wisconsin Retirement System members planning to retire at the end of a year often question whether their initial benefit would be higher if they instead waited until the beginning of the next year. There is no “one-size-fits-all” answer. This presentation provides a detailed explanation that will help determine the best time to retire. There is a 10-minute introduction applicable to all members and four 8-minute individual chapters – view the one based on your personal circumstances. A printable reference document is also available.

View When Should I Retire?

Employee Trust Funds website: http://etf.wi.gov

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.

2012 TSA 403(b) Contribution Maximum

UW Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) Program Update

The Internal Revenue Service has announced the 2012 contribution maximums for the Tax Sheltered Annuity Program.

For 2012 University of Wisconsin employees may contribute a maximum of $17,000 to the Tax-Sheltered Annuity 403(b) Program. Employees age 50 and over can contribute an additional $5,500 for a total of $22,500. If you have 15 years or more of service with the UW, you may have an additional “catch-up” opportunity.  For more information, please see the announcement: pdf document on the 2012 limits, and the web page on TSA limits at http://www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/retsav/limits.htm.

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.

TIAA CREF Counseling Sessions

TIAA CREF is offering individual and confidential counseling sessions where you can discuss your financial situation with a TIAA CREF consultant.  They will be able available to help you achieve your financial goals by investing in financial solutions and help simplify your retirement planning.

When:            Monday, November 21, 2011, 9:45am – 5:00pm

                       Tuesday, November 22, 2011, 8:15am – 12:45pm

Where:           University Union Building, Wequiock Room, #101A

Don’t miss this opportunity — schedule a confidential consultation with your TIAA CREF representative, Chad Stein.   To schedule a time, call 1-866-843-5640  Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 8:00pm (EST).

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 with questions.

2011-13 Compensation Plan

Proposed 2011-13 Compensation Plan  

If approved, the new compensation plan would be effective January 1, 2012.  Below are links to a summary of the proposed changes and the draft 2011-13 Compensation Plan:

http://oser.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=7275

ftp://doaftp04.doa.state.wi.us/doadocs/2011-2013CompPlanJCOER.pdf

If you have questions regarding the new plan, please send your email to compensationplan@uwsa.edu and UW System will be fielding your questions at this time. UW System will be developing an FAQ document that will supplement a similar document developed by OSER and we will provide that information to you once it is available.

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 with questions.