February 2009
UNC Asheville
Employee Benefits ROUNDUP
State Health Plan Update
Jack Walker, Executive Administrator of the State Health Plan, met with the Joint Legislative Health Care Oversight Committee on Thursday, February 19th. In addition to again outlining the financial issues facing the plan, various changes were discussed in an attempt to keep it solvent.
Although the news out of Raleigh is constantly changing, some points discussed during the meeting included:
** It is anticipated that the Enhanced plan which currently offers employees a premium option for an additional fee per month, will be eliminated from the program. If this elimination occurs, affected employees will be allowed to select another plan option. If they do not make a selection, they will be moved to the PPO Standard (80/20) plan.
** The legislature is being asked to give or loan the State Health plan funds to make up the shortfall for the rest of this year. The plan needs for the biennium, estimated at $1.2 billion, will likely have to be addressed through a combination of plan changes and premium increases.
** Premiums for dependent coverage are likely to rise and increases in co-pays, co-insurance rates and deductibles have not been ruled out. These changes may take place in stages throughout the next year and may result in premium renewals annually as opposed to the current biennium system
** The Health plan is placing more of a focus on chronic illness management and wellness through a variety of pharmaceutical and wellness programs.
Walker said some stop-gap measures already in place to help reduce the bleeding of the plan's finances have already been successful. These tactics include better management of cash flow, administrative measures to control costs and delaying administrative expenses. He reiterated that no medical or pharmaceutical claims have been delayed.
The Human Resource Department is continuing monitor the situation closely and will keep employees informed as soon as a decision has been reached.
The State Health Plan covers over 667,000 individuals who work in state government, municipalities, education facilities as well as eligible retirees and dependents. Current losses are being attributed to inaccurate projections regarding premium collections, pharmaceutical costs and claims.
North Carolina is one of only 7 states that pay the entire health premium of their employees.
Free Tax Preparation?
UNC Asheville's own Monique Taylor, Director of Internal Audit, has partnered with the IRS and UNC Asheville volunteers to open a new tax preparation site that caters to low-to-moderate income tax filers.
The IRS Sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is located at the Reid Center which can be found behind Memorial Mission Hospital, off of Victoria Road and near AB-Tech. The group will be at the Reid Center every Saturday until April 11th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. No appointment is necessary and taxes can be filed electronically from the site.
The free tax service is available to all members of the community who file simple forms (1040A, 1040EZ, etc.) and who do not have excessive income. For tax help, individuals need only bring:
Identification (driver's license);
W-2 forms (and any other documents received for income received during the year; e.g. 1099 forms, etc.);
Social Security cards (for yourself and all dependents being claimed);
and any other relevant documentation to prepare the income tax return.
For employees interested in other free tax preparation sites, the United Way's 2-1-1 program can link employees to services simply by dialing '211' from their telephone.
While the tax preparation link is designed to help households that earn less than $40,000 per year, the 211 service is intended to link callers with community organizations that provide a variety of services from financial planning, volunteer opportunities and health and human service needs in Buncombe, Madison, Transylvania and Henderson counties. From tax help to the care for an elder parent or child, United Way's 211 line was created to provide options for callers. As part of this commitment, calling 211 can link employees and the community with other tax preparation sites in their county.
The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be accessed via landline and cellular phone by dialing '211'. An online database of health and human service agencies that participate in the program is also available.
The Hidden Treasure of YOUR Benefits!
Mark your calendars! The Human Resource Office will be sponsoring a Benefits Fair on Wednesday, March 25th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the lobby of Lipinski Auditorium.
Come learn more about the benefits provided to UNC Asheville employees and talk with the vendors who provide these services.
ORP Participants:
Watch those mailboxes!
As t
he
UNC System prepares to re-file critical documentation
with IRS for the Optional Retirement
Program, mandated
letters are being sent to participant's
home addresses being advised of the filing. The letters are for
informational purposes only and no action is required.
Spotlight ON:
Your Pay Stub
What do all those abbreviations mean?
Everyone has done it at some point. As paycheck stubs get delivered every month, we look at the pay voucher and think, "what is that deduction? Did I sign up for that?"
Thankfully, answering payroll and other deduction questions is one of many reasons that the Human Resources department acts as a resource for UNC Asheville. Should you have questions regarding any of your payroll deductions or benefits, you may contact Amy Owenby at aowenby@unca.edu or via telephone at 250.2357. In the interim, below is a list of deductions you may see on your monthly paycheck:
TAXES
In addition to seeing the Federal and State Taxable Wages (boxes 1 and 3), a current and year to date Federal and State Tax Withheld tally may be found in boxes 2 and 4. Should employees wish to change their federal withholdings, a new W-4 form may be completed and returned to the benefits department in 116 Phillips. State tax withholdings may be altered by filling out an updated NC-4 form and delivering it to the same address.
The OASDI taxable wages and tax refer to the Old- Age Survivors Disability Program, or Social Security, and the tax rate if 6.2%. The Medicare portion of the Social Security benefit maybe found under boxes 7 and 8 labeled HI Taxable Wages and Tax W/H respectively. The current Medicare tax rate is 1.45%
Deductions
The mandatory 6% Retirement contribution withheld from each payroll may be found in box 11 of your payroll stub.
Employees can also find their pre-tax deduction total in box 13 on the deposit notice. For an itemized review of these pre-tax deductions, employees can refer to the "Current Miscellaneous Deduction Detail" area located in the large box just right of the center of the stub. All pre-tax deductions are noted with a "+" sign. Common abbreviations include:
Grp T/L Imputed - IRS regulations stipulate that an employee can only receive up to $50,000 of group term life insurance on a pre-tax basis. As a result, any amount over $50,000 is subject to ordinary payroll taxes. Imputed refers to the non-cash income benefit received from your Group Life coverage through the NC Flex Program. See page 35 of your NC Flex Enrollment guide for more information.
Liberty Life / Standard - If you have purchased a supplemental disability plan, you will see "Liberty Life" or "Standard" listed on your pay voucher depending on where your retirement funds are invested. Liberty Life serves individuals who participate in the Teachers and State Employees Retirement plan (TSERS) while Standard is for those employees who are ORP contributors. You may find more information the supplemental disability programs offered by the UNC System by visiting the Human Resources portion of the General Administration website.
+ NC PPO Health - Any dependent coverage deduction for the State Health Plan can be viewed here. The rates for dependent coverage may be found on the Comparison of Employee Contribution rates on the State Health Plan website.
+ Institution Parking - This is a $5.83 rate for campus parking. See the UNCA Transportation website for other alternatives.
+ NC Flex FSA-Hea - The Healthcare Flexible Spending Account benefit offered as part of the NC Flex program allows employees to contribute a set amount of their pre-tax income to an account dedicated to medical, dental or other health care expenses. For more information on the Healthcare Flexible Spending Account, refer to page 8 of the 2009 NC Flex Enrollment guide.
+ NC Flex FSA-Dep - The Dependent care Flexible Spending account is designed to benefit employees with young dependent children or disabled dependents of any age. More information on the Dependent Flexible Spending Account, can be found on page 11 of the 2009 NC Flex Enrollment guide.
+ NC Flex Dental - The monthly premium charged for elected dental insurance at either a low or high option rate. A comparison chart of coverage levels and premium costs can be found in the 2009 NC Flex Enrollment guide on page 14.
+ NC Flex AD&D Plan - The premium charged for elected voluntary Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance. This benefit also includes Worldwide Travel Assistance for accidents or medical incidents that happen more than 100 miles from your home. For more information, consult page 30 of the NC Flex Enrollment guide
+ NC Flex Superior - Superior Vision Services underwrites this elected group vision coverage which can include coverage for exams, frames or contact lenses based on plan selection. Plan options and costs can be found on page 21 in the 2009 NC Flex Enrollment guide
+ NC Flex Term Life - Group Term Life insurance offered by ING/Reliastar through the NC Flex Program can be found under this heading. The rate for this program changes every 5 years and depends on the employee's age as of January 1st of the plan year. For more rate information see the NC Flex Enrollment guide on page 34.
+ NC Flex Cancer - Allstate's Cancer coverage plans are offered as a pre-tax election through the NC Flex program. Premium and coverage information may be found on page 26 in the NC Flex Enrollment guide
+ NC Flex Critical - New in 2009, this Metlife sponsored plan offers supplemental critical illness coverage through NC Flex. Learn more about the Critical Illness plan on page 23 of the 2009 NC Flex Enrollment guide
NCSECU - This shows if an employee diverts money from their monthly payroll into an account maintained by the NC State Employees Credit Union.
+ NC 401k, NC 457 or NC 403b - This lists the contribution any of the state-sponsored supplemental retirement programs. More about Supplemental Retirement may be found on the Supplemental Retirement portion of the Human Resources website.