| Employee
Benefits for UGA-Funded Employees
Note: For county-funded employees contact your County Benefits Officer.
Information
on all UGA benefits can be accessed at:
http://www.busfin.uga.edu/benefits/bensumm.html
For specific assistance / questions contact:
Jessica
Kirk, Human Resources Specialist, CAES Business Office, at:
706-542-9002 jkirk@uga.edu
NEW UGA-FUNDED
EMPLOYEES
All new employees funded through UGA are required to complete the
UGA Online Orientation. (see link below):
http://www.hr.uga.edu/hr2.html#ori
NOTE: It is imperative that all new UGA-funded employees
receive the benefits information they need in order to make wise decisions
to fit their situation. CAES is committed to providing individual guidance
to each new employee.
Before you decide,
consider these Five Things All New Employees Need to Know:
1. You have
31 days!!!
From your start date as a benefited employee you have 31 days to make
your benefits decisions, with the exception of your retirement
choice (see #2).
Enrollment cards
must be received in the CAES Business Office and sent to Main
Campus before your benefits start, regardless of when they are
dated.
Benefits you need
to decide on include:
- Health Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Supplemental Life Insurance
- Long term Disability
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
- Flex Spending Accounts
NOTE: Changes
can be made… on any of these after you have turned in your
forms, as long as you are still within the 31 days.
Remember:
2. Take Your Time on Retirement!!!!
From your start date you have 60 days, if you have the choice, to decide
between Teacher's Retirement System (TRS) or Optional Retirement Plan
(ORP). The two plans are very different, and once the decision has been
made and the 60 days have passed, under current rules, this decision
cannot be reversed.
NOTE:
For those getting a county check, in addition to a UGA check, keep in
mind your ORP retirement deductions will be based only on the UGA portion
of your salary.
3. The High Price of Dental Insurance!!!
As you can see by the rates listed in your packet, dental insurance is
expensive, and it has a yearly maximum benefit of $1000 per person. Unlike
health insurance, dental does not have open enrollment every year so if
you do not enroll you may not have the opportunity to do so again. You
may instead want to take advantage of Med Flex (see #4),
if you usually only see the dentist for annual cleanings the cost of insurance
is too high to outweigh the cost.
4. Use Med Flex to Your Advantage!!!
Med Flex is not only used for dental visits, it can also pay for contacts,
glasses, eye exams, co-pays, deductibles, over- and under-the-counter
medications, etc. This will lower your taxable income, but keep in mind
this is a use it or lose it account. You have to spend
it all within the plan year or you will lose the money. You have until
March of the following year to file claims.
5. What If You Live!!!
Long Term Disability is a must for anyone who is not vested on TRS, which
takes 10 years, or those on ORP, who do not have disability coverage regardless
of the number of years of service. It is a low cost way to provide protection
for you and your family. We all know that we have life insurance if we
die, but what if we live? What if you cannot work again? LTD will pay
up to 60% of your income from all sources. Keep this in mind when looking
at your choices.
COMMONLY REQUESTED INFORMATION
Direct
Deposit
Retirement
Plans
Tax
Withholding for Multiple Paychecks
Worker’s
Compensation
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why can’t dental insurance be dropped anytime?
Dental insurance premiums are tax-exempt. IRS regulations do not allow
coverage change unless there is a qualified change in family circumstances.
Take Your Time
on Retirement!!!!
| College of Agricultural
& Environmental Sciences | CAES Business Office | University of Georgia |
http://unit.caes.uga.edu/abo/benefits_update.html
last updated: November, 2006
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