UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Laura Barnard

Mid-Year Open Enrollment Period Offering, July 15-21

Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, a mid-year open enrollment period will be offered to benefited employees starting on Wednesday, July 15, and will run through Tuesday, July 21, 2020. During this mid-year open enrollment, benefited employees can elect prospective changes to existing flexible spending accounts, enroll in a flexible spending account and/or make changes to their healthcare elections which includes add/drop coverage or change plan selections. Any change requests made during this special open enrollment will go into effect August 1, 2020.

Many people have been unable to spend their childcare or medical FSA funds due to inability to access care due to COVID shutdowns, so this would allow employees to stop contributing to FSA accounts when they are unable to have expenditures. For the healthcare, some people may want to change to the costlier plan if they are in need of monetary savings due to the economy, or some may need coverage when it wasn’t needed before.

Change request forms will be posted on the Open Enrollment page of Pilots UP at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15, 2020. No action will be needed from employees who choose not to make changes during this mid-year open enrollment period. The standard annual enrollment will occur in the Fall of 2020 for coverage effective January 1, 2021.

For more information contact Laura Barnard, human resources, at x8752 or barnardl@up.edu.

Flexible Spending Changes Due To CARES Act

There are a number of changes to employees’ 2020 Medical Flexible Spending account due to passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act on March 27, according to Laura Barnard, human resources.

The rules for reimbursement of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and medicines have been changed. The CARES Act now allows employees to use their medical FSA funds for over the counter (OTC) medical products without a prescription from a physician.  Click here to see OTC list. Please note, Allegiance is working on modifying the debit card system to allow acceptance of these purchases but it is not currently available. At this time, reimbursement requests will need to be manually submitted with copy of receipts of OTC purchases. Notification will be sent by Allegiance once the debit card system has been updated to approve these over the counter purchases.

Please see the UP FSA Plan Document with Amendment Jan 2020(1) Plan Summary Document, final page.

Also, if you have enrolled in a 2020 Dependent Childcare Spending Account and your expenditures in childcare due to parental work status, such as working from home, or due to a dependent care facility initiated change has occurred, you can submit a change request form to modify the amount being withdrawn from paychecks. A form could be submitted again upon return to normalcy. Here is a link to the form: 2020 Flexible Spending Enrollment/Change Form. Please select Enrollment Type as Change of Status with the effective date the change was made. You will then select ‘Yes’ to making change to childcare account which will take you to a page in which you can elect a new election amount for 2020. This amount can not be less than the total amount of deductions taken from January through March payroll deductions. For changes that went into effect in March, the form would need to be submitted by April 24, 2020.  

You can find these forms and documents on our Pilots UP FSA Benefits page. Please email benefits@up.edu if you have any questions in regards to the above.

Kaiser Permanente Flu Shot Clinics Open Soon

Kaiser Permanente has announced their 2019 walk-in flu shot clinics, which will take place from October 12 through 25, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The flu is a serious virus that can cause severe illness. A flu shot can help protect you against the flu, which is why Kaiser doctors recommend that everyone 6 months of age and older get a flu shot every year.

Kaiser members can visit this website to find a location near them.

For more information contact Laura Barnard, human resources, at benefits@up.edu.

Kaiser On-Site Flu Shot Clinic, October 9

Faculty and staff who are covered under the University’s Kaiser healthcare plans will have an opportunity to receive a flu vaccination onsite on Wednesday, October 9, from 10:30 to 1:30 p.m. The clinic will be held in Franz Hall room 120. You will need to bring your Kaiser Permanente card along with photo ID to receive a flu shot.

For more information contact Laura Barnard at benefits@up.edu

 

Fall 2019 Tuition Remission Application Deadline: June 20

Tuition remission requests for fall 2019 are due by Thursday, June 20, according to Laura Barnard, human resources. Please note, this date has been moved up to allow appropriate processing time by HR, financial aid, and student accounts. Forms can be found at the Human Resources Benefit Website. Remember, a tuition remission request form must be submitted every semester an employee or eligible dependent is intending to take courses. Please submit the requests by the following deadlines to avoid a late fee from student accounts:

  • Fall term: June 20
  • Spring term: November 5
  • Summer term: April 15

Please note, there are separate forms for undergraduate and graduate course work. Keep in mind, graduate level tuition remission benefits will be taxable to the employee on the value above $5,250 for attempted credits and subject to applicable withholdings. When an eligible spouse receives graduate level tuition remission, the entire tuition remission amount is taxable to the employee and subject to applicable withholdings. This taxable benefit will be reflected on the employee’s W-2 form of the tax year the remission was applied. Details regarding the taxable benefit can also be found on the Human Resources Benefit Website.

TIAA Representative Visit, Oct. 30-Nov. 1

A representative from TIAA, which administers the University’s retirement accounts, will be on campus on Tuesday, October 30, Wednesday, October 31, and Thursday, November 1. Tuesday and Thursday appointments will be held in the Career Center located in Orrico Hall lower level and Wednesday appointments will be held in the Clark Library second floor conference room, according to Laura Barnard, human resources. Financial counseling appointments with Rebecca Rohleder (pictured) are available during work hours on those days. Schedule your appointment today at www.tiaa-cref.org/schedulenow or by calling TIAA at 877.842.2028 (press 5 to schedule an appointment).

Please email benefits@up.edu with questions.

TIAA Representative On Campus July 10, 11, 12

A representative from TIAA, which administers the University’s retirement accounts, will be on campus on Tuesday, July 10, Wednesday, July 11, and Thursday, July 12 in the Career Center located in Orrico Hall lower level, according to Laura Barnard, human resources. Financial counseling appointments with Rebecca Rohleder (pictured) are available during work hours on those days. Schedule your appointment today at www.tiaa-cref.org/schedulenow or by calling TIAA at 877.842.2028 (press 5 to schedule an appointment).

Please email benefits@up.edu with questions.

TIAA Representative Visiting Campus Dec. 11, 12

A representative from TIAA, which administers the University’s retirement accounts, will be on campus on Monday, December 11 and Tuesday, December 12, in the Career Center located in Orrico Hall lower level, according to Laura Barnard, human resources. Financial counseling appointments with Rebecca Rohleder (pictured) are available during work hours on those days, but appointments must be scheduled at www.tiaa-cref.org/schedulenow or by calling call TIAA at 877.842.2028 (press 5 to schedule an appointment).

For more information, please email benefits@up.edu.

On-Site Flu Shot Clinic: October 27

Faculty and staff who are covered under UP’s Kaiser health insurance will  have an opportunity to receive a flu vaccination sponsored by the HR office on Friday, October 27, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The clinic will be held on campus in Franz Hall room 120. You will need to bring your Kaiser Permanente card along photo I.D. in order to receive a flu shot.

For more information contact Laura Barnard at benefits@up.edu.

 

 

 

TIAA Rep Visit, Sept. 11-13

A representative from TIAA, which administers the University’s retirement accounts, will be on campus on September 11-13, in the Clark Library conference room (no. 222), according to Laura Barnard, human resources. Financial counseling appointments are available during work hours on those days in the Clark library, but appointments must be scheduled at www.tiaa-cref.org/schedulenow or by calling call TIAA at 877.842.2028 (press 5 to schedule an appointment).

For more information contact Barnard at barnardl@up.edu.