Check Salary Level Before Changing Medical Plan

After reading the Open Enrollment literature and the last edition of 93106, I feel compelled to offer some clarification on the "transitional allowance" being offered by the University to employees earning $40,000 a year or less. It is not clear (especially on the cost charts in the Open Enrollment booklet) that this $40,000/year figure is based on the Full-Time Equivalent of our salaries, and not on our actual earnings.

Under this formula, an employee with an annual full-time salary of $40,440 who works 50 percent time and actually earns $20,220 must pay the higher monthly premium. A number of part-time employees, thinking they will benefit from the University's higher subsidy, may not qualify and not realize it until after they receive their first paycheck in the new year--and these potentially costly decisions will last the entire year.

I am not writing to criticize the University or its benefits managers. I applaud the effort that has been made to lighten the burden on lower-wage employees. My main objective is to raise awareness, encourage all employees to carefully review their options, and ask questions during this Open Enrollment period.

Monica Koegler-Blaha
Departmental Benefits Representative
Institute for Social, Behavioral & Economic Research