Resources

UW Combined Fund Drive

Charity Fair & Food Drive is October 15

What would you give to change the world?

You're invited to explore over 40 charities that benefit from the UW Combined Fund Drive (UWCFD), our workplace giving campaign. Meet with charity representatives and find out about their programs, how UW donations make a difference, and how you can get involved.

This year, UWCFD is also sponsoring a sock/food drive—"Socks, Soups & Stews"—to benefit Northwest Harvest. Northwest Harvest strives to be the most efficient hunger response program in the state of Washington, with more than 93% of their budget going directly to food distribution. So bring some NEW socks—any and all sizes appreciated—and canned goods to the Charity Fair.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Mary Gates Commons

For more details, visit UW Combined Fund Drive

Look for your UWCFD Giving Form

Giving to your favorite charities through the UW’s workplace giving campaign keeps getting easier. Look for your UW Combined Fund Drive (UWCFD) giving form in your mailbox beginning October 10. The mailing explains what the UWCFD is, includes your giving history (if you donated last year), and invites you to participate in the UWCFD gold and silver giving circles. Plus, enjoy a complimentary bookmark!

Give today through Dec. 5 at www.washington.edu/uwcfd or complete and return your giving form to UWCFD, Box 359200.

UW Discount Program

Halloween Savings

Scare up great savings for Halloween with the UW discount program. You’ll find hot deals on costumes for adults and kids, decorations, entertainment, and, of course—candy!

To access your discount, go to UW Discounts and click "View the Discounts." Sign into the SmartSavings website with your UW NetID and password to find great savings.

The discount program is available to all UW faculty, staff, students, and retirees. Questions or suggestions may be directed to worklife@u.washington.edu.

Hometown Home Loan Program

Prequalification Appointments

Get your mortgage questions answered! Free half-hour pre-qualification appointments, 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., monthly at Seattle and quarterly at Bothell, Tacoma, and Harborview. Contact the Affinity Lending Center at 206-628-0207 to schedule an appointment.

The Hometown Home Loan Program offers reduced fees on mortgages for University of Washington employees buying or refinancing anywhere in the Puget Sound region. All benefits-eligible UW faculty and staff members may apply. Learn more.

Benefits & WorkLife Update informs University of Washington faculty and staff of current news and events surrounding Benefits & WorkLife programs. It is published on the first and third Tuesday of the month. Comments and suggestions may be addressed to the editor at benefits@u.washington.edu

To see past issues, click here.

Retirement & Savings

VIP and UWRP Fund Sponsors Weigh in on the Current Market

The ongoing events in the financial markets have had a wide-reaching impact on the financial sector. The fund sponsors of our University of Washington Retirement Plan (UWRP) and Voluntary Investment Plan (VIP) have been issuing statements to investors about the market volatility and recent events in the financial services sector. See any of the following fund sponsor websites to learn more.

Fund Sponsors are Here to Help

If you're concerned about your retirement investments during the recent financial turmoil and you haven't reviewed your portfolio in a while, you and your spouse or partner may want to schedule an appointment to meet with a representative from one of our four fund sponsors—either by phone or in person—to review your asset allocations, savings objectives, and risk tolerance against your current portfolio.

To schedule your free, in-person appointment with Calvert, Fidelity, TIAA-CREF or Vanguard:

Check our events calendar to find dates on which a fund sponsor will be coming to a location near you.
Note: These are shown as "appt" on the calendar.
Contact a representative of your choice to schedule your free appointment.

Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) Plans

Staff retirement plans such as PERS 1, PERS 2, and LEOFF 2 are "defined benefit" plans which, from the participant's benefit perspective, are unchanged by the current fluctuating market conditions. PERS 3 members are in a hybrid plan which mixes defined benefit and defined contribution features, and will therefore see a more direct impact from market swings. Read about market conditions and the impact on the various DRS plans at www.drs.wa.gov.

Get Ready for Open Enrollment

Time to Review Your Medical and Dental Coverage

Are you thinking of making changes to your medical or dental plans? Do you need to re-enroll, waive or drop a currently-enrolled dependent? Now is the time to review your plans. Open Enrollment—the period when you are permitted to make changes— begins October 27 and runs through November 30.

Start by verifying your health coverage in advance at www.hca.wa.gov/ecoverage.shtml. Return to this site during Open Enrollment to make changes online. If you are adding a dependent not previously covered, you will need to submit a paper form to the Benefits Office, which will be available on October 27, the first day of Open Enrollment. All changes become effective on January 1, 2009.

If you're not making changes to your medical or dental plans, relax—your plans will remain unchanged for 2009. Even so, you'll want to attend the Benefits Fair to check out all the other great benefits available to you! See article below.

Benefits Changes for 2009

What changes can you expect to see in your medical and dental plans next year? For your dental plan, there are none; the UW continues to pay the full dental premium for employees and their dependents. For your medical plan, there will be a few changes—most of them positive.

Employee monthly premiums are declining for Uniform Medical Plan and increasing for Aetna Employees Plan and Group Health. See new premiums. (Note that employer contributions to healthcare costs continue to average 88% of total cost.)
For PEBB medical plans that offer a hearing aid benefit, the maximum coverage will increase to $800 every 36 months. The current 2008 maximum benefit is $400 every 36 months for the Aetna Public Employees Plan and Uniform Medical Plan, and $300 every 36 months for other plans.
Optional long term disability rates will decrease. See new rates.
Optional life insurance rates will decrease. See new rates.
The Flexible Spending Account maximum annual contribution limit will increase from $2,400 to $3,600.
There will be the new program for adult dependents of subscribers' unmarried children ages 20 through 24 whereby if the dependent is not eligible for PEBB coverage as a student or a child with disabilities, self-pay rates will apply. More information about this new program will be posted on the HCA website in mid October. (See related correction notice below.)
Medicare-eligible retiree medical premiums will decrease by about one percent.

Correction:
In an email message to benefits-eligible faculty and staff on September 9, this statement was made in error: “Dependent eligibility has been expanded. Beginning January 1, 2009, unmarried dependent student coverage will extend through age 24 (currently covered through age 23).”

There will be no change in the age limit for student dependents in 2009, rather there will be a new adult dependent program as mentioned above. For more details, see Public Employees Benefits Board changes.

UW Benefits Fairs

Make the Most of Your Benefits!

Here's your chance to explore the many benefits the University offers. Ask questions and compare plans so you feel confident you're taking full advantage of all the UW has to offer you and your dependents. Drop by between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on one of these dates/locations:

Tuesday, October 28 | UW Medical Center Lobby & Health Sciences Lobby

Wednesday, October 29 | Seattle Campus | HUB East Ballroom

Thursday, October 30 | Harborview Medical Center | Research and Training Building Lobby

Stretch Your Dollars with Pretax Savings Programs

The UW offers two great programs to help you stretch your dollars through pre-tax savings: the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) program and the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP). Remember, even if you participated in one of these programs before and you want to continue your FSA or DCAP participation in 2009, you must reapply during the open enrollment period—October 27 through November 30, 2008.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Looking for a great way to save valuable tax dollars on health expenses? Consider a Flexible Spending Account. FSAs are IRS-approved, tax-free accounts that can save you money on eligible medical expenses. How does it work? You authorize per-pay-period deposits to your FSA from your before-tax salary, contributing as little as $240 or as much as $3,600 for 2009. Then, as you incur eligible expenses, you request tax-free withdrawals from your account to reimburse yourself. Learn how.

Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP)

If you are currently paying for child or adult daycare, consider taking advantage of pretax savings for these expenses. The DCAP allows you to take a deduction from your pay for your eligible dependent care expenses before taxes are calculated. You save money in your paycheck now because the deductions are exempt from taxes.

Both FSA and DCAP are administered by ASI with the following services:

Online enrollment (starting October 27) and account information (anytime)
Direct deposit of approved reimbursements into your checking or savings account
Rapid reimbursement with most claims processed within one business day of receipt and payments typically issued that same day

Review DCAP enrollment materials on ASI’s website at http://pebb.asiflex.com. Also, because the IRS allows you to use DCAP rather than taking the Child and Dependent Care Credit when you file your tax return, carefully compare which is better for you—the deduction or the credit. Refer to Publication 503 at the IRS website.

Balancing Work and Life

Wherever You are in Life … We’re Here to Help

Celebrate National Work and Family Month right here on campus! “Wherever you are in life …we’re here to help” is the theme that encompasses your work-life areas like career development, workplace flexibility, wellness, parenting, eldercare, personal finance, having fun, planning for retirement, and community involvement.

Discover the robust offerings of programs and events designed to help you achieve success within and outside the University. Check our calendar of events for a host of activities available to all UW faculty and staff. Below are some of the free noontime seminars being offered this month.

Who Depends on You?

Your children, your spouse/partner, elders, pets, friends, and work are depending on you. Make sure you are prepared to take care of them when disaster strikes. Join Siri McLean for a discussion on what everyone should know about protecting their loved ones.

Siri-Elizabeth McLean is the UW Plans & Training Manager in Emergency Management. She has a master’s from the UW in Strategic Planning for Critical Infrastructures and has spent the past two years focusing on public outreach in emergency education.

A Comfortable Balance: Work and Home

With all the commitments and obligations you face daily, how do you achieve a comfortable balance of life and work? Join this lively, interactive session providing practical suggestions for refocusing time and energy on what you value most in life.

Sue Covey is a senior account executive for APS Healthcare. With over twenty years in the counseling field, Sue has conducted numerous workshops and training programs related to balancing work and personal life. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Employee Assistance Professional.

From Home to College: Relationship Transitions for Parents & Child

Transitioning to college can be challenging for both the parents and their children. Find out about the blend of support and challenge this transition requires in a lively, interactive discussion with Michelle Meola from the UW’s Student Counseling Center.

Michelle Meola, counseling psychologist, has been counseling UW students for 20 years as individuals, couples, and groups. She presents both sides of this transition—parents and children—having learned from her clinical practice and from her own experience navigating this transition with her son.

SAT preparation classes

WorkLife partners with the University Women’s Center to provide free study guides to children of UW employees who enroll in the Women’s Center’s S.A.T. tutorial classes. Classes are offered on the following Thursdays: October 16, 23 and 30, and November 6, 13 and 20. For more information about the class or to register, please call the Women's Center at 206-685-1090.

To receive a free study guide (a $19.95 value), the employee’s child must register for a tutorial class at the Women’s Center, specify that their parent is a University employee, and provide their parent’s name and employee ID number. If registered ten days before the class begins, study guides will be sent to the parent by campus mail. If registered within ten days prior to beginning of class, study guides will be available at the first class. For more information about this offer, email worklife@u.washington.edu.

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