Benefits
When an employee returns to work from a leave without pay, where can they check that benefits are processing correctly?
Upon returning to work, employees can review their Benefits enrollment summary to ensure everything is correct.
Plans that were discontinued during the leave without pay, furlough or short work break will be reinstated when the employee returns to active status (this process can take a few weeks to be reflected within the employee’s Benefits summary).
Does Leave without Pay/ Benefits Billing impact Flex Spending accounts?
Yes. Ensure employees are made aware of the policies regarding the end or reinstatement of Flexible Spending Accounts
Resources:
- UCnet – Health Flexible Spending Account Summary Plan Description: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/forms/pdf/hfsa.pdf, pages 11 & 12
- UCnet – Leave Without Pay: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/forms/pdf/leave-without-pay.pdf, pages 5 & 12
How is Benefits Billing impacted if an employee's return to work date is after mid-month (e.g., 9/19/22)?
If an employee’s return to work date is 9/19/22, there’s a difference between monthly and bi-weekly employees as active paychecks cover different coverage months.
Examples:
- For monthly employees, their first Active paycheck with deductions should be 9/30/22 which covers October premiums, pay period 9/1/22 – 9/30/22. The 9/19/22 return from leave needs to be entered into UCPath before 8/23/22 (last calc for 9/1/22 Invoice that covers October premiums)
- For bi-weekly employees, their first Active paycheck with deductions should be 10/12/22 covers 1st half of November premiums, pay period 9/18/22 – 10/1/22. The 9/19/22 return from leave needs to be entered into UCPath after 8/23/22 (last calc for 9/1/22 Invoice that covers October premiums) but before 9/23/22 (last calc for 10/1/22 Invoice that covers November premiums)
What happens if a furlough or Short Work Break after the benefits billing deadline (e.g., after June 15th), when does the employee receive the Benefits Billing Invoice?
If the furlough transaction beginning mid-June (around 6/19) is entered after 6/15/22 and is not captured during 7/1/22 Invoice, then the following 8/1/22 Invoice for September coverage month would reflect August + September due for monthly employees and half August + September due for bi-weekly employees, all for the same 8/1/22 Invoice due date 8/31/22
For Benefits Billing, do employees have the option to pay the full amount due or will they receive separate bills each month?
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Benefits Billing is always on a monthly basis, so employees will receive separate bills each month
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Examples:
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For monthly employees, if their furlough begins mid-June (around 6/19) then 7/1/22 monthly paycheck should be their last Active paycheck with deductions to cover for July premiums, pay period dates 6/1/22 – 6/30/22
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For bi-weekly employees, if their furlough begins mid-June (around 6/19) then 7/6/22 bi-weekly paycheck should be their last Active paycheck with deductions to cover for the 1st half of August premiums, pay period dates 6/12/22 – 6/25/22
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Resources: UCPath Quicklinks -> Benefits Resources -> For Employees – Benefits Deduction Calendars -> Benefits Deduction Calendar – 2022. Direct Link
When will employee benefits billing notices be sent out?
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Billing notices are prepared during the final week of the month and mailed to the employee on the last day of the month. Employees should receive the bill the first week of the month and is due by the end of the month
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Example: If furloughs begin mid-June (around 6/19) then the transactions would need to be entered into UCPath no later than 6/15/22 to ensure it will be captured during 7/1/22 Finance Invoice Date for August coverage month
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FYI: Short Work Breaks / Furloughs are on the same schedule as employees on all other leaves
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Resources: UCPath Quicklinks -> Benefits Resources -> Location Users - Administrators for Benefits Billing Calendars -> Processing Calendars for Benefits Billing Processing Calendar 2022. Direct link
Can open enrollment selections be submitted if a life event is open?
No, only one benefit event can happen at a time per day. If a life event is open, the life event for the current year must be closed before submitting open enrollment elections for next year.
Where can the benefits deduction information from UCPath be found? Are premiums for insurance paid in arrears or advance?
Only disability insurance is in arrears. See UCnet Employee Health and Welfare Benefits.
On page 24 of the Group Insurance Regulations it states:
- Premiums for Medical Plans, Dental Plan, Vision Plan, Legal Insurance, Life Insurance, AD&D Insurance, and Supplemental Health Plans are paid in advance. Premiums for Disability insurance are paid in arrears. Premiums are paid for a full month, even if coverage stops before the end of the period. Eligible Employee contributions are made through payroll deduction or direct pay.
Benefits Summary can be found at: Benefits > Review Employee Benefits > Benefits Summary
Review the benefits deduction schedule to see when these deductions occur.
Does UCPath automatically ensure that employees who are retiring are granted one ‘extra’ month of insurance benefits to bridge them till their retirement benefits kick in?
As long as it is entered with the appropriate termination code – Retirement, the system will automatically grant one ‘extra’ month of insurance benefits.