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Click 'Continue' at the bottom of each page or use the Navigation Menu on the left of your page to move about Benefits Enrollment. Click on Instructions to begin updating your enrollments.
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Timeout
To maintain security and confidentiality, Benefits Enrollment will timeout in 20 minutes if there is no activity. If your session does expire, you must sign in again.
Benefits Eligibility
The benefits for which you are eligible depend on your appointment level and your membership in UCRP or another defined benefit plan to which UC contributes. Most employees eligible for benefits are covered under one of three benefits packages – Full, Mid-level, or Core.
INITIAL REQUIREMENTS
Full Benefits - Benefits Eligibility Level Indicator (BELI) 1
You are eligible to enroll in Full Benefits if:
- You are a member of a UC-sponsored retirement plan.
There are two ways to qualify for UCRP membership:
- You are appointed to work in an eligible position at least 50 percent time for a year or more
-or- - After you work 1,000 hours in a 12-month period in an eligible position.
Mid-level Benefits - BELI 2 and 3
You are eligible for Mid-level Benefits if:
- You are not a member of a UC-sponsored defined benefits retirement plan
-and- - You are appointed to work 100 percent time for at least three months
-or- - You are appointed to work at least 50 percent time for a year or more.
Core Benefits - BELI 4
You are eligible for Core Benefits if:
- You are appointed to work at least 43.75 percent time.
CONTINUING REQUIREMENTS
UC bases your ongoing eligibility for benefits on the number of regular hours you are paid by UC to work each week. (Paid time excludes stipends, bonuses, and overtime.) To remain eligible for your benefit level, you must maintain an average regular paid time of at least 17.5 hours per week.
Changing Jobs within UC
If you are moving from one UC location to another, please inform your new location about your service at your previous location to ensure your records are coordinated. As an inter-location transfer, you should complete a UPAY850 form in order to enroll in benefits through your new location. Do not enroll using this Benefits Enrollment application. Please review the guide to changing jobs within UC for more information.
Enrolling in a Plan
Click the plan from the Navigation Menu on the left you want to enroll in. The enrollment pages will display all your options for each benefit for which you are eligible, including coverage level and cost. If you are not ready to make all your enrollment decisions during this session, you can enroll in some plans now, and return at any time during your enrollment period. Keep in mind that once your enrollments have been confirmed, you cannot change them or add any family members.
If you do not enroll in medical, dental, and/or vision coverage by the end of your period of initial enrollment (PIE), you will not be enrolled in UC-sponsored coverage.
Opting Out of a Plan
If you opt out due to having other health coverage and you subsequently lose that coverage involuntarily, you may be able to enroll yourself and/or eligible family members in a UC-sponsored health plan. You must request the enrollment within 31 days after the other coverage ends. Contact your local Benefits Office for more information.
Enrolling a Family Member
You should enter all new eligible family members before enrolling into your benefit plans. Click on 'Family Members' in the Navigation Menu on the left. You are first asked if you are adding a spouse or domestic partner and then any other family members. Enter all of the required family member information. You must provide a Social Security Number (SSN) for all family members. More information about this requirement is available here. Click 'Continue' to save your family member's information.
UC and the insurance carriers reserve the right to request documentation (marriage or birth certificates, verification of domestic partnerships, adoption records, tax records, etc.) to verify eligibility for your enrolled family members.
Family members eligible for coverage under your health and welfare benefits package may include one eligible adult and/or any eligible children.
Eligible Adult Family Members:
- legal spouse
- same-gender domestic partner - must be age 18 or over and have a domestic partnership registered with the State of California or established same-gender legal union in any other jurisdiction that is substantially equivalent to California domestic partnership
- opposite gender domestic partner - the employee or domestic partner must be age 62 or older and have a domestic partnership registered with the State of California or established same-gender legal union in any other jurisdiction that is substantially equivalent to California domestic partnership
Eligible Child Family Members:
- natural, adopted child, or stepchild - must be under age 26
- grandchild or step-grandchild - must be unmarried, living with you, claimed as a tax dependent by you or your spouse, and under age 26
- domestic partner's child - must be under age 26
- domestic partner's grandchild - must be unmarried, living with you, supported by you or your spouse/domestic partner (50%+), claimed as a tax dependent by you or your domestic partner, and under age 26
- legal ward - must be unmarried, living with you, supported by you (50%), claimed as your tax dependent, and under age 18
- overage disabled child (please contact the person in your department, medical center, or laboratory who handles benefits for more information) - must be unmarried, chiefly dependent on you, your spouse or eligible domestic partner for support and maintenance (50%+), enrolled in a UC group medical plan before age 26 with continuous coverage and the incapacity must have begun before age 26. Must be claimed as your, your spouse's or your eligible domestic partner's dependent for income tax purposes, or, if not, is eligible for Social Security income or SSI as a disabled person.
Additional requirements may apply. Please see the Group Insurance Eligibility Factsheet for more information.
Medical
You may choose a health maintenance organization (HMO), fee-for-service plan, or point-of-service (POS) plan.
Please note that physicians may not be accepting new patients or they may join or leave plan networks or medical groups throughout the year and that such changes are not grounds for you to transfer to another medical plan midyear.
HMOs:
An HMO uses a group of doctors and other health care professionals who emphasize preventive care and early intervention. HMO services are prepaid--there is no annual deductible, and a set premium covers all services, no matter how much you use the plan. You do share costs, however, by paying a fee called a copayment for some products and services. Enrollment in some of the HMOs requires you to pay part of the monthly premium.
To be eligible to enroll in an HMO, you must live (or work, depending upon the plan's rules) within the HMO's service area. In most cases services are not covered unless preauthorized by your Primary Care Physician (PCP), and in some cases they must also be authorized by the medical group and/or the plan. For medical services to be covered, you must follow HMO procedures and (except in emergencies) you must use a network provider.
Fee-for-Service Plans:
In a fee-for-service plan, you choose your own doctors and health care facilities, submit claims for the services you receive, and share the cost of those services with the insurance company.
Your annual cost for medical coverage under a fee-for-service plan depends on several factors.
- Some of UC's plans require you to pay part of the monthly premium.
- You must satisfy an annual deductible before the plan starts paying benefits. The deductible varies among plans.
- Some fee-for-service plans contract with a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO). This is a network of doctors and hospitals who have agreed to provide medical services at discounted rates. Your out-of-pocket costs will be lower if you use PPO network providers.
- Once the plan starts paying benefits, you and the insurance company share the cost of the services you receive. Generally, the insurance company pays the larger part of the cost.
- The amount you pay in a year may be limited, however. Once your share of the eligible medical expenses goes over a certain amount, called the out-of-pocket maximum, the plan pays 100% of most covered charges for you or your family members for the rest of the year.
Point-of-Service Plans:
In a point-of-service plan, the level of benefits varies based on how you use the plan. Think of the plan as being like an HMO, but with additional choices at the point when you receive medical services.
In-network provides the highest level of benefits. As in an HMO plan, you select a PCP who coordinates your medical care and refers you to a specialist when necessary. You may change PCPs at any time by calling the plan.
When you visit a network provider without being referred by your PCP, out-of-network benefits apply. If you choose a provider outside the network, you are required to pay an annual deductible and the plan pays 70% of reasonable and customary changes for most services.
If you live outside the plan's service area, out-of-area benefits apply. If you live within the service area but have a child living outside the area, out-of-area benefits for that child are available if the child is
- a full-time student, or
- is living with your former spouse for more than half the year (must be your natural or adopted child)
Core Medical
The plan pays 80% of covered charges after a $3,000 annual per-person deductible, and it pays 100% after your out-of-pocket costs reach $7,600 for an individual.
Medical Contribution Base (MCB)
The state budget has not increased University funding for the employer portion of medical premiums. Under a progressive medical premium rate structure (based upon full-time salary rates), UC will continue to pay the greater portion of employee monthly medical premiums. However, UC will provide a larger monthly medical plan contribution for those earning less. This structure is designed to offset increased medical plan premiums; uniform premium increases would result in a disproportionate burden for those who are lower paid.
The structure has four premium rate levels based on full-time annual salary. The full-time annual salary is called the Medical Contribution Base (MCB). The MCB is based on the employee's full-time annual salary at their time of hire or the January 1st salary of the prior year.
The impact of premium costs on take-home pay for all levels is mitigated by the Tax-Savings on Insurance Premiums (TIP) provisions.
Health Savings Plan
The UC Health Savings Plan is a high-deductible PPO (preferred provider organization) with a Health Savings Account (HSA) to help pay for your out-of-pocket costs. UC contributes to the HSA ($500 for individual coverage/$1,000 for all other coverage - prorated for partial year coverage) and you can, too, with pre-tax payroll deductions.
After selecting the UC Health Savings plan on the Medical Plan page, total contributions (UC contribution + your contribution) must not exceed $3,550 annually for individual coverage or $7,100 for all other coverage levels. (Individuals age 55 and older can make an additional "catch-up" contribution of $1,000. Please contact the person in your department, medical center, or laboratory who handles benefits to initiate a "catch-up" contribution.)
Note: If you enroll in the UC Health Savings Plan, you may not enroll in the Health Flexible Spending Account (Health FSA), because IRS rules limit the use of both accounts simultaneously.
Dental
You have a choice of two dental plans: Delta Dental PPO, a fee-for-service plan, or DeltaCare USA, a prepaid plan available in California only. Both cover preventive, basic and prosthetic dentistry, as well as orthodontics.
Vision
The vision plan covers a variety of vision care services including eye exams, corrective lenses, and frames.
Legal
The ARAG Group Legal Plan provides basic legal assistance for preventive, domestic, consumer, and limited defensive legal services. This plan is not available for adult dependent relatives.
Preventive legal services include general legal advice, negotiation, document review and preparation, and preparation of wills. Often, a few minutes of legal advice can prevent a small problem from becoming a major one.
Domestic legal services cover divorces, separations, adoptions, child support, child visitation, and name changes.
Consumer services include legal representation for the enforcement of warranties or promises in connection with the purchase of goods or services. This does not include actions in Small Claims Court. Nor does it include disputes over real estate construction matters for a new home or room additions to and/or remodeling of an existing home.
Limited defensive legal services include misdemeanor defense and felony charge advice.
Voluntary Disability
As a Full, Mid-Level, or Core Benefits employee, you are automatically enrolled in Basic Disability, which provides short-term coverage for disabilities not related to work. (Workers' Compensation provides coverage for work-related injuries.) Basic Disabillity pays 55% of eligible salary (up to $800 per month), for up to 26 weeks, if you are totally disabled. UC pays the whole cost for Basic Disability.
Voluntary Short-Term Disability supplements Basic Disability. Along with other sources of disability income, this plan pays 60% of eligible salary (up to $15,000 per month) for up to 26 weeks.
The waiting period for Basic Disability and Voluntary Short-Term Disability is 14 calendar days. However, you must use up to 30 calendar days (22 work days) of sick leave, if accrued, before benefits are payable under the terms of the plan.
Voluntary Long-Term Disability begins 26 weeks after you becmoe disabled or after your Basic and/or Voluntary Short-Term Disability coverage ends. Along with other sources of disability or retirement income, this plan pays 60% of eligible salary (up to $15, 000 per month) for the duration of your disability, until your social security normal retirement age.
The Voluntary Disability plans are employee-paid. Depending on your needs, you have the option of choosing to enroll in:
- Voluntary Short-Term Disability plan only,
- Voluntary Long-Term Disability plan only,
- both Short-Term and Long-Term Voluntary Disability plans or,
- no Voluntary Disability
If you do not enroll by the end of your period of initial eligibility (PIE), you can apply later by providing evidence of insurability, and your application must be approved by the insurance company. You may discontinue coverage in either Voluntary Disability plan at any time.
Supplemental Life
As a Full Benefits employee, you are automatically enrolled in Basic Life, which provides life insurance equal to your annual base salary, up to $50,000. Mid-Level Benefits and Core Benefits employees are automatically enrolled in Core Life, which provides $5,000 of life insurance. Coverage is adjusted if your appointment is less than 100% time.
Supplemental Life, available to Full Benefits and Mid-Level Benefits employees, provides additional life insurance at group rates. You may insure yourself for up to four times your annual salary (to $1,000,000 maximum). A flat dollar amount of $20,000 is also available. Coverage is based on your full-time annual base salary even if you work part time.
Dependent Life
UC offers two plans for insuring your eligible family members. These plans are not available for adult dependent relatives.
- Basic Dependent Life provides $5,000 of coverage for your spouse or domestic partner and each child.
- Expanded Dependent Life covers your spouse or domestic partner for 50% (up to $200,000) of your Supplemental Life amount and covers each child for $10,000.
Costs and eligibility for these two plans differ significantly.
Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D)
AD&D can provide coverage amounts of up to $500,000 for you and your eligible family member(s) for accidental death, loss of limb, sight, speech, or hearing, or for complete and irreversible paralysis.
This plan also provides coverage if you are permanently and totally disabled by a covered accident. (Family members are not eligible for this benefit.)
This plan is not available for adult dependent relatives.
Dependent Care Reimbursement Account (DepCare)
DepCare allows you to pay for up to $5,000 (or $2,500 if you are married and filing a separate federal income tax return) of eligible dependent care expenses on a pretax basis in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). DepCare contributions are deducted from your paycheck before federal, state, and Social Security (FICA) taxes are taken out. For example, if you earn $3,000 a month and contribute $200 to DepCare, you pay taxes on $2,800 a month. The tax savings are reflected in your paycheck each month, all year.
Your savings are strictly on taxes and will vary depending on your particular tax situation.
Dependent care expenses must meet certain Internal Revenue Code requirements to be eligible for reimbursement.
DepCare is administered by Conexis. Claims processing and reimbursement will be handled exclusively by Conexis, not by UC. Details on your account can be viewed at https://mybenefits.conexis.com/.
When you enroll, an amount you specify will be taken from your paycheck each month and deposited in your DepCare account. After incurring an eligible expense, you submit a claim form and receipts for these expenses, and Conexis reimburses you from the funds in your DepCare account.
Health Flexible Spending Account (Health FSA)
Health FSA allows you to pay for up to $2,700 of eligible out-of-pocket health care expenses on a pretax basis in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 105. Your Health FSA contributions are deducted from your paycheck before federal, state, and Social Security (FICA) taxes are taken out. For example, if you earn $3,000 a month and contribute $200 to your Health FSA, you pay taxes on $2,800 a month. The tax savings are reflected in your paycheck each month, all year.
Eligible expenses include:
- Copayments and deductibles (but not premiums)
- Prescription drugs
- Orthodontia
- Eyeglasses
- Laser eye surgery
- And many other health care expenses not reimbursed by any medical, dental, or vision plan you or your family members may have. You can pay expenses from the Health FSA for yourself and anyone you claim as a dependent on your federal income tax return.
Health FSA is administered by Conexis. Claims processing and reimbursement will be handled exclusively by Conexis, not by UC. Details on your account can be viewed at https://mybenefits.conexis.com/.
When you enroll, an amount you specify will be taken from your paycheck each month and deposited in your Health FSA account. After incurring an eligible expense, you submit a claim form and receipts for these expenses, and Conexis reimburses you from the funds in your Health FSA account.
Confirmation Statements
If you have an officially recorded UC email address or have assigned a personal email address, your confirmation will be automaticaly emailed. If you have no email address, you will have the option to print your confirmation page or to have your confirmation mailed to your home address of record.
For More Information
For more information, select the link to Your Group Insurance Plans.
Questions or Problems
If you have questions or problems with the Benefits Enrollment application, please contact the Retirement Administration Service Center. If you have questions with your enrollment choices, contact the person in your department, medical center, or laboratory who handles benefits.