IU Retirement Plan Vesting Requirement
Effective September 1, 2010, all new participants in the IU Retirement Plan will be subject to a 3-year vesting requirement. This means that IU contributions and earnings in a participant’s account will not vest until the completion of three years of IU service. Upon completion of three years of IU service, the existing balance will be vested and all future contributions and earnings will be immediately vested. If a participant terminates employment with IU prior to completing three years of IU service, the existing balance in the participant’s IU Retirement Plan account will be forfeited. Participants in the Plan prior to September 1, 2010, are not subject to this vesting requirement.
In November 2009, self-service functionality for benefits, payroll, and personal and tax information was moved from the Employee Self Service channel to the new Employee Center in OneStart.
- The Employee Center allows IU employees to view their information on a single page.
- Upon entering the Employee Center, employees see their current benefit elections, a summary of their most recent pay advice, current tax withholding information, and personal bio/demo information (address, phone, etc.) without having to navigate away from the page or launch a new window.
- Employees can still view, add, and update certain fields just as they did previously.
Future plans to be implemented in 2010 include online benefits enrollment.
Employees are encouraged to take time to use the Employee Center to verify that their benefit elections and dependents/beneficiaries are accurate. To access the Employee Center, log into OneStart at onestart.iu.edu, navigate to the Services tab, and click on the Employee Center section on the left sidebar. The Employee Center is available nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Maximizing Healthcare Benefits
Sometimes the simplest actions can make the biggest difference. Here are a few easy action steps employees can take to maximize their healthcare benefits. Additional information on these tips is at anthem.com.
- Avoid emergency rooms (ER) for non-threatening life conditions. ER services cost considerably more than services provided in a family physician’s office. The ER should not be used for non-life threatening conditions such as minor cuts and sprains, ear infections, urinary tract infections and bronchitis. For non-life threatening services call Anthem’s 24/7 Nurseline at 1-888-279-5449 to speak with a live, registered nurse.
- Comparison shop with Anthem Care Comparison. The Anthem Care Comparison tool gives complete hospital-specific cost estimates to get a better idea of medical care costs before receiving services. The tool is available for more than 40 procedures.
- Take advantage of preventive benefits. Immunizations, mammograms and annual checkups help maintain health. Preventive services like these are covered by IU’s healthcare plans and can help prevent costly chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The entire collection of wellness benefits can be found on MyAnthem™ at anthem.com, or by calling the customer service number on the ID card.
During 2010 Open Enrollment, 12,078 enrollments—or 96 percent of total enrollments—were completed online using Benefits Self Service.
2010 Employee Enrollments |
|
Medical Plans |
|
IU PPO $900 Deductible |
5,092 |
IU PPO Blue Access (formerly Blue Preferred Primary POS) |
11,192 |
IU HDHP PPO & Medical Savings Plan |
600 |
TOTAL |
16,884 |
Dental Plan |
|
PPO Dental Plan |
16,595 |
Tax Saver Benefit Plan |
|
Health Care Reimbursement Account |
8,226 |
Dependent Care Reimbursement Account |
905 |
Other Plans |
|
Tobacco-free Wellness HRA |
10,226 |
* Total eligible population equals 17,727 full-time employees. |
|
