Employee Benefits - NIH Benefits Information - Did You Know? July 2009
What’s New?
Topics Of Interest:
Where Do I Go If I Have Questions About My Benefits?
1. BENEFITS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2. OPM AWARDS NEW LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE CONTRACT!
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has signed a contract (OPM) with John Hancock Life and Health Insurance Company to provide insurance for the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program's second 7-year contract term. The OPM website provides answers to Frequently Asked Questions (OPM) pertaining to the new contract.
3. THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN (TSP) ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2009
On June 22, 2009, President Obama signed H.R. 1256, which includes the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Enhancement Act of 2009, into law. This law makes a number of changes to the TSP. It eliminates the waiting period for employees covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and allows for immediate Agency Automatic (1%) and Agency Matching Contributions. All newly hired, rehired, and FERS covered employees who are currently serving a waiting period are now immediately eligible for agency contributions. To be eligible for the Agency Matching Contributions, the participant must be contributing to the TSP. Steps are currently underway to implement this provision. Other provisions of the law include automatic enrollment in the TSP, the TSP Roth 401(k) feature, and Spouse Beneficiary Accounts. Implementation of automatic enrollments is expected to occur no later than March 2010 and the Roth 401(k) feature is anticipated within 18-24 months. Information on Spouse Beneficiary Accounts will be provided as they are introduced by the TSP. As concrete implementation dates are determined, additional information will be announced in future newsletters.
4. SAME-SEX DOMESTIC PARTNERS BENEFITS
President Obama issued a memorandum requesting the Director of OPM to extend Federal benefits to qualified same-sex domestic partners. OPM is working on modifying the definition of “family member” and “immediate relative” so that same-sex domestic partners will be eligible for coverage under the Federal Long Term Care Insurance program and leave provisions such as sick leave, funeral leave and VLTP. Coverage cannot be extended under the health, dental, vision, life and FSA programs without legislation.
5. DO YOU OWE MONEY TO THE CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM (CSRS) OR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM (FERS) FUND?
If you owe money to the retirement fund as a result of a refund of retirement contributions (redeposit service) or due to temporary service (deposit service) not covered under the retirement system, you may elect to file a request to make a service credit payment.
If you are covered under CSRS, you must file an Application to Make Deposit or Redeposit, SF-2803 (pdf). If you have deposit service prior to October 1, 1982, the period of service is fully creditable for eligibility to retire and for calculation of your annuity.If you choose not to pay the deposit (calculated based on what you would have paid into the retirement system had you been subject to it, plus interest) your annuity will be reduced by 10% of the amount owed at retirement. If you have deposit service after September 30, 1982, the period of service is fully creditable for eligibility to retire, but is not creditable for calculating your annuity unless you elect to pay the deposit. If you have redeposit service prior to October 1, 1990, and elect not to redeposit the monies, the service is still creditable for both eligibility to retire and for calculation of your benefit.However, your annuity will be actuarially reduced by the amount of redeposit owed. If you have redeposit service on or after October 1, 1990, the service covered by the refund will be creditable for eligibility to retire. However, you must pay the redeposit to get credit for the service for calculation of your annuity.
If you are covered under FERS, you must file an Application to Make Service Credit Payment, SF-3108 (pdf). If you have deposit service prior to January 1, 1989, you have the option to pay a deposit and “buy” credit for that period of service. If you elect not to make the deposit, the service will not be used for determining eligibility to retire or for calculating your retirement benefit. If you have deposit service on of after January 1, 1989, it cannot be used for determining eligibility to retire or for calculating your retirement benefit. If you requested and received a refund of your FERS retirement contributions, you cannot receive service credit for the period of service covered by the refund.
Once you have submitted your application to your Benefits Contact and it has been filed with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), you may contact OPM directly at 888-767-6738 to check the status of your request. If you have already received a statement from OPM, you can contact them for instant up-to-date information regarding the amount owed, including interest, and OPM will generate an updated statement for you.
6. WHAT HAPPENS TO MY BENEFITS IF I RESIGN FROM FEDERAL SERVICE?
It depends upon whether you are covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS).
7. GIVE YOURSELF A TSP CHECK-UP!
Take a few minutes to review your Leave and Earnings Statement to ensure that your TSP contributions will meet your future needs. You may change your bi-weekly contribution amount at anytime by using myPay (DFAS). The 2009 IRS limit for regular TSP contributions is $16,500. If you are a highly paid employee covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), please be aware that you could lose out on valuable Agency Matching Contributions to your account by reaching the IRS limit before the end of the calendar year. The Elective Deferral Calculator on the TSP website can help you determine if you are in jeopardy of reaching the limit too soon. If you are age 50 or older or will turn 50 this year, and if you have made or will make the maximum amount of regular employee contributions this year, you may also make catch-up contributions to your TSP account. The catch-up annual limit for 2009 is $5,500. If you have questions, refer them to your Benefits Contact.
8. WHY DO I NEED A myPAY PIN?
It is very important to have access to your myPay account so that you can view your Leave and Earnings Statement each pay day. You must also use myPay to make changes to your home address, TSP contributions, direct deposit of pay, allotments, and Federal and state tax withholdings. Additionally, all open season health insurance elections must be accomplished using myPay. If you have misplaced your myPay PIN, you may request a new one in one of two ways. The first way is to select “New Pin” on the myPay (DFAS) website. Please make sure you use the “Go” button to finalize your request. Using this method your PIN will be mailed to your current address of record within 7 to 10 business days.
If you need it sooner, your second option is to send a fax to 216-367-3549. You will need to include in your request your name, a daytime phone number, and a copy of your NIH ID, and you must sign the fax. Upon receiving your fax, the Defense Finance & Accounting Service (DFAS) will reset your PIN using the last 5 numbers of your SSN as your temporary PIN. You will not receive a notice from DFAS. Simply go to myPay (DFAS) and log in within 3 days using your temporary PIN. Upon logging in, you will be prompted to reset your PIN.
If you encounter problems with your PIN or technical issues using myPay (DFAS), contact the DFAS Centralized Customer Support Unit toll-free at 1-888-332-7411. This support line is available Monday through Friday, 7:00 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. Eastern Standard Time. The Centralized Customer Support Unit can provide assistance on how to use the options available to you in myPay. They will also provide support for establishing and changing your PIN.
9. WHERE CAN I FIND INFORMATION ON PAY AND LEAVE?
You can find a wealth of pay and leave information on our website. Additionally, you can find information on the most frequently asked payroll questions.
10. HOW CAN I GET IN TOUCH WITH MY BENEFITS CONTACT?
Your contact in the Benefits and Payroll Liaison Branch will be able to help you with a variety of issues pertaining to the health and life insurance programs, designating beneficiaries, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), calculating your retirement annuity estimate, working with you to pay a redeposit for prior civilian service if you previously withdrew your retirement funds, paying a deposit for prior civilian or military service for which retirement deductions were not withheld, etc. To find your benefits contact, review our list of contacts. In addition, the Benefits and Payroll Liaison Branch (BPLB) web site has a wealth of information regarding your Federal benefits. Human resource topics not related to your benefits are normally handled by your Client Services Division HR Representative.
