Benefits and Payroll News
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E-mail questions to: benefits@ohr.wisc.edu
News
W-2 Now Available Online; To Be Mailed by January 31, 2012
Updated January 25, 2012 | Source: UW Service CenterFor tax filing, employees may use their W-2 form now available under the 'Tax Statements' tab in the 'Payroll Information' module in the My UW Work Record tab. W-2 paper copies will be postmarked by January 31, 2012. Some employees will also receive additional tax forms from the University. These forms will be posted to the My UW portal as soon as they are available.
Employees should not use their final 2011 Earnings Statement to file their taxes. Some employees have had adjustments made to their 2011 taxable earnings since the last 2011 payroll was paid. These employees will have an additional earnings statement with 'Earned' dates of 12/19/2011 – 12/19/11, reflecting these adjustments. The 'Paid' date on the additional statement is the adjustment date.
Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) Annual Fee Deduction: What is “TSA Fee?” and What does it mean to defer 100% of salary?
January 20, 2012 | Source: UW System AdministrationTax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) Fee
If you are currently contributing to the TSA 403(b) Program, your first paycheck in 2012 had a "TSA Fee" of $15.00. For unclassified employees this was the January 3 paycheck, and for classified employees this was the January 12 paycheck.
In years past, the fee was deducted on the paycheck payable in March in a batch process. With the new payroll system, it became possible to deduct the fee automatically on the first paydate of the year. Employees who start contributing after their first 2012 paycheck will have the $15 fee automatically deducted at the time of their first 2012 TSA contribution. This is a great improvement from the old payroll system, which required staff time to run the batch process and manual entry for every employee who began deferrals after the March deduction.
The TSA fee is deducted only once a year for each employee who contributes to the program. This very low administrative fee is used to defray costs of managing the program, including staying in compliance with IRS regulations.
100% TSA deferral
With HRS, employees are able to defer a percentage of salary to their TSA 403(b) account up to 100% of salary.
Warning! If you defer 100% – either on the Salary Reduction Agreement or through the online process – your paycheck will be $0.00. Please be sure this is what you really intend.
Once you begin a 100% deferral, your paycheck will continue to be $0.00 until you have reached the 2012 maximum allowable contribution, which is $17,000 ($22,500 for employees age 50 or older). If you have 15 or more years of service with the University of Wisconsin, you may have an additional "catch-up" opportunity allowing extra contributions of up to $3,000 per year to a cumulative maximum of $15,000 over five or more years. Your campus benefits staff can determine if you are eligible for this.
If you want to defer the 403(b) maximum for the year and have questions about how much that is per payroll, please contact your campus benefits staff.
Activate Your myFBMC Card for 2012 ERA Medical Expense Account
January 17, 2012 | Source: UW System AdministrationIf you enrolled in the ERA Medical Expense Account for 2012, you recently received a new myFBMC card. There is a sticker on the card instructing you to activate your card by visiting www.myfbmc.com.
The myFBMC Card® is a reimbursement option that allows FBMC to electronically reimburse many eligible expenses under your employer's plan and IRS guidelines. Because it is a payment card, when you use the myFBMC Card® to pay for eligible expenses, funds are electronically deducted from your medical expense account.
Participants must go on-line to www.myfbmc.com to activate the card prior to use. To activate the card on-line, please log onto the myFBMC site. If you need assistance, you can call FBMC Customer Care at 1-800-342-8017.
Any remaining funds in the medical account from 2011 will be available on the new card. Money remaining in a 2011 account will be used first when the card is used for payment. The old myFBMC card will not work after 12/31/11.
Social Security Tax Rate Reduction Extended Through February, 2012
January 8, 2012 | Source: UW System AdministrationThe 2% Social Security tax rate reduction (from 6.20% to 4.20%) that was in effect for 2011 has been extended through February 29, 2012. The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 temporarily extends the 2% payroll tax cut for employees. This reduced Social Security withholding will have no effect on employees' future Social Security benefits.
The Social Security wage base, the amount of an employee's salary that can be taxed for Social Security purposes, has risen from $106,800 in 2011 to $110,100 for 2012. This means that the first $110,100 of an employee's wages are taxable for Social Security purposes. An employee’s entire salary is taxable for Medicare purposes.
Through February, the employee and employer tax rates for Social Security (full FICA) will be 5.65% (4.20% Social Security plus 1.45% Medicare) for wages up to $110,100. All wages over $110,100 are subject only to the 1.45% Medicare rate. The rate remains at 1.45% for those who are subject only to Medicare.
2012 Insurance Premium and WRS Contribution Rates
December 14, 2011 | Source: UW System AdministrationChanges made during the fall enrollment period and premiums for 2012 coverage will be effective on your December earnings. There is a small decrease in health insurance premiums for 2012.
This is a reminder that if you made any benefit changes during the fall enrollment period (enrolled in a benefit plan, changed your coverage level or cancelled coverage), the premium associated with the change will begin on your December earnings (payable December 15th for classified employees paid bi-weekly and payable January 3rd for unclassified employees paid monthly). Insurance premiums deducted from December earnings are for January coverage (excluding Income Continuation Insurance which is for the current month – the ICI premium taken from December earnings is for the coverage month of December).
2012 insurance premiums are available online at: http://uwservice.wisc.edu/premiums/
Individual and Family Life Insurance and UW Employees, Inc. Life Insurance Premiums
Premiums for the Individual and Family (I&F) and UW Employees, Inc. (UWE) Life Insurance plans are based on your age as of January 1st of the year. If you move into a new age category as of January 1, 2012, your premium will increase on your December earnings. Any premium increases due to age should have occurred on the check payable December 15th for classified employees, but there was a delay in the premium update. There will be an adjustment on the December 29th paycheck to collect any additional I&F and/or UWE premiums owed due to an age category change. Any premium changes due to a new age category for unclassified employees will be reflected correctly on the January 3rd paycheck.
Any premium change associated with increasing coverage during the Individual and Family Annual Increase Option period will also begin on the December 15th classified and the January 3rd unclassified checks.
Employee Reimbursement Account (ERA) and Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) Contributions
If you enrolled in the ERA program for 2012, your first deduction associated with your 2012 election will occur on the first check payable in 2012 – January 3rd for unclassified employees and January 12th for classified employees.
The WRS employee contribution rate for 2012 will increase from 5.8% to 5.9% for all employees except those covered by the Executive WRS category. This change will also occur on the first check payable in 2012.
Upcoming Changes – Income Continuation Insurance (ICI) and State Group Life Insurance
Each year there is review of your earnings and leave usage (classified employees only) to determine your ICI premium. If there are any changes to your ICI coverage level, it will be reflected on your February earnings payable February 23rd for classified employees and March 1st for unclassified employees. ICI premiums are also increasing for 2012.
There is also an annual review your State Group Life Insurance coverage level and age category. Your coverage level is based on the higher of your previous calendar year's WRS earnings or your highest calendar year of WRS earnings. Any increase to your coverage will be effective April 1st and the new premium will first be deducted from your March earnings payable April 1st for unclassified employees and April 5th for classified employees. State Group Life Insurance premiums for some age categories will decrease effective April 1st as well.
Events
TSA and Wisconsin Deferred Compensation One-on-One Appointments and Seminar Schedule
One-on-one appointments and seminars available
There are appointments available for one-on-one consulting sessions with the following Tax-Sheltered Annuity 403(b) companies this semester: Dreyfus, Fidelity, T.Rowe Price, and TIAA-CREF. TSA Basics seminars are also offered. Please see http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/tsa-workshops.html for dates and registration information.
Wisconsin Deferred Compensation is also offering sessions and seminars. See the same link for information.
Note: You can attend one-on-one sessions whether or not you are a customer of these vendors.
Related Link: TSA and Wisconsin Deferred Compensation Schedules
2012 UW-Madison Employee Benefits & Resources Fair
Event scheduled for October 9, 2012
This annual one-day event will be held at Memorial Union on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants will have the opportunity to meet with benefit plan representatives, discover campus resources, attend informative presentations, talk to a benefit specialist and participate in health assessments.
Related Link: Benefits & Resources Fair
Office of Human Resources
University of Wisconsin-Madison
21 N. Park Street, Suite 5101 (5th floor), Madison, WI 53715-1218
Monday-Friday, 7:45am to 4:30pm
Benefits Phone: 608-262-5650 | Fax: 608-262-8436
E-mail: benefits@ohr.wisc.edu | payroll@ohr.wisc.edu
Web: benefits.wisc.edu Location Map