All Staff – Eligible For Benefits (includes those classified & those working 20+hours/week)
All changes made during open enrollment are effective January 1, 2021!
While 2020 was a challenging year for everyone, for renewing our benefits, STVCC’s medical plan was going to experience a 14.1% increase, which on an annual basis would have equated to over almost $600,000. Already dealing with budget concerns from 2020, STVCC just couldn’t absorb an increase of that magnitude.
You may not know that each year, HR obtains rates from other insurance carriers to ensure we are being competitive and frugal with our dollars. To ensure our plans remained consistent with the social teachings of the Catholic Church, our plan had a ‘grandfathered’ status allowing us to keep our plan design when the Obama administration rolled out the Affordable Care Act. However, new regulations this year allowed us to apply to the carriers for an exemption based on our religious beliefs.
This was a game changer for STVCC 😊.
We are pleased to announce that we were approved for the exemption by “The Blues” which includes Blue Cross & Blue Shield (BCBSM) and the Blue Care Network (BCN) family. We were fortunate in finding a plan design that was close to our existing medical plan with Blue Care Network. There are some changes though, so please make sure you study the enrollment materials and resources we’re providing so you can be an informed consumer and make good decisions for you and your family. This is a blessing for 2021 that we can be grateful for.
- This year’s Benefit and Employee Navigator guides are posted in this email and in Apricot.
- Employee payroll contribution rates will remain the same in 2021. That’s a record four years in a row that employee payroll contributions haven’t changed. STVCC has been able to keep employee contributions the same!
- Our Wellness Benefit will continue to be $180/annually for staff regularly scheduled for 30+hours/week. Details can be found in your Benefit Guide attached.
- Part Time Employees scheduled and working a minimum of 20+ hrs./week, will still be eligible to enroll in STVCC’s medical/dental/vision benefit package.
- New retirement savings option in 2021. Make sure you read about our new Roth IRA plan. You may enroll in this plan any time during the year, not just during open enrollment.
Our annual open enrollment period will be November 23, 2020 through November 30, 2020.
This is the opportunity for benefit eligible employees to make changes to their benefit plan selections. You can enroll, waive coverage, add/delete dependents for 2021. For the Flexible Spending Account (FSA), as a reminder, you must annually elect what your contribution for the coming year, even if you participated in 2020. This is the only time of the year, unless you have a qualified status change, when you can make these changes/elections for your benefits, except for enrollment/changes to a 403(b) plan or Roth IRA.
What do you need to do? It’s easy. Log in to Employee Navigator to enroll in your benefits here. The HUBLink EE User Guide provides instructions to assist you with your online enrollment.
With COVID-19 we will not be holding any ‘in-person’ meetings, however, on Monday, in the Employee Navigator portal, you will have access to an on-demand video to help you compare our McLaren plan with the new BCN plan, and additional information to make your enrollment decisions.
We’re sorry for rolling this out during the week of Thanksgiving, but hopefully, that will give you more time to review all the materials. We needed to hold open enrollment during this time to ensure that everyone would receive the new Medical and FSA ID cards before January 1st.
Please let us know if you have any questions/concerns. You may always contact any member of the HR team for assistance. And you may always reach me directly on my cell at 517.505.6050. Even during the holidays, I will help answer your questions.
Thank You and Have a Blessed Holiday Season!
Maria A. Zdybel
Director of Administrative Services