Employee Benefits - NIH Benefits Information - Did You Know? July 2008
What’s New?
Topics Of Interest:
- When Am I Eligible To Retire?
- What Do The Terms On The Leave And Earnings Statement (LES) Mean?
- If I Change My Work Schedule From Full-Time To Part-Time, How Will It Impact My Benefits?
- Can I Continue My Federal Employees Dental And Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) Coverage Into Retirement?
- Why Do I Need A myPay PIN?
Where Do I Go If I Have Questions About My Benefits?
1. BENEFITS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2. THE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (FSA) PROGRAM HAS IMPLEMENTED TWO NEW CLAIM FORMS!
FSAFEDS now has two new claim forms available for immediate use on its website. You should use the new forms when submitting your FSA claims for reimbursement. However, FSAFEDS will continue to accept the old forms through Sunday, August 17, 2008. After that date, you must submit your claims using the new forms. There are now two separate claim forms, a Health Care Claim Form and a Dependent Care Claim Form. The change is meant to help FSAFEDS process your claims more efficiently.
If you have questions, please contact an FSAFEDS Benefits Counselor at 1-877-FSAFEDS (372-3337), TTY: 1-800-952-0450, 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., or via email at FSAFEDS@shps.com.
3. THE THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN (TSP) HAS PLACED RESTRICTIONS ON INTER-FUND TRANSFERS!
Beginning in May 2008, a new interfund transfer (IFT) rule (TSP) was implemented. For each calendar month, your first two IFTs can redistribute money in your account among any or all of the TSP Funds. After that, for the remainder of the month, your IFTs can only move money into the Government Securities Investment (G) Fund (in which case, you will increase the percentage of your account held in the G Fund by reducing the percentage held in one or more of the other TSP funds). If you have both a civilian and a uniformed services account, the rules apply to each account separately. For more information about the reasons for this change, see the Questions and Answers (TSP) on this topic.
4. VIEW THE RECENT THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN (TSP) SEMINARS VIA VIDEOCAST!
The recent TSP seminars were recorded and may be viewed via the NIH VideoCast. Part 1 covers the advantages of participating in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and provides information on the TSP Investment Funds and Participant Statements. Part 2 provides information on the loan program, in-service withdrawals, post-service withdrawals, spouse’s rights, and death benefits.
5. WHEN AM I ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE?
To view the eligibility requirements for the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), refer to the Office of Personnel Management’s website. If you have questions, please notify your Benefits Contact.
6. WHAT DO THE TERMS ON THE LEAVE AND EARNINGS STATEMENT (LES) MEAN?
To assist employees, the Benefits and Payroll Liaison Branch has developed a quick reference sheet to define the terms used on your Leave and Earnings Statements. Please remember that it is very important that you review your LES each payday to ensure that proper deductions are being withheld. Should you discover a problem, your first course of action will be to contact your timekeeper or Administrative Officer for assistance.
7. IF I CHANGE MY WORK SCHEDULE FROM FULL-TIME TO PART-TIME, HOW WILL IT IMPACT MY BENEFITS?
Refer to the Fact Sheet for information on how working part-time impacts your benefits.
8. CAN I CONTINUE MY FEDERAL EMPLOYEES DENTAL AND VISION INSURANCE PROGRAM (FEDVIP) COVERAGE INTO RETIREMENT?
You may continue your FEDVIP enrollment if you retire on an immediate annuity. However, your premiums will be withheld on a post-tax basis.
9. 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. One of which is by selecting “New Pin” on the myPay (DFAS) web site. 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 then be able to 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. The Centralized Customer Support Unit will also provide support for establishing and changing your PIN.
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.
