Employee Benefits - NIH Benefits Information - Did You Know? May 2008
What’s New?
Topics Of Interest:
- Can I Have Excused Absence (Administrative Leave) For A Doctor’s Appointment?
- Who Do I Contact If I Have A Leave/Pay Problem/Question?
- How Can I View/Print My Leave And Earnings Statement (LES)?
- What Is The Spouse Equity Provision And Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC)?
- How Is The Coverage Amount Determined For Life Insurance?
- Why Do I Need A myPay PIN?
Where Do I Go If I Have Questions About My Benefits?
1. BENEFITS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2. FINANCIAL PLANNING SEMINARS – MAKE PLANS TO JOIN US!
In partnership with DHHS, NIH will be sponsoring its 2008 Financial Planning Seminars on May 21 & 29, 2008, in the Natcher Building. Make plans to attend one or more seminars! Registration is not required. The seminars are open on a first-come first-served basis.
Speakers will be on hand to provide valuable information on a variety of financial matters such as estate planning, financial/retirement planning, investing wisely, saving for college, debt management, Social Security, and the Thrift Savings Plan. If a Sign Language Interpreter or other reasonable accommodations are needed to participate in this event, please call 301-496-1197 or send an e-mail to morisseb@od.nih.gov.
3. CAN I HAVE EXCUSED ABSENCE (ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE) FOR A DOCTOR’S APPOINTMENT?
Normally, no – you must use your own sick leave, annual leave or leave without pay. But if you have fewer than 80 hours (2 weeks) of accrued sick leave, in 2001 a policy was established to provide up to 4 hours of excused absence each year for participation in preventive health screenings. Examples of "preventive health screenings" include, but are not limited to, screening for prostate, cervical, colorectal and breast cancer, and screening for sickle cell anemia, blood lead level and blood cholesterol level. Other examples include screening for immunity system disorders such as HIV and blood sugar level testing for diabetes. For more information, please contact your Administrative Officer.
4. WHO DO I CONTACT IF I HAVE A LEAVE/PAY PROBLEM/ QUESTION?
In order to control and manage the payroll and leave issues for NIH staff, the Payroll Liaisons in the Benefits and Payroll Liaison Branch ask that you first speak with your timekeeper. If that person cannot help you, he/she should ask your Administrative Officer for assistance. Your ITAS Coordinator is also a great resource since he/she must know ITAS, DFAS, payroll, and leave policies in order to do his/her job. If your ITAS Coordinator cannot assist, he/she will contact the appropriate Payroll Liaison to get your problem solved or question answered.
5. HOW CAN I VIEW/PRINT MY LEAVE AND EARNINGS STATEMENT (LES)?
You can access your LES in myPay (DFAS). 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. Your LES is available in myPay for only the past 26 pay periods. Once your LES has been removed through normal pay period updates, it cannot be regenerated. We recommend that you print or save the printer friendly version of your LES to a file or disk.
If you want the added convenience of receiving an e-mail notification each pay period when your LES is available in myPay, you only need to follow a few simple steps. First, you need to access your account in myPay (DFAS). Once in myPay, select Email Address. You must then enter your Secure Personal E-mail Address twice and click on the primary button. You may also enter an alternate email address in the Personal E-mail Address box, if you wish. Finally, click on accept/submit. You will then be asked to confirm your information. That’s all it takes! Each pay period you will receive an email informing you when your current LES is available.
6. WHAT IS THE SPOUSE EQUITY PROVISION AND TEMPORARY CONTINUATION OF COVERAGE (TCC)?
Spouse Equity (OPM) is a provision that allows a former spouse of a Federal employee to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program provided certain requirements are met. To apply, contact your former spouse’s Human Resources Benefits Office. Your coverage continues indefinitely, as long as you continue to meet the requirements. You must pay the employee and Government share of the premium. If you do not qualify under the Spouse Equity provision, you may qualify for coverage under Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC).
TCC (OPM) is a provision of the FEHB program that allows temporary coverage of health benefits after regular coverage ends. Federal employees and family members who lose their FEHB coverage because of a qualifying life event (OPM) are eligible for TCC. To enroll, the application must be submitted to the Human Resources Benefits Office within 60 days of the qualifying life event. Separating Federal employees may elect TCC coverage for up to 18 months, and children and former spouses may elect coverage for up to 36 months. You must pay the employee and Government share of the premium plus a 2 percent administrative fee. If you have questions, please notify your Benefits Contact.
7. HOW IS THE COVERAGE AMOUNT DETERMINED FOR LIFE INSURANCE?
Your life insurance coverage amount will depend upon the type of coverage you have. The Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program (OPM) offers Basic insurance coverage and three types of Optional coverage. The Basic insurance coverage amount is equal to your annual basic salary rounded up to the next $1,000 plus an additional $2,000. There is also an extra benefit for employees under age 45. Option A (Standard) provides a flat coverage amount of $10,000. Option B (Additional) provides multiples of one to fives times your annual basic salary, after rounding up to the next $1,000. Option C (Family) is coverage for your spouse and unmarried dependent children under age 22. It provides one to five multiples of coverage. Each multiple is equal to $5,000 for your spouse and $2,500 for each of your eligible dependent children.
The cost for basic insurance is shared between you and the government. Your age does not affect the cost for Basic coverage. You pay the full cost for any Optional insurance, and the cost depends on your age. To determine the value and cost of your FEGLI, the easy use of the FEGLI calculator (OPM) can help. Please refer any questions 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. One of which is by selecting “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 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.
9. 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) website 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.
