Employee Benefits - NIH Benefits Information - Did You Know? February 2009
What’s New?
Topics Of Interest:
- Help Improve The HR Website!
- I Am Currently Eligible for Social Security Benefits, But I Am Still Working. At What Age, Should I Apply For Benefits?
- How Can I View/Print My Leave And Earnings Statement (LES)?
- What Happens To My Child’s Health And Life Insurance Coverage When He/She Turns Age 22?
- Why Do I Need A myPay PIN?
Where Do I Go If I Have Questions About My Benefits?
1. BENEFITS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2. THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN (TSP) ALERT – NEW LAW SUSPENDS 2009 MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT!
The new law affects TSP participants who are separated from Federal service AND who are or will turn age 70 or older by the end of this year. If you are not currently separated from service and will not be separated by December 31, 2009, the law does not apply to you. The primary reason for the law is to reduce the impact of the economic downturn on retired Americans who might otherwise have to sell assets in their IRAs or 401(k) plans at a loss to satisfy the minimum distribution requirement.
3. TSP ANNUAL PARTICIPANT STATEMENTS TO BE MAILED SOON!
This month, the TSP will begin mailing out annual Participant Statements to all participants. Your annual statement will summarize the activity in your account during 2008 and provide other helpful account information. If you do not want to receive a mailed copy of this statement, you can elect to opt out on the TSP website under Account Access. However, you will still be mailed a copy of the annual letter from the TSP Executive Director along with the January/February 2009 Thrift Savings Plan Highlights.
4. HELP IMPROVE THE HR WEBSITE!
In an effort to improve the NIH OHR Website, we are searching for volunteers to provide some feedback on the current site. We are striving to make our HR website more cohesive and user-friendly for our customers. Our review sessions will take place from February 17-27, 2009, will take no longer then 45 minutes and includes snacks for all participants. If you are interested in helping to improve the HR website, obtain your supervisor’s approval and then contact the OHR webmaster at OHRweb@od.nih.gov.
5. I AM CURRENTLY ELIGIBLE FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS, BUT I AM STILL WORKING. AT WHAT AGE, SHOULD I APPLY FOR BENEFITS?
If you are beyond age 62 and still working, you will likely want to delay receiving your Social Security Benefits until you stop working OR reach your full retirement age. Your full retirement age depends on your year of birth. However, the decision of when to begin receiving your benefits is a personal decision that only you can make. The Social Security Administration (SSA) website contains information regarding things you should consider. For questions, please contact a SSA representative at 1-800-772-1213, TTY: 1-800-325-0778, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
6.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 Benefits withholding problem, notify your Benefits Contact. For other withholding problems, 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 in myPay (DFAS). Once in myPay, select E-mail Address. You must then enter your Secure Personal E-mail Address twice and click on the primary button. 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 e-mail informing you when your LES is available.
7. WHAT HAPPENS TO MY CHILD’S HEALTH AND LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE WHEN HE/SHE TURNS AGE 22?
Did you know that when your child reaches age 22 (or marries before age 22) he or she is no longer eligible to be covered under your Federal health benefits enrollment? This is true even if your child is still in school. You have 60 days from the date he/she marries or turns age 22 (whichever occurs first) to notify your Benefits Contact. We will give you information on how your child may enroll in his/her own right for Temporary Continuation of Coverage (TCC) (OPM).
The TCC enrollment can be for up to 36 months and the child will have to pay the full premium (no government contribution), plus a 2% administrative charge. TCC enrollments are also available to you (coverage for up to 18 months) should you leave the government and for a former spouse should you get divorced (coverage for up to 36 months). All TCC enrollments must be submitted within 60 days of the event allowing the enrollment. If you have specific questions, please notify your Benefits Contact.
With regard to Option C (Family) coverage under the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program, when your dependent child reaches age 22, he or she is no longer eligible to be covered under your FEGLI family option. To determine if you have Option C, review your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) or your Leave and Earnings Statement in myPay (DFAS). If your two-digit Life Insurance code ends in number 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 then you are carrying Option C.
If your child loses coverage under your health and/or life insurance policy and this child is your last eligible family member, you must also submit a request to change your enrollment under both programs from a family to a self-only policy. This is not automatic.
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) 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.
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) 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.
