October 2012 - Benefits Newsletter
What's New?
1. Benefits Calendar of Events
2. Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Roth Highlights
3. OPM Announces 2013 Premium Rates
4. Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) Contribution Limit Decreased
5. Federal Employees Retirement System – Revised Annuity Employees (RAE)
Topics Of Interest:
6. Review Your Leave And Earnings Statement (LES) Each Pay Day To Ensure Accuracy! It’s Important!
7. Do You Owe Money To The Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Or Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Fund?
8. Employment And Income Verification – Use TALX – The Work Number®
9. Why Do I Need A myPay PIN And How Can I Get One?
10. Where Can I Find Information On Pay And Leave?
Where Do I Go If I Have Questions About My Benefits?
11. How Can I Get In Touch With My Benefits Contact?
12. Previous NIH Benefits Information - Did You Know? E-mails
What's New?
1. Benefits Calendar of Events
2. Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Roth Highlights
With the recent addition of the TSP Roth feature, you have the option of using myPay (DFAS) to make traditional TSP and/or Roth contributions
. TSP Roth gives you the flexibility to diversify the tax treatment
of your contributions. With Roth contributions, you pay taxes now. You may want to consult a qualified tax or financial advisor to help you decide if Roth is for you. Some TSP Roth highlights are as follows:
- Money already in your TSP account when you begin making Roth contributions will remain part of your traditional balance. You will not be able to convert it to Roth.
- The combined total of your TSP Roth and tax-deferred traditional contributions in 2012 cannot exceed the IRS annual limit of $17,000, or the catch-up contribution limit of $5,500.
- If you are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System, your Agency Matching Contributions are based on the total amount of money (traditional and Roth) that you contribute each pay period. All agency contributions are deposited into your traditional balance.
- The TSP will keep your traditional balance and your Roth balance in separate “buckets” in your TSP account for the purposes of tracking contributions and transfers into your account. However, you cannot just tap one or the other balance when you request transactions such as contribution allocation changes, interfund transfers, loans, and withdrawals. All transactions will include a proportional amount from each balance.
- You will be able to transfer Roth 401(k), Roth 403(b), and Roth 457(b) (but not Roth IRA) money into the Roth balance in your TSP account. Pre-tax transfers will continue to be placed in your traditional balance.
3. OPM Announces 2013 Premium Rates
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced the 2013 premiums for the health plans under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and the dental
and vision
plans under the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program. The 2013 plan brochures will soon be available on the OPM website. If you have any questions, please notify your Benefits Contact.
4. Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) Contribution Limit Decreased
Effective for the 2013 plan year, which begins January 1, the annual contribution limit for the HCFSA will be reduced from $5,000 to $2,500. This limit applies to each employee. Therefore, the maximum family limit is $5,000, if your spouse can also contribute to a HCFSA. This benefit allows employees to make pre-tax contributions to a HCFSA to cover eligible health care expenses. The Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA)
annual contribution limit will remain at $5,000. This limit is per family.
The Flexible Spending Accounts Program participates in the annual Benefits Open Season, which will begin this year on November 12, 2012, and end on December 10, 2012. If you wish to enroll in the program for 2013, you must enroll via the FSAFEDS website during the Open Season. Enrollments do not automatically continue into the next year.
5. Federal Employees Retirement System – Revised Annuity Employees (RAE)
Public Law 112-96, Section 5001 of the “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012,” makes a significant change to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). The Act adds the FERS – Revised Annuity Employees (RAE) coverage. These "revised annuity employees" will pay 3.1% of their salary towards their FERS benefit. That is a 2.3% increase over the 0.8% currently paid.
FERS-RAE coverage will generally apply to any individual who receives an appointment not excluded from FERS coverage on or after January 1, 2013, and who would normally be placed in FERS. There are three exceptions to this general rule, however, and the date December 31, 2012, is a key date for each of those exceptions. An individual will be excluded from FERS-RAE coverage if any of these exceptions apply:
1. the individual on December 31, 2012, was covered under FERS; OR
2. the individual on December 31, 2012, was performing civilian service which is creditable or potentially creditable service under FERS; OR
3. the individual on December 31, 2012, was not covered under FERS and was not performing civilian service which is creditable or potentially creditable service under FERS, but as of December 31, 2012 had performed at least five years of civilian service creditable or potentially creditable under FERS, including service subject to CSRS or CSRS-Offset.
FERS employees not subject to FERS-RAE will continue to pay 0.8% of their salary towards their FERS benefit. If you have any questions, please notify your Benefits Contact.
Topics Of Interest
6. Review Your Leave And Earnings Statement (LES) Each Pay Day To Ensure Accuracy! It’s Important!
It is very important and your responsibility to review your LES each payday to ensure that proper deductions are being withheld. You can access your LES at any time in myPay (DFAS). Should you discover a benefits withholding problem, notify your Benefits Contact immediately. 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. This is very important should an audit become necessary.
If you want the added convenience of receiving an e-mail notification each pay period when your LES is available in myPay (DFAS), you only need to follow a few simple steps. First, you need to access your account in myPay (DFAS). Once in myPay, select E-mail Address. You must enter your Secure Personal E-mail Address twice and click on the primary button. Finally, click on accept/submit. You will be asked to confirm your information. That’s all it takes! Each pay period you will receive an e-mail informing you once your LES is available.
7. Do You Owe Money To The Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) Or Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Fund?
If you owe money to the retirement fund as a result of a refund of retirement contributions (redeposit service) or due to temporary service (deposit service) not covered under the retirement system, you may elect to file a request to make a service credit payment.
If you are covered under CSRS, you must file an Application to Make Deposit or Redeposit, SF-2803 (pdf). If you have deposit service prior to October 1, 1982, the period of service is fully creditable for eligibility to retire and for calculation of your annuity. If you choose not to pay the deposit (calculated based on what you would have paid into the retirement system had you been subject to it, plus interest) your annuity will be reduced by 10% of the amount owed at retirement. If you have deposit service after September 30, 1982, the period of service is fully creditable for eligibility to retire, but is not creditable for calculating your annuity unless you elect to pay the deposit. If you have redeposit service prior to March 1, 1991, and elect not to redeposit the monies, the service is still creditable for both eligibility to retire and for calculation of your benefit. However, your annuity will be actuarially reduced by the amount of redeposit owed. If you have redeposit service on or after March 1, 1991, the service covered by the refund will be creditable for eligibility to retire. However, you must pay the redeposit to get credit for the service for calculation of your annuity.
If you are covered under FERS, you must file an Application to Make Service Credit Payment, SF-3108 (pdf). If you have deposit service prior to January 1, 1989, you have the option to pay a deposit and “buy” credit for that period of service. If you elect not to make the deposit, the service will not be used for determining eligibility to retire or for calculating your retirement benefit. If you have deposit service on or after January 1, 1989, it cannot be used for determining eligibility to retire or for calculating your retirement benefit. If you requested and received a refund of your FERS retirement contributions, you have the option to redeposit the monies. If you elect not to make a redeposit, the service covered by the refund will not be used for determining eligibility to retire or for calculating your retirement benefit.
Once you have submitted your application to your Benefits Contact and it has been filed with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), you may contact OPM directly at 888-767-6738 to check the status of your request. If you have already received a statement from OPM, you can contact them for instant up-to-date information regarding the amount owed, including interest, and OPM will generate an updated statement for you.
8. Employment And Income Verification – Use TALX – The Work Number®
TALX – The Work Number®, is an automated system that provides proof of employment and income to verifiers. TALX is widely known and used by over 50,000 entities including most major financial institutions, mortgage lenders, leasing companies, and private corporations to verify employment and income status of employees. The system provides a secure way for verifiers to obtain your employment information and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Before your information can be released to a verifier, you must give your authorization. NIH employees can use TALX The Work Number® in two easy steps:
- Authorize the verification by completing the verifier’s (lender, bank, etc.) authorization form.
- Provide the verifier with:
- TALX –The Work Number® access options - www.theworknumber.com or 1-800-367-5690
- HHS Employer Code: 14775
- Salary Key (if needed) (A salary key is a six digit electronic signature created by the employee that is good for a one time use by a verifier)
9. Why Do I Need A myPay PIN And How Can I Get One?
It is very important to have access to your myPay (DFAS) account so that you can view your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) each pay day to verify that the correct deductions are being withheld and that your leave balances on your LES match the balances in ITAS. You must also use myPay to make changes to your home address, TSP contributions, direct deposit of pay, allotments, Federal tax withholdings, and Open Season health benefits elections. Additionally, some state tax withholdings must be made via myPay (DFAS). If you move to or from Maryland, you must complete a state tax form for your new state and submit it to the Benefits and Payroll Liaison Branch (Bldg 31/Rm B3C23) for processing. However, for movement between other states and/or the District, you must use myPay (DFAS).
A second option for requesting a Password is to send a fax to 216-367-3549. You will need to include in your request your name, SSN, a daytime phone number, a copy of your NIH ID Card, and you must sign the fax. Upon receiving your fax, the Defense Finance & Accounting Service (DFAS) will reset your Password using a temporary Password. Your temporary Password will be 8 numbers, the last 4 numbers of your SSN twice. You will not receive a notice from DFAS that your Password has been reset. Simply wait at least two business days before logging into myPay (DFAS) to use your temporary Password. Upon logging in, you will be prompted to reset your Password. Information pertaining to establishing an acceptable Login and Password can be obtained at myPay FAQs (DFAS).
If you encounter problems with your Login and/or Password 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 6:30 P.M. Eastern Standard Time. They can provide assistance on how to use the options available to you in myPay. They will also provide support for establishing and changing your Login and/or Password.
10. Where Can I Find Information On Pay And Leave?
You can find a wealth of pay and leave information on our website. Additionally, you can find information on the most frequently asked payroll questions.
Where Do I Go If I Have Questions About My Benefits?
11. 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 an abundance of information regarding your Federal benefits. Don’t forget to check out the Benefits FAQs section.
Human resource topics not related to your benefits are normally handled by your Client Services Division HR Representative 
.
