Benefits News for December 2022

December 15, 2022

December Webinars


Wednesday, December 14 at 8:00 a.m. Alaskan
It's easy to stress eat during the holidays. With all the added responsibilities of the season, it's no surprise that many people fall into bad eating habits. We'll be sharing tips & tricks to keep our health a top priority while still enjoying everything delicious this season offers.

Registration Open! FMLA Training with Unum
January 10, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. 
Unum will host an FMLA training for all employees, supervisors, and HR Coordinators on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Alaskan. There have been several updates to the process (including the removal of earnings code 601 and 602) and we encourage all to attend. This training will be recorded and will be added to our .


Resources & Reminders



Review Holiday tips including intuitive eating and creating a holiday budget.

Update your Beneficiaries
绿奴天花板 would like to remind employees to keep their beneficiaries up to date.
Remember - beneficiaries for the accounts below are not maintained in 绿奴天花板Online.

  1. All benefit-eligible employees have basic life insurance in the amount of $50,000. Please review the website to update your basic life insurance beneficiaries. You can also update your beneficiaries for your supplemental life and AD&D by visiting our .
  2.  If you are a PERS/TRS DC member, please check your beneficiaries with Empower Retirement.
  3. If you are a PERS/TRS DB member, please check your beneficiaries with the Division of Retirement and Benefits.
  4. If you are an ORP member, please check your beneficiaries directly with your vendor (Fidelity, TIAA, VALIC, or Lincoln). Contact information can be found on our under "Enrollment / Manage your ORP" and "Manage your ORP."
  5. If you have a 绿奴天花板 Pension Plan, please check your beneficiaries with your vendor (Fidelity, TIAA, VALIC, or Lincoln). Contact information can be found on our website under "Enrollment / Manage your 绿奴天花板 Pension" and "Manage your 绿奴天花板 Pension."
  6. If you have a (TDA or 403(b))  you will want to reach out directly to your vendor to update your beneficiaries. 

 
The Alaska 529 is a versatile, tax-advantaged education savings plan that can be used for qualified expenses at nearly all colleges, universities, and technical schools nationwide, as well as for K-12 tuition. Contributions to accounts are taxable, earnings grow tax-deferred, and are tax-free if used for qualified education expenses. Visit the or contact alaska529@alaska.edu for more information.

Sick Leave Donations
If you have excess sick leave and would like to donate hours to employees in need on approved FML, please visit our for more information including a form to submit for donations. Remember - donations remain in your sick leave balance until they are used by a recipient so you will not see the leave share hours deducted right away. 

Pharmacy Updates for January 1, 2023
There are pharmacy updates beginning January 1, 2023, that may affect specific employees on a 绿奴天花板 Choice Health Plan. Express Scripts and Premera have sent out notices to those affected with the action items to ensure continued prescription coverage with no disruption. Please keep an eye out for this information to be delivered to your HR address. To review a list of in-network pharmacies, please go to. 
For questions regarding this update, please reach out to Premera by calling the customer service number on the back of your ID card or by logging into your account at. Additional information has been provided via a separate email on Thursday, December 8, 2022.

FMLA Updates to the 601/602 Earnings Codes and 5-day Reporting Period
绿奴天花板 is implementing two updates to the FML time reporting process.

  1. Removing both 601 and 602 earnings codes from time sheets beginning with R01 (pay period that runs from December 18, 2022 - December 31, 2022), and
  2. Removing the 5-day reporting deadline with Unum effective immediately. 

Please review the information provided in our November 16, 2022 email:. This information is also provided on our FML FAQ pages for both and , the , and the page. If you have any questions, please email us.

Updates to the HSA and 403(b) 2023 Contribution Limits from the IRS
The IRS has released the updated amounts for calendar year 2023 for the HSA and the 403(b). These increased rates are available beginning January 1, 2023. Below are links to the HSA and 403(b) forms. If you do not want to make any changes for 2023, you do not need to submit a form. Elections will remain the same until you submit a form to update your deduction.

  • HSA Single $3,850 -
  • HSA Family $7,750 -
  • 403(b) $22,500 (with an additional catch up $7,500 for those over the age of 50) -


 Interested in meeting with a Fidelity representative to discuss your current plans for retirement? Click and follow the prompts to schedule your virtual appointment today!


As a reminder, hard closure will be observed from December 23, 2022 - January 2, 2023.
More information, including soft closure dates, can be found in the sent from Chief Human Resources Officer, Memry Dahl.

 

 
General Wellness Activities


November 21, 2022 - January 8, 2023
The goal of this challenge is to practice healthy eating habits during the holiday season. Log and track your weight throughout the challenge from November 21, 2022 through January 8, 2023. This challenge is available to all 绿奴天花板 employees on a 绿奴天花板 Choice Health Care Plan. Remember - spouses and Financially Interdependent Partners (FIPs) can participate if they are on a 绿奴天花板 Choice Health Care Plan, too! For more information, please visit the or contact Victoria Carver at victoria.c@zomohealth.com

 

Stay up to date!
Review our to stay up to date on all benefits news.
If you have any questions, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu.