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May 12, 2011

Benefits

FitnessForLifeMyFlex Advantage:

Accessing Your FSA Balances

Accessing your flexible spending account balances is easy! Through UPMC Health Plan’s Web site you can:

View your balance in the health care, dependent care and/or qualified commuter parking FSAs;

Review transaction history;

Obtain claim status information and forms.

To access your flexible spending account information:

Log into www.upmchealthplan.com;

Under “Manage Your Health Care Spending,”  click the link to Access MyFlex Advantage Plan (FSA);

Click link to Enter the Participant Portal.

You can also obtain flexible spending account information, such as deadlines, listings of eligible expenses and assistance for logging into your account by calling: UPMC Member Services: 1-888-499-6885.

Long Term Care Insurance Open Enrollment

This spring, the University of Pittsburgh is holding an open enrollment for Group Long Term Care Insurance. The open enrollment provides faculty and staff with an opportunity to enroll in University-sponsored Long Term Care Insurance, provided by Unum, without the requirement to complete an Evidence of Insurability (EOI) application.

The open enrollment period, specific to Long Term Care, for faculty and staff to enroll without the completion of EOI ends May 31, 2011. If you wish to apply:

Obtain enrollment materials on the Unum Web site at: http://w3.unum.com/enroll/upitt/enrollment.aspx.

Call Unum with any questions at 1-800-227-4165, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Complete and sign your enrollment form and return it to Unum no later than May 31, 2011.

The University has no guarantee from Unum that an open enrollment will be offered again in the future. Please consider this an opportunity to enroll for this valuable financial protection.

Weight Race Results

University faculty and staff and their Weight Race teammates lost nearly 1,500 pounds over the past 10 weeks in the “You Choose How You Want to Lose” challenge that ended April 1.

About half of the 234 participants who enrolled in the fourth annual Fitness for Life Weight Race completed the program by participating in both the initial and final weigh-ins. Together, they lost a collective 1,105.33 pounds. Participants who lost weight, but did not complete the race, made up the balance. A total of 115 people participated as individuals; 119 joined a team.

For the first time, this year participants who joined the Weight Race were provided with an opportunity to participate in one of the two optional weight loss programs offered by the University. The two programs offered were UPMC MyHealth Weigh to Wellness and Weight Watchers. A total of 101 individuals participated in one of the two programs. The total number of pounds lost by participants in both programs was 915.8 pounds. As an incentive, those who attended seven UPMC MyHealth Weigh to Wellness sessions or nine Weight Watchers on campus meetings did not have to pay the $65 balance of the membership fee for the program. Completion rates for the programs were very high and, overall, feedback about the programs was positive.

Weight Race winners were determined by points awarded for reaching weight-loss or weight-maintenance goals. Individual winners and winning team members received a $50 Giant Eagle gift card.

Also new this year were random prize drawings for those who self-reported their weight at the mid-point and during the final week of the race. The winners were awarded Pittsburgh Zoo passes for the mid-point random drawing and a UPMC water bottle and pedometer for the final random drawing. There were a total of 36 winners from the random prize drawings.

There were a total of 20 individual winners of the Weight Race. For privacy reasons, names of individual winners were not announced. Pittsburgh/Regional campus team winners were: Tubby Techies, Bonner’s Beauties Team 2, Real Cool Accountants, Bella’s Buddies and Weight List.

When Benefits Can Be Changed

Benefits that are associated with a pre-tax deduction (e.g. medical, dental, vision and flexible spending accounts) may be changed only during open enrollment unless you have a “life event,” also referred to as a family “status change.” The University follows this rule in compliance with the Internal Revenue Code that governs pre-tax deductions.

However, certain benefits are either tax-deferred, such as your 403 (b) contributions to the defined contribution plan or the premium that is deducted from your paycheck on an after-tax basis (optional and dependent life insurance). As a result, you may make changes to these benefits throughout the plan year.

Changes to Defined Contribution Plan – 403(b)

Changes to the percentage that you defer may be made monthly. However, any change must be made by the last day of the prior month in order to be effective the first of the following month. As an example, changes must be made by May 31 for a June payroll effective date. Changes in deferrals may be made on-line by following these steps:

Log on to my.pitt.edu;

Click on the My Resources tab (community);

Select Human Resources from the drop down list;

Select Retirement Plan Access, Manage Your Retirement Plan Elections.

You can contact TIAA-CREF or Vanguard by telephone or log onto their web site to make changes in your investments. You also can schedule a one-on-one counseling session with their representatives to discuss your portfolio.

Changes to Life Insurance

Changes can be made for optional life insurance, dependent life insurance or accidental death and dismemberment coverage throughout the year. Please contact the Benefits Department for additional details. Keep in mind that certain levels of optional or dependent life insurance may require completion of a statement of health form.

Benefits Confirmation Statements

Open enrollment for the 2011-2012 Plan Year ended on Wednesday, May 11. As was stated in your open enrollment materials, if you did not want to make any changes to your current benefit elections, you did not need to take any action. All of your current benefit elections will remain the same for the new 2011-2012 Plan Year, which starts on July 1, 2011.

All faculty and staff members, regardless of whether or not they chose to make changes to their 2011-2012 benefit elections, will receive a confirmation statement from the Benefits Department detailing what their benefit elections are for the 2011-2012 Plan Year. These statements will be mailed out to the home addresses of all faculty and staff members in early June.

It is your responsibility to review your confirmation statement of benefits to ensure that the benefits that you have selected best fit the needs of you and your family members and that there aren’t any errors in these elections. You will have three (3) business days from the date that you receive the confirmation statement to make a change to your benefit elections for the 2011-2012 Plan Year if there is an error on the statement.

If there are not any errors and if you do not respond to the confirmation statement, the benefits listed on that confirmation statement will remain in effect for the 2011-2012 Plan Year. You will only be able to make changes to your benefit elections if you experience a change in status throughout the plan year (e.g. marriage, divorce, newborn, spouse/partner loss of employment, etc.) or at the next open enrollment period in the spring of 2012.

If you find an error on your confirmation statement, you must make the change with the Benefits Department in writing within 3 business days of your receipt of the confirmation statement. Simply print your requested change at the bottom of your confirmation statement, sign your name and date the confirmation statement and return your confirmation statement to the Benefits Department on the 3rd floor of Craig Hall. Alternatively, you may fax your confirmation statement to the Benefits Department at 412-624-3485 or mail the confirmation statement to: University of Pittsburgh, Benefits Dept., 320 Craig Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15260.

Important Contact Information

Benefits Department

Office hours 8 am-5 pm

320 Craig Hall

412-624-8160 – Main Line • 412-624-3485 – Fax

www.hr.pitt.edu/benefits

Please visit our Web site for more FAQs, downloadable forms and other benefits information.

UPMC HealthPlan


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