Employee Benefits & Well-Being
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Upcoming Events You Don’t Want to Miss
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Can I Retire on Social Security?
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Healthy Ways to Celebrate National Heart Month
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URGENT: Important Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Plan Changes for 2020 and 2021 Participants
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ACA: When will you receive your IRS Form 1095-C?
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Start the New Year With FREE Identity Theft Protection Services
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Recognizing Our Retirees
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If you still have a question after reading this newsletter or visiting our website, please contact us.
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COVID-19 and Your Benefits
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To view frequently asked questions about COVID-19 and your benefits, visit the Forward Together website.
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My Well-being: Confidential Biometric Screening
Human Resource Services will host a confidential biometric screening on February 5 from 7 to 10 a.m. in the Safety Training Room, located at 3219 Hudson Road. All benefit eligible employees may participate in one free biometric screening per academic year. New additional vitamin and mineral testing is available at a low cost. For more information, and to register, visit the confidential biometric screening webpage.
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Financial Wellness: Tomorrow in Focus: Saving for Your Ideal Retirement
Human Resource Services will host an informational session on saving for your ideal retirement. No matter where you are in life, you can plan and start saving for the retirement you want. Learn how to create a plan that can help you reach your goals, on your timeline. This session will consider the benefit of time in regards to retirement planning, saving, and investing. Discuss the essential features of retirement investments and help you gain the confidence to create or modify your own retirement plan. This TIAA led session will be held via webinar on February 10 at 10 a.m. Please register in advance.
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My Well-being: Resilience and Self-Care During Times of Stress
Human Resource Services will host an informational session on resilience and tips for self-care to assist during times of stress. With the additional stress of the pandemic and everyone managing more stress than usual, this is an important time for everyone to focus on mental health and well-being. It all starts with taking care of yourself before you can take care of others. Jake Schaefer, LMHC, with Cedar Valley Counseling services will lead this session via Zoom on February 18 at 10 a.m. Please register in advance.
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Retirement Readiness: What You Need to Know About Medicare and Medicare Supplements
Human Resource Services will host an informational session on the basics of Medicare and how to integrate healthcare into your retirement plan. Presented by SHIIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program) the hour long session will be held via Zoom on March 4 at 10 a.m. Please register in advance.
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Participation in events that occur during scheduled working hours must be approved by your supervisor. Employees on a university-approved leave should contact hrs-leaves@uni.edu for approval. Stay up-to-date with the status of this session by visiting https://hrs.uni.edu/event-status. If the status of this session changes you will also be notified by UNI email or campus phone. Individuals needing an accommodation in order to participate in an event, please contact a HRS team member at 319-273-2954, or
hrs-benefits@uni.edu, at least one week prior to the event.
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TIAA February Financial Wellness Webinars
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February 16 | 2 to 3 p.m. CDT
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February 17 | 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. CDT
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February 17 | 2 to 3 p.m. CDT
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February 18 | 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. CDT
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February 18 | 2 to 3 p.m. CDT
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Times through the webinar link will be shown in Eastern Standard Time.
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Is Social Security Enough for Retirement?
Social Security was never meant to cover the full cost of retirement. We are fortunate at UNI to have two generous retirement plans (IPERS and TIAA) that assist us in saving additional money for retirement beyond Social Security. To help bridge this projected gap, you can also consider saving more in a Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA). It’s easy to do. It can be started, changed, or cancelled from month to month, and is deducted from your paycheck either before or after tax, depending on the type of TDA you choose. To learn more and get started today visit our TDA webpage.
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Student Loan Payment & Interest Suspension Extended
The student loan payment and interest pause of federally held loans is now extended through September 30, 2021. This continues the policy in place through the Department of Education since March 2020. If you have questions on if your loans apply, you can speak to a student loan expert with SAVI at no cost. To get started with SAVI, you can utilize the UNI/TIAA portal. Visit our webpage for additional information on Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness.
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How Will You Celebrate Heart Health Month?
February is American Heart Health month. According to the CDC, Heart disease is the leading cause of death each year, killing more in the U.S. than cancer. This is true for both men and women. All adults need to consider their heart health and take measures to reduce your risks. One way you can celebrate heart month this year is to know your numbers. Biometric screenings are provided at no cost to all benefit eligible employees once per academic year. Each biometric screening includes a complete blood profile including total cholesterol, and breakdown of HDL, LDL, and Triglycerides. Additional blood tests are available at a low cost.
In addition, the screening includes weight, BMI, Body Composition, and Blood Pressure read by a Nurse Health Coach. Knowing these numbers can give you and your health care provider an indication of your risk level for heart disease. If you need to work toward improving any of these numbers you can work with a Nurse Health Coach for up to 6 sessions per year. To learn more and register to participate visit the biometric screening webpage.
Smoking also increases your risk for heart disease. If you smoke and wish to quit, UNI has resources to help. To learn more visit our Tobacco Cessation webpage.
Our heart works hard for us. Don’t miss a beat and do your part to commit to a healthy heart.
Additional Heart Disease Awareness Information from the American Heart Association:
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Important Information About Your Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
On December 27, 2020 the President signed the COVID-19 Relief Bill passed by Congress, allowing UNI the opportunity to temporarily amend our flexible spending plans for the 2021 calendar year. The following two provisions impact Health Care FSA and Dependent Care FSA and will expire December 31, 2021.
The deadline for individuals with unused 2020 FSA funds has been extended to December 31, 2021, rather than March 15, 2021. This extension also allows 2020 participants to use their 2020 unused funds for 2021 claims. This provision expires December 31, 2021.
Between January 1 - December 31, 2021 you may elect, increase, decrease, or waive 2021 FSA contributions without a qualifying life event. You cannot make any retroactive changes to already processed payroll contributions. This provision expires December 31, 2021.
Limitations do exist, for more information and examples visit our 2021 FSA Plan Updates webpage.
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FSA Informational Sessions
Brief informational sessions on what a flexible spending account is, the benefits of using one, as well as tips on how to be successful with an FSA will be available via Zoom for those seeking more information.
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- February 9 | 2 - 3 p.m. CST Registration Required
- March 10 | 10 - 11 a.m. CST Registration Required
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IRS Form 1095-C for 2020 Tax Year
As part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers are required to provide the IRS Form 1095-C to employees who were offered and/or enrolled in employer health insurance. The university will mail the 1095-C to the employee’s home address on file prior to the March 2, 2021 deadline. While you DO NOT need the IRS Form 1095-C to file your 2020 tax return, you do need to keep it with your important tax documents. To show proof of health insurance coverage, UNI sends this information to the IRS on your behalf. For more information about the IRS Form 1095-C, please visit the HRS supporting page (https://hrs.uni.edu/aca/1095).
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Free Identity Theft Protection
UNI’s benefit vendors offer opportunities for free Identity Protection Services. Two of our vendors, Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield and Employee and Family Resources (our EAP vendor) offer free identity theft resources to our employees. Services such as credit monitoring, fraud detection and fraud resolution are available. Visit our Identity Protection webpage for more information.
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We are thankful for the service of all of UNI's retirees! With their consent we are able to celebrate their years of service and share their information with the entire campus community.
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Joan Shafer
Custodian I, Custodial Services
36 Years of Service, Retiring in February
jack.shafer@uni.edu
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Retirement Benefit Questions? The HRS Benefits Team is Here to Assist!
The Human Resource Services Benefits Team is continuing to help employees with retirement benefit questions. If you plan to retire in 2021 please email
hrs-benefits@uni.edu or call 319-273-2423. For additional information on retirement visit Retiring from UNI.
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