Human Resource Services

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  • June 2024

June 2024

Employee Benefits & Well-being

Human Resource Services

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In This Issue

  • Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Eligible Items

  • Save Now for a Child’s Tomorrow

  • Summer and Sun Protection

  • June Monthly Motivator

  • Upcoming Webinars You Don’t Want to Miss
  • Who's Retiring This Month?

Contact Us

If you have a question after reading this newsletter or visiting our website, please contact us.

Own Your Benefits

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Eligible Items      

Summer is a great time to remind those who have elected a healthcare FSA that it can be used on many over-the-counter items. Sunscreen and over-the-counter allergy medications are eligible for reimbursement. Summer camp fees can be used towards Dependent Care FSA as well. For a listing of eligible expenses, as well as over-the-counter eligible expenses, visit the ASIFlex FSA website.

Financial Wellness

Save Now for a Child’s Tomorrow

Although school is out for the summer, you should still be thinking ahead for the child(ren) in your life. Planning for their future is easy with College Savings Iowa 529 plans. Plans are easy to set-up and provide many tax benefits. While a pre-tax payroll deduction is not an option for this great savings plan, you can set-up a direct deposit through payroll for funds to go into your 529 plan.

Savings can be used for:

  • K-12 Tuition
  • Apprenticeships & Trades
  • College & University Tuition
  • Supplies & Equipment
  • Room & Board
  • Computers & Internet

My Well-being

Summer and Sun Protection

With the official start of summer quickly approaching we are spending more time outdoors. Although the sunshine feels great, don’t forget to keep your skin protected. It’s important to protect our skin from the sun and harmful UV rays to reduce the risk of sunburn, premature aging, and skin cancer. It is recommended to use sunscreen daily, even when you won’t have direct sun exposure. However, on days when you’ll have more direct sun exposure, be sure to apply a broad spectrum sunscreen every two hours, or more often if you are swimming or sweating.

Employee Assistance Program

June Monthly Motivator

Weather can often have an effect on the amount of physical movement we put into a day. Now that nicer days are upon us it’s a little easier to reach our goals and put more movement into our days. Going for a quick walk over your lunch, or participating in the many local events that go on over the weekend, provide many opportunities to add more activity into our day. This month Employee and Family Resources, our EAP vendor, is challenging us to increase our physical activity. The goal is to get 150 minutes of exercise per week. Download their calendar for tips and to keep track of your progress.

Upcoming Financial Webinars

TIAA Logo

TIAA June Financial Wellness Webinars

Write Your Next Chapter: 5 Steps to Setting Your Retirement Date

June 4  |  11 a.m. to noon (CST)

For anyone starting to think seriously about when to retire, this webinar takes you through five steps to deciding when the time is right, including estimating retirement expenses, closing any income gap and understanding key milestones that can impact your retirement finances.

We’ll help you think through how to:

  • Estimate what you’ll need
  • Adjust as needed
  • Consider key milestones
  • Protect your savings

Charting Your Course: A Financial Guide for Women

June 12  |  1 to 2 p.m. (CST)

Your money shouldn’t be sitting around doing nothing - and in this session, you won’t be either. Our goal is to help give you an idea of where you are, figure out where you want to be, and of course, consider how you are going to get there. 

We’ll help you:

  • Evaluate you financial health
  • Set financial goals
  • Discover how to make your money work for you
  • Learn how to put it all together to create your financial plan

The Starting Line: Beginning to Save for Retirement

June 20  |  2 to 3 p.m. (CST)

There’s no time like the present to save for the future. Sometimes it’s hard to think about retirement when you’re just starting out in your career. The truth is, that’s when thinking ahead can do the most good! It all starts with some practical knowledge. 

We’ll help you get ahead of your retirement saving with some tools and information you can use right now:

  • Learn the real effect of time on money thanks to compounding and dollar cost averaging
  • Understand debt and how to manage it
  • See how budgeting can find money and help you save it

Take Control of Your Financial Life: 5 Steps to Managing Money and Debt

June 25  |  noon to 1 p.m. (CST)

If you’re just starting out and want to improve your day-to-day financial skills, this webinar will help you learn how to manage your money and balance your priorities so you can enjoy life now and save for the future.

We’ll discuss how to:

  • Balance income and expenses and prioritize your spending
  • Create a spending plan
  • Know how to use debt wisely
  • Get your debt under control
  • Build your credit score

TIAA webinars are open to all employees. Visit TIAA's webpage to register.

Times through the webinar link will be shown in Eastern Standard Time.

IPERS

IPERS June Retirement Webinars

  • June 19 | 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (CST)
    Creating a Secure Retirement

IPERS webinars are for state of Iowa employees within five years of retirement and their spouses. To register: https://ipers.org/members/calendar

Retirement Savings Consultation

All TIAA and IPERS participants are encouraged to schedule a FREE personalized meeting to review their retirement savings. These meetings are sponsored and scheduled with a TIAA financial consultant.  Set yours up today by using the online scheduler or by calling 800-732-8353. Consultants are available weekdays from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. CST.

Recognizing Our Retirees

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.

Pita O Agbese

Professor, Political Science

34 Years of Service, Retiring in June

pitaagbese@yahoo.com

Radhi H Al-Mabuk

Professor, Educational Psychology, Foundations, & Leadership Studies

33 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Radhi.Al-Mabuk@uni.edu

Brenda Edgerton

Secretary III, Admissions

29 Years of Service, Retiring in June

bedge265@gmail.com

Janet K Eicke

Clerk III, Registrar's Office

24 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Bettina Fabos

Professor, Communication & Media

21 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Vince Gotera

Professor, Languages & Literatures

28 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Vince.Gotera@uni.edu

Cindy Juby

Assoc Professor, Social Work

17 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Cynthia.Juby@uni.edu

Ali E Kashef

Professor, Applied Engineering & Technical Management

31 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Eric R Lange

Assoc Professor, Theatre

28 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Eric.Lange@uni.edu

Brian L McBride

Area Mechanic, Operations & Maintenance

41 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Lauren K Nelson

Assoc Professor, Communication Sciences & Disorders

33 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Lauren.Nelson@uni.edu

Ira M Simet

Assoc Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry

37 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Ira.Simet@uni.edu

Gloria Stafford

Assoc Professor, Interior Design and Textiles & Apparel

10 Years of Service, Retiring in June

gloria.stafford@uni.edu

Leigh E Zeitz

Assoc Professor, Curriculum & Instruction

31 Years of Service, Retiring in June

Leigh.Zeitz@uni.edu

Retirement Readiness

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 please email hrs-benefits@uni.edu or call 319-273-2423. For additional information on retirement visit Retire from UNI: Next Steps.

Stay Up-to-Date with HRS Events

Plan on attending an upcoming Human Resource Services (HRS) sponsored event? Please visit the HRS event status webpage to view if the event is on-time, postponed, rescheduled, or canceled. Registered participants will also receive an email from HRS notifying that an event status has changed.

Subscribe to HRS Latest News and Events

Be the first to hear the latest news and events from UNI Human Resource Services including benefits and well-being news. Subscribe to receive the HRS News emails right to your uni.edu email account.

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Need to Update Contact Information?

To make changes to your office and/or home (confidential) contact information:

Login to MyUNIverse > My Page > Update My Personal Information. This information is sent to Human Resource Services and will be updated within four working days.


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