Open enrollment is entirely online this year, no paper forms or IVR will be available. Communications regarding your health benefits for Open Enrollment are sent via email. Please ensure you have a current email address in PHR. Please be sure to check out the Open Enrollment tutorial video.

Timeline:

September: DBM mails Open Enrollment Postcards to employee home

October 8: Open Enrollment Fair at College Park campus

October 15 – November 14: Open Enrollment

The waiving of mandatory fees for employees taking classes at the University of Maryland ends beginning with the Fall 2019 semester.

In 2018, the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits found that the Board of Regents’ Policy does not permit the long-standing campus practice of waiving mandatory fees for the USM employees who receive tuition remission for courses taken at College Park.

Going forward, to comply with the Board of Regents policy and with the audit findings, the University has agreed to stop waiving mandatory fees for employees, beginning with the Fall 2019 semester. Employees will now be responsible for payment of mandatory fees when receiving tuition remission for courses taken at the University of Maryland.

Please contact the Office of Human Resources if you have any questions.

The Department of Univerity Human Resources (UHR) Office of Employee Benefits is now accepting tuition remission forms for Fall 2019. In an effort to ensure that your forms are processed on time, we request that you submit your forms to the Office of Human Resources before August 5, 2019.

Instructions for Regular Staff:

• University of Maryland College Park (UMCP) forms are submitted online via the ARES website;
• Forms for other USM institutions such as University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Towson University and the remaining institutions are submitted manually.
• For more information, please refer to USM Policies and Procedures, Policy VII – 4.10

Continue reading →

UHR Office of Employee Benefits is hosting a number of workshops focusing on Budgeting, College Savings, Investing, Estate Planning, Social Security, and Pre-Retirement Processes. Registration will be available at www.training.umd.edu.

April 5th – State Pension Pre-Retirement Seminar – Open to employees who are in State Pension Plan. Learn about retiring under the State Pension System, pension options, retiree heath benefits, and Medicare.

April 8th – Maryland 529 (formerly College Savings Plan) Maryland 529 college savings plans make it easier than ever to save for college. The Maryland Prepaid College Trust allows you to lock in tomorrow’s tuition at today’s prices and offers the security of a Maryland Legislative Guarantee.

April 9th – Social Security presented in English by a representative of the Social Security Administration. Learn how social security can help you plan for retirement. Learn how much you can expect to receive, how your retirement age affects your benefits and more.  Continue reading →

The Department of University Human Resources (UHR) Office of Employee Benefits is now accepting tuition remission forms for Summer Sessions I and II 2019. Employees must have an active, approved appointment with a start date no later than May 28, 2019, for Summer Session I and July 8, 2019, for Summer Session II in order for the employee to be eligible for tuition remission.

UMCP CAMPUS REQUESTS:

Application for tuition remission is completed online. The approved form(s) must be submitted through the TR-Elf electronic form system to the designated departmental TR-Elf approver by June 3, 2019 for Summer Session I and July 15, 2019 for Summer Session II. Forms received after the deadline will not be processed.

If the applicant is requesting tuition remission for both summer sessions, TWO separate TR-Elf forms must be completed. Continue reading →

As a feature of the UMD Family Care Resources & Referral Service, the University Human Resources sponsors free eldercare consultations. Meet Karen Hansen at the Shady Grove Campus to take advantage of this valuable, free resource. The one-on-one consultation service is available to all faculty, staff and students.

When:

Thursday, April 04, 2019 from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Where:

Building III, Room 5156

Please make an appointment directly with Karen Hansen at 301-775-3132 or karen.gpspartners@gmail.com.

Still, have money left over from 2018 in your P & A Group flexible spending account? Remember – it’s the use it or lose rule. If you don’t use the money remaining in your account by the deadline date, you will forfeit the money. You have until March 15, 2019, to incur eligible expenses for your Health Care FSA. You had until December 31, 2018, to incur eligible expenses for your Dependent Day Care FSA.

Here are some ways to use your Health Care FSA before the end of the year:

• Acupuncture
• Contact lenses
• Contact solution (You will have to pay out of pocket and submit the receipts for reimbursement)
• Dental treatment
• Doctor’s office copays
• Eye exams
• Health Insurance Deductibles
• Hearing Aids
• Lasik Surgery
• Over The Counter medications such as cold medicine, allergy treatment, and pain relievers require prescriptions for reimbursement
• Prescription glasses
• Prescription medications
• Transportation (mileage) to and from doctor’s appointments

The UMCP Spring Break holidays this year are:

• Monday, March 18^th
• Tuesday, March 19^th
• Wednesday, March 20^th (Election Day holiday observed)

As has been our practice the last few years, and because so many of our partners hold classes and events during this time, the Universities at Shady Grove will be open normal spring semester hours these three days (as well as the weekends and weekdays before and after). USG departments should ensure that their units are open; however, staffing can be minimal. We do expect the volume and activity to be below normal, but there still will be activity here those three days.

We recognize that some staff may have already made plans for these days and others might actually prefer to take their holidays at another time (for example, during the public school spring break holiday or around Memorial Day). A student or C1 employee might actually want to work those three days as they do not earn holidays and would therefore not be paid if they do not work. Managers, please be considerate of your staff’s plans when setting a work schedule for those three days.

Managers, please use the following instructions when completing and approving timesheets: Continue reading →