Human Resources News Blog

Category: Benefits

TIAA Beneficiary Reminder

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TIAA is mailing out the following reminder to update your retirement beneficiary information.

Naming your beneficiary, and keeping the information current, is an important aspect of managing your retirement account. A birth or marriage may have changed your thinking since you made your original choice. Or perhaps you never designated a beneficiary at all. Missing or outdated information can create significant costs and delays for those you leave behind.

This is a friendly reminder to make sure your beneficiary information reflects your current wishes.

It takes just a few minutes online.

The good news is that it’s easy to name, change or confirm your beneficiaries.

  • Log in to your account at TIAA.org.
  • Under My Account, select Change Beneficiaries from the Profile section.
  • From there, you can designate beneficiaries and select how much each should receive.

If you prefer, you can complete a paper form and return it by mail. To have a form mailed to you, call us at 800-842-2252. For your protection, we cannot change your beneficiary over the phone.

If you make a change, you’ll receive a confirmation by mail. And you can change your beneficiary again at any time. TIAA and Michigan Technological University appreciate your attention to this matter.

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Flu Clinic

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UP Health System Portage will be offering flu vaccine clinics on Michigan Tech’s campus this fall

The quadrivalent flu vaccine is by injection at a cost of $40 payable at the time of service. Cash, check or credit card will be accepted. Students with Michigan Tech’s Consolidated Health Plan (CHP) insurance can have their flu vaccine billed to insurance with their CHP member ID card. Employees, retirees and family members insured by Michigan Tech’s Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) can also have their flu vaccine billed to insurance with their BCBSM member ID card. This does not include retirees that have Blue Cross insurance through MPSERS.

Anyone under the age of 18 cannot be vaccinated without parental permission. A spouse and/or child may attend without the employee.

The dates of the clinics are:

  • Thursday, September 14, 4-6 pm (MUB Ballroom)
  • Tuesday, October 3, 4-6:00 pm (MUB Alumni Lounge B)
  • Monday, October 16, 4-6 pm (MUB Alumni Lounge A)
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Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Reminder

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Benefit Services would like to remind employees that Michigan Tech offers an employee assistance program with Northstar Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to provide services to eligible faculty and staff, and their spouses and dependents.

Employees have free access to Northstar EAP’s counseling services (up to eight sessions per year) and their website, which has links to helpful information. This service is there to help manage issues that may be impacting your personal and work life. Areas of expertise include stress, depression, family and marital issues, work relationships, alcohol and substance abuse and grief.

Northstar EAP provides local counselors who will provide an assessment and support, all in a confidential and comfortable setting. Confidentiality is maintained in accordance with privacy laws and professional ethical standards. The University will not be notified when EAP services are requested or used.

To set up an appointment call 906-225-3145, or schedule an appointment online at Northstar

September News Letter 2017 

 

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Employee Wellness Amazing Challenge

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The Employee Wellness Amazing Challenge will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 29.

If you’re not familiar with Amazing Challenge, it’s loosely based on the TV show “The Amazing Race.” Teams complete a series of challenges while they race toward the finish line. Challenges are a mix of physical activity and mental challenges or puzzles. Each challenge needs to be completed in order to receive a clue to move forward. While this can be a competitive race for many teams; this can also be a fun family event completed at your own pace. The challenge usually takes 2-3 hours to complete.

Start thinking about building a team of colleagues, friends or family. Michigan Tech retirees are welcome. Teams are limited to four adults, although for those teams that are made up of families with young children, we do allow more than four members. Register here.  The registration deadline is July 7, 2017, at 5 pm.

The winning team gets bragging rights as the Amazing Challenge winner. HuskyPAW members will receive bonus points for participating.

Volunteers are needed for this event. If interested contact Shannon Brodeur.

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Benefit Series – Estate Planning and Social Security Basics

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Benefit Services in conjunction with the Office of Advancement is offering employees an opportunity to learn more about Estate Planning and Social Security Basics. We will be offering two sessions, Estate Planning Basics which will be held on Monday, April 10 and A Piece In the Puzzle of Retirement: Social Security Basics which will be held on Tuesday, April 11.

If you are interested in attending one or both of these sessions, please complete the registration form here. For additional session information, please visit the Benefit Services website.

We hope you will join us and look forward to seeing you there!!

Please contact Benefit Services at 7-2517 or benefits@mtu.edu should you have any questions.
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Compensatory Time Tracking

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Beginning July 3, 2016, eligible hourly employees will track their compensatory time balance using their time entry method (web time entry, department time entry, Time Clock Plus, paper time sheet).
 
To use this feature, employees will record two different earning types; one to build the balance and one to use the balance. After each pay period is processed, the employee and their time entry approver can view the new compensatory time balance via Banweb.
 
Supervisors will receive an email requesting the current balance of compensatory time for each hourly employee they supervise. This balance needs to be submitted to Catherine Burns (cahorsch@mtu.edu) via email by Friday, June 24, 2016. The balance  effective June 18, 2016 will be loaded into Banweb.

Compensatory time off is leave time in lieu of overtime payment at the calculation of one and one-half hours of each hour of overtime worked.

A supervisor has the option of offering to an eligible employee compensatory time off with pay, rather than overtime payment. All hours granted as time off with pay for hours worked in excess of forty hours per week or eight hours per day are to be considered as compensatory time off and scheduled as one and one-half hours for each overtime hour worked.


The employee decides whether they want to receive overtime pay or compensatory time off. An employee should make a request for compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay before the performance of an overtime assignment. A supervisor cannot require that an employee take compensatory time off. Compensatory time off must be paid out to an employee if the employee leaves the department of the University.
 
For more information on compensatory time or overtime, please view the Overtime Compensation and/or Compensatory Time Off 2.6017 at: http://www.admin.mtu.edu/admin/policy/pers/6017.htm 
Instructions will be sent to supervisors and employees in the coming days. For any questions, please contact Catherine Burns (cahorsch@mtu.edu).
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2016 Amazing Challenge Registration Open

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The fifth annual HuskyPAW/SWEAT Amazing Challenge will be held on Saturday, July 30, 2016.

If you’re not familiar with the HuskyPAW/SWEAT Amazing Challenge, it’s loosely based on the TV show “The Amazing Race.” Teams complete a series of challenges while they race toward the finish line. Challenges are a mix of physical activity and mental challenges or puzzles. Each challenge needs to be completed in order to receive a clue to move forward. While this can be a competitive race for many teams, it can also be a fun family event completed at your own pace.

Register your team of colleagues, friends and family. Teams are limited to four adults, although for those teams that are made up of families with children, we do allow more than four members. The deadline to register is Friday, July 15, 2016, but space is limited. HuskyPAW members will receive bonus points for participating.

Volunteers are also needed the day of the event. If interested, please contact Shannon Brodeur at sbrodeur@mtu.edu.

 

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Tuition Reduction Incentive Program (TRIP)

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Register Now for TRIP

Eligible employees whose family members will take classes at Michigan Tech may be eligible for the Tuition Reduction Incentive Program (TRIP). The program allows approved family members a 50 percent reduction in tuition at Michigan Tech. Applications to the TRIP program must be completed each academic year.

 

Students who will be enrolling in Fall semester must send their TRIP application to the Benefit Services office no later than July 1, 2016 to ensure adequate time for processing. Applications may be faxed to (906) 487-3220, sent by campus mail or delivered in person. For security purposes, please do not email applications.

 

For the policy, eligibility and application, visit Education Benefits. Please contact Benefit Services at benefits@mtu.edu or 906-487-2517 should you have any questions.

Here is the link:
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