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You Can Use!
Important Information for Employees of
Oklahoma State UniversityDecember 2004
December 15 Deadline Use Web for Employees to:
Direct Deposit Update - No More Priority Distribution Locations
Would You Like to Save More for Retirement?
2005 Faculty and Staff Training Opportunities Brochure
Confirmation of Benefit Enrollments for 2005
Flex Account - Use it or Lose it Before December 31, 2004
Calling All Advanced Leadership Program Participants!
$2.50 Dependent Life Premium Deadline: November 30, 2004
Oklahoma State University will be open Monday, December 20, through Thursday, December 23, 2004, and will observe official university holidays from Friday, December 24, 2003, through Friday, December 31, 2004.
If you have an emergency situation related to Human Resources during the time
the University is closed, you may call (405) 744-7931 and leave a message. One
of our employees will respond within 24 hours.
Employees required to work during a university holiday will be compensated in
accordance with Policy 3-0709, University Holidays.
If you are a classified employee who works on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day,
you will be paid 1 ½ times for the time worked, plus straight time for the
holiday. The day after Thanksgiving is a holiday, but is paid at straight time
for time worked and straight time for the holiday pay.
The policy provides for exempt employees to receive comparable time off if
required to work during university holidays.
The University Holidays policy can be found on the web at
www.okstate.edu/osu_per/policy_proced.htm.
December 15 Deadline Use Web for Employees to:
• Change your Flexible Benefits
reimbursement accounts;
• Reduce your long-term disability
coverage;
• Reduce or cancel supplemental life on yourself, your spouse, or your children;
or
• Increase supplemental life coverage by no more than $5,000 on yourself or your
spouse.
http://prodhosu.okstate.edu/
Direct Deposit Update - No More Priority Distribution Locations
In accordance with State legislation, all new state employees, including OSU
employees, will be required to sign up for direct deposit if hired after January
1, 2005. In addition, all other OSU employees who are currently not on direct
deposit will need to have their pay checks direct deposited by June 30, 2007.
Effective January 1, 2005, Stillwater employees will only be able to pick up
paychecks from the Bursar’s Office, 113 Student Union. There will no longer be
priority distributions from areas such as Physical Plant or Residential Life.
Employees may pick up checks from the Bursar’s Office during normal office
hours.
If you currently pick up your paycheck, you will want to complete an Automatic
Deposit Transmittal form and submit it to the Office of Personnel Management,
2101 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105. Don’t forget to
attach a voided check to your request. The form is available on the web at
www.opm.state.ok.us/opm-73.pdf.
Employee Services or Payroll Services will be glad to help you secure and
complete the Automatic Deposit Transmittal form, and even send it to the Office
of Personnel Management for you.
You will want to review your Payroll Advice carefully to verify the distribution
of your paycheck. The State no-longer pre-notes, which means the State no longer
sends a “dummy” deposit to the employee’s bank to verify bank account
information.
Pay which is direct deposited is usually available at your financial institution
several hours or even days before the paper check is distributed.
Would You Like to Save More for Retirement?
OSU offers two voluntary programs that give all employees, including students
and temporary employees, the opportunity to set aside money toward retirement.
You decide how much money to contribute within the guidelines for each program.
These contributions will be deducted from your paycheck and remitted to eligible
investment sponsors of your choice. Your contributions and earnings grow on a
tax-deferred basis until withdrawn.
The chart below shows the maximum annual contributions for each program for
2005.
If you were hired in 2004 or had an end date on your salary reduction agreement in 2004, you may want to complete a new agreement.
Additional information about the 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan can be found
at www.okstate.edu/osu_per/benefits/457b.htm and information about the 403(b)
Supplemental Tax Deferred Annuity program can be found at www.okstate.edu/osu_per/benefits/403b.htm.
The list of eligible investment sponsors is included as well as a link to each
Salary Reduction Agreement within the website.
You are welcome to call Employee Services, (405) 744-5449, if you still have
unanswered questions.
Please note the following end-of-year pay reminders:
• IRS Form W-5, Advanced Earned Income Credit Payment Certificate, expires
December 31. A new W-5 must be completed by December 23, 2004, for biweekly paid
employees to receive credit effective with the first pay check in 2005. Monthly
employees must have their W-5 form to Payroll Services, 409 Whitehurst, by
January 7, 2005. As soon as the 2005 W-5 form is released by the IRS, it will be
available on the Human Resources website.
• Employees who qualify to claim exempt from state and federal tax withholding
can do so for one year at a time. To claim exempt from State and Federal tax
withholding for 2005, employees must complete a W- 4, Employee's Withholding
Allowance Certificate, by January 31, 2005. W-4 forms are available at
www.okstate.edu/osu_per/docfiles/docfiles.htm.
• Tax treaty forms expire December 31. IRS Form 8233 is available in the
International Students and Scholars Office, 076 Student Union.
2005 Faculty and Staff Training Opportunities Brochure
The 2005 Faculty and Staff Development Opportunities Brochure will be mailed to
continuous, regular employees on all campuses, during the month of December. It
is also available on the web,
www.okstate.edu/osu_per/hr/training.html.
At least eight different classes are scheduled for January. Take advantage of
on-line enrollment - it is the fastest, easiest way to sign up for classes!
Confirmation of Benefit Enrollments for 2005
The State Insurance Board will send HealthChoice members a Confirmation of
Benefits (COB) statement for health, dental and/or vision enrollment if a change
in coverage was made. You will want to review the new statement to see that the
coverage listed for you and your dependents is what you selected. The COB is for
information only; it is not a bill.
You can also verify your benefits coverage through your payroll advice. This
year there was an opportunity for changes in health/dental/vision, flex,
long-term disability, life, and the new cancer/critical illness plans. Any
changes you made will become effective on January 1, 2005.
Questions? Contact Employee Services, (405) 744-5449. We can correct almost any
error, yours or ours, if notified timely.
The December monthly payday is scheduled for Thursday, December 23, 2004.
The December and first January biweekly paydays are scheduled for December 3,
December 17, December 23, and January 14, 2005. The last biweekly payroll in
December will be paid early before the holiday break. The last payroll advice
can be used to verify your salary and taxes paid for 2004 if you are ready to
start working on your income taxes before you receive your W-2.
The biweekly check issued on January 14, 2005, will reflect all new insurance
deductions. This is the one that should be compared with the biweekly December
17 check. For monthly deductions, compare month-end checks (December 23 and
January 31).
After discussion with three state offices, Human Resources has received
permission to certify to the State that every employee placed on payroll has
completed a Loyalty Oath as a condition of employment. This certification will
suffice for the self audit required by the Office of State Finance.
Section 51-36 of the Oklahoma Statutes presently requires that a signed Loyalty
Oath be retained in the employee’s personnel file of the employing agency. Forms
sent to the State as required prior to 1999 are not available. We would
appreciate employees who are willing to do so to please sign the Loyalty Oath
they received in the mail and return it to Employee Services, 106 Whitehurst, so
OSU’s files will be complete.
Flex Account – Use It or Lose It Before December 31, 2004
If you have a flexible spending account, remember that it is a "use it or lose
it" account. The eligible, out-of-pocket expenses for 2004 must occur between
January 1 and December 31. The deadline to submit eligible expense receipts for
2004 is March 31, 2005.
Receipts may be submitted to American Fidelity for reimbursement up to your goal
amount. Any unreimbursed money remaining in your account will be forfeited,
which means it is unavailable for reimbursement.
The American Fidelity Customer Service web page,
www.af-group.com, has a list of
the eligible expenses and reimbursement forms. Call American Fidelity at
1-800-325-0654 to check your account balance.
Calling All Advanced Leadership Program Participants!
If you are enrolled in the Advanced Leadership Program (ALP) this year, you need
to fill out an ALP Completion Form, which can be downloaded at
http://fp.okstate.edu/hrosu/alp_completion.htm.
The form is due in Training Services, 106 Whitehurst, by Monday, December 6,
2004.
ALP participants who attended at least three of the special opportunities and at
least another 15 hours of leadership training will be recognized at an annual
banquet, Tuesday, February 1, 2005. A special guest speaker will deliver the
keynote address for the occasion.
For more information about the ALP, go to
www.okstate.edu/osu_per/hr/advldrshpprog.html,
send an e-mail to Training Services, osu-trng@okstate.edu, or call (405)
744-5374.
$2.50 Dependent Life Premium Deadline: November 30, 2004
If you continued your family life coverage for calendar year 2004 at the $2.50
rate, you have an opportunity to enroll your family members for the supplemental
ING coverage without providing evidence of insurability.
Enrollment forms are due Tuesday, November 30, 2004. You can download a form at
www.okstate.edu/osu_per/benefits/benforms.html. Select the OSU Benefit and
Election/Change form.
Failure to enroll will result in loss of dependent coverage.
OSU Human Resources developed this information for the convenience of OSU employees. It is a brief interpretation of more detailed and complex materials. If further clarification is needed, the actual law, policy and contract should be consulted as the authoritative source. OSU continually monitors benefits, policy and procedures and reserves the right to change, modify, amend, or terminate benefit programs at any time.