UPDATE (January 30 – 2:00 pm) All employee accounts have been corrected by Kaiser so employees should not have issues obtaining services. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Original Post:
Please be aware that we have just received notice (January 30, 2025) that there was an issue with Kaiser’s processing of RCUH’s electronic enrollment file.
If you received a notice from Kaiser that your medical coverage has ended, please note this was sent in error and you are currently showing active coverage in the RCUH system. Kaiser is currently working on correcting this error on their end and has committed to resolving these enrollments no later than tomorrow, Friday, January 31st.
If you require immediate services today (e.g., medical appointments, prescriptions), please contact the Employee Benefits section to put you on the RUSH/EXPEDITED list with Kaiser:
TO: All Eligible Regular-Status Employees that wish to elect/maintain the Maximum Allowable Contribution in the Calendar Year
On November 1, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced cost-of-living adjustments increasing the maximum dollar contribution for pension plans and other retirement-related plans for 2025. Effective January 1, 2025, the maximum employee contribution limits will increase as follows: (see Table below):
Additional “catch-up” contribution for individuals 50 years or older by December 31, 2025
$7,500 for TOTAL contribution of $31,000 ($1,291.67 per pay period)
$7,500 for TOTAL contribution of $30,500
Increased “catch-up” contribution for individuals aged 60, 61, 62, and 63 by December 31, 2025
$11,250 for TOTAL contribution of $34,750
N/A
If you wish to adjust your maximum contribution from the first pay period of the tax year 2025 (December 16-31, 2024 – pay day: January 7, 2025), please complete the Agreement for Salary Reduction Form (Form B-6) and submit via Employee Self-Service eUpload link no later than December 22, 2024.
RCUH does NOT automatically adjust your SRA contributions every year. Therefore, if you have previously elected the maximum allowable contributions, you must submit a new form.
If you have any questions, please contact RCUH Human Resource Employee Benefits section at:
Applicability: All regular-status RCUH employees with a vacation leave balance and Principal Investigators
During payroll processing for the pay period ending December 31, 2024 (including the hours accrued during the pay period), any hours exceeding the total maximum carry-over hours will be forfeited.
Maximum Carry-Over Hours Depends on the Employee’s Vacation Plan. *Accrued and carry-over vacation hours are prorated by an employee’s FTE (full time equivalency) status.
Vacation Plan A: Up to a total maximum carry-over of 10 workdays (*80 hours based on 100% FTE)
Vacation Plan B: Each plan year you may carry-over not more 15 workdays (*120 hours based on 100% FTE), but may carry-over a total maximum accumulated total or 45 workdays (*360 hours based on 100% FTE)
To avoid forfeiture, please work with your Principal Investigator/Supervisor to coordinate your vacation time for the remainder of the calendar year (through December 31, 2024).
For Principal Investigators/Supervisors and Project Administrative Staff:
It is recommended that Principal Investigators meet with employees who may be forfeiting vacation hours to plan ahead and map out the work load and expectations for the end of the year.
Forfeiture Reports were provided to all Principal Investigators (and individuals with HR Portal Supervisory Access) for the pay period ending 09/30/2024 and will be provided another report in November. Additional reports may be furnished upon request. Please note regular-status employees who reduced their FTE below 50% will not show up on the Forfeiture Report, so an email will be sent directly to the Principal Investigator/Supervisor with forfeiture information.
Vacation Plan A is the default plan for all new projects and its employees. Vacation Plan B is a legacy project setup. No new projects can be transitioned to Vacation Plan B.
Vacation payouts (while actively employed) in lieu of forfeitures are not allowed.
All employees with a vacation leave balance are subject to the maximum carryover limits at close of business on December 31, 2024. Principal Investigators may contact the RCUH Employee Benefits Section ([email protected]) if an employee has extenuating circumstances no later than December 2, 2024.
To: RCUH Principal Investigators, Fiscal Administrators, and all RCUH HR Portal Users
RCUH Principal Investigators and project staff will have enhanced options for submitting electronic personnel actions involving One-Time Payments and Terminations effective August 14, 2024.
As a reminder, ePAF actions may be submitted via the RCUH HR Portal no later than the ePAF Deadline of the pay period in which the action will commence.
ONE-TIME PAYMENTS: Now available via ePAF (not all options may be available for all employee types)
Additional Compensation – Miscellaneous Eligibility: All employee types (Regular and Non-Recruited) Generally utilized to pay employees for retroactive payments and will be the most commonly used to cover miscellaneous payments.
Additional Compensation – 1.5x (Exempt) Eligibility: Exempt employees only Pre-approved by Principal Investigator to pay exempt employees at 1.5 times for hours worked performing tasks that are above and beyond normal job duties.
Hiring Bonus Eligibility: Regular employees Generally utilized to pay employees a hiring bonus commonly provided as a supplement for relocating (must be pre-approved by Principal Investigator and Fiscal Administrator as part of hiring process)
Holiday Payoff Eligibility: Regular, Non-Regular, and Relief employees Payoff for floating holiday if the employee was not able to take the pre-requested floating holiday within 1-2 pay periods.
TERMINATIONS
Termination Reason Simplification:
Voluntary terminations – Inactivation of the following reasons: “Other Job (Non-RCUH)”, “Relocation”, and “Return to School”. Appropriate reason: “Personal Reasons”
Involuntary terminations – Inactivation of “Discharge: Poor Performance” replaced with “Unsatisfactory Work Performance”
Involuntary terminations due to “Budgetary Constraints” or “Project Termination”: Fiscal Administrator approval required (UH projects only)
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact RCUH Human Resources at [email protected] or (808) 956-3100.
TO: All Principal Investigators and Fiscal Administrators
The Research Corporation of the University of Hawaiʻi (RCUH) is announcing updates to the RCUH Fringe Benefits Schedule for Fiscal Year July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. The following fringe rates have changed:
Fringe Benefit Type
Fiscal Year 23-24 RateJuly 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024
NEW Fiscal Year 24-25 RateJuly 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025
Change
Vacation Payout Reserve
0.99%
0.45%
-0.54%
Unused Sick Leave Payout Reserve
0.16%
0.24%
0.08%
Unemployment Insurance Reserve
0.36%
0.30%
-0.06%
Life Insurance
$0.137 per $1,000
$0.147 per $1000
Long Term Disability Insurance
$0.221 per $100
$0.179 per $100
Please refer to the RCUH Monthly Health Insurance Premium Rate Sheet for health insurance monthly premium rates which are applicable effective July 1, 2024. Actual employee enrollment (medical plan and tier) will affect fringe rate charged to projects.
The updated Fringe Benefits Schedule is posted on the RCUH Home Page > About > Policies & Procedures > Policy 3.510 Fringe Benefits.
PowerUP! RCUH Open Enrollment Election period is now live!
Annual Election Period:
This year’s annual benefit Open Enrollment (OE) period will be April 24, 2024 – May 17, 2024. This marks your opportunity to elect, waive, or change certain benefit elections for the upcoming plan year: July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025.
ACTION NEEDED: Unlike previous years, we are requiring all benefits-eligible employees to complete the new electronic RCUH Open Enrollment form to confirm their elections for the new plan year.
Open Enrollment Electronic Election Form:
The all-electronic RCUH OE form will allow employees to initiate and save their elections/changes and submit when they are ready through the deadline of Friday, May 17, 2024. Employees may recall their submissions and resubmit up until the deadline on May 17th. Elections/Changes will be effective July 1, 2024.
IMPORTANT: If you receive an error message to update your Primary Beneficiary Contact Information, then click on Life Insurance to bring up the Beneficiary Designation Section.
NOTE: The Open Enrollment form is accessed from a different location than eUpload. Please do not submit Open Enrollment elections via eUpload. All other benefit change requests may still be submitted via eUpload.
Level Up your financial education game with the MetLife Retirewise Financial Wellness Workshop! This four-part series can play a fundamental role in directing your basic financial and retirement planning. In its 15th year, Retirewise has offered over 14,000 workshops to more than 3,000 companies in all 50 states.
A broad spectrum of financial and retirement-related issues will be covered in these one-hour sessions, including budgeting, investment principles, Social Security, and estate planning – there is something here for everyone. Each session includes different topics and employees are able to choose which session they want to learn more about. However, to make the most out of this special opportunity it is recommended to attend all sessions, as each session build on the previous week’s content and employees will also be asked to do homework to assess their own personal finances.
This virtual series is offered (at no cost) to all RCUH employees and registration is forthcoming. The workshop will be from 12noon – 1pm HST for the following Tuesdays in April:
April 9: Building the Foundation: Understand your financial and retirement planning basics by creating a budget, learn about compound interest, tax diversification and inflation.
April 16: Creating and Managing Wealth: Review the principles of investing including how to get started, different types of investments and their common risks and strategies.
April 23: Establishing Your Retirement Income Stream: Learn how to examine risks, manage assets and structure a retirement income stream to address your retirement needs and wants.
April 30: Making the Most of What You Have: Review your employer’s benefits and how they can fit into your plan while also covering estate planning, Medicare options and life and disability income insurance.
With Retirewise, you’ll be on your way to making smarter financial decisions and creating an action plan that works for you.
Because these sessions are being held during the middle of the day, all employees should notify their PIs and supervisors if they would like to attend. We encourage Principal Investigators and Supervisors to allow their employees to attend these sessions, if requested.
Taxes are one of life’s certainties, and no one likes giving up some of their hard-earned cash. While some tax strategies are easy to accomplish, others may take some planning. The Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii (RCUH) is pleased to offer MetLife’s Tax Strategies: The Basics and Beyond; a complimentary 60-minute webinar where you will learn about the tax planning steps, including tax basics, diversification, cutting your tax bill, and when to call a professional.
If you have any questions or need assistance registering, please contact RCUH Employee Benefits at [email protected] or call (808)956-2326.
Webinar Hosted by: MetLife
Please be advised this is not tax advice. For specific questions regarding an individual’s tax situation, employees should consult with their tax advisor.
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