TIAA-CREF’s Response to Recent Market Volatility

TIAA-CREF has posted several articles on their website addressing concerns about the volatile times in the financial markets.

 

We encourage all of our employees, participating in the TIAA-CREF Group Retirement Annuity (GRA) and Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA), to read the articles/sites below. 

 

  1. Stock Market Volatility FAQs posted on August 9, 2011: http://www.tiaa-cref.org/public/advice-planning/market-commentary/market-commentary/articles/comm_025.html

 

  1. TIAA-CREF Article posted on August 8, 2011:

http://www.tiaa-cref.org/public/about/news/articles/gen1108_272.html

 

  1. Statement from Ed Grzybowski (Chief Investment Officer) posted on August 5, 2011: 

http://www.tiaa-cref.org/public/about/news/articles/gen1107_268.html

 

  1. Article by Susan Tannehill (Head of Private Asset Management) posted on August 5, 2011:

http://www.tiaa-cref.org/ucm/groups/content/@ap_ucm_p_tcp_docs/documents/document/tiaa04021662.pdf

 

  1. Article by Brett Hammond (Senior Economist) – Mid-Year Assessment:

http://www.tiaa-cref.org/public/advice-planning/market-commentary/market-commentary/articles/comm_023.html

 

 

Employees should regularly check the TIAA-CREF website at www.tiaa-cref.org or at http://www.tiaa-cref.org/public/land/market_volatility/index.html for regular updates.

 

Employees interested in speaking with a TIAA-CREF Representative to discuss their retirement plan, may call (808) 543-6365 or go online at https://www.tiaa-cref.org/public/secure/advice/index.html to schedule an appointment.

Notice to Attorneys Interested in Providing Legal Services to RCUH

NOTICE TO ATTORNEYS INTERESTED IN PROVIDING LEGAL SERVICES

TO THE RESEARCH CORPORATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII

 

Licensed attorneys who wish to provide legal services to the RESEARCH CORPORATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2011, in the area of

 

Employment Law (including the following areas:  development of employment policies and procedures; employee compensation; employee benefits; equal employment opportunity; employee relations; immigration relating to employment and I-9/Work Authorization; payroll tax (U. S. and international); independent contractors; workers compensation; Fair Labor Standards Act; occupational safety and health; complaint investigation; and employment related litigation and administrative proceedings)

 

are invited to submit a Statement of Qualifications and Expression of Interest to the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii.  Attorneys will be considered for contract under Hawaii Revised Statues §103 D-304, as the need arises.

 

Attorneys from the same firm must submit separate statements.

 

Statement forms are available at https://www.rcuh.com or may be requested by telephone at (808) 956-6965 or facsimile (808) 956-5022 (Attention: Nelson Sakamoto, Director of Human Resources).

 

Your completed statements must be postmarked or received by the Research Corporation of the University of Hawaii, Human Resources Department by Wednesday, August 31, 2011 to be eligible for  consideration for the entire fiscal year commencing July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2012.

 

A statement received after August 31, 2011, will be considered a “late submittal” for the balance of the fiscal year as follows:

 

A late submittal received between:

Will be considered beginning:

September 1 – September 24, 2011

October 1, 2011

September 25 – December 25, 2011

January 1, 2012

December 26, 2011 – March 26, 2012

April 1, 2012

 

 

RCUH Timesheet for August 1-15 pay period

In order to minimize searching for the RCUH timesheets each pay period, we will have the current RCUH timesheet available in the Current News section of the RCUH website on the first working day of each pay period.

 

Click Here for the August 1-15 Timesheet

 

Payroll Deadline is August 16, 2011, 12noon

Payday for this timesheet is August 22, 2011

 

Next Announcement:  August 16 (August 16-31 pay period).

THE RESOURCE – HR Newsletter

Volume 14 Issue 7

July 22, 2011

HEALTH MEMBERSHIP ID CARDS

  • HMSA – HMSA members who have changed their health plan election (e.g., added a dependent, switched plans, etc.) AND new enrollees to the HMSA medical plans effective July 1, 2011, should have received their new membership cards prior to/no later than July 21, 2011.  Enrollees may request additional membership cards by logging on to their account on the HMSA website at https://member.hmsa.com/LogIn.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fMember%2fHome.aspx.

 

  • HDS – Hawaii Dental Service will send membership cards to NEW members only. If you require additional ID cards, you may request them by calling HDS Customer Service at 521-1431 (Oahu) or 1-800-232-2533 (Outer Islands). Members may also visit the HDS website at http://www.deltadentalhi.org (select “Members” link to login) to print out/request for additional membership cards, review account status, etc.

Please contact Dayna Tsue at (808) 956-8953 or email her at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.

 

VACATION: USE IT … DON’T LOSE IT!
There is a limit to the amount of vacation that may be carried forward each calendar year (Dec. 31st to Jan. 1st). The amount of vacation you are allowed to carry forward is dependent upon the specific Vacation Plan authorized by your project. Your online Pay Statement (via Employee Self-Service System) indicates whether you are in Vacation Plan A or B. Please plan your vacation accordingly for the remainder of the year to ensure that you do NOT lose any well-deserved vacation leave.

Summary: Regular employees 50-100% are eligible for vacation under RCUH Policy 3.620 Vacation Leave. Vacation is calculated and accrued on a semi-monthly basis. There are two vacation plans administered by the RCUH:

 

1) Vacation Plan A (RCUH Standard Vacation Policy): Under Plan A, employees may not carry forward more than 10 workdays* of vacation in a calendar year. The maximum accumulation/carryover shall not exceed 10 workdays*.

2) Vacation Plan B (Non-Standard Vacation Policy): Under Plan B, employees may carry forward 15 workdays* of current year accruals, and total accumulation (current year accruals and previous year carry over) shall not exceed 45 workdays*.


*1 workday equals 8 hours multiplied by your FTE (i.e., 1 workday equals 4 hours for a 50% FTE employee).

NEW THIRD-PARTY ADMINISTRATOR (TPA) for FLEXIBLE SPENDING PLAN ACCOUNTS

Effective July 1, 2011, the RCUH’s Flexible Spending TPA was changed from Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC) to National Benefit Services (NBS).  As a participant, you should have received a “NBS Flexcard” debit card prior to/no later than July 21, 2011 for the new plan year (July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012).

 
DEADLINE – SEPTEMBER 30, 2011 – FLEXIBLE SPENDING PLAN REIMBURSEMENTS
The plan year July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011 for Flexible Spending Plans ended on June 30, 2011. You have 2 months left to submit reimbursement forms for services incurred during the plan year JULY 1, 2010 – JUNE 30, 2011 (Deadline: September 30, 2011). As previously mentioned in the RCUH Current News & Announcements dated June 29, 2011, all reimbursement requests submitted after June 30, 2011 should be sent directly to NBS.  Reimbursement forms and receipts should be mailed directly to NBS (address is listed at the top of the reimbursement form).  We encourage everyone to submit reimbursement forms and receipts now in the event that additional information is required. NO exceptions will be made if National Benefit Services (NBS) does not receive ALL required documents by September 30, 2011. 

 

If you have any questions or need additional reimbursement forms, please call (888) 478-1528 or download forms from the NBS website at www.nbsbenefits.com.

RETURN TO WORK AFTER ILLNESS/INJURY
Projects must follow “doctor’s orders” when it pertains to an employee’s ability to report to work.  Physician certifications (i.e., doctor’s notes) indicating specific periods of time employees are incapacitated and are unable to work must be strictly followed. If an employee would like to return to work prior to the date certified by the physician, the employee must obtain a revised physician certification indicating that he/she may return to work.  Premature return to work of an employee may jeopardize the health and safety for the employee and staff.

 

Please contact Kristen Stevens at (808) 956-6979 or [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.

STUDENT EMPLOYMENT

All RCUH Student Assistant employees are responsible for submitting a Student Verification each semester in order to qualify for continued student employment.  For all University of Hawaii students (eg: UH Manoa, UH Hilo, Honolulu Community College, Maui College, etc.), verification is not required as RCUH has the ability to verify student status electronically through a UH database.  However, verification is required for UH Outreach College and non-UH Schools (i.e. High School, Chaminade, HPU, etc).

 

The following are acceptable forms of student verification:

a) Student registration or receipt

b) Letter of student registration from the registrar or counselor

c) Validated student I.D. card

d) Any other form of verification deemed acceptable by the Director of Human Resources

 

Continuation of student employment:

Project/Student must submit a Student Verification for the Fall 2011 semester by August 31, 2011.  Failure to submit student verification by the indicated deadline will result in termination of student employment.

 

Please contact Sharon Vong at [email protected] or (808)956-7307 if you have any questions.

 

IMPORTANT Dates to Remember (August):

8/1

Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 7/31/11

8/5

Pay Day

8/5-8/9

Web Time Preview 1

8/9

PAF Deadline

8/10

HRAMP Deadline

8/10-8/11

Web Time Preview 2

8/12-8/15

Web Time Input

8/16

Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 8/15/11

8/19

HOLIDAY – Statehood Day

8/22

Pay Day

8/23-8/25

Web Time Preview 1

8/25

PAF Deadline

8/26

HRAMP Deadline

8/26-8/29

Web Time Preview 2

8/30-8/31

Web Time Input

IMPORTANT Dates to Remember (September):

9/1

Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 8/31/11

9/5

HOLIDAY – Labor Day

9/7

Pay Day

9/7-9/9

Web Time Preview 1

9/9

PAF Deadline

9/12

HRAMP Deadline

9/12-9/13

Web Time Preview 2

9/14-9/15

Web Time Input

9/16

Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 9/15/11

9/22

Pay Day

9/22-9/26

Web Time Preview 1

9/26

PAF Deadline

9/27

HRAMP Deadline

9/27-9/28

Web Time Preview 2

9/29-9/30

Web Time Input

TIMESHEETS FOR THE MONTH OF July – August:
July 16-31

August 1-15

August 16-31

SSE Timesheet (Form D-9c)

2011 Personnel Action & Payroll Calendar

2011 Special Check Calendar

 

 

The Principal Investigator’s Corner

 

SUMMER HIRING

Summer is the busiest season for the RCUH Human Resources Department.  In addition to being our peak hiring season, it also coincides with our Benefit Open Enrollment, Fiscal Year End, Annual Performance Evaluations and Pay Increases.

In anticipation of the peak hiring season, we ask all Principal Investigators and Project Administrators to review and adhere to the deadlines below to ensure that all hires are reviewed and approved without delay. We appreciate your cooperation and assistance.

Selections for Regular Hires: minimum of 10 business days before target date of hire.

Non-Recruited Hires (Temporary, Specialized Service, Student Assistants, and Intermittent hire): minimum 7 business days before target date of hire.

Group Hires (6 or more employees): minimum of 15 business days before target date of hire.

Missing documents pertaining to the selection and/or incomplete new hire documents may cause the hire date to be delayed.  A formal offer of employment is made by the Principal Investigator only AFTER receiving approval to hire from the RCUH Human Resources Department.  Hire dates will be confirmed by our office via email.  All new hires and rehires are NOT approved to start working until their hire date has been confirmed by the RCUH Human Resources Office.

 

Please contact Sharon Vong at [email protected] or 956-7307 if you have any questions.

 

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS
The deadline for the submission of Performance Evaluations was June 15, 2011. If you have not submitted your evaluations to date, please submit them as soon as possible to the RCUH Human Resources Department.  Evaluations must be completed/submitted each year, even if you are not requesting any pay adjustments for your employees.

 

If you have any other questions, please contact Branda Nguyen at [email protected].

 

RCUH Timesheet for July 16-31 pay period

In order to minimize searching for the RCUH timesheets each pay period, we will have the current RCUH timesheet available in the Current News section of the RCUH website on the first working day of each pay period.

 

Click Here for the July 16-31 Timesheet

 

Payroll Deadline is August 1, 2011, 12noon

Payday for this timesheet is August 5, 2011

 

Next Announcement:  August 1 (August 1-15 pay period).

RCUH Timesheet for July 1-15 pay period

In order to minimize searching for the RCUH timesheets each pay period, we will have the current RCUH timesheet available in the Current News section of the RCUH website on the first working day of each pay period.

 

Click Here for the July 1-15 Timesheet

 

Payroll Deadline is July 18, 2011, 12noon

Payday for this timesheet is July 22, 2011

 

Next Announcement:  July 18 (July 16-31 pay period).

Revised RCUH Student Assistant Pay Schedule – effective 7/1/11

Effective July 1, 2011, the RCUH Student Assistant Hourly Pay Schedule will be revised to increase the pay scale of student assistants by 6% for all grades and steps. In addition, we will be eliminating the option for “Student Assistant H”; otherwise known as High School Student. All current Student Assistants in the “Student Assistant H” category will be automatically defaulted to Student Assistant A1-1; $8.20 per hour. This change is due to the University of Hawaii’s revision in the Administrative Procedures Manual, section A9.880, Policies and Procedures on Student Employment. Please see revised pay schedule.

 

RCUH will update all current Student Assistant’s pay rate to the new pay rate consistent with the revised pay schedule.

 

Current TASC Flexible Spending Participants (Plan Year 07/01/10 – 06/30/11)

As a final reminder, the end of the current Flexible Spending Plan Year (Medical Expense Reimbursement & Dependent Care Expense Accounts) is June 30, 2011.  Services must be incurred during the plan year ending June 30, 2011 and any unused contributions will be forfeited at the end of the plan year (NO EXCEPTIONS).  To obtain an updated status of your account or additional reimbursement forms, contact Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC) at 1-800-422-4661 or log onto the TASC website at www.tasconline.com.  We urge all employees to submit their reimbursement forms to TASC in a timely manner. 

 

Although services MUST be incurred by June 30, 2011, you have 90 days after this date to submit your reimbursement forms with ALL supporting documentation (ex. receipts, contracts) for reimbursement of your Flexible Spending monies.  We will be switching our Flexible Spending Third-Party Administrator (TPA) effective July 1, 2011 to National Benefit Services (NBS).  Reimbursement requests (submitted after June 30, 2011 should be sent directly to NBS:

Mail:    National Benefit Services, LLC.

P.O. Box 6980

West Jordan, UT 84084

Fax:    (800) 478 – 1528

Email: [email protected] (PDF, TIFF or JPEG files only)

 

Reimbursement claim forms will be available after July 1st on the RCUH website for your convenience.  You may also contact NBS at (888) 353-9125 if you have any questions.   DO NOT WAIT until the end of the 90-day grace period to submit your reimbursement forms.

 

Additionally, although the Pre-Tax Parking Transportation contributions are not forfeited at the end of each plan year, all parking reimbursement requests should also be submitted to NBS effective July 1, 2011.

.

RCUH Timesheet for June 16-30 pay period

In order to minimize searching for the RCUH timesheets each pay period, we will have the current RCUH timesheet available in the Current News section of the RCUH website on the first working day of each pay period.

 

Click Here for the June 16-30 Timesheet

 

Payroll Deadline is July 1, 2011, 12noon

Payday for this timesheet is July 7, 2011

 

Next Announcement:  July 1 (July 1-15 pay period).

THE RESOURCE – HR Newsletter

Volume 14 Issue 6

June 22, 2011

 

1 WEEK LEFT…

…to utilize your current Flexible Spending Plan Accounts (Medical Expense Reimbursement & Dependent Care Expense Accounts).  The end of the current Flexible Spending Plan Year is quickly approaching (June 30, 2011).  Services must be incurred during the plan year ending June 30, 2011.   Unused contributions will be forfeited at the end of the plan year (NO EXCEPTIONS).  To obtain an updated status of your account or additional reimbursement forms, contact Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC) at 1-800-422-4661 or log onto the TASC website at www.tasconline.com.  We urge all employees to submit their reimbursement forms to TASC in a timely manner.  Although services MUST be incurred by June 30, 2011, you have 90 days after this date to submit your reimbursement forms with ALL supporting documentation (ex. receipts, contracts) for reimbursement of your Flexible Spending monies.  We will be switching our Flexible Spending Third-Party Administrator (TPA) effective July 1, 2011 to National Benefit Services (NBS).  Reimbursement requests submitted after June 30, 2011 should be sent directly to NBS.  DO NOT WAIT until the end of the 90-day grace period to submit your reimbursement forms!!!

OPEN ENROLLMENT is OVER!
The Benefits Open Enrollment Period is over and new enrollments, cancellations, and changes will take effect on July 1, 2011.  Health insurance deductions for the new plan year will begin in the June 16-30, 2011 pay period.  All other new plan year deductions will commence in the July 1-15, 2011 pay period (e.g., Flexible Spending Plans & Supplemental Insurances).  Please check your on-line payroll statements (via Employee Self-Service) to ensure that the deductions accurately reflect your elections.

Benefits Confirmation Statements which confirms individual benefits effective July 1, 2011, were sent to all benefits-eligible employees on May 27, 2011.  Employees were given a final opportunity to make corrections/changes to their benefits (deadline was on June 8, 2011).  For those making corrections/changes, a FINAL Benefits Confirmation Statement was sent out on June 15, 2011.  If you made corrections but did not receive a Final Benefits Confirmation Statement, please call Dayna Tsue at (808) 956-8953.

STUDENT EMPLOYMENT

All RCUH Student Assistant employees are responsible for submitting a Student Verification each semester in order to qualify for continued student employment.  For all University of Hawaii students (eg: UH Manoa, UH Hilo, Honolulu Community College, Maui College, etc.), verification is not required as RCUH has the ability to verify student status´ electronically through a UH database.  However, verification is required for UH Outreach College and non-UH Schools (i.e. High School, Chaminade, HPU, etc).

 

The following are acceptable forms of student verification:

a) Student registration or receipt

b) Letter of student registration from the registrar or counselor

c) Validated student I.D. card

d) Any other form of verification deemed acceptable by the Director of Human Resources

 

Continuation of student employment:

Project/Student must submit a Student Verification for the Fall 2011 semester by August 31, 2011.  Failure to submit student verification by the indicated deadline will result in termination of student employment.

 

Please contact Sharon Vong at [email protected] or (808)956-7307 if you have any questions.

 

SUMMER HIRING

Summer is the busiest season for the RCUH Human Resources Department.  In addition to being our peak hiring season, it also coincides with our Benefit Open Enrollment, Fiscal Year End, Annual Performance Evaluations and Pay Increases.

In anticipation of the peak hiring season, we ask all Principal Investigators and Project Administrators to review and adhere to  the deadlines below to ensure that all hires are reviewed and approved without delay. We appreciate your cooperation and assistance.

Selections for Regular Hires: minimum of 10 business days before target date of hire.

Non-Recruited Hires (Temporary, Specialized Service, Student Assistants, and Intermittent hire): minimum 7 business days before target date of hire.

Group Hires (6 or more employees): minimum of 15 business days before target date of hire.

Missing documents pertaining to the selection and/or incomplete new hire documents may cause the hire date to be delayed.  A formal offer of employment is made by the Principal Investigator only AFTER receiving approval to hire from the RCUH Human Resources Department.  Hire dates will be confirmed by our office via email.  All new hires and rehires are NOT approved to start working until their hire date has been confirmed by the RCUH Human Resources Office.

 

Please contact Sharon Vong at [email protected] or 956-7307 if you have any questions.

IMPORTANT Dates to Remember (July):

7/1

Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 6/30/11

7/4

HOLIDAY – Independence Day

7/7

Pay Day

7/7-7/11

Web Time Preview 1

7/11

PAF Deadline

7/12

HRAMP Deadline

7/12-7/13

Web Time Preview 2

7/14-7/15

Web Time Input

7/18

Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 7/15/11

7/21-7/25

Web Time Preview 1

7/25

PAF Deadline

7/26

HRAMP Deadline

7/26-7/27

Web Time Preview 2

7/28-7/29

Web Time Input

MPORTANT Dates to Remember (August):

8/1

Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 7/31/11

8/5

Pay Day

8/5-8/9

Web Time Preview 1

8/9

PAF Deadline

8/10

HRAMP Deadline

8/10-8/11

Web Time Preview 2

8/12-8/15

Web Time Input

8/16

Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 8/15/11

8/19

HOLIDAY – Statehood Day

8/22

Pay Day

8/23-8/25

Web Time Preview 1

8/25

PAF Deadline

8/26

HRAMP Deadline

8/26-8/29

Web Time Preview 2

8/30-8/31

Web Time Input

TIMESHEETS FOR THE MONTH OF June-July:
June 16-30

July 1-15

July 16-31

SSE Timesheet (Form D-9c)

2011 Personnel Action & Payroll Calendar

2011 Special Check Calendar

 

 

The Principal Investigator’s Corner

 

 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS AND PAY INCREASES


The deadline for the submission of Performance Evaluations was June 15, 2011. If you have not submitted your evaluations to date, please submit them
as soon as possible to RCUH Human Resources.  Late forms will be processed in the order they are received and may result in a delay in the pay adjustment.

Principal Investigators who requested pay adjustments for their staff will receive notification of whether pay increases have been approved during the week of July 11, 2011.  Please contact Branda Nguyen at [email protected] if you have any questions.