Reminder: June 1-November 30 is hurricane season. For more information on Hurricane Douglas, please visit the NOAA Central Pacific Hurricane Center and take the time to review your family emergency plan. (https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes)
Employees are encouraged to sign up for UH Alert to be informed via text message about emergency situations affecting the 10 UH campuses http://hawaii.edu/alert. Notifications affecting UH campuses will be posted at https://www.hawaii.edu/emergency/.
Today, President Joe Biden signed into law legislation establishing June 19 as “Juneteenth National Independence Day”, a U.S. federal holiday, effective immediately. Federal agencies will be recognizing Friday, June 18, 2021 as “Juneteenth Day Holiday,” since June 19, 2021 falls on a Saturday.
On June 16, 2021, Governor David lge signed SB 939 – Relating to Juneteenth Day. The intent of SB 939 is to establish June 19th of each year as a day to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States and to honor and recognize the significant roles and contributions of African Americans in the history of the United States. Under SB 939, June 19th is not a State Holiday.
RCUH employees working in a federal facility should check with their Principal Investigators today (June 17) regarding how the Juneteenth Day Holiday may affect their work schedules.
Principal Investigators should refer to the attached “Unforeseen Disruption in Work Schedules” for guidance, or follow how you handle the federal Columbus Day Holiday.
ATTENTION: Principal Investigators & Regular-Status employees at 50-100% FTE
RCUH is now coordinating one-hour Individual/Employee Retirement (GRA/SRA) Plan Advisory Sessions with TIAA via virtual meetings June 15-18. Regardless of your current status – whether you are a long-time employee, just hired, or somewhere in between – it is never too early or too late to consider retirement planning. During these personalized sessions, you will be able to discuss your personal financial/retirement goals with a TIAA Financial Consultant on a free and confidential basis.
Because these sessions are being held during normal business hours, all employees must notify their PIs and supervisors if they would like to attend. We encourage Principal Investigators to allow their employees to attend the TIAA Advisory Sessions, if requested.
For employees unfamiliar with the SRA (Supplemental Retirement Annuity) plan, please note that unlike the GRA (Group Retirement Annuity) plan, there is no 12-month waiting period and you may enroll or make changes to your election at any time during the year. The SRA plan with TIAA is considered a 403(b) tax-deferred annuity plan which allows an employee to make contributions via payroll deduction from his/her pre-tax earnings over and above the amount being accumulated under the RCUH basic retirement plan (GRA).
If you have questions or are unable to schedule an appointment online, please call TIAA’s Service and Scheduling Group at (800) 732-8353 Mon-Fri 7am – 1pm Hawaiʻi Standard Time.
Meetings are accessible for individuals with disabilities. Individuals who require special needs accommodations may request assistance in writing to [email protected] prior to the scheduled meeting.
Advisory #9 – Applicable to RCUH employees working for a University of Hawaii Principal Investigator in Hawaii: On May 14, 2021, the RCUH published Advisory #9 regarding the tentative return to workplace schedule for all RCUH employees working for University of Hawaii projects. These RCUH employees are subject to the University’s return to the workplace guidelines and schedule. The RCUH will provide updates as needed to this return to the workplace schedule. RCUH Advisory #9 does not apply to RCUH employees permanently working outside of Hawaii.
COVID-19 Vaccinations are Encouraged – Not Mandatory: On February 26, 2021, the RCUH published Advisory #8 regarding the COVID-19 Vaccinations for RCUH employees on all islands. The RCUH and the University of Hawaii encouraged our employees to get the vaccination. At that time, the demand for vaccinations were more than the supply of vaccines. This required scheduling and coordination. Today, the vaccine supply is greater than the demand allowing employees to schedule themselves for a vaccination. The RCUH continues to encourage all employees to get vaccinated and we continue to authorize 2.0 hours of paid time off if their vaccination is on a workday. To date, the University has not mandated vaccinations for its employees. However, this may change in the future, should this occur the RCUH will provide you with an Advisory guidance. Any Principal Investigator whose project has a job or safety related reason to impose a mandatory vaccination rule for their RCUH employees should contact the RCUH Director of Human Resources for guidance.
Questions or other concerns: Contact me by email ([email protected]) with any questions or concerns.
ATTENTION: Principal Investigators & Regular-Status employees at 50-100% FTE
RCUH is now coordinating one-hour Individual/Employee Retirement (GRA/SRA) Plan Advisory Sessions with TIAA via virtual meetings May 18-20. Regardless of your current status – whether you are a long-time employee, just hired, or somewhere in between – it is never too early or too late to consider retirement planning. During these personalized sessions, you will be able to discuss your personal financial/retirement goals with a TIAA Financial Consultant on a free and confidential basis.
Because these sessions are being held during normal business hours, all employees must notify their PIs and supervisors if they would like to attend. We encourage Principal Investigators to allow their employees to attend the TIAA Advisory Sessions, if requested.
For employees unfamiliar with the SRA (Supplemental Retirement Annuity) plan, please note that unlike the GRA (Group Retirement Annuity) plan, there is no 12-month waiting period and you may enroll or make changes to your election at any time during the year. The SRA plan with TIAA is considered a 403(b) tax-deferred annuity plan which allows an employee to make contributions via payroll deduction from his/her pre-tax earnings over and above the amount being accumulated under the RCUH basic retirement plan (GRA).
If you have questions or are unable to schedule an appointment online, please call TIAA’s Service and Scheduling Group at (800) 732-8353 Mon-Fri 6am – 3pm Hawaiʻi Standard Time.
Meetings are accessible for individuals with disabilities. Individuals who require special needs accommodations may request assistance in writing to [email protected] prior to the scheduled meeting.
Future TIAA Individual Advisory Session Dates and Locations for CY 2021*:
TO: All RCUH Regular-status (50-100%) FTE Employees with or w/o Medical/Dental Plan
FROM: Nelson Sakamoto, Director of Human Resources
SUBJECT: RCUH HR URGENT – RCUH BENEFITS OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD Ends Friday, May 14th
REMINDER: All RCUH Open Enrollment Forms are due to RCUH Benefits (Email: [email protected]) by Friday, May 14, 2021. For detailed information regarding the RCUH Benefits Open Enrollment period, please refer to the Open Enrollment Informational Materials page and the announcement sent on Monday, May 3, 2021 (located below).
Frequently Used Forms:
RCUH Group Health Insurance Waiver Form (OEB-5Wb) – Mandatory for all employees waiving medical coverage for the new plan year
RCUH Flexible Spending Enrollment & Change Form (OEB-5F) – Re-enrollment mandatory for all employees wishing to participate in FSA Healthcare and/or FSA Dependent Care plans
RCUH Group Health Plan Enrollment Form (OEB-5Ha)– Only required for new enrollments, changes to medical carrier or plan, change in coverage tier – add/remove dependents
Contact Information
Contact RCUH Employee Benefits for general inquiries on Open Enrollment, eligibility, and assistance with forms such as submission or filling them out.
Phone: (808) 956-6979 or (808) 956-2326 Fax: (808) 956-5022
TO: All RCUH Regular-status (50-100%) FTE Employees with or w/o Medical/Dental Plan FROM: Nelson Sakamoto, Director of Human Resources SUBJECT: RCUH HR IMPORTANT – 2021 RCUH Benefit Open Enrollment Begins – May 3 – 14, 2021
Employment Self Service (ESS): Open Enrollment Informational Materials and Benefits Summary
All Open Enrollment Informational Materials such as monthly premium rate sheets, enrollment forms, carrier videos (i.e., HMSA, Kaiser, HDS, NBS), Summary of Benefit Coverages, and additional materials can be found through Employee Self-Service (ESS) in the “RCUH Benefits Open Enrollment Materials” link to the right of your eTimesheet in the “Special Announcements” section. Information regarding your Benefits Summary is located in ESS > Benefits > Benefits Summary. You will be able to see the benefits you are currently enrolled in, employee and employer cost, and frequency of deductions of your benefits.
Important Dates
Monday, May 3, 2021 – Friday, May 14, 2021
RCUH Open Enrollment Period Review the Open Enrollment Information and submit forms.
Friday, May 14, 2021
DEADLINE 5:00 PM (HST) to submit Benefit Enrollment/Change/Waiver Forms to RCUH Benefits – Fax: (808) 956-5022 or Email: [email protected]
Thursday, July 1, 2021
Start date of Benefit Enrollment/Change
Medical and Dental Insurance
If you are not making any changes to your current medical and/or dental coverage no action is needed. If you are enrolling into a plan, changing a plan type (such as HMSA to Kaiser or HMO to PPO), or adding or removing dependents requires RCUH Group Health Plan Enrollment form (OEB-5Ha). Any employee that has waived coverage from a previous yearor plans to waive coverage this yearwill berequired tocomplete and submit a new RCUH Group Health Plan Waiver form (OEB-5Wb). Any employees who wishes to cancel their current plan and waive coverage for the new plan year must also complete and submittheRCUH Group Health Insurance Waiver Form (OEB-5Wb). Click HERE for more detailed information on Medical and Dental Insurance.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA): Healthcare and Dependent Care
If you are currently enrolled in an FSA Healthcare and/or Dependent Care plan, please note that action is needed on your part to re-enroll in a Healthcare and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account for the new plan year July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022. Any re-enrollments, enrollments, or changes to your FSA Healthcare and/or Dependent Care require RCUH Flexible Spending Enrollment & Change form (OEB-5F). Click HERE for more detailed information on FSA Healthcare and Dependent Care.
Supplemental Long-Term Care Insurance (LTC) and Life Insurance (Regular-Status FTE 75-100% only)
If you would like to enroll in Supplemental Long-Term Care Insurance please contact us at (808) 956-3100 or email [email protected] for assistance. If you would like to change the coverage amount of your life insurance coverage please complete and submit the RCUH Life Insurance Change Form (OEB-5L). Click HERE for more detailed information on Supplemental LTC and Life Insurance OE Changes.
Contact Information
Contact RCUH Employee Benefits for general inquiries on Open Enrollment, eligibility, and assistance with forms such as submission or filling them out.
To: All RCUH Regular-Status (50-100%) FTE Employees
RCUH’s 2021 Benefit Open Enrollment period will take place starting Monday, May 3rd through Friday, May 14th, 2021 for enrollments effective July 1st, 2021 through June 30th, 2022.
Why is Open Enrollment important? The Open Enrollment period allows you to (a) enroll in eligible benefits, (b) make changes to your benefits, (c) make changes to your coverage, (d) cancel benefits. Outside of the Open Enrollment period, changes to these benefits can only be made through a qualifying life event. All changes will be effective commencing July 1, 2021.
If you do not wish to make any changes to your current Medical and Dental coverage, there is no action needed.
Additional information regarding Open Enrollment for your Medical Plan, Dental Plan, Flexible Spending (Healthcare/Dependent care) will be coming next week.
Contact RCUH Employee Benefits Section for general inquiries on Open Enrollment and benefits eligibility:
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