Open Enrollment

Monday, October 26, 2020

This year’s benefits open enrollment will be held October 21 - November 6, 2020. You can find open enrollment details on the USG Human Resources-Benefits website.

This is an ACTIVE enrollment year which means action will be required on your part to ensure your benefits and associated costs match your circumstances. These actions include: 

• All employees enrolled or enrolling must certify/recertify their tobacco status.
• Employees who are covering a spouse on their USG/UGA health plan, must also update the spouse certification (this does not apply to retirees over the age of 65).
• Certifications must be completed in the health plan section of the enrollment/changes process in OneUSG Connect - Benefits.
• Enroll in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) if you would like one for 2021.  
• Employees are encouraged to review their beneficiary information each year.
• Review and enrollment of benefits for the 2021 plan year is through OneUSG Connect-Benefits.

***IMPORTANT*** If you do not complete the tobacco use and spousal certification, you will receive the $100 monthly tobacco surcharge for every person over the age of 18 that is covered on your USG/UGA health insurance plan as well as the $100 spousal surcharge.

USG is holding a virtual benefits fair from October 19 – October 23. Please take this opportunity to view live events, chat with vendors and get benefits information. Registration for the fair and specific live events is available on the Virtual Benefits Fair website.

VIRTUAL OPEN ENROLLMENT OFFICE HOURS WITH HUMAN RESOURCES BENEFITS

Open enrollment office hours will be held via Zoom as indicated below. During office hours you may log in to a Zoom session and chat private questions or speak with a benefits staff member. 

HEALTH PLANS

No new plan design changes will be made to the 2021 USG Healthcare plans, and the only premium changes will be slight increases (between 1% and less than 2%) for employees enrolled at the family tier effective January 2021. There will be no premium increases for the other USG Healthcare plan tiers [Employee, Employee + Child(ren), Employee + Spouse]. Anthem (formerly Blue Cross Blue Shield of GA) and Kaiser will remain the healthcare insurance providers after a competitive RFP vendor selection process for the 2021 USG Healthcare plan year.

Plan designs and premiums on other benefits plans will remain the same in 2021. You may view information about benefits plans in the 2021 Comparison Guide and on the USG HR Benefits website at www.usg.edu/hr/benefits.

The 2021 Healthcare plan will include a new navigation/care management partner, Accolade, to assist USG employees in the utilization of their Healthcare plan benefits. The tobacco-use and working spouse surcharges will remain at $100 per month, and the USG Healthcare plan will continue the $100 annual well-being credit that employees can earn for completing healthy activities.

The annual health reimbursement account (HRA) for USG retirees in the USG Aon health insurance exchange will remain at $2,736.

SHARED SICK LEAVE POOL ENROLLMENT

Faculty and staff who meet certain eligibility requirements may voluntarily donate unused sick leave to a Shared Leave Pool for fellow faculty and staff. Benefits open enrollment is the only opportunity that you have to enroll in or make donations to the Shared Sick Leave Pool for 2021. For more information about this program, visit the Shared Leave Program website.

If you are eligible to enroll in the Shared Sick Leave Pool, you should have received an email on Monday, October 19, with the link to the Shared Sick Leave Pool Enrollment Site.

How do I join the shared sick leave pool?

If you wish to join the shared sick leave pool, you must have completed the following to be eligible:

• Completion of your provisional employment period
• Donate a minimum of 8 hours sick leave during open enrollment (October 21 – November 6) AND
• Have a minimum 48 hours remaining in your sick leave balance on January 1, 2021, in order to maintain the required 40-hour sick leave balance after your donation is processed in January.

Note: Donation requirements and sick leave balance requirements are pro-rated for part time employees.

What if I am already a member of the shared sick leave pool?

If you are already a member of the shared sick leave pool, this is a reminder that although you are not required to donate additional sick leave to remain in the pool, you may donate up to 80 sick leave hours during the open enrollment period. Please remember that you need a minimum balance of 48-hours sick leave on January 1, 2021, to maintain the required 40-hour sick leave balance after your donation is processed in January.

Questions about the Shared Sick Leave Pool may be directed to Human Resources at 706-542-2222 or hrweb@uga.edu.

Remember, the official open enrollment period is October 21 through November 6, 2020. It is very important to remember to review, print and/or save your benefits confirmation page after completing the required certifications and your benefit elections.

For questions regarding 2020 benefits open enrollment, please contact One USG Connect-Benefits at 1-844-587-4236 or Central Human Resources at 706-542-2222 or hrweb@uga.edu.