Reminder: Benefits enrollment starts next week
The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) annual enrollment period is July 6-31. During summer enrollment, you can enroll in or change your insurance coverage for Plan Year 2010. If you have questions or need help making changes to your benefits, contact Human Resource Services, visit ERS Online or attend an enrollment session on campus this month. Remember, if you don’t need to make changes, you don’t have to do anything—current benefit selections will roll over to the new plan. Read more here.

Benefits changes for plan year 2010
Starting Sept. 1, the two state dental plans (DMO and Texas Dental Choice Plan) will be administered by HumanaDental. The Aetna DMO will become the Humana Dental DHMO, and the State of Texas Dental Choice Plan will keep its name, but will drop the three-year waiting period for maximum benefits.  Participants will now receive maximum benefits beginning immediately.  Also, the maximum annual benefit available in the State of Texas Dental Choice Plan will increase by 20 percent to $1,500.  The benefits under the HumanaDental DHMO (formerly Aetna DMO) will remain the same.

If you are currently enrolled in the Aetna DMO Plan, you will be required to register your primary care dentist as this information will not automatically rollover once the plan changes to the HumanaDental DHMO in September.  You can register your primary care dentist (PCD) via ERS On-line, by phone or by completing the Humana DHMO form.  You can phone in your PCD to HumanaDental at 877-377-0987 (toll-free).

Insurance rates for plan year 2010
These rates will become effective on Sept. 1, 2009:  

Premium rates for Plan Year 2010 – Full-time employees

Premium rates for Plan Year 2010 – Part-time employees

Dental rates for Plan Year 2010

The monthly premium for the Short-Term Disability Plan will decrease from 32 cents per $100 of salary to 29 cents per $100 of salary effective Sept. 1, 2009.   Long-Term Disability and life insurance rates will remain unchanged for Plan 2010.

ORP/TSA Vendor consolidation project update
In early 2008, the UNT Health Science Center partnered with the University of North Texas to establish a system-wide UNT Retirement Program to administer our Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) and Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) 403(b) plans.  This program will provide all UNT System schools an opportunity to provide top-quality, tax deferred products at the lowest possible participant cost while meeting new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations for 403(b) plans that became effective on Jan. 1, 2009.

To help meet the requirements of the new 403(b) regulations and evaluate and select the most reputable and profitable vendors in the industry, Human Resource Services engaged Sibson Consulting, a firm with extensive expertise in higher education issues.  In the past three years, Sibson conducted more than 100 comprehensive, full-service vendor selection and evaluation projects for defined contribution programs, including 403(b) plans.

In April 2009, the UNT System released a Request for Proposal to the investment community asking vendors to bid on providing investment services for our ORP and TSA plans. A final evaluation of the qualified vendors who submitted bids is currently underway, and we are approaching the last phase of the project, the selection of the vendors who will be authorized to sell 403(b) products to our employees. We anticipate having the selection completed and a list of authorized vendors announced by Sept. 1, 2009.

If your current vendor is not on the list of authorized vendors, you can continue contributions to them through the end of 2009.  Watch for updates on vendor selection. Contact HRS at ext. 2690 with questions.