Benefits Bulletin June 2023

Welcome to the Benefits Bulletin!

Our goal with this monthly newsletter is to communicate benefit changes and keep you up-to-date and informed on approaching deadlines.

A Tribute to Gina Maggio

The Benefits Team lost a great colleague and friend on May 27. Gina had been a JMU employee since February 2013 and served as a Benefits Specialist since 2017. She served others with sincere compassion and understanding. Always choosing to be behind the scenes, Gina never postured herself upfront getting the glory, but many things would never have happened without her resolve and eye for detail. Gina was instrumental in the vision of the Benefits Bulletin. We continue to grieve her loss and value the contributions Gina made to university.

When the sun goes below the horizon, he is not set; the heavens glow for a full hour after his departure. And when a great and good man sets, the sky of this world is luminous long after he is out of sight. Such a man cannot die out of this world. When he goes, he leaves behind him much of himself. Being dead, he speaks.

--William Henry Beecher

VRS Member News

Be sure to read the latest issue of Member News from VRS. Included in this issue is information regarding the new MyVRS Financial Wellness Dashboard, staying safe online, and changes in rules regarding returning to work after retirement. Subscribe to Member News directly for the latest updates.

Open Enrollment Changes

Health Insurance, flexible spending account, Aflac, and voluntary benefit changes that occurred during open enrollment will be reflected on your July 14 pay advice. Review your pay check in MyMadison for accuracy. See a discrepancy? Contact benefits@jmu.edu immediately.

June's Featured Benefit

This month's featured benefit is...

529 College Savings Plan through FIRM & American Funds

Are you a parent, grandparent, or relative who plans to help a loved one (or yourself) with college expenses? If so, then you may want to consider participating in a 529 College Savings Plan through FIRM & American Funds. All full-time and part-time employees, who are U.S. citizens, are eligible to participate in the 529 College Savings Plan. With the CollegeAmerica 529 Plan through American Funds, you get some great benefits:

• Tax-advantaged investing – the earnings in the 529 grow free from federal tax, which helps you accumulate more over the long term.
• Flexibility to use the assets in your account to fund expenses in any U.S. public or private college, including undergraduate, graduate, professional or vocational. Qualified expenses include tuition, fees, room and board, and many other items. Beginning with as low as $25 minimum per fund, moving forward you are able to adjust, stop or suspend your deductions at any time.
• Since you would invest in Class 529-E shares offered only through this employer-sponsored plan, you do not incur front and back-end sale charges.
• Set up your deductions through the convenience of payroll deduction.
• Retain your CollegeAmerica account and continue investing in the 529-E shares class even upon termination of employment.

For more information concerning the 529 College Savings Plan through FIRM & American Funds, watch the following video: https://player.vimeo.com/video/199402885

For additional information concerning the 529 College Savings Plan through FIRM & American Funds, contact Philip Harris via phone (215) 557-7622 or email phil@firmadvisor.com.

Save the Date: Money Matters

We are excited to host Money Matters, a day-long financial seminar, on October 17 at the Festival Conference & Student Center.

The day's event to include:

• Various workshops throughout the day ( Making a Usable Budget, Understanding Your Investments, Credit Reports & Scores, Understanding the home buying process, Why everyone needs a will, etc..)
• Vendor Fair
• Lunch and keynote speaker
• Spanish workshops

Need to talk with an expert?

• June 22 - TIAA, Jay Colligan - Online scheduling or eugene.colligan@tiaa.org
• June 27 - FIRM, Philp Harris - Online scheduling
• July 5 - AFLAC, Michael Glover - michael_glover@us.aflac.com or 540-997-3201

2022 Classified Retiree Brunch

On June 1, we welcomed some familiar faces back to campus…the 2022 Staff and Administrative & Professional Faculty retirees! Retirees shared a delicious breakfast, heard from several guest speakers, and received a token of appreciation. A special THANK YOU to the 2022 retirees and their contributions to the university over the decades!

University Holiday - June 19

The university will be closed Monday, June 19 (8 Hours Holiday Leave will be granted) in observance of the Juneteenth holiday. Full-time employees are expected to work 32.0 hours during the Juneteenth holiday week. Any hours short of a 32.0 hour workweek should be charged to available leave. Please see the Modified Summer Schedule website for additional information.

University Holiday - July 4

The university will be closed Tuesday, July 4 (8 Hours Holiday Leave will be granted) in observance of the Independence Day holiday. Full-time employees are expected to work 32.0 hours during the Independence Day holiday week. Any hours short of a 32.0 hour workweek should be charged to available leave. Please see the Modified Summer Schedule website for additional information.

A&P Faculty Leave Year End

The 2022-2023 A&P Faculty Leave Year will end on June 30, 2023. All outstanding A&P Faculty Leave requests for the period between July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023 must be entered into MyMadison and approved by a supervisor by 5:00 p.m. on July 5, 2023. Though the 2023-2024 A&P Faculty Leave balance is effective July 1, 2023 and is available for use on that date, A&P faculty will not be able to view the new leave balance or enter leave requests for the New Year to MyMadison until Friday, July 7th due to year-end processing. Please hold on entering leave requests for the New Year until after the 6th. For additional information on A&P Faculty Leave, please visit the A&P Faculty Leave Frequently Asked Questions webpage.

Mid-Year Leave Liability Reporting

In order for the university’s leave records to be as accurate as possible for the Commonwealth Leave Liability Report, it is important that all full-time employees enter all outstanding leave requests for the January 10 through June 30 time frame into MyMadison prior to June 30 for supervisor approval. Supervisors must act on their requests by July 5. This will provide a snapshot of all leave balances as of the end of the fiscal year.

Leave System Maintenance

MyMadison and Manager Self-Service for leave entry/approval will be unavailable to all employees on Thursday, July 6th 2023 for AP Leave Year End processing. Leave entry/approval will resume as usual on Friday, July 7th 2023. For questions about this issue or any other questions about leave, please contact Reagan Neese, Leave Specialist, at neeserw@jmu.edu.

THANK YOU FOR READING!

This bulletin has been brought to you by the JMU Benefits Team. If you have any questions or would like to reach out to us, please give us a call at 540-568-3593, visit us on the web at www.jmu.edu/humanresources/benefits, or email us at benefits@jmu.edu. Look for the Live Chat on our website and reach one of us instantly!