- People & Departments
- Offices
- Human Resources
- Benefits
Benefits
As an employee of Washington College, you may be eligible for certain benefits - such as medical, dental, vision and life insurance - at group rates. Washington College pays for the majority of the monthly cost of the benefits you choose to enroll in, and you pay a portion as well. In addition, the company pays for the entire cost of a life insurance policy on your behalf.
Coverage Options
For current rates, premiums and coverage options, please refer to the 2024 Employee Benefits Booklet.
The link below leads to the machine readable files that are made available in response to the federal Transparency in Coverage Rule and includes negotiated service rates and out-of-network allowed amounts between health plans and healthcare providers. The machine-readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to more easily access and analyze data.
https://www.cigna.com/legal/compliance/machine-readable-files
To review current elections, create life events and plan documents. Please contact Elizabeth Behrmann, Benefits Manager 410-778-7260.
Benefits Basics
Employees who work an average of 30 hours per week are eligible for health insurance (see HR for more information on eligibility for Retirement). All employees are required to have health insurance and must either join a plan offered by the College or show evidence of coverage by another plan. Most of your benefits are effective on the first day of the month following your date of hire. Your dependents can also enroll for coverage, including:
- Your legal spouse
- Your domestic partner* Your domestic partner is eligible for benefits if they are not a relative and have lived with you for at least six months in a committed relationship. For more information about domestic partner benefits, contact Human Resources
- Your children up to age 26
Remember that you may only change cover if you experience a qualifying life event.
Generally, you may only make or change your existing benefit elections during the open enrollment window. However, you may change your benefit elections during the year if you experience an event such as:
- Marriage
- Divorce or legal separation
- Birth of your child or your domestic partner’s child
- Death of your spouse, domestic partner or dependent child
- Adoption of or placement for adoption of your child
- Change in employment status of employee, spouse/domestic partner or dependent child
- Qualification by the Plan Administrator of a child support order for medical coverage
- New entitlement to Medicare of Medicaid
You must notify Human Resources within 30 days of a qualifying event. Depending on the type of event, you may need to provide proof of the event, such as a marriage license.
Effective January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
- Health Insurance Carrier: Cigna
- Dental Insurance Carrier: Delta Dental
- Vision Insurance Carrier: VSP
- Group Life and AD&D Carrier: UNUM
- Optional Life and AD&D Carrier: UNUM
- Flexible Spending Accounts: Flores
- 403 (B) Retirement: TIAA
- Employee Assistance Program: ComPsych
Creditable Coverage Notice & Summary Annual Reports
- Creditable Coverage Notice 2018 - Click Here
- Summary Annual Reports 2018- Click Here (This includes: SARs for Health & Prescription, Flex Spending, Life, Disability)
Available Health and Wellness Benefits
YOUR MEDICAL PLAN
As a full-time employee of Washington College, you have the choice between three medical plan options:
- The Preserver
- The Protector
- The Protector Plus
CLICK HERE to review the plan comparison chart
For each, your deductible will run from January 1−December 31.
We offer benefits for eligible domestic partnerships.
MYCIGNA.COM
Register today at www.mycigna.com or download the mycigna app to access your account, find doctors and plan coverage
Take Charge of Your Health and Wellness
Washington College has partnered with Cigna to offer a program that rewards you for healthy behaviors. The goals of this program will include:
- Bring awareness to one’s current health status and further promote a relationship with a Primary Care Physician
- Provide personal insight into your health and well-being as well as discovering FREE health and wellness programs offered through your Cigna medical plan
What does this mean for you?
You have the opportunity to earn up to $175 in gift cards!
Gift Card Opportunities
- Cigna Health Assessment
- Attend a Washington College Sponsored Wellness Activity
- Online Coaching Programs
- Telephonic Coaching Programs for Chronic Conditions
How do I get started?
To help make it easy, Cigna’s health advocates and customer service representatives will be there to support you throughout – online or by phone. We’ll remind you about which health and wellness activities and programs you’re eligible for, suggest helpful online resources like our MotivateMe incentive page, and encourage you – from start to finish.
Visit www.myCigna.com; My Health tab; Incentive Awards
There, you’ll find:
- A list of available healthy actions and goals
- Details on how to get started
- Instructions on how to earn and redeem your rewards
You can access the MotivateMe incentive page on www.myCigna.com
All points and reward dollars will be tracked and redeemed through Motivate Me on www.myCigna.com. Log In at anytime to monitor your progress toward maximizing your rewards!
A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is a program that helps you pay for health care
and dependent care costs using tax free dollars. Each pay period, you decide how much
money you would like to contribute to one or both accounts. Your contribution is deducted
from your paycheck on a pretax basis and is put into the Health Care FSA, the Dependent
Care FSA, or both. When you incur expenses, you can access the funds in your account
to pay for eligible health care or dependent care expenses.
This chart shows the eligible expenses for each FSA; how much you can contribute to each FSA each year, and how you benefit by using an FSA.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT FSAs
- FSA elections are effective from January 1 through December 31.
- Maximum contributes to an FSA will be $3,050.
- Maximum contributes to an FSA for Dependent Care $ 5,000. Claims for reimbursement must be submitted by March 31 of the following year.
- Please plan your contributions carefully. Any money remaining in your account as of arch governed by Internal Revenue Service regulations.
Note that FSA elections do not automatically continue from year to year; you must actively enroll each year.
Flexible Spending Account Contribution
Dependent Care: Up to $ 5,000 per plan period Health Care: Up to $2,650 per plan period
Contact Information
FLORES
800-532-3327
UNUM Forms
Group Life and Disability Insurance
Washington College provides two Life Insurance programs:
1) Group life, accidental death and dismemberment insurance
2) Long-term disability insurance for eligible employees.
Life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment and long-term disability are effective the first of the month after the employee becomes eligible, provided the employee is actively at work and has officially enrolled. If the employee is not actively at work on the date the insurance would normally start, the insurance will not become effective until the first of the month after the employee is actively at work.
Optional Life Insurance
When it comes to protecting the financial security of you and your family, nothing is more important than planning ahead. Part of any personal financial plan should include adequate life insurance coverage that provides protection against financial hardship in the event of an unexpected death. Even if you already have a life insurance policy, it’s important to ask yourself—does it provide the protection you need to cover all of your financial responsibilities?
Optional Life Insurance is yearly renewable group term life insurance that covers you for as long as you remain an eligible employee and continue to pay your premium. Because Optional Life is term life insurance, it does not build any cash value for you to borrow against or receive upon policy cancellation. Optional Life Insurance provides added financial protection at an affordable price. For a few dollars each pay, you can ensure your family’s financial security in the event of an unexpected death.
COVERAGE OPTIONS
For current rates, premiums and coverage options, please refer to the Employee Benefits Booklet.
An employee who a) is eligible for family and medical leave under the College’s policy; and b) gives birth to a child, or is the parent of a newborn (co-resident) child, or adopts a child, is eligible for parental leave.
Parental leave provides up to 15 weeks of paid leave at the same rate of pay that would have normally been received during that period. The 15 weeks of paid leave runs concurrently with any leave available to the employee under the Family and Medical Leave Act. If both parents of the child are employees of the College who qualify for this benefit, only one leave will be granted, but the 15 weeks of the parental leave may be divided between two consecutive time periods selected by the parents.
For faculty, the summer weeks are not counted as part of the 15 weeks of leave.
Eligibility for this benefit is determined by the Plan Document and applicable law. Questions regarding eligibility should be directed to Human Resources.
With respect to amounts earned on or after the date specified below, the employee’s regular base salary will be reduced by the amount(s) indicated. Certain types of earnings are exempt from this withholding arrangement as determined by Washington College policy. Deductions are tax-deferred only. If you are interested in making after-tax contributions to a retirement account, please see someone in Human Resources or call TIAA directly.
If you are changing your contribution to the retirement plan, and the College needs to make a corresponding change per the plan documents, that change will be effective at the same time as the changes in the employee contribution. Either the employee or Washington College may terminate this arrangement as of the end of any pay period, so that it will not apply to salary subsequently earned.
Retirement Elections and Enrollment
To update your payroll contribution, log into Paycom Employee Self-Service and access the Benefits tab. Click current year elections and update your contributions for the 403(b) Pre-Tax or 403(b) Roth. No action is required to update the employer contribution.
To register with TIAA please visit: https://www.tiaa.org/public/tcm/washcoll.
You must update address and name changes, and beneficiary information, directly with TIAA, yourself.
|
RETIREMENT PLAN TYPE |
ACCESS CODE |
|
403(b) Defined Contribution Plan |
40662 |
Total contributions to your regular retirement account and your supplemental retirement account during each calendar year cannot exceed statutory exclusion allowances under Section 403(b) or Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code, whichever is less.
*Lifetime limits may reduce the total allowed years of service contribution.
(800) 842-2776 https://www.tiaa.org
Social Security/Medicare
Washington College contributes 6.2% of your earnings (up to the Social Security maximum) each year toward Social Security and 1.45% to Medicare. You contribute an equal amount out of your paycheck. These combined contributions help pay for your retirement, disability, survivor, and medical benefits. For more information, contact the Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1213, or on the Web at www.ssa.gov and Medicare on the Web at www.medicare.gov.
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is designed to improve the health and well being of employees and their dependents through services including information, evaluation, crisis intervention, short-term counseling, and referrals.
You may be struggling with stress at work, seeking financial or legal advice, or coping with the death of a loved one. Maybe you just want to strengthen your relationships with your family. Your EAP offers assistance and support for all these concerns and more:
- Workplace effectiveness
- Management skills
- Communicating effectively
- Managing stress
- Parenting
- Childcare or eldercare
- Overcoming anxiety
- Strengthening personal relationships
- Depression
- Alcohol or drug dependency
- Physical abuse
- Financial planning
- Compulsive gambling
- Legal questions
- Coping with grief and loss
From short-term counseling services and referrals to more extended care, your EAP offers just what you need.
FIND OUT MORE:
800.272.7255
ID Code: COM589
APP: GuidanceResoucesNow
The vision plan offers coverage both in-network and out-of-network. It is to your advantage to utilize a network provider in order to achieve the greatest cost savings. If you go out-of-network, your benefit is based on a reimbursement schedule. Also, if you are considering Lasik surgery, there is a discount available with some providers. To find a participating provider, go to www.vsp.com.
For an overview of rates and your coverage please click here.
The dental plans are PPOs that offer coverage in and out-of-network. It is to your advantage to utilize a network dentist in order to achieve the greatest cost savings. If you choose to go out-of-network, you will be responsible for any cost exceeding Delta Delta’s negotiated fees, plus any deductible and coinsurance associated with your procedure.
Dependent children are eligible until the end of the month in which they turn age 26.
VSP Vision Care
800-877-7195
Questions
To review current elections, create life events and plan documents. Please contact Kate%20Laking ext. 7799
Employee Leave Plans
Washington College’s generous leave policies—including vacation, sick leave, and holidays combined with a number of unpaid leave opportunities are designed to support a balance of work and family responsibilities.
Benefit-eligible full-time and part-time employees begin earning paid leave starting on the first day of employment with the College. Benefit-eligible employees are able to use accrued leave with approval of their supervisor. A supervisor has the discretion to grant or deny leave based on the needs of the College. Faculty should contact the Provost and Dean regarding available faculty leaves.
Available Leave Benefits
Vacation leave is a benefit that provides eligible employees with paid time off to take vacations and pursue other personal endeavors. It is expected that vacation leave will normally be scheduled 48 hours in advance of the leave requested.
*Please note: Exempt Leave Requests must be submitted to the Business Office*
Part-time Employees
Benefit eligible part-time employees earn leave on a prorated basis in proportion to the hours worked.
| EMPLOYEE STATUS | TOTAL ALLOWANCE | ACCRUAL RATE (PER PAY PERIOD) |
| Exempt - Salaried Staff (40 hours) | 4 weeks per year, 160 hours | 6.16 hours |
| Exempt - Salaried Staff (35 hours) | 4 weeks per year, 140 hours | 5.39 hours |
| Non-exempt - Hourly Staff (40 hours) | ||
| Less than 3 years | 2 weeks per year, 80 hours | 3.08 hours |
| 3-6 years | 3 weeks per year, 120 hours | 4.62 hours |
| Over 6 years | 4 weeks per year, 160 hours | 6.16 hours |
| Non-exempt - Hourly Staff (35 hours) | ||
| Less than 3 years | 2 weeks per year, 70 hours | 2.70 hours |
| 3-6 years | 3 weeks per year, 105 hours | 4.04 hours |
| Over 6 years | 4 weeks per year, 140 hours | 5.39 hours |
Personal leave is a benefit that provides regular non-exempt employees who meet eligibility requirements with paid time off to meet family emergencies and tend to personal matters. It is expected that personal leave events will often require more immediate scheduling than vacation leave. The amount paid for each day on personal leave is the amount the employee would earn for a normal workday. Regular full-time non-exempt employees are the only employees eligible for personal leave.
Non-exempt employees are granted three (3) days of Personal Leave on July 1st of each fiscal year they are employed at the College. Employees hired after July 1st will also receive pro-rated personal days, such that those full-time non-exempt employees with hire dates between:
|
July 2 and October 1 |
2.5 days |
|
October 1 and January 1 |
2 days |
|
January 2 and April 1 |
1.5 days |
|
April 2 and June 1 |
1 day |
| June 2 and June 30 |
no personal leave upon hire (will be granted on July 1) |
Sick leave provides eligible employees with paid time off to obtain routine medical services and/or medical treatment and to recuperate from illness or injury. All benefit eligible full time employees and part-time benefit eligible employees are eligible for sick leave. An employee should request sick leave as early as possible prior to the employee’s scheduled starting time.Sick Leave
Sick leave may be used in the case of an illness, disability or injury of the employee. Sick leave may also be used for an illness or disability of an employee’s children, spouse or parents if the employee’s attendance is required.
| EMPLOYEE STATUS | TOTAL ALLOWANCE | ACCRUAL RATE (PER PAY PERIOD) |
| Full-time Employees (40 hours) | 80 hours per year | 3.08 hours |
| Full-time Employees (35 hours) | 70 hours per year | 2.70 hours |
| Full-time Employees (10 month, 35 hours) | 56 hours per year | 2.55 hours |
The purpose of the Sick Leave Pool is to establish an equitable way of allowing employees to share their accumulated sick leave with others in need of additional sick leave until the employee is eligible for the College’s short-term disability programs.
The intent of this program is to protect benefit eligible employees who may face financial hardship because they have exhausted all of their own vacation, sick, or personal leave due to an extended serious, catastrophic, or unforeseen illness, injury or impairment.
All benefit eligible employees who accrue and use sick leave, are eligible to become a member and donate to and withdraw from the Sick Leave Pool. This program is not available to temporary employees who do not earn leave.
Donation and Membership
Membership is established when a benefit eligible employee donates at least one sick day to the sick leave pool July 1st of each fiscal year. Contributions will be accepted by completing a Sick Leave Pool Donation Form available on the Human Resources webpage. A benefit eligible employee may contribute a minimum of one day up to a maximum of ten sick days per fiscal year.
At termination of employment, sick leave is forfeited; therefore all employees are eligible to donate their unused sick hours to the sick leave pool. During the Exit Interview an employee may complete a Sick Leave Pool Donation form. Employees are eligible to donate up to 80 hours to the Sick Leave Pool at termination of employment.
Withdrawal
Withdrawals from the Sick Leave Pool are permitted only for serious, catastrophic, or unforeseen illness, injury or impairment of the employee that meets the following criteria. The employee must have exhausted all vacation, sick, personal leave and the employee will have to take leave without pay and (b) requires continuing treatment or supervision by a licensed health care provider, and also (c) requires absence from work of at least five days per illness or episode. Withdrawals from the Sick Leave Pool may only be taken in increments of full days. Withdrawals may only occur to the extent of the Sick Leave Pool contributions available for withdrawal and the beneficiary has no leave time available.
Checking your Leave Balances
Employees may view their leave balances by logging onto WebAdvisor.
1.Once logged, in select the blue Employees section.
2. On the employees menu navigate to the Employee Profile on the left.
3. Select Leave Plan Summary.
Tuition Programs
Washington College offers employees and their dependents the opportunity to participate in a variety of tuition programs. Program information, eligibility guidelines and application process can be found under each program heading.
Employee Tuition Waiver
Full-time Employees: Upon employment, all regular full-time employees are eligible to enroll in the next semester for undergraduate and graduate courses at Washington College. If a course takes place during the employee’s normal working hours, the employee is responsible for making up any missed work time. If an employee works less than a full-time schedule for a year, or changes to a part-time status, the benefit amount may be prorated or reduced accordingly.
Part-time Non Benefit-Eligible Employees: Employee Tuition Waivers are not available to part-time non benefit-eligible employees.
Temporary Employees: Employee Tuition Waivers are not available to temporary employees.
LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS
- Eligibility for tuition benefits in no way guarantees admission to the College nor obligates the Admissions Office to automatically accept an employee or their dependents for admissions.
- Tuition Waiver is limited to waiver of tuition and does not include independent study.
- The employee is responsible for all other costs of attending Washington College including registration fees and books.
- An employee may take no more than two courses per semester.
- All courses require a minimum enrollment prior to the admittance of employees and/or dependents as Tuition Waivers.
- Undergraduate tuition benefits are tax exempt
If taking courses only (not to apply to a degree program)
- Download the Employee Tuition Waiver and Registration Form (PDF).
- Complete the form, sign, and obtain signature of supervisor. Return to the Office of Human Resources for verification of eligibility and approval.
- Submit the form to and register for classes through the Registrar’s Office, Bunting Hall, lower level.
If degree seeking
- Complete an admissions application. Upon notification of acceptance, proceed to the next step.
- Download the Employee Tuition Waiver and Registration Form (PDF).
- Complete the form, sign, and obtain signature of supervisor. Return to the Office of Human Resources for verification of eligibility and approval.
- Register for classes through the Registrar’s Office, Bunting Hall, lower level.
Tuition Waiver for Spouses, Domestic Partners, and Dependents
Dependents: Dependent children are defined as natural-born or legally adopted children, step-children or children for whom the employee is a legal guardian, who are less than twenty-six years of age, dependent upon the employee for more than one-half of their support, and their primary residence for the past twelve months has been with the employee.
Spouse: Spouses are defined as two individuals who are legally married as defined by the State of Maryland.
Domestic Partners: To be eligible to receive benefits, the employee and his/her partner must satisfy all of the criteria for Domestic Partnership, and the employee and partner must complete and sign the College’s Certification of Domestic Partnership. Please refer to Washington College’s Domestic Partner Policy.
Full-time Employees: Eligibility to participate in the Tuition Waiver program for all full-time employee’s spouses, dependent children and domestic partners begins at the time of employment. The Tuition Waiver is available for only two members of a full-time employee’s immediate family during any one semester unless approval for additional members is obtained by the Vice President of Finance and Administration. If an employee works less than a full-time schedule for a year, or changes to a part-time status, the benefit amount may be prorated or reduced accordingly.
Part-time Non Benefit-Eligible Employees: Dependent Tuition Waivers are not available to dependents of part-time non benefit-eligible employees.
Temporary Employees: The Tuition Waiver is not available to dependents of temporary employees.
Limitations and Exclusions
- Eligibility for tuition benefits in no way guarantees admission to the College nor obligates the Admissions Office to automatically accept an employee or their dependents for admissions.
- Tuition Waiver is limited to waiver of tuition and does not include independent study.
- The employee is responsible for all other costs of attending Washington College incurred by their spouse or dependent including registration fees and books.
- All courses require a minimum enrollment prior to the admittance of employees and/or dependents as Tuition Waivers.
- Undergraduate tuition benefits are tax exempt.
- Eligibility is generally limited to 8 semesters. Additional semesters will require approval of the employee’s supervisor, Director of Human Resources and Vice President of Finance and Administration. Tuition granted for summer courses may be used to offset the tuition benefit in later semesters such that the benefit received does not exceed 8 semesters of full-time tuition.
- Dependents are required to complete the college’s Financial Aid application process. Tuition Waiver may be reduced by any outside scholarships or aid. For more information regarding the college’s Financial Aid process, please visit the Financial Aid page here.
If taking Courses Only (not to apply to a degree program)
- Download the Dependent Tuition Waiver and Registration Form (PDF).
- Complete the form, sign, and obtain signature of supervisor. Return to the Office of Human Resources for verification of eligibility and approval.
- HR will submit the form to and register for classes through the Registrar’s Office, Bunting Hall, lower level.
If applying for graduate or undergraduate degree
- Complete an Admissions and Financial Aid application. Upon notification of acceptance, proceed to the next step.
- Each Spring semester, download the Dependent Tuition Waiver and Registration Form (PDF).
- Complete the form, sign, and return to the Office of Human Resources for verification of eligibility and approval.
- HR will submit the form to and register for classes through the Registrar’s Office, Bunting Hall, lower level.
- All course billings for employee dependents who are admitted undergraduate students must be submitted to the Director of Student Financial Aid , CAC, third floor.
Tuition Exchange for Employee’s Child(ren)
Washington College is associated with the Tuition Exchange national scholarship exchange program for institutions of higher education. The program allows dependents of eligible full-time employees, an opportunity to earn a scholarship at more than 530 colleges and universities nationwide. It also allows dependents of employees at other membership institutions an opportunity to earn a scholarship at Washington College. Both incoming and outgoing scholarships are based on the membership institution’s regular admissions processes.
A list of participating institutions can be found on the Tuition Exchange Website. The Tuition Exchange Program is administered by the Registrar’s Office at Washington College.
This benefit is only available to the child(ren) of full-time benefit-eligible employees. The child(ren) of part-time or temporary employees are not eligible for this benefit.
Limitations and Exclusions
- Eligibility alone does not guarantee student acceptance into an institution or a scholarship award.
- Not all participating institutions provide full tuition scholarships.
- Participating institutions must maintain the required balance between the number of students it sends out and the number of students it brings in.
- Regular admission policies for the host institution apply.
To apply for a Tuition Exchange Scholarship, employees must notify the Registrar’s Office twelve (12) months before your dependent plans to enroll.
- Download the Tuition Exchange Application (PDF).
- Complete the application, sign, and Return to the Office of Human Resources for verification of eligibility and approval. If you are completing the form for your dependent’s freshman year and acceptance is pending, please indicate the top 3 schools your dependent is considering and note “Acceptance Pending.”
- Submit approved Tuition Exchange Application to the Registrar’s Office for processing.
- Confirmation of Tuition Exchange approval is usually made no less than 150 days prior to the student’s expected start date at the institution.
- Please refer to the Tuition Exchange Award Process Information page for FAQs and information regarding the award process.
- Each year that the dependent remains in college, the existing Tuition Exchange benefits must be re-certified using the Tuition Exchange Annual Renewal Form (PDF).
In the Event of Death or Total Disability During Active ServiceThe dependent children of an eligible employee who has completed 10 years of continuous
service and who dies while in active service to the College will be granted the same
tuition exchange benefits as are then available to dependent children of current
active employees. This benefit is limited to the dependent children at the time of
the employee’s death or disability. The definition of totally disabled is an employee
who meets the requirements to receive benefits under the College’s long term disability
insurance policy.The eligibility requirements for tuition exchange will remain the
same as for active employees. The portion of tuition waived will be the same as the
portion of tuition waived for dependent children of active employees at the time
of enrollment.
The dependent child(ren) of certain eligible retired employees will be granted tuition
waiver/exchange benefits. In order to be eligible, the retired employee will have
had a minimum of 15 years of continuous service to the College immediately prior to
retirement, and at the time of retirement have combined years of service and age greater
than or equal to 80. This benefit is limited to the dependent child(ren) at the time
of the employee’s retirement. The eligibility requirements for tuition exchange will
remain the same as for active employees. The portion of tuition waived will be the
same as the portion of tuition waived for spouses and dependents of active employees
at the time of enrollment.