The following is provided by the Human Resources Office.

Attend Financial Wellness Fair May 12

All employees are invited to attend ACC’s annual Financial Wellness Fair on Thursday, May 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Highland Business Center Room 201.

Six different information sessions on a variety of financial wellness topics are scheduled throughout the day. Employees can stop by vendor tables to visit with representatives from several benefits and financial services companies, including Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

If your work schedule permits, make a day of it: Lunch will be provided for those who attend presentations and register in advance. Employees should coordinate time off with their supervisors.  Note: Professional development credit is not available for attending the fair or the presentations.

Register here for the Financial Wellness Fair sessions.

Look for posters and fliers at each campus to see the complete list of presentations and participating vendors.

PEP evaluation system live through July 29

The online Performance Excellence Program (PEP) System is now available for supervisors and employees. Supervisors have until Friday, July 29 to complete all evaluations.

All classified, professional-technical, and administrator employees participate in the PEP process. These employee evaluations provide an excellent opportunity for supervisors and staff to discuss employee productivity and efficiency as it pertains to professional competencies.

Faculty members (such as department chairs or deans) who have classified or professional-technical staff reporting to them must complete the PEP process for those employees.

A few reminders:

• Employee certifications for ADA Awareness and Sexual Harassment Prevention (SHP) must be up-to-date. Supervisors cannot submit evaluations for employees who are out of compliance.
• Supervisors must confirm the completed professional development hours for their employees through the Workshop and Event Registration Database. While employees are encouraged to fulfill professional development requirements by attending ACC workshops, external activities such as professional conferences and workshops, online webinars and modules, etc. can be applied to the requirement (with supervisor approval). Any hours completed outside of ACC must be uploaded by the supervisor to the professional development database.
• Before supervisors can be evaluated by their supervisors, they must complete evaluations for their direct reports (along with the employees’ certification).

Learn more on the Professional Development and Evaluation Programs webpage, and find additional details and instructions for employees and supervisors on the Staff Evaluations and Supervisors Staff Evaluation webpages, respectively.

PEP workshops

The Human Resources Office is offering PEP workshops for employees and supervisors at various campuses between May 13 and June 3. View dates and register through the Workshop & Event Registration Database.

For questions about the PEP process, contact Cameron Keel, staff evaluation coordinator, at [email protected] or 512-223-7984.

Prepare for benefits enrollment – update information with ERS by May 31

The annual benefits enrollment period will be here before you know it. If you’ve moved during the past year and haven’t updated your address in Online Services and with Employees Retirement System of Texas, (ACC’s benefits administrator), do so as soon as possible to ensure enrollment information reaches you.

• To update ACC records, login in to Online Services and click Change Employee Information.
• To update information with ERS, login into your account on the ERS website.

Even if you’ve updated your contact information with ACC, you still need to update it with ERS. Update information by 5 p.m. May 31.

Traveling abroad this summer? Be informed about medical coverage

Employees planning trips abroad should make sure they understand how their medical coverage works outside the United States.

United HealthCare HealthSelect:  Eligible expenses for non-emergency services incurred outside the United States are reimbursed at the non-network benefit level and are subject to the annual non-network deductible. Emergency services received outside the United States are paid at the in-network benefit level.

For benefits to apply, the care must be a covered health service. Employees must pay the provider when treatment is rendered and obtain appropriate documentation including itemized bills, receipts, and any medical narrative. This information should be included with any submitted claim.

To print a claim form for care outside the United States, go to the HealthSelect of Texas website (healthselectoftexas.com), click “Publications and Forms” in the left-side menu, and scroll down to the International Claims Form at the bottom of the page. The form also is available on the myuhc.com website. Call UnitedHealth at 866-336-9371 for additional assistance.

CareMark prescription drug coverage: Similar restrictions apply to obtaining prescription drug benefits while traveling outside the United States.  For questions about benefits while traveling abroad, call Caremark toll-free at 888-886-8490. To obtain a claims form go to the Caremark/ERS HealthSelect Prescription Drug Program.

Compensation on TRS statements

Employees who are Teacher Retirement System (TRS) members may notice that the compensation reported on their TRS annual statements for 2014-15 is less than expected. This is due to a new TRS rule regarding compensation reporting periods.

Effective September 1, 2015, TRS requires institutions to report members’ compensation in the month it is paid, rather than the month it is earned. As a result, August 2015 pay was reported in September (the beginning of the 2015-16 fiscal year), and FY 2014-15 shows 11 months of pay rather than 12 months.

This will not affect future retirement benefits for most TRS members; however, it might make a slight difference for those planning to retire in the next couple of years who expect 2014-15 to be one of their highest years of compensation.

When calculating members’ benefits, TRS will record a full 12 months of compensation for 2014-15. The amount of compensation recorded for 2014-15 will not be reflected on the current or future annual statements but will be included when TRS prepares an estimate of retirement benefits.

For questions about TRS benefits, visit the TRS website (www.trs.state.tx.us) or call 800-223-8778.

Featured employee discounts for May

View the ACC Advantage Discount Program for deals and discounts.  (You also can find the link on the Benefits webpage). May specials include:

• Switch to Sprint and save 50 percent on most mobile plans; activate a new account and get a $100 reward card.
• Discounts and promotions from Samsung, plus free shipping on orders over $50.
• Special rates at more than 8,000 hotels worldwide with TicketsAtWork.

Deer Oaks EAP newsletter

Find information and tips in monthly newsletters for employees and supervisors. Check out the Employee Newsletter for these articles:

• Depression: Supporting a Family Member or Friend
• Online seminar info: Beating the Blues
• Be Good to Yourself: Tips for Adults
• Snippets: I Scream; Yes, Stretch
• Clinician’s Corner
• Establish Personal Financial Priorities

View the Supervisor Newsletter for the following articles:

• Say What? Handling the Tough Talks
• Ask Your EAP!

ACC celebrates recent retirees

ACC celebrates the following retirees. Retirees are recognized at Board of Trustees meetings for their years of service to the college.

Name	Department	Years with ACC
Beata Backo-Wukasch	Learning Labs, ESOL	21
Amy Bennett	Nursing	10.5
William Bryant	Drama	22.5
Duane Crowley	Paralegal, Management	29
John Golden	Student Services, Foreign Language	20.5
Joyce Guillory	Management	42.5
Donna Meadows	Library Services	31
Alicia Samia	Testing Center	26

Tags: benefits, eap, Financial Wellness Fair, hr connection, PEP, trs

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