Benefits - Summary of Benefit Changes

Benefits

Summary of Benefit Changes

Retirement Benefits

Effective July 1, 2010, the University's contribution to a participant's retirement account will be 10 percent of eligible earnings.
Effective January 1, 2011, the University will add a Roth 403(b) feature to the existing voluntary retirement plan. The University will also establish a new 457(b) plan, which will be available to eligible employees who satisfy the statutory requirements to participate in the plan.
Investment choices in addition to TIAA-CREF offerings are being reviewed and will be made available in the future.

Health Care

Effective January 1, 2011, SU will introduce two levels of employee contributions. Eligible employees in lower income households and graduate assistants/fellows will contribute 21.9 percent of the cost of medical and prescription drug premiums. All other eligible employees will contribute 25 percent.
Effective January 1, 2011, SU will institute the following four tier employee contribution schedule for its health care plans (SU medical and prescription drug plans, as well as SU dental and vision plans):
1. Employee only;
2. Employee plus Child(ren);
3. Employee plus Spouse/Domestic Partner;
4. Employee plus Spouse/Domestic Partner plus Child(ren).
Effective January 1, 2011, SU will extend health care plan (SU medical and prescription drug plans, as well as SU dental and vision plans) eligibility to qualified opposite-sex domestic partners of benefits-eligible employees and graduate assistants/fellows.
Effective January 1, 2011, SU will provide a taxable health care credit up to $1,000 per year to an eligible employee or graduate assistant/fellow who enrolls his or her eligible same sex domestic partner in SU's medical plan. The health care credit is intended to assist employees and graduate assistants/fellows who have no legal remedy available to eliminate the negative tax consequence of such coverage. The University will specify the requirements that will apply when determining the amount or timing of the credit.

Educational Benefits

Remitted Tuition

Effective beginning with the Fall 2010 semester, an employee's spouse or same-sex domestic partner who qualifies for benefits under the University's Remitted Tuition Policy will receive a tuition waiver of 85 percent. Employees using remitted tuition benefits at SU for themselves will continue to receive a full tuition waiver as long as they satisfy the requirements of the University's Remitted Tuition Policy.
Effective beginning with the Fall 2010 semester, remitted tuition benefits will not be offered to spouses and same-sex domestic partners of graduate assistants and fellows.
Employees, graduate assistants and fellows are encouraged to determine whether they are eligible to claim the federal Lifetime Learning Tax Credit (go to http://www.nasfaa.org/redesign/taxbenefitsguide.html) to help offset their share of tuition costs paid for a participating spouse or same-sex domestic partner (if claimed as a dependent on the tax return of the employee, graduate assistant or fellow).

Dependent Tuition

Effective beginning with the Fall 2011 semester, and subject to "grandfathering" provisions described below, SU dependent tuition benefits will be based on an employee's salary.
- Qualified dependents of employees with salaries below $50,000* will receive a full tuition waiver.
- Qualified dependents of employees with salaries between $50,000* and $99,999* will receive a 95 percent tuition waiver.
- Qualified dependents of employees with salaries of $100,000* or above will receive a 90 percent tuition waiver.
SU tuition for dependents in the pipeline
- Employees with salaries less than $150,000* whose dependents are matriculated and using the dependent tuition benefit at SU prior to the Fall 2014 semester will continue to receive full tuition waiver.
- Employees with salaries of $150,000* or more whose dependents are matriculated and using the dependent tuition benefit at SU prior to the Fall 2011 semester will continue to receive full tuition waiver.
Tuition Exchange and Cash Grant benefits are not affected by these changes.
Dependent tuition benefits are subject to all other applicable requirements of the University's Dependent Tuition Benefit Policy.

* The salary thresholds for dependent tuition benefits are measured in FY 2011 and increase in
future years by the budgeted salary pro-forma.

University Wellness Program

A University wellness program will be created to support activities such as healthy nutrition, fitness, stress reduction, smoking cessation, and health literacy. Promoting wellness at the University is important in improving overall health and quality of life of employees, and can also reduce health care costs over the long-term.
A University committee has been appointed to propose a specific plan for this program.

Child Care Initiative

The Child Care Initiative will consider ways to increase the subsidization of and access to child care. The expansion of affordable child care options to support a variety of family needs will be a priority.
A University committee will be appointed to propose a specific plan for this program.

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The web pages summarize your Syracuse University benefit options. Every effort has been made to ensure this information is accurate. However, the benefits are governed by legal documents (which, in certain circumstances, may include insurance contracts). If there is any difference between the information on these web pages and the official documents, the official documents will control.

Eligible employees electing to participate in SU benefit plans, programs or policies are bound by the terms of the governing plan, program and policy documents. If you have any questions regarding the plans, programs or policies, you may request a copy of the governing document by contacting the HR Service Center at the number indicated at the end of this page.

As is the case with all benefits offered by SU, (1) the SU administrator of the applicable benefit plan, program or policy has the discretionary authority to interpret the terms of that plan, program or policy, and such interpretation will be binding on all interested parties to the fullest extent permitted by law, and (2) the University reserves the right to modify or terminate its benefit plans, programs and/or policies from time to time.