Department of Civil Service

NY14-24

TO: New York State Agency Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: 2014 Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) for DC-37 represented employees
DATE: June 27, 2014

Effective July 1, 2014, the Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) is available to DC-37 represented employees. The program allows eligible employees to exchange previously accrued annual and/or personal leave, in return for a credit which reduces their share of New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP) premium on a biweekly basis.

Due to timing, PEP credit for 2014 will be included in the paychecks beginning on or after July 3, 2014 for Administration Lag payroll employees.

ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to enroll in PEP, DC-37 represented employees must meet the following criteria:

• Be employed on a Calendar Year or Academic Year basis;
• Be a full-time employee with an annual salary within the applicable salary range, at the time of enrollment, for each calendar year of the program OR be a part-time employee whose biweekly salary is within the salary range, at the time of enrollment, for each calendar year of the program;
• Be a NYSHIP enrollee (contract holder) in either the Empire Plan or an HMO at the time of enrollment;
• Have a minimum balance of annual and/or personal leave after making the forfeiture of at least 8 days or a prorated balance for part-time employees respectively.

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS PEP

• Be an employee covered by the 2011-2016 New York State/DC-37 Collective bargaining agreement;
• Be a DC-37 represented employee in a title equated or allocated to Salary Grade 24 or below. Refer to the Attendance and Leave Bulletin No. 2014-01 and Productivity Enhance Program for 2014 DC-37 Enrollment Form for more details.

All employees must be eligible to receive an employer contribution toward NYSHIP premiums (or must be on leave without pay from a position in which the employee is normally eligible for an employer contribution toward NYSHIP premiums).

Part-Time Employees

Eligible part-time DC-37 represented employees who meet these requirements will be eligible to participate on a prorated basis in accordance with their payroll percentage. Additional hours that these employees work beyond their payroll percentage are not counted for this purpose. In cases where the payroll percentage of these employees results in a leave forfeiture that is not a quarter-hour increment, the leave forfeiture should be rounded to the nearest quarter-hour (rounding up when the resulting figure is exactly between two quarter-hour increments).

Voluntary Reduction in Work Schedule (VRWS)

Employees on VRWS agreements who elect to participate in the program do so as full-time employees. If eligible, they exchange the appropriate number of full-time days of annual leave for the health insurance premium contribution credit allowable under the program.

Re-employed Retirees

Retired New York State employees who have returned to work must meet all of the eligibility criteria for participating in the program and must have the employee share of their NYSHIP health insurance premium deducted from their biweekly paycheck. Re-employed retirees who retain retiree status for health insurance purposes are not eligible to participate.

Health Insurance Premium Contribution Credit for PEP

For the 2014 PEP, the credit that will be applied to the biweekly employee share of the health insurance premium for DC-37 represented employees is represented in the chart below according to annualized salary:

Full-time employees in a title allocated or equated to SG-17 or below:

Full-time employees in a title allocated or equated to SG-18 through SG-24:

Full-Time Employees

The biweekly credit is equal to the NYSHIP credit amount reflected in the above chart, OR the biweekly cost of the enrollee's employee share of NYSHIP premium, whichever is less.

Part-Time Employees

The biweekly credit is equal to the NYSHIP credit amount reflected in the above chart multiplied by the employee's payroll/employment percentage OR the biweekly cost of the enrollee's employee share NYSHIP premium, whichever is less.

ENROLLMENT PERIOD

The open enrollment period will be from July 1 through July 31, 2014.

NYBEAS PROCESSING

The HBA will process a PEP/ENR to enter the premium contribution credit into NYBEAS for PEP (see below). This transaction is part of the PEP enrollment panel. The credit will show on the enrollee's billing record as a premium credit.

• Follow the NYBEAS Navigation Menu links:

Benefits > Transactions > PEP > PEP Enrollment

• An input screen will display. Enter the enrollee's identification number in the search dialog box and click the search button.

• In the Plan Type field, enter 10 (for Medical). Press Tab.
• The Action and Reason fields will automatically populate (PEP/ENR).
• In the Request Dt field, enter the date of signature on the PEP enrollment form. The date should be between July 1, 2014 through July 31, 2014 for all eligible employees. Press Tab.
• In the Grade/Salary select the appropriate drop down option, either “Salary Grade 1-17” or “Salary Grade 18-24” as appropriate. This is a required field in order to calculate the PEP credit accurately.
• In the Exchange days field, select the appropriate option based upon salary grade.
• In the PEP Percentage field type the employee's payroll/employment percentage. Click Save. (The default is 100%)

Salary Grade 1-17

Salary Grade 18-24

To view the PEP percentage, follow the NYBEAS Navigation Menu links:
Benefits > History > PEP > Enrollment Inquiry

To view the PEP credit calculated, follow the NYBEAS Navigation Menu links:
Benefits > History > NYBEAS Update History and click on the Billings tab.

Timing of NYBEAS Processing

Since the transaction cannot be keyed until after the certification of the accrual adjustment, coordination with your agency's personnel/payroll staff who handles this is key to PEP credit processing. The following chart indicates the dates to enter the transaction and the corresponding paycheck which will be impacted. Be prepared to answer questions once the employee's paycheck has been affected.

*The PEP window will be closed for processing after July 31, 2014. If you need a PEP enrollment processed after this time, please contact EBD.

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