The Empire Plan is a unique health insurance plan designed especially for public employees in New York State. Empire Plan benefits include inpatient and outpatient hospital coverage, medical/surgical coverage, Centers of Excellence for transplants, infertility and cancer, home care services, equipment and supplies, mental health and substance abuse coverage and prescription drug coverage.
KATHY HOCHUL
Governor
REBECCA A. CORSO
Acting Commissioner
NY21-21
TO: Agency Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: Special Enrollment Period: Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) for 2021, PEF Represented Employees Only
DATE: September 10, 2021
As a result of the recently ratified contract between the State of New York and PEF there will be a Productivity Enhanced Program (PEP) special enrollment period. PEP for 2021 allows eligible full-time or part-time PEF-represented employees to exchange previously accrued annual leave in return for a credit to be applied toward the employee share of their NYSHIP premiums on a biweekly basis. The program will be available on a prorated basis effective July 1, 2021. A letter notifying PEF enrollees of the 2021 PEP enrollment period was mailed on September 3, 2021 (see attachment).
To elect PEP for the remainder of 2021, an employee must apply during the PEP open enrollment period which begins September 13, 2021 and ends October 1, 2021. The amount of annual and/or personal leave that eligible full-time enrollees may forfeit at the time of enrollment and the corresponding NYSHIP premium credits for 2021 are shown in the table on the next page. Eligible part-time enrollees may participate on a prorated basis.
2021 Plan Year PEP Enrollment
Under the terms of the agreement, eligible full-time employees who enroll in PEP effective 7/1/21 through the remainder of the 2021 plan year will receive the following:
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Full-time employees in positions at or equated to Salary Grade 17 and below: |
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EMPLOYEE GROUP |
FORFEITED DAYS |
NYSHIP CREDIT |
Bi-weekly Credit |
|
PEF Non-Teachers |
1.5 |
$ 300.00 |
$23.08 |
|
3 |
$ 600.00 |
$46.15 |
|
|
PEF Institution Teachers |
.5 |
$ 100.00 |
$7.69 |
|
1 |
$ 200.00 |
$15.38 |
|
|
1.5 |
$ 300.00 |
$23.08 |
|
|
2 |
$ 400.00 |
$30.77 |
|
|
2.5 |
$ 500.00 |
$38.46 |
|
|
3 |
$ 600.00 |
$46.15 |
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Full-time employees in positions at or equated to Salary Grade 18 through 24: |
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|
EMPLOYEE GROUP |
FORFEITED DAYS |
NYSHIP CREDIT |
Bi-weekly Credit |
|
PEF Non-Teachers |
1 |
$ 300.00 |
$23.08 |
|
2 |
$ 600.00 |
$46.15 |
|
|
PEF Institution Teachers |
.5 |
$ 150.00 |
$11.54 |
|
1 |
$ 300.00 |
$23.08 |
|
|
1.5 |
$ 450.00 |
$34.62 |
|
|
2 |
$ 600.00 |
$46.15 |
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Part-time annual-salaried employees who meet the eligibility requirements may participate on a prorated basis. Please refer to the Leave and Attendance memo for further questions.
NYBEAS Processing
The NYBEAS PEP keying window will be open to HBA’s for processing from September 13, 2021 through October 15, 2021.
Video tutorials providing guidance on how to process a PEP Enrollment in NYBEAS can be found in the E-Learning section of HBA Online at https://www.cs.ny.gov/employee-benefits/hba/shared/e-learning/index.cfm.
The first check impacted with the PEP credit will reflect all retroactive credits. This check date is determined by the date the transaction is processed in NYBEAS and is calculated according to payroll calendars and cutoff. The remaining PEP credits will be distributed based on the biweekly credit noted in the chart above. Impacted paychecks may begin as early as September 29, 2021 and will continue through December 22, 2021.
Deadline
The 2021 PEP transaction processing window is shorter for HBAs to ensure no interruption with Plan Year 2022. Therefore, it is imperative that all 2021 PEP applications for PEF employees are reviewed and processed timely.
For questions related to processing the PEP transaction in NYBEAS, contact the HBA Helpline at 518-474-2780
2022 Plan Year PEP Enrollment Period
The 2022 Plan Year PEP Enrollment Period will be announced separately.
Should you have questions regarding this information, please contact the HBA Help line at 518-474-2780