Full-time Faculty, Full-time and Regular Part-time
(20 hours+) Administrative Staff Benefit Plans

***ALL*** enrollment/change forms must be returned to:

Office of Human Resources
79 Fifth Avenue, 18th floor
New York, NY 10011-3034
212.229.5671 x4942
Fax: 212.229.5884
benefitshelp@newschool.edu

Benefits become effective the first of the month after completing the first month of employment.

Health Care Plan

Employees share in the cost of medical insurance with the employee contribution based on the employee’s base annual salary. Employee contributions are withheld from your pay on a pre-tax basis. You may include your spouse, your domestic partner (same sex or opposite sex), your dependents or your domestic partner's dependents to age 19 or age 23 with Full Time Student Status.

The University offers two plans with Health Net of the Northeast, Inc.

• Charter $500 POS Plan and
• Charter $1000 POS Plan

Service areas are within the Northeast region, in the Advantage Platinum Network, which includes: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Both plans are Point of Service (POS) which means that plan participants can go to providers in the Health Net Network (In-Network) or choose to go to providers who do not participate in the plan (Out-of-Network).

Highlights of Charter $500 POS Plan and Charter $1000 POS Plan:

• You and your qualified dependents do not need to select a Primary Care Physician.
• Co-payment for participating (In-Network) physicians is $20.
• Co-payment for prescription drugs:
  
  Retail Pharmacy (30 day supply)
  $10 for generic drugs; $30 for brand name drugs on the preferred drug list without a generic equivalent; $50 for brand name drugs not on the preferred drug list.
  
  Mail Order (90 day supply)
  $20 for generic drugs, $60 for brand name drugs on the preferred drug list without a generic equivalent; $100 for brand name drugs not on the preferred drug list.

The network is Advantage Platinum. Search Health Net's online directory for In-Network providers.

The difference between Charter $500 POS Plan and Charter $1000 POS Plan is the Out-of-Network Deductible.

Claims are subject to a $500 or $1,000 annual deductible (depending on which plan you enroll in).  Claims are then paid at 70% of the "reasonable and customary" rate after the Out-of-Network deductible is met.

Dental Care Plan

Employees share in the cost of the dental insurance with the employee contribution based on the employee’s base annual salary. Employee contributions are withheld from your pay on a pre-tax basis.

The University offers one of two (2) plans with Delta Dental.

• A PPO Plan called Delta PPO Plus Premier. This plan offers coverage for both In-Network participating dentists and Out-of-Network dentists.
• A Dental HMO (DHMO) Plan called DeltaCare USA. This plan offers only In-Network coverage. You must elect an "In-Network" Primary Dentist to be covered under the plan. You may change Providers within the course of the plan year with proper change forms.

Highlights of the PPO Plus Premier Plan:

• Freedom of choice to use In-Network or Out-of-Network dentists.
• No claim forms to complete when seeking care from In-Network dentists.

Highlights of DeltaCare USA Plan:

• No claim forms to complete.
• No benefit coverage if member uses an Out-of-Network dentist.
• Must obtain a referral from the Primary Dentist to a specialist.

Search Delta Dental's online directory if electing the DeltaCare USA Plan or to find an In-Network dentist for the PPO Plus Premier Plan.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

Health Care Flexible Spending Account

A pre-tax payroll deduction flexible spending account is available to you to help pay for medical and dental expenses NOT covered by insurance carriers. The maximum amount you can contribute on a pre-tax basis is $5,000 per calendar/plan year. The minimum annual election to participate in the plan is $100. You can receive reimbursement for expenses incurred by you, your spouse and dependents.

Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account

The pre-tax payroll deduction Dependent Care Account is also available to you to help pay for eligible out-of-pocket dependent care expenses such as child daycare, in-home dependent care, nursery school or adult care dependent expenses. The minimum annual election to participate in the plan is $100. The maximum amount you can contribute on a pre-tax basis is $5,000 per family for a married couple filing a joint return or for a single parent. The limit is $2,500 for a married person filing separately.

Both accounts have a "use it or lose it" feature as required by law. Amounts contributed by you in a calendar year but not claimed for the plan year are forfeited. You have until March 31st of the following calendar year to file a claim. You may elect one or both accounts.

Flexible Spending Accounts for both Health Care and Dependent Care are administered by EBPA.

Retirement

There are two (2) retirement plans:

University Contribution

• You are eligible to participate in the plan on the first of the month following one year of employment and attainment of age 25. However, employees who previously were employed by a 501(c)(3) organization for one (1) year or more as a full-time employee, are eligible to receive this benefit after the initial eligibility period.
• Once eligible, the employee receives a 7% University contribution if they are under age 40 or have less than six (6) years of service.
• The employee receives a 10% University contribution if they are age 40 or older or have six (6) or more year of service.
• The employee directs the investment of the University contribution and is immediately 100% vested.
• It is the responsibility of the employee to submit evidence that s/he was previously employed by a 501(c)(3) organization. You are eligible for University contributions effective the first of the month following receipt of proper documentation to waive the one (1) year wait. For example, if we receive proper documentation of your 501(c)(3) employment after six (6) months of employment, the University contribution will commence the first of the month following receipt of the documentation and no retro-active contributions are made.

Employee Contribution – Voluntary Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) Plan

You are eligible to contribute your own money on a pre-tax basis in accordance with IRC 403(b). You may elect to contribute a percentage (i.e. 5%) of your pay or a dollar amount (i.e. $100) in a pay period or you may elect to contribute the maximum allowed under the provisions of a 403(b) plan. Your account grows on a tax-deferred basis until a distribution is made to you.

Regular Contributions

The maximum annual deferral for 2008 is $15,500.

The maximum annual deferral for 2009 is $16,500.

Catch-Up Contributions

The maximum additional amount that may be contributed on a pre-tax basis for calendar year 2008 for individuals who will be age 50 or older by December 31, 2008 is $5,000.  The amount will increase to $5,500 for 2009.

The retirement plan for both University and Employee Contributions is administered by TIAA-CREF.

Time-Off Benefits

Only Full-time and Regular Part-time administrative employees working at least 20 hours per week are entitled to time off benefits, Vacation and Floating Holidays:

Vacation

• All Full-time and Regular Part-time administrative employees accrue vacation days per month within a fiscal year. The fiscal year begins on July 1st through June 30th. You must have at least six (6) months of service before you can take vacation. In a full fiscal year, you can earn twenty-two (22) vacation days as a Full-time administrative employee.
• Vacation days can be carried over to the next fiscal year, but must be taken before the end of the following fiscal year or are forfeited without pay-out (i.e. You accrue 22 days in first year, but must be used before end of second year).
• The maximum allowed accrued vacation is two years, which means a maximum of 44 days of vacation leave. Waivers will not be granted for any employee to accrue more than two years of their annual vacation leave rate.

Floating Holidays

• Full-time administrative employees earn one (1) Floating Holiday every quarter per fiscal year. Floating Holidays must be taken within that year they are earned or are forfeited (i.e. earn four Floating Holidays by April 1st and must use before June 30th).
• Regular Part-time Administrative employees working at least twenty (20) hours per week receive half (1/2) the number of accrued vacation and floating holidays.

Disability

Short Term Disability

• If an employee is absent from work for more than seven (7) consecutive days, they are placed on Short Term Disability. If the employee has less than one (1) year of service, they receive their full pay for the first month of disability. If the disability is longer than one (1) month, the employee receives a benefit from our insurance company which is 50% of their weekly pay, not to exceed $170.00 per week.
• If the employee has one (1) year of service or more, then they receive their full base rate of pay for the duration of their Short Term Disability which could last up to a maximum of twenty-six (26) weeks, depending on the medical documentation produced by their physician. In this case, your wage replacement shall not exceed your base rate of pay. Any payments from the insurance company shall be offset against your university paid wage replacement.

Long Term Disability

Coverage begins the first of the month following three (3) consecutive months of continuous employment measured from the day the employee is in a benefits eligible position. An employee, disabled for six (6) months or more, is eligible to apply for this Long Term Disability (LTD) Program. It is a 100% university paid benefit.

The employee and the physician will be required to submit evidence of the LTD to the insurance carrier. Eligibility for this benefit is determined by the insurance company based on the medical facts and circumstances submitted to the insurance company.

The LTD benefit is 60% of the employee's pre-disability, monthly base earnings rate up to maximum benefit of $7,500 per month. LTD, if approved, could continue until the person reaches age 65 or when their disability ends, whichever comes first.

Tuition Waiver

• This benefit is for all Full-time and Regular Part-time administrative employees who work a minimum of 20 hours per week.
• There is a three (3) month waiting period for new hires before they can receive this benefit.
• This benefit is for the employee and their eligible qualified dependents including domestic partners.
• The maximum benefit is two (2) courses or eight (8) credits per semester, whichever comes first. Maximum of 4 courses or 16 credits in a 12 month period for an employee. Contact Benefits Dept. for dependent benefits.
• All fees are waived for undergraduate courses whether taking the course for credit or non-credit.
• Certain courses are exempt from this benefit.  They are referred as "Restrictive Courses". A list of these courses can be obtained from the Registration Office or from our Office of Human Resources.
• This benefit also applies to graduate courses. To be eligible you must be accepted to a graduate program.
• In accordance with Federal tax law, the first $5,250 of graduate fees for courses are waived. The employee is taxed on the value of graduate courses and applicable fees, exceeding $5,250 in a calendar year.

Life Insurance

Basic Life

All eligible employees receive a Basic Life Insurance benefit which is 1-1/2 (1.5) their base annual salary rate to a maximum benefit of $500,000. 100% of the cost is paid by the University.

You should be aware that Federal tax law requires the employer to report the "imputed income" on the value of any Employer Paid Group Life Insurance in excess of $50,000. There is no "imputed income" on the first $50,000 of University Paid Life Insurance. It will be reported on your Form W2 as inputed taxable income.

Additional/Optional Life

Employees can also purchase additional/optional life insurance at either 1x, 2x, or 3x their base annual rate of earnings up to a maximum coverage of $250,000. Employees pay 100% of the cost with after-tax dollars. The coverage is available at low cost group term rates. Enrollment or changes for this benefit must be done during New Hire status (or when eligible for benefits, i.e. promotion to employee class eligible for benefits) or during Open Enrollment.

Dependent Life

Employees can also purchase life insurance for their spouse and dependent child(ren) up to age nineteen (19). Employees pay 100% of this cost. No benefit for Domestic Partners.

Domestic Partner Benefits

Domestic Partners (DPs) are eligible for the medical, dental, and tuition waiver program. You must complete a Certificate of Domestic Partnership.

Other Programs

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

This benefit is paid for by the University; and is for all employees and close family and friends.

It is provided by an independent organization, the Employee Development Center (EDC), a division of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Free consultation is available with a licensed counselor. Participation is confidential.

To schedule an appointment, call 212.935.3030. Outside New York, call 800.327.9092.

Free Admission to Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

In recognition of The New School’s support of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), free admission is offered at MoMA for New School employees and two (2) accompanied guests, upon presentation of the employee’s university identification card. The address for the museum follows:

The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street (between Fifth and Sixth Avenues)
New York, NY
212.708.9400

Visit MoMA's website for more information.

***Please note:  Employees must present their current university identification at the Information Desk in the Lobby (no need to wait in the general admission line) for complimentary admission.

Additional Benefit Plans

The following are other benefit plans which are fully paid for by the employee. Because The New School is sponsoring these plans, you will enjoy the benefits of a group discount and in some cases, pre-tax payroll deductions.

Qualified Transportation Expense (QTE) Benefit Plan

You may elect to make pre-tax contributes to a "mass transit expense" account and/or to a "workplace parking expense" account.

Mass Transit Expenses
You may elect to contribute up to $115 per month on a pre-tax basis for eligible mass transit commuting expenses.  Effective January 1, 2009, the amount will increase to $120 per month.

Parking Expenses
You may elect to contribute up to $220 per month on a pre-tax basis for eligible parking expenses.  Effective January 1, 2009, the amount will increase to $230 per month.

Incentives/Conveniences of this program:

• An Benefits Card Mastercard is issued to you. You use this card to pay for the eligible commuting expenses.
• No "use it or lose it" feature. Therefore balances may carry over from one calendar year to the next.
• Reduces your taxable wages.
• In addition, you can elect "post-tax" payroll deductions in excess of the "pre-tax" amounts mentioned above for both mass transit and parking.

The Qualified Transportation Expense Benefit Plan is administered by EBPA.

YMCA

The YMCA is located on 14th Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues. The following benefits are only available at this location.

• 20% discount on membership
• Initiation Fee reduced 50% to $62.50 (through 12/31/08.)

You must show your NewCard and a recent paystub to receive the discounts.

Discounted subscription to The New York Times

The New York Times is offering a 60 percent discount ($.35/per day Monday–Saturday, $2.00 on Sunday) for home or office subscriptions.

You can purchase a subscription for:

• Monday to Sunday;
• Saturday and Sunday only; or,
• Sunday only

To take advantage of the special discount to the Times or to change a current subscription, contact the Customer Service Department of the New York Times at 888.NYT.COLL (888.698.2655), to order a single subscription or a classroom subscription of up to eight copies for required reading in the classroom.

To order a classroom subscription of eight or more copies for required reading in the classroom, contact the education program's customer service center at 800.631.1222.

Liberty Mutual Home and Auto Insurance

Liberty Mutual offers home insurance for renters, condominium owners, and homeowners, as well as, auto insurance. Rates for these insurance programs are specific to each individual’s coverage. Therefore, you should call Liberty Mutual directly to be given rates over the phone, which will include the New School group discount of up to 10%. If you elect this coverage, you will be billed for it directly by Liberty Mutual, via an invoice to your home. You may enroll or cancel this coverage at any time.

If you would like to learn more about or enroll in Liberty Mutual’s Home or Auto Insurance products, please contact Ryan Fortier at 212.398.2480, ext. 50500 or 888.821.2205, ext.50500.

Long Term Care

Long Term Care Insurance is underwritten by Long Term Care Associates, LLC. You must contact the vendor’s representative to complete an enrollment form, choose your coverage and discuss costs. You may enroll or cancel this coverage at any time.

If you would like to learn more about Long Term Care Insurance, please contact Randi Oster at 203.331.1818 x139.

Bank of America at Work® Program

The Bank of America at Work® program is a comprehensive package of banking products and services offered at discount prices, which is made available to you as a New School employee.

It all starts with Direct Deposit (Electronic funds transfer of your net pay). You will be eligible for free checking with direct deposit. In addition, you will be eligible for a variety of banking services, accounts and special discounts once you establish your account at Bank of America.

To enroll in the Bank of America at Work program, visit the nearest Branch or call 800.782.2265.

Where You Can Find a List of Your Current Benefits Coverage

Sign on to MyNewSchool to find a list of your current benefits coverage.
After signing on, follow the steps below to access your current Benefits Statement:

• Click on “Employee” in the Where Do I…? box on the right side of the page
• Click on “Benefits Information” in the Self Service/ALVIN box on the left side of the page
• Click on “Benefits Statement”
• Click on “Select