Employee Benefits

The District offers a wide variety of medical, dental, disability, and life insurance plans. Some are provided at no cost to the employee, others require an employee contribution. Some of the options offered are time-sensitive, and must be exercised within thirty- (30) days of the employee’s first day of work in order to be effective. The location’s Human Resource Manager (HRM) is responsible to ensure that the documentation is proper and submitted on a timely basis.

Effective September 1, 2003, all newly hired full-time employees and their eligible dependents will have a 90-day waiting period (calendar days) for health insurance coverage under Health Select (POS).  The first day of coverage begins the first day of the following month.  Optional benefits are not affected by the 90-day waiting period and the employee and their eligible dependents may enroll in the first 30-days of employment with out Evidence of Insurability (EOI).

Optional benefits such as term life, dental, AD&D, and long-term disability are available from the date of employment to termination.  By Federal regulation (COBRA), group health insurance coverage may be extended for insured dependents for specified reasons for a period of up to eighteen or thirty-six months after employment with the District ceases.  The Employee Retirement System will notify eligible employees.

Employees will have a 90-day waiting period to enroll in health and basic term life plan.  The basic plan includes health care and $5,000 term life with $5,000 accidental death and dismemberment coverage.  During this time employees may enroll eligible dependents in both health and GBP optional coverage’s.  Dependents may be covered up to the age of 25.

The HRM at the college location is available to answer questions regarding the eligibility, coverage, or other specifics for any of the District’s benefit plans.  The HRM will communicate with the Benefits Coordinator in the System Office Human Resources office on any questions that cannot be immediately answered.

To be benefits-eligible, employees must be in one of the following categories:

• Faculty and employees on a full-time schedule;
• Temporary employees, community education instructors, or part-time staff, who work more than 20 hours per week over a period of 4.5 months; or
• Adjunct faculty who teach more than 50% of a normal teaching load.

Part-time employees and adjunct faculty are eligible for the following Lone Star College System employee benefits:

• The TIAA-CREF retirement plan;
• State-required worker’s compensation coverage;
• The optional tax-deferred annuity deferred compensation program; and
• Student workers and College Work Study Program (CWSP) student workers are eligible for state-required worker’s compensation coverage.

Orientation Sessions
All full-time benefits eligible employees are required to attend a benefits and new employee orientation session.  The HRM is responsible for scheduling and assigning new employees to orientation sessions.

Benefits enrollment information must be supplied on the proper forms in order to enroll an employee in benefits. For example, a beneficiary must be designated for life insurance proceeds, but a separate form designates a beneficiary for retirement benefits under the various retirement plans. 

Retirement Plans
All full-time and part-time employees, except for employees retired under social security, are required to participate in a qualified retirement plan in lieu of the federal social security system.

As of September 1, 2003, there will be a 90-day waiting period before an employee qualifies for Teacher’s Retirement System (TRS) and/or Optional Retirement Program (ORP).  During that time, the employee must be enrolled in the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF).  TIAA-CREF is a separate entity and the contributions will not roll over to TRS and/or ORP.

The decision to participate in TRS or ORP is extremely important because the law provides almost no opportunity for changing back to TRS once enrolled in ORP.  It is a one-time irrevocable decision that can affect the rest of the individual’s career in higher education.  Prospective participants should consider all aspects carefully and obtain as much information as possible before making this important decision.

Newly hired employees during their first 90 days of employment retire from ERS.  After 90 days of employment, full-time employees are required to enroll in Teacher's Retirement System (TRS), unless they choose and are eligible to enroll in the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP).

Eligible full-time employees have ninety days (90 days) from the date of eligibility to enroll in ORP.  Once an eligible employee declines or fails to join ORP during those 90 days, the employee must remain enrolled in TRS throughout their career in Texas higher education.

Part-time employees are not eligible for participation in any retirement plan other than the Teachers’ Insurance and Annuity Association and College Retirement Equities Fund, better known as TIAA-CREF, unless they are also employed on a full-time basis at another college or public school system under TRS.  If so, the employee’s contributions will be made to the Teacher’s Retirement System of Texas (TRS).  The employee must notify the HRM of their full-time employment elsewhere on the date of hire.

Eligibility to participate in TIAA-CREF precludes employee tax-deferred contributions to an IRA; however, the employee may participate in a tax-deferred annuity.

The Teachers' Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
The Teachers' Retirement System of Texas (TRS) retirement program is administered by a state agency with more than 600,000 active members. TRS members contribute 6.4% of their salary.  Employees hired after September 1995 have their contribution matched by the State at a rate equal to 6% of the employee’s annual salary. Employees hired prior to September 1995 have their state contribution supplemented by 7.31%

Vesting takes place five years from the employee’s initial date of service.  This means the vested employee is entitled to maintain their TRS account even if they do not remain employed in Texas public education.  If their deposits are not withdrawn, they may retire with benefits upon reaching retirement age.

All full-time employees are required to participate in the TRS after 90 days of full-time employment, unless they are eligible to participate in, and choose to be covered by the Optional Retirement Program (ORP).

The information sheet attached to the employee's membership enrollment form has specific and current information about benefits, vesting, annual statements, and other pertinent information.  A more complete publication, Teacher Retirement in Texas, is mailed directly to the employee from TRS.  If an employee wishes to obtain additional information from TRS, he or she should contact HRM, or TRS at 1-800-223-8778.

Optional Retirement Program (ORP)
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board administers the Optional Retirement Program (ORP). ORP members contribute 6.65% of their salary; the State of Texas and the District contribute 8.5% for employees employed in a TRS or ORP eligible position prior to September 1, 1995.  For employees hired after that date, the State contribution rate is 6%. Vesting takes place one year and one day from the employee’s initial date of service.  Full-time contracted faculty and administrative staff are eligible to participate in the ORP plan.  See the administrative eligibility rules described in Chapter 6: Non-instructional Employees of this manual.

An ORP eligible employee must enroll in the ORP program within 90 days of eligibility.  Failure to properly complete and submit the ORP paperwork will result in the employee’s enrollment in TRS.

Amounts are invested in one of several companies from a list provided in the enrollment package.  To change companies or to get additional information, contact the HRM.

Teachers’ Insurance and Annuity Association and College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF)
Teachers’ Insurance and Annuity Association and College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) is a well-established non-profit, non-governmental retirement investment group that specializes in college retirement programs.  Employee contributions consist of 6.2% of salary, supplemented with 1.3% provided by the District.  Vesting takes place immediately upon the employee beginning their employment with Lone Star College System.

The location HRM provides the new employee with a TIAA-CREF information packet and prospectus and the Retirement Packet for Part-time Employees when the employee reports to work on the first day.  If the enrollment form is not completed correctly (i.e., all contributions total 100%), then all of the employee's contributions will be invested in the CREF money market fund.

Retirement benefits, cash withdrawals and retirement contributions prior to retirement may be available to the employee upon termination of employment with Lone Star College System.  Specific answers to benefit availability questions may be obtained by contacting TIAA-CREF directly at 1-800-842-2888.

Benefits Available
Through its participation in the Texas Employee Retirement System Benefit program, Lone Star College System provides to benefits-eligible employees numerous types of employee benefits including:

• Group Medical Benefits
• Dental Care
• Term Life Insurance
• TexFlex Reimbursement Account
• Disability Insurance
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment Coverage

Benefits Eligibility
An employee is considered to be eligible for   benefits when an appointment or reappointment, either standing alone or combined with previous employment during the same fiscal year, meets the eligibility criteria prescribed by the Employers Retirement System of Texas:

• Be employed one-half time (50 percent full-time equivalent), or more;
• For a term of four and one-half months, or longer; and
• Occupy a regular (line item) position.

Individuals who are eligible by virtue of such appointment or reappointment will be enrolled in applicable required benefits on the 91st day of employment and offered the opportunity to enroll in optional benefits, beginning with the effective date of the qualifying appointment or reappointment as available.  The following example describes a common application of this policy:

• An employee is hired to work full-time for four months (December through March) and is terminated in March.  This work does not make the employee benefits eligible because the employment is less than four and one-half months.
• A support staff employee works at two different campuses part-time for one semester.  The combined hours are 21 hours per week.  The employee is eligible for benefits.
• An adjunct employee teaches two 3-hour courses at Lone Star College System and also teaches at another community college.  That employee is eligible for benefits.  The first employing college must enroll the employee in benefits.
• An employee is hired on a full-time temporary basis for one semester.  The employee is eligible for benefits on the first day of employment because he will be employed for a full semester.
• Finally, an employee is working more than nineteen and a half-hour week for an undeterminable amount of time.  The employee is also enrolled in the part time employees retirement program (TIAA-CREF).  When the employee nears the four and one-half month benefits eligibility threshold, the supervisor must either reduce the part time employee's hours or enroll the employee in the benefits programs.

Any employee, regardless of terms of appointment, is required to participate in TRS for the remainder of the fiscal year if he or she has already participated in TRS during the current fiscal year through employment in Texas public educational institutions. Such employees are not, however, eligible to participate in group insurance benefits unless they also meet the eligibility requirements for those benefits.
 

Enrollment
All Benefits Coordinators will assist employees to enroll in the plans administered by the State of Texas.  

• Group medical coverage for the full-time employee is provided through the Texas Employees Group Benefits Program (GBP).  This coverage is provided at no cost to the employee.  There is a 90-day waiting period before an employee is eligible for benefits.  Effective date of health insurance benefits will be the 1st of the month following the 90-day waiting period.  An employee who enrolls within this timeframe will not be required to submit medical documentation  (evidence of insurability or EOI) to for him or herself or dependent.  Failure to enroll in the initial period will require the employee to submit the EOI documentation with the possibility of requested coverage being denied. After the initial period of eligibility, the employee can make no changes to the options chosen until the summer enrollment period, normally running three (3) weeks each year.  Changes made during this period take effect on September 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year.  Certain changes in family status allow the employee to make changes in coverage during the year (i.e., birth or adoption of a child; or other agency approved family status change);
• Dependent health care coverage is available to the employee, with the employee paying through payroll deduction a set share of the costs of the additional premiums. To assist Lone Star College System employees to better manage the rising cost of dependent premiums, the District Board has agreed to pay up to one-half of premiums increased beginning with the 1999-2000 fiscal year.  Dependents must also be enrolled at the initial enrollment period or during the summer enrollment period;
• Dental care coverage is provided at no cost for the employee and is available at additional cost for employee dependents.  Dental coverage must be selected at the initial enrollment or during subsequent summer enrollment period;
• Term-life insurance is in the amount of twice the employee’s annual salary provided at no charge.  Elections for one and two times annual salary do not require EOI during the initial period of eligibility, otherwise EOI is required.  Employees may purchase up to an additional two times their annual salary (for a total of 4 times the salary).  Also, the state Employee Retirement System (ERS) provides $5000 of term life insurance at no cost.  Any premiums paid by the District for life insurance coverage in excess of $50,000 are subject to Federal income tax, and will be shown as taxable income on the W-2.  Accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) provides an additional benefit in the event of the employee’s accidental death.  ERS provides $5000 of coverage at no cost to employees.  Additional benefits under AD&D benefits may be purchased by employees under age 70;.
• Short-term (District-paid) and Long-term disability coverage is available at no cost to the employee.  EOI is required after the initial period of eligibility.  (Refer to Chapter 9: Absences from Work, for more information about short-term and long-term disability).

Flex Spending Accounts
Benefits-eligible full-time Lone Star College System employees may elect to set aside money on a tax-deferred basis for health care reimbursement account for un-reimbursed medical costs and/or a dependent day care reimbursement account for dependent care as allowed by the IRS.  The state’s flexible spending plan (TexFlex) is provided by the Employee Retirement System.  Employees who elect to participate will have money withdrawn from his or her pay before taxes are calculated. While the general intent of the tax deferral plans can be explained by the System Office Benefits Coordinator, HRM’s, or by the Payroll Coordinator, District personnel will not offer tax advice to any employee, or recommend that the employee participate in any particular benefit plan. 

Similar to premium conversion, a health care reimbursement account (HCRA) allows the employee to set aside a certain amount of pre-tax dollars for the purpose of paying for medical expenses not covered by insurance and approved by TexFlex, such as dependent medical expenses, deductibles, co-payments, vision expenses or hearing expenses not covered by health insurance.  The amount to be set aside is at the discretion of the employee, with a minimum of $180 per year and a maximum of $5,000 per year.

If the employee incurs eligible medical expenses during the year that are less than HCRA deductions selected, the unused portion is not recoverable. Additionally, the Internal Revenue Code defines the eligibility of medical expenses that may be reimbursed and District personnel have no ability to allow reimbursement of ineligible expenses.

Similar to an HCRA, a dependent day care reimbursement account (DCRA) allows the employee to set aside a certain amount of pre-tax dollars for the purpose of paying for eligible dependent day care expenses.  In order for expenses to be eligible, dependent care expenses that are reimbursed from a DCRA cannot be claimed on the employee’s tax return for childcare credit.  The amount to be set aside is at the discretion of the employee, with a minimum of $180 per year and a maximum of $5,000 per year.

If the employee incurs eligible dependent care expenses during the year that are less than DCRA deductions, the unused portion is not recoverable.

District employees who are on a pay schedule other than twelve months must schedule their HCRA and/or DCRA deductions over a period of nine months.

Tax Deferred Annuity
All Lone Star College System employees, including part-time employees and adjunct faculty, are eligible to participate in the optional tax-deferred annuity program.  The purpose of the program is to allow employees to save for retirement with pre-tax dollars.  Amounts set aside for tax-deferred annuities are not taxed at the time of contribution, and earnings on those savings are not taxed until withdrawn.

Contributions are provided entirely by the employee, and Lone Star College System does not contribute to the plan.  Amounts are invested in one of several companies from a list provided in the employee’s enrollment package.  Contact your HRM or System Office Benefits Coordinator for additional information.

Other Benefits

Workers’ Compensation
Employees of the District are covered by the State-required Workers’ Compensation Insurance Program.  The plan provides for the employee to receive benefits for qualifying injuries received while on the job.  Enrollment is automatic when the employee is placed on the payroll.  Within 24 hours of an accident, the employee's supervisor must complete the Employer's Investigation Report and the employee must complete the Employee Injury Report.  All completed forms are forwarded to the location HRM, who will send it to the worker’s compensation carrier for processing.

Credit Union and Savings Bonds
All full-time employees of the District may become members of the Aldine Teachers’ Credit Union.  Members can make deposits to their accounts through authorized payroll deductions.

Before an authorization for deduction is completed, the employee must be a member of the Aldine Teachers’ Credit Union.  Membership in the credit union can be achieved by contacting them directly.  Lone Star College System provides the deduction facility for the convenience of their employees and is not responsible for the administration or operation of the credit union or the performance of investments therein.

Full-time District employees may also request payroll deductions for the purpose of purchasing United States Series EE Savings Bonds.

Educational Assistance
Educational assistance is available immediately to all full-time employees of the District.  Part-time employees who have completed twelve consecutive months of employment and received twelve consecutive months of salary with the District are eligible.  All Lone Star College System credit courses are reimbursable under this policy.  Continuing education classes that have been approved by the employee’s supervisor may also be reimbursed.

The District will reimburse 100% of the tuition and up to $35 for required related fees for eligible courses taken at Lone Star College System, up to a maximum reimbursement of six (6) credit hours per term, not to exceed 18 hours in any fiscal year (Lone Star College System Board Policy DKA).

Out-of-District Waiver
The District will waive out-of-District fee for spouse and dependent children of Lone Star College System full-time employees.  The waiver applies only to out-of-district fees for credit courses; the dependents/spouse pay only the in-district tuition, regardless of their place of residence.  At the time of registration for the credit course, the employee’s spouse or dependent child should notify the cashier and be prepared to verify their status and the out-of-district fees will be waived.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Allows full-time Lone Star College System employees and their dependents to receive counseling and information about personal and family problems at no cost to the employee.  The EAP Program allows up to five visits per condition annually.  Professional advice is available on a confidential basis from family therapists, psychologists, and other professionals from an established counseling service contracted by the District. 

Help begins with a call from the employee to the Employee Assistance Program counselor.  They will listen to the concerns, evaluate the problem, and determine the appropriate level of help.

Every conversation you have with the EAP counselor is confidential.  No one will know about the nature of contact except the professionals working with the employee.  The only exception relates to situations in which the employee seeking help presents a serious threat to himself or to others.  In that instance, EAP is obligated to report such danger to the appropriate individuals or parties.  Also, an employee may be referred to the EAP by a supervisor or manager. If an employee is referred, the employee must approve release of information to HR.

Wellness Program
All full-time employees are eligible to participate in the Wellness Program, which encourages Lone Star College System employees to engage in fitness activity.  Each employee may spend up to 1.5 hours per week to engage in fitness activity during the workweek, provided the employee engages in a minimum of three total hours of fitness activity per week.  Supervisors must closely monitor fitness time off to ensure that it can be taken without diminishing the level of service provided by the department.

Fitness time off is not differentiated on an employee’s time sheet in the same manner as sick leave or vacation time.  It is an opportunity coordinated between the employee and the supervisor.  The supervisor has the responsibility of maintaining any necessary records to ensure that time off is justified and is properly utilized for its intended purpose.  Generally, the employee must inform the Wellness Coordinator of the type of activity the employee engages in on the employee’s time.