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Flexible Benefits

The Flexible Benefits Program available through UB Foundation Activities, Inc. (UBFA) is designed to meet the needs of today's workforce. You have a choice of benefits that will enable you to design a benefits package specifically for you and your family. The components of the Flexible Benefits Program are:

Choice of medical insurance carriers
Opt-out of medical insurance for cash
Choice of dental insurance
Ability to pay for benefits pre-tax
Life Insurance
Long Term Disability Insurance
Flexible Spending Accounts
- Health Care
- Dependent Care
Retirement Plan
Supplemental Retirement Annuity

HOW DOES THE PLAN WORK?

Flexible Benefits allow you to choose the benefits you and your family need. Salaried employees with a .5 FTE or more appointment and hourly employees who are regularly scheduled to work 20 hours or more per week are eligible for certain insurance coverage on the first day of the month following employment through UBFA. Each year you will complete a Flexible Benefits Enrollment Form where you will indicate your choice of medical and dental insurance and other benefit programs. The option you select is good for one year. You cannot change this option unless there is a change in your family status such as a marriage, divorce, birth, death or change in your spouse's employer.

You will receive flexible benefit credits that you may use to "purchase" various benefit programs such as health and dental insurance. If you use less credits than you have been allocated then you may take this amount as after tax income on a biweekly basis or you may put it toward your supplemental retirement annuity. If you use more credits than you are allocated, this amount will be reduced from your paycheck before income and social security taxes are taken out.

FLEXIBLE BENEFITS PLANS

MEDICAL INSURANCE

Two health maintenance organization (HMO) plans are available - Community Blue and Independent Health-Encompass B and Flex Fit plans. Community Blue and Independent Health are independent type HMO's which let you see a participating doctor. The HMO plans provide extensive coverage for hospital services plus routine and major medical care. A detailed summary of these plans is available from the UBFA Payroll Department (645-3013).

UBFA shares the cost of health insurance coverage with the participants. The amount of cost sharing depends on the insurance plan chosen and the rates established by each carrier. Your share of medical insurance is paid with tax-free dollars.

Opt-out

If you receive health insurance through your spouse's employer and you have a full-time appointment, you may elect not to receive health coverage through UBFA and receive cash, which may be used toward other benefits or taken as after tax income. You must be able to document that you receive coverage elsewhere to be eligible for this option.

Medical Highlights:

HMO plan Highlights for Calendar Year 2009
	Community Blue		Independent Health
	HMO 202	HMO 202 Plus	Encompass B	FlexFit Active	FlexFit Family	FlexFit Independent
Office Visit	$10	$0/20 or $5/15	$10	$20/10	$0/15/20	$20
Inpatient Hospital Stay	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Prescription Drug	$5/15/35	$5/15/35	$4/15/30	$5/15/30	$5/15/30	$5/15/30
Dependent/Student Age	19/25	19/25	19/23	19	23	26
Emergency Room/Ambulance	$50/$50	$50/$50	$50/$50	$75	$75	$75
Outpatient Surgery	$10	$20 or $15	$10	$75	$75	$75
Out of NetworkBenefits	no	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Additional Benefits	$0 copay well child visits $0 copay for generic contraceptives	$0 copay well child visits $0 copay for generic contraceptives		$250 for health club membership	$250 for activity programs	$250 for alternative therapies

DENTAL INSURANCE

You may choose between two options for dental coverage: The CIGNA Dental Care Plan or the Guardian Traditional Plan. The CIGNA Dental Care Plan has no deductibles or charges for many common procedures and allows you to choose a participating dentist. The Guardian Traditional Plan covers preventive services at 100%, requires a deductible and co-payment for other services, and allows you to visit the dentist of your choice. A detailed summary of these plans is available from the UBFA Payroll Department.

Dental Highlights
Dental Highlights	CIGNA - Dental Care Guardian	Traditional Plan
Preventive Care	100% Scheduled Items, $0 Deductible	100% Scheduled Items, $0 Deductible
General Restorative	No Charge for most services, Schedule for other services	80% Scheduled Items, $25 Deductible
Major Restorative	No Charge for most services, Schedule for other services	60% Scheduled Items, $25 Deductible

LIFE INSURANCE

All eligible participants who hold a full-time appointment are entitled to group term life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment insurance of $15,000. The option to purchase additional coverage also will be available to you.

LONG TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE

All participants who become eligible for the regular retirement plan also receive Long Term Disability Insurance (LTD) as a fully paid benefit from UBFA. This insurance becomes effective when the participant becomes totally disabled for a continuous period of 180 days and will pay 60% of the employee's base monthly earnings to a maximum of $10,000 per month.

REGULAR RETIREMENT PLAN

An eligible participant will qualify for the regular retirement plan on the first of the month following the completion of a 24-month period, which constitutes two years of service. The participant must be credited with 1000 hours or more of service during any 12 consecutive calendar month period to retain eligibility. Contributions of 9% of salary within $16,500 and 12% of salary above $16,500 earned during the calendar year are made to regular retirement contracts with the employee having the option to contribute 3% of salary on a tax deferred basis.

SUPPLEMENTAL RETIREMENT ANNUITY

Any excess benefit credits that were not allocated to the benefit plans may be allocated to your supplemental retirement annuity. All eligible participants may elect to participate in the supplemental retirement program by making contributions, on a tax-deferred basis, to supplemental retirement contracts subject to prescribed limitations.

FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS (FSAs)

Individuals who hold a full-time appointment will be eligible to enroll in either or both of the Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) offered by UBFA. The two types of accounts are Health Care and Dependent Care. The accounts are set up so you can set aside pre-tax dollars to cover eligible medical and dependent care expenses. Each payroll period, the amount you request will be deducted from your paycheck and deposited in your FSAs. You may set aside an annual maximum of $2,400 for the Health Care Account and $5,000 for the Dependent Care Account. As you incur eligible expenses, you will be reimbursed from the FSA after you submit a claim form. You will never be taxed on the money used to pay these expenses! The tax savings illustration will give you an idea as to how this tax advantage can work for you. However, careful planning of expenses is a must, because you forfeit any amounts left in your account at year-end. So remember - USE IT OR LOSE IT!!

If you decide to participate in the FSA program you must complete an enrollment form, which is available from the UBFA Payroll Department.

Eligible expenses under the FSAs

Health Care

All medically related services that are not reimbursable through insurance are eligible, including, but not limited to:

Health care plan co-payments and deductibles
Dental care
Vision care
Chiropractors
Podiatrists, etc.
Prescriptions
Other IRS eligible expenses

Dependent Care

Dependent care expenses incurred while you are working include childcare center, nursery school or an in-house babysitter.

The UBFA Payroll Department has a complete list of eligible expenses.

TAX SAVINGS ILLUSTRATION

The Flexible Benefits Program, in addition to offering you a choice of benefits, provides significant tax advantages. As mentioned above, any cost of benefits to you will be paid via salary reduction. What this means is that you will be paying these costs with pre-tax dollars. This effectively lowers your taxable income and, therefore, the taxes withheld from your paycheck. The two examples below illustrate the tax savings associated with salary reduction. The after-tax column shows take home pay assuming all expenses are paid post-tax. The before-tax column shows take home pay assuming expenses are paid on a pre-tax basis via salary reduction. Keep in mind that the actual tax impact may vary depending on your own tax situation.

Tax Savings Illustration
	John is single. He anticipates spending $500 for unreimbursed medical care. What are the tax savings from the use of the Flexible Spending Account?		Kate is married and knows she will incur child care costs of $1,000 for the year. What are her tax savings from the use of the Flexible Spending Account?
	After-Tax	Before-Tax	After-Tax	Before-Tax
Income (after deductions)	$20,000	$20,000	$35,000	$35,000
Less: Pretax expenses	$0	($500)	$0	($1,000)
Taxable Income	$20,000	$19,500	$35,000	$34,000
Less Federal Taxes	($3,189)	($3,049)	($5,777)	($5,497)
Less Social Security Taxes	($1,530)	($1,492)	($2,678)	($2,601)
Less State Taxes	($1,210)	($1,173)	($2,051)	($1,978)
Net Income	$14,071	$13,786	$24,494	$23,924
Less: After tax expenses	($500)	$0	($1,000)	$0
Take Home Pay	$13,571	$13,786	$23,494	$23,924
Tax Savings		$215		$430

This brochure is intended to highlight the benefit plans provided by UBFA. The official plan documents and contracts will govern in all cases.

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