UA General Benefits Information
In light of the recent Governor's budget announcement, we understand employees might be feeling stressed due to the uncertainty. I want to remind all employees of their benefits, resources, and current training and development opportunities. We appreciate all of the hard work and dedication of our employees and thank you for your service to students and the community. Please see the attached training calendars for each campus, which may also be downloaded from our website https://alaska.edu/hr/.
Keli Hite McGee
University of Alaska General Benefits Information
The University of Alaska prides itself on taking care of all employees. This handout summarizes some of the benefits provided by the University of Alaska including our three health care plan options, retirement and leave benefits, the Employee Assistance Program, tuition waiver, our new training and development program and more. For more information on any of the topics listed below, please visit our University of Alaska benefits website alaska.edu/benefits/.
Health Care and Other Benefits
The University of Alaska offers a choice of health plans to meet your needs. The UA Choice program includes three plan options with different deductibles and out-of-pocket costs, including a consumer-directed plan that qualifies for a Health Savings Account (HSA).
You will receive health care until the last day of the month in which you are in a benefits-eligible position. After that final day of coverage, you will be eligible for COBRA, allowing you to continue the plan you had as an active employee for up to 18 months.
Life Insurance: The University provides all benefit-eligible employees a basic life insurance plan with $50,000 of coverage. You can also purchase additional life insurance up to $400,000.
Long-term disability: Benefit-eligible employees are covered by long-term disability insurance offering up to 60% of pre-disability income (up to $3,000 per month) in case you are unable to work due to illness or injury.
Life insurance and long-term disability coverage cease on the last day of employment in a benefits-eligible position; however, there are some continuation options. Please contact your regional HR office for details.
For more information on health care benefits, please visit alaska.edu/benefits/health-
Direct Path
The University of Alaska has partnered with DirectPath (formerly Patient Care) for member advocacy and price transparency services. DirectPath helps you be a better healthcare consumer and helps with many health care and eligibility issues. DirectPath is 100% confidential and available at no cost to you or your covered family members.
DirectPath is available by calling (866) 253-2273, Monday-Friday from 4 a.m. to 5
p.m., or Saturdays from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Alaska time, or by visiting advocacy.directpathhealth.com/
Employee Assistance Program
You and your eligible family members may contact the University’s Employee Assistance Program, Deer Oaks, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at (888) 993-7650. Telephone or in-person consultations will be set up for program participants at their convenience depending on the type of need. You may also go online to www.deeroakseap.com to find information on a variety of topics including support for job loss and life changes, personal and family concerns, and legal and financial matters. You may also search for lawyers with particular specialties and child and elder care in your area. Just enter the username UofA and password UofA.
Retirement Plans
Retirement programs at the University of Alaska include the State of Alaska Public
Employees Retirement System (PERS) for staff, the Teachers Retirement System (TRS)
for faculty and some employees with academic standing, or the Optional Retirement
Program (ORP) available for faculty, officers and senior administrators. In addition,
there are a number of 403(b) options for voluntary supplemental retirement savings.
More information is available at alaska.edu/benefits/
Most retirement plans, including the UA Pension Plan and Optional Retirement Program, do not allow distributions before age 59 ½ without an early distribution penalty. UA’s retirement plans do not allow loans or hardship distributions, but if you have a voluntary 403(b) plan you may be able to tap those funds. Please contact your fund sponsor (the company that has your account) for more information on your options.
Leave Benefits
Eligible University employees earn annual leave on a bi-weekly basis. Annual leave for full-time employees is earned as follows:
- 5.54 hours per pay period during the first 5 years of employment
- 6.46 hours per pay period during years 6 through 10
- 7.38 hours per pay period after 10 years of employment
Unused annual leave may be accrued up to a maximum of 240 hours. Any hours in excess
of 240 hours at the end of the fiscal year (June 30) will be forfeited at the end of the pay period in which June 30 falls. The Annual Leave Cash-In
Program allows eligible employees to cash in up to 40 hours of their annual leave
one time per fiscal year. Details on the Annual Leave Cash-In Program can be found
here: alaska.edu/hr/hr-procedures/
Sick leave accrues at a rate of 4.62 hours per pay period. Your sick leave balance
is not paid out at termination.
Additional information on leave benefits, including Family Medical Leave, Leave Share
Program, etc. can be found here: alaska.edu/benefits/leaves/
Tuition Support
Employees have up to 8 credit hours’ of tuition waived each semester to attend classes
at any University of Alaska campus. Spouses and dependents can have unlimited tuition
waived each semester. The tuition waiver covers tuition only and does not apply to
room and board, books, or fees. For more information on the tuition waiver, please
visit alaska.edu/benefits/tuition-
Professional Development
Training and professional development is available online through the myUA Employee Services Dashboard. You can access the trainings by logging in with your single sign-on and locating “My community” -- “Learning Library.”
UAA - https://alaska.edu/hr/UAA-
UAF - https://alaska.edu/hr/UAF-
UAS - https://alaska.edu/hr/UAS-
Contact Information - Human Resources Offices
University of Alaska Anchorage (907) 786-4608
University of Alaska Fairbanks (907) 474-7700
University of Alaska Southeast (907) 796-6273
University of Alaska Statewide (907) 450-8200