The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System issued the following notice which applies to Faculty & Staff enrolled in Optional Retirement Program (ORP). 

Under the Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System approved coronavirus-related distributions from the ORP for eligible active employees.  Please refer to the document linked above for details.

Important Notes:

Distribution Options 

One or more coronavirus-related distributions may be taken from the ORP during the period beginning April 21, 2020, and ending December 31, 2020.  

The State of Maryland Department of Budget and Management sent the following message to benefits-eligible employees via the SPS Workday system.   Changes outlined in this notice may be processed between today and July 29, 2020 at 3:00 pm in SPS Workday*.  Questions about this message can be sent to hrbenefits@umbc.edu 

*Update July 16, 2020:  The state moved up the deadline for these transactions to be submitted in workday.  The original deadline was 7/31/20, the new deadline is 7/29/2020 at 3:00 pm.

On May 12, the IRS issued two notices, Notice 2020-29 and Notice 2020-33 that affect Benefit elections and Flexible Spending Accounts due to the impact of COVID-19. Under this guidance, the State of Maryland may adopt some, all, or none of these election changes. After careful consideration, the State Employee and Retiree Health and Welfare Benefits Program is pleased to extend the following mid-year election changes, which fall into two categories:

• make a new election for medical and prescription drug coverage on a prospective basis, if the employee did not enroll in the 2020 plan year previously;   (the Mid-Year Attestation form will be required in SPS Workday, please see instructions at the bottom of this message) 
• make a new election changing enrollment from self-only coverage to family coverage on a prospective basis;   (the Mid-Year Attestation form will be required in SPS Workday, please see instructions at the bottom of this message) 
• may drop an existing plan election for medical and prescription drug coverage on a prospective basis, provided that the employee signs and attaches the Waiver attestation that the employee is enrolled, or immediately will enroll, in other health coverage not sponsored by the State as the employer. 

Note:   Changes will be effective on the 1st of the month on or after the election event date and remain in effect through December 31, 2020.

Changes cannot be made: from one health plan to another, to dental plans, or to life insurance or AD&D coverage.

Note:   Changes will be effective on the 1st of the month following the election approval by EBD and remain in effect through December 31, 2020.

A plan with a plan year ending 12/31 also has a 2 1/2-month grace period. So, the last day for incurring eligible expenses for the plan year that began 1/1/2019 normally would be 3/15/2020. With the relief, the last day to incur an eligible expense for the 1/1/2019 plan year would be 12/31/2020.

1. Changes may be processed between today and July 31, 2020 and remain in effect through December 31, 2020. Use Benefit Event Type: Employee: Mid-Year Election Change (COVID)
1. Employees may not change the medical carrier or plan; any change will be reversed by EBD
2. Employees requesting mid-year changes on August 1, 2020 or later will be subject to the standard Life Events in SPS.
2. All Medical and Prescription Drug Mid-year elections are effective on the on the 1st of the month on or after the event date.
3. All FSA Mid-year elections are effective on the 1st of the month following the event approval date in SPS. The IRS Notice prohibits an employee from seeking a refund of contributions that have already been made to a health or dependent care FSA.
4. For the addition of dependents, the State’s dependent documentation requirements remain in force. For a list of acceptable documents, see Pages 39-40 in the State of Maryland Benefits Guide, or in the Job Aid for Required Supporting Dependent Documentation.
1. If you are not able to produce the required document(s) immediately due to COVID-19 reduction in services, the deadline is extended until 30-days following the end of Maryland’s State of Emergency.
2. If documentation is not received, Dependents will be dis-enrolled retroactively to the original effective date.
5. All transactions require either the Mid-Year Election or Waiver Attestation Notice. The attestation should be uploaded as documentation to support the change in SPS. (please contact hrbenefits@umbc.edu for these forms).
6. FSA changes will be matched to claim data to date and will be limited to amounts no less than the amount already reimbursed prior to approval.

In response to a USM request resulting from an audit finding at another institution, UMBC evaluated fees charged/waived to UMBC employees who are taking courses at UMBC utilizing the tuition remission benefit.  As a result of this review, and in order to be in compliance with the University System of Maryland (USM) Tuition Remission policy (VII-4.10), UMBC, like other USM campuses, must begin to pass along certain fees to its employees.

The USM Tuition Remission Policy for employees (VII-4.10) and the USM Tuition Remission Policy for Spouse & Dependents (VII-4.20) permits remission of tuition only.  Therefore, courses taken at all USM schools are subject any mandatory fees charged by the attending University System of Maryland and/or reciprocal institution.

Effective Fall 2020, UMBC employees attending courses at UMBC, and receiving tuition remission, will be charged the technology fee and any specific course-related fees (for example: lab fees, registration fees, admissions fees, music fees, electronic material fees, etc.).  It was determined that all remaining mandatory fees don't apply, because they are for services or activities that employees either pay for in the course of their employment, or enjoy the benefits already as employees.

All fees will continue to be charged for dependents utilizing Tuition Remission.

The current technology fees are $17 per credit for undergraduate courses and $16 per credit for graduate courses.  These amounts may increase slightly in the new fiscal year, beginning in July 2020.

For information on mandatory fees at UMBC, please the Student Business Services website.  Employees who wish to check eligibility and apply for tuition remission may visit the UMBC Tuition Remission Website.

Registration:  Please visit the following registration link and enter your name and UMBC email to immediately gain access to this recorded webinar.

Registration:  Please visit the following registration link and enter your name and UMBC email to immediately gain access to this recorded webinar.

Registration:  Please visit the following registration link and enter your name and UMBC email to immediately gain access to this recorded webinar.

Registration:  Please visit the following registration link and enter your name and UMBC email to immediately gain access to this recorded webinar.

Registration:  Please visit the following registration link and enter your name and UMBC email to immediately gain access to this recorded webinar.

Note:  This presentation is available in multiple languages, more options can be found here. 

Registration:  Please visit the following registration link and enter your name and UMBC email to immediately gain access to this recorded webinar.