Sick Leave A Valuable Benefit for All Employees

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Sick LeaveA Valuable Benefit for All Employees

• Information about sick leave accrual and its
  value at retirement

(Rev 1/11)
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Am I eligible to earn sick leave?

• Employees eligible to earn sick leave
• Classified permanent and project employees
• All unclassified faculty, academic staff, and
  limited appointees who are covered under the
  Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS)
• Visiting faculty who are not eligible for WRS
  coverage but whose home institutions do not
  provide sick leave
• Employees not eligible to earn sick leave
• Limited-term employees (LTE), even if earnings
  are covered under the WRS
• Employees who work in unclassified faculty,
  academic staff and limited appointments that are
  not covered under the WRS and are not expected to
  work at least 1/3 time
• Graduate assistants, employees-in-training,
  student hourlies, student assistants

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How much sick leave do I earn?

• Classified permanent and project employees
• 5 hours per pay bi-weekly pay period (130 hours
  per year)
• Unclassified faculty, academic staff, limited
  appointees
• Upon hire, given Initial Entitlement of 176 hours
  available for immediate use. After 18 months,
  begin to accrue additional sick leave
• 96 hours per year for all full-time unclassified
  employees after Initial Entitlement
• 8 hours/month for 12 month employees
• 6 days/semester for 9 month employees
• All employees who earn sick leave
• Sick leave prorated if less than 100 appointment
• Sick leave accumulates year to year without limit

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When can I use sick leave?

• Sick leave can be used when you cannot be present
  during your official schedule due to medical
  appointments your own illness or injury or that
  of a family member who requires your care or
  after the death of a family member.
• Sick leave can be used after the birth or
  adoption of a baby (subject to FMLA and WFMLA
  regulations).
• Sick leave usage guidelines for unclassified
  faculty, academic staff and limited appointees
  are outlined in UPG 10.
• Sick leave usage guidelines for represented
  classified employees are outlined in their
  specific collective bargaining agreement.
• Sick leave usage guidelines for non-represented
  classified employees are outlined in ER 18.

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Do I lose my accrued sick leave at the end of the
year? Do I get a payout at termination?

• Sick leave accumulates from year to year as long
  as you remain employed.
• Exception If an employee is working in a
  classified project position and has never
  attained permanent status, sick leave will be
  lost at the end of the project appointment.
• Unused sick leave is not payable as a lump sum at
  termination or retirement.
• If termination is before retirement and employee
  does NOT have 20 years of WRS credible service,
  sick leave balance will be lost unless employee
  returns to a State of WI or UW position eligible
  to earn sick leave within a specific time frame.
• Classified employees must return to an eligible
  position within five years to have sick leave
  balance restored.
• Unclassified employees must return to an eligible
  unclassified position within three years to have
  sick leave balance restored.
• If an unclassified employee returns to a
  classified position within five years of
  termination, sick leave will be restored.
• Employees who have 20 years of credible service
  at termination who do not take an immediate
  retirement benefit can preserve accrued sick
  leave credits.

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How do I know my sick leave balance how do I
report sick leave?

• Classified Permanent Project Employees Only
• All leave balances and usage on bi-weekly
  earnings statement. Ask your payroll and
  benefits person if you have questions about how
  to read your statement. Earnings statement
  available on My UW System portal.
• Enter sick leave usage on your paper or
  electronic time sheet. Ask your payroll and
  benefits person if you have questions about how
  to enter the information.
• Not required to use sick leave for doctors
  appointments, illnesses You can substitute other
  paid leave (vacation, personal holiday) if you
  do not want to use sick leave.
• Must report sick leave (or other paid leave) for
  entire time of absence unless you receive
  approval for an unpaid leave of absence.

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How do I know my sick leave balance when do I
report sick leave?

• Unclassified Faculty, Academic Staff Limited
  Appointees Only
• Each month you will receive either a paper or
  electronic leave statement. This report will
  show all of your leave balances and you will use
  this report to record any leave usage on a
  monthly basis. Leave statement available on My UW
  System portal.
• Not required to use sick leave for doctors
  appointments, illnesses You can substitute other
  paid leave (vacation, personal holiday) if you
  do not want to use your sick leave.
• Sick leave (or other substituted leave) should be
  reported for any absence greater than ¼ of a day
  that occurs during your official schedule that
  was caused by medical necessity.
• You should submit your monthly leave report to
  your department chair or supervisor, whichever is
  applicable, no later than the 5th of the
  following month (some institutions may have a
  different submission deadline).

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Sick Leave Reporting Rules for Unclassified
Employees Only

• Must establish a standard 40 hour work week
  (prorated if part-time) that is approved by your
  department chair or supervisor for reporting
  purposes. You may change official schedule
  whenever necessary.
• Default schedule Monday Friday, 745am to
  430pm
• Full-time employees report sick leave in half and
  full days
• During each 8 hour work day, if you miss lt 2
  hrs 2-6 hrs 6 hrs
• Report Leave of
  0 hrs 4 hrs 8 hrs
• Part-time appointees report actual hours missed
• If you fail to turn in one or more leave reports
  during a fiscal year, your sick leave balance may
  be reduced at the end of the fiscal year.
• If you miss work due to illness for 5 or more
  consecutive days, must provide written physician
  certification (does not apply to FMLA approved
  absences).

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Accumulated Sick Leave Credit Conversion (ASLCC)
Program

• At retirement, your sick leave account is
  converted to a dollar amount to pay for health
  insurance premiums.
• Your sick leave balance at retirement is
  multiplied by your highest base hourly rate in
  State of WI or UW employment. Additional
  earnings from summer pay, overtime, pay add-ons
  are not included in the base hourly rate
  calculation.
• At retirement, the cost of your health insurance
  premiums will be deducted from this account until
  exhausted. Once the credits are exhausted, you
  may maintain health insurance by having the
  premium deducted from your WRS annuity or paying
  the monthly premium directly to the health
  insurance carrier if your annuity is not large
  enough for the premium deduction.

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Supplemental Health Insurance Conversion Credit
(SHICC) Program

• Must have 15 years of adjusted continuous State
  of WI and/or UW service to receive supplemental
  sick leave credits (members of the CRAFTS
  bargaining unit are not eligible for this
  program).
• For the first 24 years of service, receive 52
  additional hours of supplemental sick leave
  credits for every full year of service
  (protective employees receive 78 hours of
  supplemental credits for every full year of
  service).
• For any years above 24 years of service, receive
  104 hours of supplemental sick leave credits for
  every full year of service (protective employees
  also receive 104 hours).
• Total supplemental sick leave credits can not
  exceed accumulated sick leave balance at
  retirement.

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Eligibility Requirements for Sick Leave Credit
Programs

• Must participate in the State of Wisconsin Group
  Health plan as a subscriber or dependent at the
  time of retirement.
• Must receive an immediate WRS annuity or
  retirement lump sum benefit OR terminate
  employment with 20 years of WRS creditable
  service but do not apply for an immediate
  retirement benefit.
• If spouse or domestic partner is a State of WI or
  UW employee and both are covered under the same
  State of Wisconsin family health insurance
  policy, the sick leave credits of the person who
  retires first will automatically be saved until
  needed in retirement.
• Escrow of sick leave credits
• You can save sick leave credits for future use if
  you have comparable health insurance coverage
  (from other employment, spouse/domestic
  partner). Sick leave credits will be saved
  indefinitely.
• Can unescrow sick leave credits and re-enroll
  in State of Wisconsin Group Health plan without
  restriction during the fall Its Your Choice
  period each October or within 30 days of
  involuntarily losing other coverage.

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How do I determine my Adjusted Continuous Service
date?

• Adjusted continuous service refers to your
  total years of State of Wisconsin and/or UW
  employment in positions that are eligible to earn
  sick leave.
• Part-time work is not pro-rated for this purpose
  20 years of service in a 50 appointment is
  equal to 20 years of service in a 100
  appointment for the ASLCC and SHICC programs.
• You must terminate on or after your adjusted
  continuous service date in order to earn a year
  of supplemental health insurance credits under
  the SHICC program during your final year of
  employment. You do NOT receive a prorated
  percentage of the years supplemental health
  insurance credits during your last year of
  employment if you retire before your adjusted
  continuous service date.

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How do I determine the value of my sick leave
credits?

• Step 1 Determine your adjusted continuous
  service date. Your staff benefits office should
  be able to assist you.
• Step 2 Determine highest hourly rate of base
  pay while in State of WI/UW service.
• Classified employees highest hourly base rate
  of pay
• 12 month unclassified faculty, academic staff,
  limited appointees divide highest annual base
  salary by 12 and then divide the result by 174
  hours
• 9 month unclassified faculty divide highest
  nine month academic year base salary by 9 and
  then divide the result by 174 hours
• Example
• 12 month academic staff employee with 75,000
  annual base salary
• 75,000/year 12 months 6,250/month
• 6,250/month 174 hours 35.92/hour
• Step 3 Estimate sick leave balance at
  retirement add number of sick leave hours you
  expect to accumulate before retirement to current
  sick leave balance.

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How do I determine the value of my sick leave
credits?

• Step 4 Multiply highest base hourly rate of pay
  by estimated sick leave balance at retirement.
  This is the value of your sick leave credits
  under ASLCC program.
• Step 5 If you have 15 or more years of adjusted
  continuous State of WI and/or UW service (and are
  not in the CRAFTS bargaining unit), determine
  number of supplemental sick leave credits under
  the SHICC program.
• For first 24 years of service multiply each
  full year of service (up to 24 years) by 52 hours
  (78 hours if in protective position).
• For years of service greater than 24 multiply
  each full year of service greater than 24 years
  by 104 hours.
• If supplemental sick leave credits are greater
  than your actual sick leave balance at
  retirement, you will only receive supplemental
  sick leave hours equal to your sick leave balance
  at retirement.
• Step 6 Add credits under ASLCC and SHICC
  programs together.

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Sample Sick Leave Credit Calculation
12 month unclassified academic staff employee
with 26 years, 9 months of adjusted continuous
state service. 12 month annual base salary of
80,000 2000 hours of accumulated sick leave at
retirement
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How much will health insurance cost in retirement?

• Once retired, you are responsible for the full
  cost of health insurance. Premiums will be paid
  by accumulated sick leave account until
  exhausted.
• When you are retired and turn 65, you are
  required to enroll in Medicare.
• Medicare becomes primary health insurance and
  state health insurance plan becomes supplemental
  health insurance plan
• Monthly health insurance premium decreases based
  on how many people under family health insurance
  contract are covered by Medicare.
• Between Medicare and state health insurance plan,
  will receive same level of coverage that was
  received before Medicare eligible.
• 2011 Median Monthly Premium for HMO coverage
  (non-Medicare eligible)
• Single 717.45
• Family 1,789.75
• 2011 Median Monthly Premium for HMO coverage
  (Medicare eligible)
• Single 447.70
• Family coverage with 1 person under Medicare
  1,161.40
• Family coverage with everyone under Medicare
  892.80

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If I retire before Im Medicare eligible, how
much will health insurance cost?
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Estimated Cumulative Cost of Health Insurance
Premiums at 7 Annual Inflation
Assumes no one in family is Medicare eligible
(everyone under family health insurance is under
age 65)
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If I retire when Medicare eligible, how much will
health insurance cost?
20
Estimated Cumulative Cost of Health Insurance
Premiums at 7 Annual Inflation
Assumes at least 1 person in family is Medicare
eligible at retirement
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How can I maximize my sick leave credits at
retirement?

• Minimize your sick leave usage - you are not
  required to use sick leave for an illness,
  doctors appt.you can substitute other paid
  leave.
• Maximize your base pay rate - if you know there
  is an upcoming raise, wait to retire until you
  receive the raise. Even if you are paid for only
  one day at your highest wage rate, that rate will
  be used to determine the value of your sick leave
  credits.
• Work longer - the longer you work, the more sick
  leave you accrue. If you wait until age 65 to
  retire, your health insurance premiums will be
  lower due to Medicare eligibility so your sick
  leave credits will last longer.
• Carry a family health insurance policy if married
  to or in domestic partnership another state/UW
  employee who earns sick leave - when state
  employees who are married or in a domestic
  partnership retire AND carry a family health
  insurance policy, can use both sick leave credit
  accounts to pay for retiree health insurance. If
  one spouse or domestic partner dies, the other
  will have access to the spouses or domestic
  partners credits to pay own health insurance
  premiums as long as a family policy was in effect
  at the time of death.

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Resources
UW Systems benefits website http//www.uwsa.edu
/hr/benefits/ UW Systems sick leave website
http//www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/leave/sick.htm An
Overview of Unclassified Sick Leave Reporting
http//www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/leave/unclassleave
reporting.pdf Sick Leave Credit Conversion
summary document http//www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs
/lev-aslcc-shicc-information-chart-uw1048.pdf ETF
Brochure Sick Leave Conversion Credit Program
http//www.etf.wi.gov/publications/et4132.pdf
ETF Brochure Information for Retirees
http//etf.wi.gov/publications/et4116.pdf Contact
information for your institutions benefits
office http//www.uwsa.edu/hr/benefits/contacts.
htm