Employer Bulletin

State Agencies
Vol. 16, State F
December 30, 1999

Department Reports ICI Plan Changes and Updates to Claim Processing, Deferred Enrollment and Annual Premiums

Income Continuation Insurance Plan Change

For any participant who goes on a leave of absence on or after August 24, 1999, the maximum time Income Continuation Insurance (ICI) coverage can be continued has increased from 24 months to 36 months. One exception is for an insured employe that is on union service leave, as defined under § 40.02 (56), Wis. Stats. Such an employe may continue to be insured for the duration of the union service leave.

Permanent Plateau and Reinstatement Rights

Department of Employment Relations has developed ER 18.03, Wis. Admin. Code, which becomes effective January 1, 2000. According to the rule, unclassified or permanent classified employes who resign on or after July 5, 1998, will have any unused accumulated sick leave credit restored to their account if reemployed in a position within 5 years. This new provision does not apply to employes who terminated for misconduct or delinquency. It does apply to project employes eligible to transfer credits under § ER 18.05 (3).

Therefore, once a person reaches a permanent plateau (Category 4, 5, or 6) he or she is entitled to be reinstated to the permanent plateau if reinstated within 5 years of termination regardless of the sick leave balance. Example: An employe in permanent plateau Category 4 terminates employment with a sick leave balance of 123 hours. One year later the employe is rehired. The employe is eligible for premium category 4 even though the sick leave balance upon rehire falls in premium category 1.

ICI Claim Processing Change

Effective immediately, all Income Continuation Insurance (ICI) claims processing will be handled by United Wisconsin Insurance Company (UWIC) in New Berlin, Wisconsin. For questions about ICI claims, such as how to file a claim or the status of a claim, do NOT contact ETF. You should contact UWIC toll free at (800) 452-4250.

UWIC employe located at the Department's headquarters in Madison will continue to process ICI enrollment applications. For questions related to ICI enrollment applications only, contact Lavonne Summers (UWIC) at (608) 266-5405.

ICI Deferred Enrollment Period Concludes January 30

The ICI deferred enrollment period ends on January 30, 2000. The deferred enrollment provision allows eligible employes the opportunity to enroll for ICI coverage based on accumulated sick leave without furnishing proof of insurability. For instance:

• It is the first time an employe becomes eligible for an increase in state contribution toward premium under premium category 3, 4, 5, or 6.
• Category 3 permits employes to qualify for employer contribution by accruing 80 hours of sick leave in the previous calendar year. Premium category 3 is also available to part-time employes on a prorated basis. For example, those employes on a half-time basis only have to accumulate 40 hours (5 days) of sick leave in the prior year instead of 80 hours (10 days) required for full-time employes. This proration applies only to category 3.

Eligibility requirements are further explained in Subchapter 301 of the ICI Employer Administration Manual (ET-1119) dated 9/88.

According to section 2.10 (1) of the ICI Plan, for most employes, premium determinations and eligibility are predicated on the accrual or total accumulation of sick leave recorded and credited to the last complete pay period for the previous calendar year. The last complete pay period for calendar year 1999 is 26B (December 5, 1999 through December 18, 1999).

The premium for an employe who is a project or limited term employe, or employed on a seasonal or academic year appointment of less than 12 calendar months, is based on WRS-reported state earnings from the prior calendar year, rounded to the next higher thousand and divided by twelve. For breaks in service of more than three consecutive months, you must estimate the project, limited term, seasonal, or academic earnings to be received during the next 12 months. Then, round these earnings to the next higher thousand and divide by 12 to determine the monthly basis for earnings and premiums. Divide the monthly earnings by 2.175 in order to calculate biweekly earnings.

Since the enrollment deadline falls on a Sunday, applications are due at the employer's office on Friday, January 28, 2000. Coverage for those who enroll during this period will be effective April 1, 2000. Premiums should be deducted from the employe's paycheck in April for April 1 coverage and remittance reports are due to ETF on or before Monday, May 22, 2000.

Annual Premium Update

Please remember to complete the annual premium updates for ICI in January for an effective date of February 1, 2000. These updates reflect basic salary (excluding overtime) and accumulated sick leave in the last complete payroll period in the previous calendar year (December 20, 1998 through December 18, 1999).

Premium category (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6) is based on the employe's accumulated sick leave hours credited as of the last complete payroll period in the previous calendar year. Monthly or biweekly salary is based on the last complete payroll period in the previous calendar year for most employes.

Annual premium update for an employe who is a project or limited term employe, or employed on a seasonal or academic year appointment of less than 12 calendar months, is based on WRS-reported state earnings from the prior calendar year, rounded to the next higher thousand and divided by twelve. If such an employe is newly hired, or if there has been a break in service of more than three consecutive months, you must estimate the project, limited term, seasonal, or academic earnings to be received during the next 12 months. Then, you round these earnings to the next higher thousand and divide by 12 to determine the monthly basis for earnings and premiums. Divide the monthly earnings by 2.175 in order to calculate biweekly earnings.

Premiums should be deducted from the employe's paycheck in February. Remittance reports are due to ETF by Monday, March 20, 2000. Please write "Annual review and update completed" on the bottom of your February 2000 report.

For more information about ICI coverage, contact the Employer Communication Center at (608) 264-7900.