Employer Bulletin

State Agencies
Vol. 17, State F
September 5, 2000

Employee Reimbursement Accounts (ERA) Program Open Enrollment; State Group Life Insurance Premiums Effective March 1, 2001

ERA Open Enrollment - October 9 - November 10, 2000

Open enrollment for the Employee Reimbursement Accounts (ERA) program will be held from October 9 through November 10, 2000. All eligible employees who wish to participate in the Medical Expense and/or Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts program in 2001 must enroll by November 10, 2000. Please note that the enrollment period for ERA is starting a week later than the Group Health Insurance Dual-Choice Enrollment period.

Each state agency will receive a supply of enrollment booklets by mid-September. Distribute these booklets to all eligible employees during open enrollment and use them during the year for newly hired employees. Paper forms will not be distributed with the enrollment booklets; however, a supply will be sent separately for use during the plan year.

NEW!! Internet and Telephone Enrollment

State of Wisconsin employees can take advantage of two new convenient ways to enroll in the ERA program. Employees may enroll by either:

• Logging onto the ETF Internet site etf.wi.gov
• Calling the Telephone Enrollment Line toll free at 1-800-847-8253.

Employees may also change their election amounts at any time prior to the end of the enrollment period using the phone or Internet enrollment site. Only the last enrollment election made during the open enrollment period will be saved.

Employees who cannot or prefer not to use the Internet or phone enrollment systems may call Fringe Benefits Management Company (FBMC) Customer Service at 1-800-342-8017 to request assistance.

Personal Identification Number (PIN)

A Personal Identification Number (PIN) is required to enroll using the Internet and the telephone methods. To initiate the enrollment process, a default PIN made up of the last four digits of the employee's Social Security number is used. Once into the system, the employee will be prompted to change the default PIN to a four-digit PIN of his or her choice.

Please encourage employees to remember their PIN. The same PIN is used for the Internet and phone enrollment during the open enrollment period, and for the benefit information phone line that is available throughout the year. Also, starting in 2001, the PIN will be required to access a participant's personal account information on the Internet site.

PLEASE NOTE:

On October 1, 2000 any PIN currently on file at FBMC will be reset to the employee's default PIN. This includes any PIN used during telephone enrollment two years ago, as well as the PIN used by an employee to access account information via the telephone benefit information line.

Internet Enrollment Preview-September 20, 2000

Representatives from FBMC will be in Madison to conduct an Internet enrollment demonstration for state payroll representatives. FBMC representatives will also answer questions regarding this year's enrollment. The demo will be held on Wednesday, September 20, at 10:00 a.m. at the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), TGT Conference Room, 5th Floor, 345 W. Washington Avenue. Parking at DFI is very limited. Consider parking at either the Dane County or Civic Center parking ramps. Both ramps are within easy walking distance to DFI.

To request additional enrollment materials for use during annual enrollment or for use during the plan year, call Bill Aye, FBMC Client Liaison, at (608) 829-0435. Questions about the ERA program can be directed to Marcia Blumer, (608) 266-2640 or e-mail marcia.blumer@etf.state.wi.us. The ERA booklet, claim forms, Premium Conversion Waiver forms, and Rapid Refund enrollment forms, may also be found on the ETF internet site at etf.wi.gov

State Group Life Insurance Premiums Effective March 1, 2001

No Change in Employee Life Insurance Rates for State Employees in 2001;

Spouse and Dependent Rates Will Increase

The claims experience for state employees insured under the Wisconsin Public Employers Group Life Insurance Program has been somewhat higher than the level targeted for the period 1997 through 1999. This increase in claims is expected to be short-lived and the plan ended 1999 with funding for future benefits at a very strong level. As a result, the Group Insurance Board (GIB) recently approved maintaining premium rates for 2001 at the same level as the 2000 rates. The employer share of the premium will remain at 63% of the employee premium for basic coverage and 35% of employee premium for supplemental coverage.

The claims experience for the state employee spouse and dependent plan has been very unfavorable for the last few years. As a result, the GIB approved a premium increase to $2.50 per unit per month for spouse and dependent coverage starting March 1, 2001. The coverage for each unit of spouse and dependent coverage will remain at $10,000 for a spouse and $5,000 for each dependent. Employees may elect up to two units of coverage.

The rates for State employees are listed on page three.

For more information on the rate structure of the Group Life Insurance program, contact Marcia Blumer at (608) 266-2640 or e-mail marcia.blumer@etf.state.wi.us. If you have questions about reporting life insurance premiums to ETF, contact Steven Berg at (608) 264-6637 or e-mail steven.berg@etf.state.wi.us.