Premiums are paid in the month for which there is coverage.

Premium payments are paid in the month for which there is coverage. For more information, please visit the Payroll Department's website.

4/4 Non-Grandfathered (Non-GF) Appointments

Your health and welfare benefits are deducted at a single rate monthly to cover that month the deduction was taken to match your enrollment*. For example, for September’s coverage, your deduction will occur in the September monthly payroll.

• If you are only appointed for the fall term, your deductions will be taken monthly, September through December.
• If you are only appointed for the spring term, your deductions will be taken monthly, January through April.
• If your appointment is for the summer term, your deductions will be taken monthly, May through August.

*If you are appointed during the middle of a term, your deductions will be taken monthly, starting from your enrollment effective date, until the end of that term.

Coverage Termination

Should your appointment and/or employment end for any reason, coverage will end at the end of that month.

4/4 Grandfathered (GF) Appointments

If your appointment is September through December, health and welfare benefits are only deducted September through December. If your appointment is January through April, the benefit deductions are doubled January through April to cover January through August since no deductions are made during the summer term. If your appointment is May through August, you will be manually billed. If your pay cannot support the double deductions, you will be manually billed for anything that could not come out of your January through April payroll.

Coverage Termination

Should your appointment and/or employment end for any reason, coverage will end based on the following schedule:

8/8, 9/9, and 10/10 Appointments

Monthly benefit deductions are withheld for September through December. Double deductions are withheld for January through April to cover the January through August period since no deductions are made during the summer term. If your pay cannot support the double deductions, you will be manually billed for anything that could not come out of your January through April payroll.

Additional Information

Those benefits that are included in the double deductions are: Medical^, Dental, Vision, Optional Life, Optional AD&D, Spouse/Domestic Partner Life, and Child(ren) Life.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are not included in the double deduction schedule. Those accounts can be elected at a higher monthly maximum (annual maximum over eight monthly pays September through April). The FSA and HSA limits are based on the plan year of July through June. IRS increases are adopted at the beginning of each plan year and cannot be increased until July 1.

Any Less than Annual paid employee that had double deductions in January through April and is still actively working in the following fall term will see a "catch up" process run in their October payroll. This process will include premium increases effective July 1 for the new plan year that could not be deducted in the January through April double deduction process.

Those who terminate their employment (leave the University or retire) on or after April 30 and were double deducted will have active coverage through Aug. 31. Those that retired from the University will have their retirement benefits begin Sep. 1 with Benefit Management Service (BMS).

Coverage Termination

Should your appointment and/or employment end, your benefits will end according to the following schedule:

If you terminate employment (leave the University or retire) between Jan.1 but before April 30, your benefits will end according to the following schedule:

• If you terminate in January, your coverage will end Feb. 28 (Feb. 29 on leap years) 
• If you terminate in February, your benefits will end April 30 
• If you terminate in March, your benefits will end June 30
• If you terminate in April through August, your benefits will end Aug. 31

^ $50 monthly Benefit Credit for those that waived medical and are in a position eligible for the credit.

Effective May 1, 2024, UPMC Benefit Management Services (BMS) is the University’s administrator of the direct billing program. Individuals eligible for coverage, but not receiving a payment from the University will transition to being direct billed for their coverage through BMS. Individuals will be placed on direct billing the month following a missed payroll deduction and sent an invoice to the home address on file with the University via U.S. Postal Mail from BMS.

Please review instructions on how to update your address with the University on the payroll website.

To setup your portal, inquire on electronic invoices, make payments or general questions, please call BMS at 888-499-6885.

Failure to submit payment by the due date listed on the invoice will result in coverage being terminated. Should your coverage be terminated for non-payment, an appeal may be requested by submitting an online inquiry to the Benefits Department.

Once coverage is terminated, you will be offered COBRA. Your next opportunity to re-enroll in University coverage would be if you have experienced a qualified life event throughout the year (and contact the Benefits Department within 60 days of the event date) or have enrolled via the next Open Enrollment Period for coverage effective July 1.

See below for a sample of the invoice and mailing envelope you will receive in the mail.

Retirement Savings: Deductions will only be taken from eligible payrolls during January to April and September to December. However, if you receive a summer appointment and are paid during that time, retirement savings deductions may still apply to those payrolls.

If you are a Less than Annual employee and have the elected the maximum, also known as the 402(g) limit, the system will divide the maximum (the 402(g) limit) against your available pays. This will be higher than the TIAA portal calculation as TIAA automatically divides against 12 pays for estimates. For the maximum limit, please reference the Retirement Savings for Current Employees page.

If you have the maximum elected on your record and receive pay during a summer month, the University payroll system has a calculation in place to divide the remaining amount needed to contribute by five remaining pays (current month + fall term).

If you are unsure of your deductions or are planning to work over the summer, please contact the Benefits Department.

When submitting your inquiry to the Benefits Department, select Benefits from the Service Area dropdown, select Retirement Savings Plan from the I Need Help With... dropdown, and select Maximizing Contributions/IRS Limits from the Regarding Specifically: dropdown.

After-Tax Deduction

The University follows guidance of the IRS in determining taxation of benefits. The employee contribution towards the cost of adding a domestic partner will be taken on an after-tax basis.

To calculate the after-tax deduction, please see the below example:

Electing two adult coverage under Panther Gold
(July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024)

Two Adult Contribution      $331
Individual Contribution      - $91
Total After-Tax Amount    $240

Imputed Income

Imputed income is the estimated value of the employer’s financial contribution towards health insurance coverage for domestic partners and must be reported as taxable wages earned. This tax penalty, depending on the individual and the estimated value of the health benefit, can be large. You are advised to consult with your own tax counsel to better understand the taxation prior to electing the benefit coverage for your individual circumstance.

To calculate the imputed income for the difference in adding a domestic partner, please see the below example.

Electing two adult coverage under Panther Gold
(July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024)

Two Adult University Contribution      $1,285
Individual University Contribution       - $553
Total Imputed Income Amount             $732

Please review the below sample pay statement that reflects how this taxation will apply.

For more information, please visit the Domestic Partners Benefits page.

Those on the biweekly payroll schedule will have their FSA and/or HSA elections split in half and deducted out of the first and second payroll each month. Those on the monthly payroll schedule will have their FSA and/or HSA elections taken in full from the end of month payroll.

FSA and HSA deductions are sent once a month, at the end of the month, from Pitt to UPMC after all payrolls have completed for that month. Therefore, the deduction will not be reflected in your UPMC Consumer Advantage account until after that month has concluded.

Retirement contributions are calculated as a percentage of an employee’s gross compensation. Compensation does not include any taxable welfare benefits, fringe benefits, cash payments under the flexible benefits plan in exchange for waiving benefits, lump-sum cash-outs of vacation or sick pay paid to terminating employees, expense reimbursements, moving expenses, bonuses, commissions, overtime, supplemental payments, or payments under any early retirement, severance, or similar program.

The retirement contribution amount is then deducted from the gross pay either before taxes are taken out (pre-tax) or after taxes are taken out (Roth or after-tax). Retirement is always deducted from each pay, whether biweekly or monthly, at the same percentage of compensation that the employee has elected through the TIAA portal.

The University match, if applicable, is also calculated based on gross compensation. No taxes are taken out of University matching contributions at the time of the contribution. Taxes will be taken from University matching contributions at the time those funds are withdrawn from the retirement savings account.

PittPerks is a program that provides a broad range of discounts and the opportunity to purchase certain voluntary benefits at group rates through payroll deductions to employees. New offerings are added frequently. You may purchase certain benefits at group discounts that may be paid for through payroll deduction.

• Group Home and Automobile Insurance – Features online quotes and comparisons between MetLife and Travelers
• Pet Insurance – Offered through ASPCA
• Identity Theft – Offered through InfoArmor
• MetLife Legal – Offered through MetLaw
• MetLife Supplemental Medical Plans – Offered through MetLife

All voluntary elections deducted through payroll are on a post-tax basis. Those on the Bi-weekly payroll schedule will have the monthly premium(s) split in half among the first and second pay of the month. Those on the Monthly/UPP2 payroll will see the deduction in full in the month end pay. Those on a less than annual contract will have their premium(s) deducted January – April and September – December. For any missed deduction, PittPerks (Corestream) will bill you directly for those premiums.

Long Term Care coverage premiums are billed as an after-tax deduction.

• For monthly paid employees: the premium is paid monthly via payroll deduction.
• For biweekly paid employees: the premium is paid from their second biweekly pay via payroll deduction.
• For employees paid on a less than annual basis: employees will pay the regular premium amount for the first half of the plan year. For the second half of the plan year, the premiums will increase to cover the remaining cost of the Long Term Care coverage for the plan year.

If at any time an employee can no longer support the premium for Long Term Care coverage via payroll deduction (for instance, during an unpaid leave, transitioning to Long Term Disability, etc.), the employee should contact the Benefits Department. The employee will submit an inquiry that the premium for their Long Term Care coverage will be direct billed to them from Unum, the provider for Long Term Care Insurance.