UUA Office of Church Staff Finances
Guided by the values of our faith,
we equip congregations for excellence as employers
and their staff for financial competence and well-being. |
Compensation and Staffing News |
Editor's Note
Dear Readers,
We're sharing information about Open Enrollment through three closely-spaced newsletters:
- This issue provides general information about Open Enrollment.
- We will send a supplemental edition next week after UUA Health Plan rates for 2024 are finalized.
- The November edition will go out at the beginning of the month, with links to the updated insurance pages and resources you and your employees need in order to enroll for 2024.
Please note below the Open Enrollment webinar happening on Wednesday, October 25th, at 2pm ET. We hope you can join us!
Faithfully, |
Jan Gartner, Compensation and Staffing Practices Manager |
Preparing for Open Enrollment
What is Open Enrollment?
Open Enrollment is the one time of year that any eligible employee of your congregation can enroll in the UUA Health, Dental, and Hospital Indemnity Plans. Open Enrollment will take place throughout November for 2024. Please share the information below with all of your eligible employees.
We'll be updating our insurance-related pages at the tail end of October so that they will be ready for Open Enrollment.
Who's Eligible?
All employees who are scheduled to work at least 750 hours per year (about 15 hours/week) and remain on payroll year-round are eligible for UUA insurance plans. Please note:
- Open Enrollment is for the Health and Dental Plans – and, new this year, our Hospital Indemnity Plan. There is no Open Enrollment for Life Insurance and Long-Term Disability.
- If you make a plan available to one employee, you must offer it to all eligible
employees. This is a matter of legal compliance with the terms of our plans.
- In determining eligibility, hours worked at more than one participating congregation are aggregated.
Are Rates Changing?
2024 Health Plan premiums are still being finalized. We will send a special edition of this newsletter with rate information.
Rates for the Dental Plan (as well as for Life and Long-Term Disability insurance) will remain unchanged for 2024.
What Do Current Participants Need to Do?
By default, all coverage will continue for 2024. If an employee is continuing participation with no changes, no action is necessary.
Open Enrollment Webinar
Are you a Health or Dental Plan participant? Or a leader who supports benefits administration for your congregation's staff? Join members of our Insurance and Compensation teams on Wednesday, October 25, from 2:00 to 3:00 ET. We'll provide tips and reminders for a smooth Open Enrollment experience, including important dates and eligibility criteria. We're leaving plenty of time for your questions. No preregistration is necessary.
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 966 5685 3100
Passcode: 659615
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Health Plan Audit
Each year, a number of congregations participating in the UUA Health Plan are chosen to be
audited. Notices from Risk Strategies (RSM) have gone out by both email and snail-mail. Please respond promptly to requests for information. |
Countering Scarcity, Perfectionism, and Urgency
We hear regularly from congregational professionals who are struggling with work/life balance: There's too much to do. Everything is urgent. It's hard to take time off. And so on.
Whether you are a staff member, a supervisor, or a lay leader whose role supports staff, we recommend this article from The Management Center on Practicing Sustainability. |
Changing Your Employer Participation Agreement
Each participating employer in the UU Retirement Plan has an Employer Participation
Agreement (EPA) on file with the Office of Church Staff Finances. As a reminder, your EPA spells out the specific commitments you've made, including the employer contribution percentage you are offering to staff who qualify for it.
Once an EPA has been approved by our office, it stays in force unless or until the organization submits a new EPA and has it approved by the Retirement Plan Committee (RPC) for the next Plan Year. Amendments can only be implemented at the start of a Plan Year, which is the calendar year.
If you plan to change your elections for 2024, you must submit a revised EPA at least 30
days prior to the start of the new year, in other words, by the beginning of December. This ensures time for review and approval by the RPC along with implementation by our staff.
Amended agreements must be emailed to retirementplan@uua.org with a copy of the board resolution confirming the change. |
Salary Program Updates In Progress
As you know, we introduced a new methodology for our salary program last fall. Over the course of this year, we've received a lot of positive feedback as well as thoughtful questions and ideas for improvement. We'll have '24-'25 materials ready for you by the beginning of November and will include links in our November newsletter. Until then, here are a few things to note:
- Recommended salary ranges will increase 3% for all positions, job levels, and congregational sizes, in keeping with nonprofit salary structure trends.
- In adjusting salaries, keep in mind the Ruler Method, as described in our Salary Process Guidance. (This document will be edited slightly for the upcoming cycle.)
- As a point of information, the 3rd quarter average Consumer Price Index change from '22 to '23 was 3.5%. This means that an employee needs roughly a 3.5% increase in pay to maintain their purchasing power over the past year.
- Some congregations are changing Geo Index. And we are adding a Geo Index 8, due to an increasing number of congregations in locations where wages are consistently well above 127% of the U.S. average. We expect it to take congregations more than one budget cycle to fully adjust to a higher Geo Index.
- Aside from updating the Recommended Salary Ranges and Geo Index Listing, we're making light edits to documents and pages, for the most part to reflect your suggestions.
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