Welcoming New Employees
Some Treasurers, Personnel Committee Chairs, and other people responsible for on-boarding their employees with regard to the UU Retirement Plan have asked for a sort of "script" to help with that process.
Please use the information (checklist format) below to remember key points regarding employee rights and employer responsibilities concerning the Plan.
Provided to employee:
_____ UU Retirement Plan enrollment materials
_____ Employee Contribution Agreement (for voluntary salary-reduction contributions)
_____ Our Employer Participation Agreement
Discussed with employee:
_____We offer the UU Retirement Plan (reference the Employer Participation Agreement)
_____All of our employees, age 18 or better, are able to participate in the plan, but may not (yet) be eligible for Retirement Contributions.
_____UU Clergy and other individuals who have already met the Plan's Year of Eligibility Service provision are immediately eligible for Retirement Contributions. (see the "Did You Know" portion of this e-newsletter for more info)
_____Employees can authorize their employer to start, stop, change, or to decline to make, Elective Contributions by completing the Employee Contribution Agreement
_____U.S. Department of Labor regulations require Employers to remit Elective Contributions timely.
_____Only employees who have met the Plan's Year of Eligibility Service definition/provision are able to receive Retirement Contributions from their employer.
_____ Determination of eligibility for Retirement Contributions has nothing to do with "part time," "full time" or other terms.
_____We use Hours of Service, (hours work or paid - see definition in the Plan) to determine eligibility for Retirement Contributions.
_____Non-Clergy employees serving Participating Employers are eligible to receive Retirement Contributions from their Employer only once they have:
*attained age 18 and
*satisfied the Plan's Year of Eligibility Service provision by:
* working, consecutively or concurrently, for one or more UU Employers that offer the plan, and have thereby accumulated 1,000 Hours of Service during the 12-month period starting on their date of hire and ending on their one year anniversary date*.
*If such an employee has never before accumulated 1,000 Hours of Service during a 12-month period being monitored, then the employee will become eligible for Employer Contributions on the first of the year following the first calendar year (also known as the Plan year) during which they were employed for 12 consecutive months and rendered a minimum of 1,000 Hours of Service.
* Remember, Employers must aggregate concurrent and consecutive Hours of Service rendered by the individual's employment with one or more UU Employers that offer the plan.
_____"Once eligible for Retirement Contributions, always eligible:" Once an individual has satisfied the Plan's Year of Eligibility Service definition/provision, they never have to re-satisfy it, even if their hours are diminished or if they transition to serve another UU Employer that offers the Plan.
_____If an employee is owed Retirement Contributions, they are not permitted to "opt out" of receiving them, and the Employer may not fail to remit them.
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