Benefits Overview
NUFlex
NUFlex is the University of Nebraska’s benefits plan. We have centralized benefits at the University so benefits are the same on each of our four campuses (UNO, UNK, UNMC and UNL).
Plans include:
Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Care Insurance
Long-Term Disability Insurance
Life Insurance
Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
Dependent Life Insurance for Spouses and Children
Long Term Care Insurance
Retirement
NUFlex Eligibility
You are eligible for NUFlex benefits if:
- you are employed in a “Regular” position with a full-time equivalency (FTE) of .5 or greater or,
- you are employed in a “Temporary” position for more than 6 months with an FTE of .5 or greater.
Eligibility begins the first of the month following your date of hire. If you are hired on the first day of the month or first working day of the month, coverage will be effective immediately.
Your dependents may include your spouse, children, stepchildren or an "adult designee."
Your spouse includes:
- Husband or wife, as recognized under the laws of the state of Nebraska,
- Common-law spouse if your common-law marriage was contracted in a jurisdiction recognizing a common-law marriage.
Your children includes:
- Natural-born or legally adopted child who has not reached the limiting age of 26;
- Stepchild who has not reached the limiting age of 26;
- Child for whom the employee has legal guardianship and who has not reached the limiting age of 26;
- Child with a mental or physical disability who has attained the limiting age of 26 may continue coverage beyond age 26 if proof of disability is provided within 31 days of attaining age 26. Coverage ends when the dependent child turns age 26.
Employee Plus One
Employees may enroll an “adult designee” of the same or opposite gender who:
- has resided in the same residence as the employee for at least the past consecutive 12 months and intends to remain so indefinitely.
- is at least 19 years old.
- is directly dependent upon, or interdependent with, the employee, sharing a common financial obligation that can be documented in a manner prescribed by the University.
- is not currently married to or legally separated from another individual under either statutory or common law.
Learn more about Employee Plus One.
Download a Benefits Summary Sheet.
Enrollment
To complete benefits enrollment, review the information below and visit the University of Nebraska benefits website. If you have questions about your benefits choices contact the UNO benefits office at 402.554.2465.
Open enrollment means you will be making decisions from your eligibility date until the end of the calendar year.
Annual enrollment this year is from November 2 to November 20, 2015. The process can be completed online via Firefly - Employee Self Service (ESS).
The NUFlex benefits plan is a cafeteria style plan (IRS Section 125). This means you can enroll different dependents in different plans (medical, dental, vision), however, you must be enrolled in the plan in order to enroll dependents.
The elections you make during the open and annual enrollment remain in place for the remainder of the calendar year unless you have a status change.
You have 31 days from the date of a family status change to make changes to your coverages. The changes must be consistent with the event that results in you, your spouse or dependent child gaining or losing coverage eligibility.
Examples of status changes are:
- A change in the employee’s legal marital status
- A dependent reaching majority age
- A spouse or child changing insurance
- The birth or adoption of a child
- Change in coverage under other employers’ benefits plan, if substantial.
A Dependent Information Request Form must be completed to add a new dependent child or spouse to a plan. The dependent must also be verified.
Premiums – Price Tags
A price tag list is available for full-time employees and for part-time employees.
NUCredits are an amount of money the University gives you each payday for being benefits eligible. It offsets the cost of your premiums ($63/month for FTE 100%).
Please supply the following documents when you enroll for benefits:
Complete the beneficiary section even if you only want to enroll in the University-provided life insurance.
If you are enrolling in the Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), enter the total annual amount of your pledge.
In section 8 of the enrollment form you will enter the numbers from the Price Tag table.
- Prior Service Form - for retirement eligibility, if you have prior service.
- Dependent Information Request Form - if you are enrolling dependents include documentation to verify them as dependents. The Human Resources Office only needs to see, not keep, this documentation.
- Statement of Understanding Form - stating you have read and understand the employee handbook
- Insurance Underwriting Form - If you choose to enroll in voluntary life insurance amounts of $50,000 and/or if you enroll your spouse in over $10,000 in Spouse Life Insurance you will need to complete the underwriting form for Assurity Financial Life Insurance Company.
Dependents
You only need to complete the Dependent Information Request form if you with to enroll your dependents in the medical, dental and/or vision coverage.
You will need to supply Social Security Number(s) for Blue Cross Blue Shield and provide documentation to verify your dependent(s).
Verification for Spouse requires:
- a county-issued marriage certificate and,
- a copy of the front page of your last year’s federal tax return confirming your dependent as your spouse or documentation dated with the last 6 months (such as a joint household bill, mortgage/lease, insurance policy or bank statement) that includes both of your names and your address.
Verification for Children requires:
- a copy of your child’s birth certificate naming you as the child’s parent or appropriate court order/adoption decree naming you as the child’s legal guardian.
Verification for Stepchildren requires:
- a copy of the child’s birth certificate naming your spouse as the child’s parent, or appropriate court order/adoption decree naming your spouse as the child’s legal guardian, and
- a copy of your state or county-issued marriage certificate.
To add a spouse (if married for more than 6 months) you will need:
- a copy of your marriage certificate, and
- a copy of financial documentation dated within the last 6 months showing both your names and your address. This may be a joint household bill, a bank/credit account statement, an insurance policy, mortgage/lease or the front page of your most recently filed federal tax return confirming your spouse as a dependent. If married for less than six months, only the marriage certificate is required.
To add a child you will need a copy of the child’s birth certificate naming you as the child’s parent, or an appropriate court order/adoption decree naming you as the child’s legal guardian.
See also:
NUFlex Enrollment Booklet
New NU Employees
Medical, Dental and Vision Care Insurance
The University medical, dental and vision plans are three separate plans. You can choose to enroll in all or some of the plans. You can also enroll different dependents in different plans. You must be enrolled in order to enroll dependents. The medical and dental premiums are deducted before taxes.
Medical Insurance
University employees are covered through the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE), Preferred Provider Option Plan. It includes:
- In Network and Out of Network Benefits
- Three Premium/Deductible Options – Low, Basic and High
- Family deductible (two individual deductibles)
- Coinsurance and stop-loss limit amounts
- No copays, only deductible and coinsurance
There are no pre-existing condition limitations for the employee or any eligible dependents. New employees receive their insurance ID cards directly from BCBSNE within 2-3 weeks of enrolling.
Coinsurance is a percentage that the insured pays after the insurance policy's calendar-year deductible has been met, up to the policy's stop-loss limit.
Stop-Loss Limit is the maximum out-of-pocket expenses from your coinsurance. Deductibles do not count towards this. You pay nothing for covered services once you have reached the annual stop-loss limit.
Prescription Drug Program
The University offers a prescription through CVS Caremark.
You need to be enrolled in the medical plan (any option) to have the prescription drug program which is included at no extra cost. It includes:
- a $57 calendar year deductible per person for brand name prescriptions
- up to a 90-day supply through the retail or the mail-order options
- a paper ID card in your benefits welcome packet
- a comprehensive network of participating pharmacies
Caremark Formulary
The Formulary is a list of prescription brand name drugs and is available from Caremark online.
The Formulary is similar to the Preferred Provider network for the medical and dental coverages. There is still coverage for non-formulary drugs, but with a higher co-pay rate.
Deductible
When choosing your deductible you may want to consider the following:
- Does your spouse have coverage?
- Is it later in the year?
- Have you recently had dental/vision care?
- If your spouse is employed by the University and is benefits eligible, your Campus Benefits Office should be contacted for the applicable medical plan price tags.
If you are less than 100% FTE, the rates are different – please contact the Benefits office at 402.554.2465 or 402.554.3660 for more information.
Dental Insurance
Dental insurance is offered to UNO employees through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska. It includes:
- Preferred Provider option with in-network and out-of network benefits
- Full range of dental services
- No deductible for preventive care; two teeth cleanings covered per calendar year
- Co-insurance and maximums
| Type of Service | Annual Deductible | Co-Insurance Plan Pays / You Pay | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPO Provider | Non-PPO Provider | PPO Provider | Non-PPO Provider | |
| Preventitive & Diagnostic | None | None | 85%/15% | 80%/20% |
| Restorative Dental Services | $35/person | $45/person | 85%/15% | 80%/20% |
| Major Dental Services | $35/person | $45/person | 50%/50% | 50%/50% |
| Orthodontic | $40/person | $50/person | 50%/50% | 50%/50% |
Benefit Maximums
- $1,500/person annual calendar-year maximum for all preventive, restorative and major dental services combined
- $2,000/person lifetime maximum for Orthodontic services
Vision Care Insurance
Vision Care insurance is offered to UNO employees through EyeMed Vision Care and includes in-network and out-of network providers. EyeMed Vision Care provides comprehensive vision care benefits to help ensure you and your dependents receive quality eye care from a network of professional eye care providers.
The network of providers and a full description of coverage available.
Long-Term Disability Insurance
The long-term disability insurance plan through UNUM provides monthly benefits if an employee is unable to work due to illnuess or injury. This income replacement is designed to restore part of the work earnings lost during a period of disability.
You can choose between:
- a 90-day or a 180-day elimination period (amount of time you must be unable to work before the benefit starts).
- a 50% or a 66 2/3% monthly pay replacement.
The long-term disability premiums are pre-tax which means that if you become disabled your disability benefit will be taxable.
Refer to the long-term disability premiums in the NUFlex Price Tags table to determine your premium. Learn more.
Employee Life Insurance
The University provides Life Insurance through Assurity at 1x your annual salary up to $120,000 (rounded up to the nearest $100).
Voluntary amounts are available from $25,000 to $500,000. Premiums for voluntary insurance are withheld on an after-tax basis. Premiums for voluntary life insurance coverage are based on your tobacco/nicotine use. If you do not designate your tobacco/nicotine status, your premium will be based on the tobacco/nicotine premium. The tobacco/nicotine status must be updated each year during the annual enrollment period from mid-November to early December.
Employer-provided amounts which exceed $50,000 will be subject to imputed income on the employee’s W-2.
Life Insurance Enrollment
During the open enrollment you can enroll in voluntary employee life insurance of up to $50,000 without answering the health questions.
If you choose to enroll in voluntary life insurance amounts over $50,000 or if you choose to increase your voluntary employee life insurance during a subsequent annual enrollment you will need to complete the underwriting form for Assurity Financial Life Insurance Company.
Accidental Death & Dismemberment
This is offered through Assurity and pays along with employee life insurance in the event of death by a non work-related accident or in the event of loss of limbs, fingers or sight due to an accident, according to the severity of the loss.
Proof of insurability is not required to enroll or change your coverage. This is separate group coverage if you want accidental death and dismemberment coverage for yourself or your family.
You can choose employee-only or family coverage. With the family option, your spouse would be covered for 50% of the face value of your coverage and your children would be covered for 10% of the face value.
Dependent Life Insurance
Spouse
Dependent life insurance is offered through Assurity during open enrollment. You may choose $10,000 without answering health questions. You will need to complete the health questionnaire to enroll in the $20,000 or $50,000 levels.
During annual enrollment you may add your spouse or increase the level of insurance. You will need to submit the health questionnaire for underwriting.
Children
Dependent life insurance is offered through Assurity during open enrollment. You may enroll your dependent children in either the $5,000 or the $10,000 levels without proof of good health. One premium covers all eligible children in the family. Coverage for a dependent child ends at age 26.
During annual enrollment you may add your child(ren) or increase the level of insurance. You will need to submit the health questionnaire for underwriting.
Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-term care insurance is offered through CNA and covers traditional nursing home care in addition to added services such as adult day care, assisted living facility care, rehab care and respite care.
Employees can choose between a $100, $150 or a $200 daily room benefit.
During the 30-day open enrollment period employees can enroll without answering health questions. Spouse, parents, parents-in-law, grandparents and grandparents-in-law are also eligible however they will have to answer health questions.
After the open enrollment, changes can only be made during the annual enrollment.
Some pre-existing health conditions do disqualify. A Long-Term Care packet is available through the Office of Human Resources that includes enrollment forms and complete information about the available coverage. Learn more.
Retirement Accounts
Basic Retirement Plan 401(a)
To participate you must:
- be at least age 26, and
- have completed two years of service or have completed two years of service at another educational institution (K-12, university, international). Undergraduate student employment cannot be counted.
If you have worked in educational institutions before, please fill out the Prior Service Form.
Participation in the 401(a) is mandatory at age 30 with 2 years of service.
Investments are through TIAA-CREF and/or Fidelity. Representatives are on campus twice a month to help you make decisions regarding investment choices and long-term retirement goals. To make an appointment, call TIAA-CREF at 1.800.732.8353 or Fidelity at 1.800.642.7131.
- Your contributions to the 401(a) are pre-tax and you may choose between two tiers of contributions. During annual enrollment (July 1) you may move from Tier 1 to Tier 2. Once you are enrolled in Tier 2 you may not move to Tier 1.
| Tier | Employee Contribution | University Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3.5% | 6.5% |
| 2 | 5.5% | 8.0% |
Supplemental Retirement Plan 403(b)
- If you are not eligible for the 401(a) Plan or if you want to make an additional contribution you can enroll in the 403(b) Plan.
Your contributions are not matched by the University, are pre-tax and will increase your retirement income. Both a pre-tax and a post-tax (Roth) option are available.
You can add the 457(b) Plan once you have maxed out your 403(b) Plan.
Your 401(a) and/or 403(b) contributions can be invested in TIAA-CREF and/or Fidelity. Representatives are on campus twice a month and available for free consultations. To make an appointment, call TIAA-CREF at 1.800.732.8353 or Fidelity at 1.800.642.7131.
Enrollment
- To enroll, you must fill out a payroll deduction sheet and return it to the Office of Human Resources, Eppley Administration Building, Room 205.
- Enrollment for the 401(a) or the 403(b) plans with TIAA-CREF and/or Fidelity can be completed done online.
Enrollment in the 457(b) should be completed through the Office of Human Resources. Call 402.554.2465 for more information.
Learn about designating a beneficiary for your insurance and retirement plans.
How Can We Help You?
unohr@unomaha.edu
Phone: 402.554.2321
Fax: 402.554.3777
Office of Human Resources
6001 Dodge Street
Eppley Administration Building, Room 205
Omaha, NE 68182-0789
Our Campus. Otherwise Known as Omaha.
The University of Nebraska does not discriminate based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs, activities, or employment. Learn more about Equity, Access and Diversity.