myHR: April 3, 2024

Get Ready for Penn’s Benefits Open Enrollment

Penn’s Benefits Open Enrollment is fast approaching. This year’s Open Enrollment will be Monday, April 29 through Friday, May 10.

Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to make changes to your health plans, life insurance, and flexible spending accounts. While Open Enrollment is still a few weeks away, we want to give faculty, staff, and postdoctoral researchers and fellows plenty of time to learn about the upcoming 2024-2025 plan changes.

The Division of Human Resources will once again host an on-campus Open Enrollment Benefits Fair and virtual and on-campus benefits presentations. For more information about your benefits, visit www.hr.upenn.edu/openenrollment. You’ll have access to benefit comparison charts, contribution charts, and more.

Plan Changes as of July 1, 2024

• Domestic Partner Eligibility for Benefits – The University values diversity and is committed to providing benefits for staff, faculty, postdocs, and their families, whether traditional or non-traditional. Effective July 1, you can elect to enroll your domestic partner under Penn’s comprehensive benefit offerings. This applies for both same-sex and opposite-sex partners.

In order for your domestic partner to receive benefits coverage, you must complete the University Domestic Partnership affidavit and provide supporting documentation to the Benefits Office. You can download a copy of the affidavit by visiting the Verification Documents section of the Dependent Eligibility Verification webpage. More details on how to complete the process will be available soon. If you choose to access this benefit, you will have to pay federal, Social Security, and Medicare taxes on the value of the benefits extended to your partner and their children.

The domestic partner eligibility for benefits also extends to other Penn benefits including:

• Tuition Assistance. The tuition benefit for your domestic partner covers 50% of the tuition and technology fees for an undergraduate degree at Penn. For more information, visit the Tuition Benefit webpage.
• Wellness and Work-life Support. If covered under a Penn medical plan, your domestic partner can access nutrition counseling through RAMP Health. Domestic partners can also connect with MindWell for emotional well-being resources for strength and care.
• Dependent Care. This support is provided through Penn’s backup care and snow day child care programs. 

• Adoption Benefit Increases -- Penn understands the new financial responsibilities that come along with expanding your family through adoption. To help offset some of the costs, the University is increasing its adoption benefit from $5,000 to $10,000 per child. Eligible faculty, staff, and postdocs may be reimbursed for up to $10,000 in qualified expenses. The benefit will be administered by Carrot Fertility.
• Contribution and Rollover Amounts for Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts –The maximum contribution you can make to your Health Care FSA is increasing from $3,050 to $3,200. The rollover amount will also increase from $610 to $640. You have until June 30, 2025 (end of the plan year) to incur expenses and until September 30, 2025, to submit eligible claims for services you received before June 30. Any remaining balance you have over $640 will be forfeited.
• Aetna High Deductible Health Plan Raises Deductibles – The Aetna High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with a Health Savings Account (HSA) will increase its deductible for individuals from $1,500 to $1,600 and for families from $3,000 to $3,200. All other medical plans – PennCare/Personal Choice PPO, Aetna Choice POS II, and Keystone/AmeriHealth HMO – will raise deductibles for individuals by $100.
• Life Insurance Rates Increase – There will be an increase in life insurance rates per $1,000 for Supplemental Life Insurance and Dependent Life Insurance. For more information and to view the new rates, visit the Supplemental Life Insurance and Dependent Life Insurance webpages.
• Medical Plan and Dental Rates – Medical rates for PennCare/Personal Choice PPO, Aetna Choice POS II, Keystone/AmeriHealth HMO, and Aetna High Deductible Health Plan (spouse and dependent tiers), will have an increase in the upcoming plan year. There will also be a small increase for the Penn Family Dental Plan. Rates for the MetLife Preferred Dental Program and Vision plan will remain the same. For a complete list of new rates, check the Medical, Dental, and Vision rates for 2024-2025 chart in the Benefits Enrollment Guide.     
  

All changes are effective July 1, 2024.

Open Enrollment Benefits Fairs and Presentations

The Open Enrollment Benefits Fair will be held on campus on Tuesday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Gimbel Gym, Pottruck Health and Fitness Center. Penn HR staff, representatives from Penn’s healthcare providers and wellness partners will be there to answer your questions. A benefits fair will also be held at New Bolton Center on May 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Alumni Hall.

Virtual and on-campus Open Enrollment presentations will be held on the following dates.

Carrot Fertility will also hold two virtual sessions on April 10 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. and April 22 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Visit www.hr.upenn.edu/openenrollment for log in links for the virtual sessions and other information session details.

Workday@Penn Features

During Open Enrollment, you can make changes to your benefits coverage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the new Benefits, Comp and Pay Hub via Workday@Penn at http://www.myworkday.com/upenn/login.html.

To access the hub, click on “View All Apps” or “Menu” from your homepage, then select “Benefits, Comp and Pay Hub” from the Apps menu. Please remember to print a confirmation statement for your records. Read the Self-Service: Manage, View and Change Your Benefits Workday tip sheet for instructions.

While in Workday, you can also check out the Model My Pay feature. This tool can help you see how making hypothetical changes to your pre-tax and post-tax deductions and federal and state tax elections may impact your net, or take home, pay. Read the Self-Service: Model My Pay tip sheet for step-by-step instructions as well as information on performing self-service changes to your actual pay. Model My Pay should be used for informational purposes only.

Update Your Beneficiary

Please review and update your life insurance beneficiary information in the Benefits, Comp and Pay Hub in Workday@Penn. To update your retirement plan beneficiaries, log in to your retirement planning account through Penn’s TIAA.org SSO link.

Additional Resources

To find out more about Benefits Open Enrollment:

• Review the 2024-2025 Benefits Enrollment Guide coming soon to your home address.
• Visit www.hr.upenn.edu/openenrollment for details and useful tools.
• Contact Health Advocate at answers@HealthAdvocate.com or call 1-866-799-2329, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Models of Excellence Celebration in Harrison Auditorium

The Penn community is invited to the 25th anniversary Models of Excellence Award Program ceremony on Tuesday, April 9 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Harrison Auditorium. There will be a reception following the program from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Penn Museum’s Chinese Rotunda.

This year 52 staff members from schools and centers across the University will receive Models of Excellence honors.

Penn’s premier campus-wide staff recognition event is a unique opportunity to connect with coworkers from around campus to mark staff achievements in an array of professions.

See the 2024 Models of Excellence in person and hear their inspiring stories at the April 9 celebration, featuring:

Interim President J. Larry Jameson
Senior Executive Vice President Craig R. Carnaroli
Provost John L. Jackson, Jr.
Senior Vice President of Human Resources Jack Heuer
Musical guests the Penny Loafers

Register for the Models of Excellence ceremony and reception today!

For more information, visit www.hr.upenn.edu/models.

A Financial Wellness Checkup

Now that spring has sprung, you may be going outdoors more to improve your physical health. During this time of the year, it is just as important to enhance your financial wellness. April is Financial Literacy Month, which makes it a perfect time to give your money matters a checkup and boost your financial confidence.

Penn provides a variety of financial wellness, retirement planning, investing, and money-saving workshops offered by PNC, MetLife, and TIAA. The sessions are led by licensed financial professionals and are designed to help you grow your money this spring and beyond.

You can earn Be in the Know points towards rewards for any of the events included in the “Bonus Actions 2023-2024 Financial Wellness” category.

Considering Home Ownership with PNC
April 4
12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Women and Investing with MetLife
April 9
12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Quarterly Economic and Market Update (TIAA)
April 10
12-1 p.m. ET

Fine-Tuning Your Retirement Strategy: Investing Toward a Secure Future (TIAA)
April 16
2-3 p.m. ET

Start to Finish: The Early Career Woman’s Guide to Financial Wisdom (TIAA)
April 18
3-4 p.m. ET

Staying Safe in the Age of AI (TIAA)
April 24
1-2 p.m. ET

A recording of each TIAA webinar is available for 90 days after the live webinar. To access the webinar recordings, visit TIAA.org/webinars.

For more resources to develop your financial wellness, visit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Social Security, and FDIC’s Money Smart program.

For information about Penn’s retirement savings plan, as well as other financial wellness tips, please visit Penn’s Retirement Savings Plan Education webpage. 

Develop Your Job-Related Skills

Penn’s year-end performance review process for staff and managers is now underway. While the performance review is an ideal opportunity for staff and managers to start or continue conversations about career growth and talent development, it also serves as a time to identify areas of improvement. No matter your position, there’s always room for growth. To support that growth, Penn’s HR Talent Development team has launched four new online competency modules as a part of Workday Learning to help you understand and develop your job-related competencies.

These new self-paced courses include:

• Collaborates
• Ensures Accountability
• Customer Focus
• Values Differences

Each course takes about 15 to 30 minutes to finish and can be completed in any order. To access the competency courses, you can click on the links above or log into Workday and search “Penn Competencies” on the Workday homepage.

More modules will be added to the competency curriculum so that you can continue learning how to enhance your job performance and move toward greater success in your career. For a list of all the courses currently available, visit the Performance Management webpage.

For more information on competencies, visit the Competencies for Performance Appraisal page.

Let the Games Begin

The annual Campus Cup is a series of events held in the fall and spring where faculty and staff from different schools and centers form teams to compete in games and sporting events. The team with the most points at the finish of the series is crowned Campus Cup champion. Teams can also win prizes in each of the events including apparel, Penn Relays tickets, and more. 

This year 15 department teams went head-to-head in kickball, dodgeball, basketball, and trivia competitions. Even if you were not able to sign up for a team of your own this year, you can still join the fun by cheering on your colleagues at the final tournament on April 18 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Franklin Field, 233 South 33rd Street.

Some of the day’s activities will include: 

• 4 x 100 relay
• Bean Bag race
• Three-legged race

Attendees can receive some Penn swag (while supplies last) and a reusable bag emblazoned with the Penn logo. If you are a 2023-2024 Be in the Know wellness campaign participant, you can also earn credit for a “Penn HR Wellness Event” for the current campaign year.

More information about the final event will be available soon. If you would like to receive details, please complete the Campus Cup Finale Interest Form. For more information about Campus Cup visit the Penn Campus Recreation website.  

Crafting Emails That Hit the Mark

In a world where email reigns supreme, mastering the art of electronic communication is not just a skill – it's a necessity. Have you ever found yourself typing away, only to hit send and realize your message didn't quite hit the mark? Fear not, for there's a solution on the horizon.

Join us for the Writing Emails that Get to the Point workshop on May 30 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. In this free, virtual workshop program managers will go over effective email writing. From understanding your audience to crafting straightforward and professional prose, Writing Emails that Get to the Point will equip you with the tools to navigate the digital landscape with confidence.

Whether you’ve been writing emails for decades or you’ve been direct messaging since grade school, Writing Emails that Get to the Point can help you get the most out of this familiar communications tool.

If you love email, hate it, or you’re just indifferent; strengthening your email writing skills will save time, increase understanding, and improve your relationships with your coworkers. 

Register today for this engaging session and learn how to quickly create powerful messages with your specific audience and goals in mind. 

For more information about Penn’s Talent Development programs, visit the Learn and Grow webpages on the HR website.

Healthy Meals: Potato, Asparagus & Mushroom Hash

With the new season come new seasonal vegetables. Made with asparagus, potatoes and mushrooms, this hash creates a savory breakfast that you can add to your springtime menu. Serve it with hearty whole-grain toast for an easy vegan breakfast or top it with an egg for a protein-packed dish.

Ingredients

• 1 pound new or baby potatoes, scrubbed, halved if large
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut in 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 ounces shiitake mushroom caps or other mushrooms, sliced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers, rinsed
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Fresh chives for garnish

Directions

1. Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, add 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Put potatoes in the basket and steam until barely tender when pierced with a skewer, 12 to 15 minutes, depending on size. When cool enough to handle, chop into 1/2-inch pieces.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large (not nonstick) skillet over medium heat. Add asparagus, mushrooms, shallot, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove to a plate.
3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Add onion and the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up the browned bits with a metal spatula, until the potatoes are browned, 4 to 8 minutes. Return the asparagus mixture to the pan along with roasted red pepper, sage, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute more. Serve sprinkled with chives, if desired.

Meet With a Registered Dietitian Today!

• One-on-One, virtual sessions you can schedule at any time that works for you
• 100% covered under many insurance plans
• Available to spouses and dependents
• Fill out the Ramp Health Nutrition Counseling Sign Up Form or call 800-484-7720.

Did You Know: Penn Relays at Franklin Field April 25-27

The Penn Relays will be held April 25-27 at Franklin Field. Faculty, staff, and postdocs can receive one free adult ticket and one free children’s ticket with a valid PennCard at the Franklin Field ticket office on the Thursday of the Penn Relays or by ordering online. You can purchase discounted tickets for April 26 and 27. For more information about the Penn Relays, including the Penn Relay Carnival and schedule of events, visit https://pennrelays.com.