Q: What are the plan years for the health plans? dental plans? vision plans? and NCFLEX?

A: The plan year for the State Health Plan is based on the state fiscal year July1-June 30. The dental plan and NCFLEX are based on calendar years.

Q. How can NCFLEX benefit me?

A. It can be a real benefit in many ways. First, any monies placed in the flexible spending accounts reduce your taxable income. The spending accounts can then be used to reimburse you for eligible expenses. The dental and vision premiums are also deducted from your pay on a pretax basis.

Q. How quickly can I request reimbursement from my spending accounts?

A. You may request the total amount for the year from the medical spending account even before you have had a deduction from a paycheck. Reimbursements from the dependent care account are limited to the amount actually in the account at the time of the request.

Q. Does the State provide life insurance?

A. Employees enrolled in the Teachers and State Employees Retirement System (TSERS) have a death benefit. Based on earnings, the minimum is $25,000 with a maximum of $50,000.

Q. How does the Disability Income Plan (DIP) work for employees?

A. Employees must have at least one year of participating service in TSERS. After a 60-day waiting period, eligible employees receive 50% of salaries subject to applicable taxes for up to 365 calendar days.

Q. What types of supplemental retirement plans are available through the University?

A. The State of North Carolina offers two types of programs that can provide extra income in retirement. The 401k Plan is administered by Prudential. The 457 Deferred Compensation Program is administered by Great-West Retirement Services (formerly BenefitsCorp). There are also several vendors providing 403b options. All programs offer the advantages of pretax contributions and a variety of investment options.