TO:       All Eligible Regular-Status Employees that wish to elect/maintain the Maximum Allowable Contribution in the Calendar Year

On November 1, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced cost-of-living adjustments increasing the maximum dollar contribution for pension plans and other retirement-related plans for 2024. Effective January 1, 2024, the maximum employee contribution limits will increase as follows: (see Table below):

Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA) Maximums– Effective January 1, 2024

	2023 Maximum	New 2024 Maximum
Employee contributions (pre-tax)	$22,500	$ 23,000 ($958.34 per pay period)
Additional “catch-up” contribution for individuals 50 years or older by December 31, 2024	$7,500 (Max TOTAL contribution $30,000)	$7,500 for TOTAL contribution of $30,500 ($1,270.84 per pay period)

If you wish to adjust your maximum contribution from the first pay period of the tax year 2024, please complete the Agreement for Salary Reduction Form (Form B-6) and submit via Employee Self-Service eUpload link no later than December 22, 2023.

The RCUH does NOT automatically adjust your SRA contributions so if you have previously elected the maximum allowable contributions, you must submit a new form.

To help our employees calculate their maximum contribution levels (per pay period) we are excited to introduce our SRA Maximum Allowable Contribution Calculator. This tool may be used at any point in the year and adjusts the contribution amount based on how many pay periods left in the tax year.

If you have any questions, please contact RCUH Human Resource Employee Benefits section at:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (808) 956-2326 or (808) 956-6979

Relevant Links:

• IRS-2023-203 (IRS Announcement)
• RCUH Policy 3.560 Retirement Plans
• Benefits Spotlight Series: Retirement Accounts
• NEW: SRA Maximum Calculator

TO:         All Principal Investigators Employing RCUH Regular Salaried Employees

Governor Josh Green has issued an Executive Memorandum authorizing eight (8) hours of administrative leave for Regular-Salaried employees on December 22 or December 29, 2023.  Pursuant to the Governor’s and UH President’s memo, RCUH Executive Director Leonard Gouveia has authorized the following:

1. Regular, Full-Time, salaried employees will be given administrative leave with pay on December 22 or December 29, 2023.  Part-Time, salaried employees shall be granted a proportionate amount, based off their Full-Time Equivalency (FTE), of administrative leave from their scheduled working time.  For example, a Part-Time salaried employee at 50% FTE is entitled to four (4) hours of administrative leave.
2. The leave must be taken all at once on either day and shall not be split in any manner.
3. Employees paid on an hourly basis (not on a monthly salary) and employees on suspension or leave without pay status on both days are not entitled to administrative leave.
4. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator to ensure that arrangements for administrative leave are fairly applied to all eligible employees.
5. Eligible employees required to work on December 22 and December 29 shall be given equivalent administrative time off at some other date determined by the Principal Investigator. This leave must be used no later than January 5, 2024.
6. Eligible employees on vacation or sick leave on December 22 and/or 29 should charge only the hours in excess of their applicable administrative leave. However, if adjustment to vacation credits would result in forfeiture, the employees should be allowed equivalent administrative leave off on other dates as determined by the Principal Investigator, not to be applied after January 5, 2024.

Despite the granting of administrative leave, the Governor reminded all Department Heads that the offices should be adequately staffed on December 22 and December 29 to provide necessary service to the public between the hours of 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Principal Investigators whose projects service the public should take appropriate steps to ensure compliance with this requirement.

Time Reporting: On the RCUH eTimesheet, please report Administrative Leave hours using the Holiday Administrative Leave with Pay Code “ADM” available as a drop-down option on the “Leave/Other Codes” row.

Please remember, the RCUH Core Offices will be closed all day on Monday, December 25, 2023 and January 1, 2024. RCUH will reopen for business on December 26, 2023 and January 2, 2024.

Any questions regarding this memo may be addressed to Director of Human Resources Kira Higa at [email protected].

Attachments:

Executive Memorandum (Memo No. 2023-09)

President Lassner’s Memo

In our ongoing efforts to provide our project staff with early communication, please note the following 2023 Year-End Important Dates:

Dates	Details
ePAF Deadline: December 13, 2023 (Wednesday)	Deadline for all retroactive payroll correction and adjustment requests for 2023. Pay period ending 12/15/2023 is the last payroll for the tax year 2023 and the last chance for retroactive payroll adjustments to be processed in the current payroll year. Any adjustments posted after pay period ending 12/15/2023 will be considered 2024 earnings/adjustments and will NOT be included in the employee’s W-2 form for 2023.
FINAL PAYROLL FOR THE 2023 TAX YEAR:  December 18, 2023 (Monday) at Noon	Payroll deadline for the 12/01 – 15/2023 pay period.  Please ensure that ALL eTimesheets are submitted and approved by the RCUH HR payroll deadline. Any late timesheets processed after pay period ending 12/15/2023 will be considered 2024 earnings/adjustments and will NOT be included in the employee’s W-2 form for 2023.
December 25, 2023 (Monday)	Christmas Holiday
December 26, 2023 (Tuesday)	Deadline to consent for electronic W-2 form and mailing/email address changes.  We ask that Projects encourage all of their employees to consent to receive their W-2 electronically through the secure Employee Self-Service site.
January 1, 2023 (Monday)	New Year’s Day Holiday
First payroll for the 2024 Tax Year: January 2, 2023 (Tuesday) at Noon	Payroll deadline for the 12/16 – 31/2023 pay period

If you have any questions, please contact RCUH Payroll at [email protected].

In our ongoing efforts to provide employees with early communication, please consider these Year-End Preparations as we near the end of 2023.

Important Dates:

• December 18, 2023 at Noon: Final Payroll Deadline for Calendar Year 2023 (check with your project for internal deadline)
• December 26, 2023: Deadline for Electronic W-2 Consent and Mailing/Email Address Changes

Checklist Items	Details	Path or Resources
W-2 Electronic Consent	Please reference the Memorandum from Kira Higa, RCUH Director of Human Resources (RE: IRS From W-2 – Go Electronic: Safer and Faster Access to W-2s).	Employee Self-Service> Payroll and Compensation > W-2/W-2c Consent
Review Form W-4	Make any change if necessary (review personal withholding situation).	You may use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator for assistance with completing your Form W-4
Review Mailing/Email Addresses	Updates to your personal information can only be submitted via ESS during non-blackout dates (please refer to the 2023 Personnel Action and Payroll Calendar for blackout dates).	Employee Self-Service> Personal Information > Home and Mailing Address
Add Security Questions in RCUH Employee Self-Service	This feature will enable system security features such as password resets. Users will have the ability to create individualized responses to the questions.  Those who do not complete the security question(s) will need to call RCUH Human Resources for assistance with password verification	Employee Self-Service> Personal Information > Personal Information Summary > Security Questions   [email protected] (808) 956-8900

Every employer covered by the nondiscrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity laws is required to post on its premises the poster, “Know Your Rights.” The notice must be posted prominently, where it can be readily seen by employees and applicants for employment. The notice provides information concerning the laws and procedures for filing complaints of violations of the laws with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

You can find the required employer postings here:

https://www.rcuh.com/document-library/3-000/eeo/eeo-is-the-law-poster/

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which is administered and enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship.

For more information:

https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act

If you have any questions about reasonable accommodations, please contact Michelle Maeda or Tana Staub at RCUH Employee Benefits section at [email protected] or (808) 956-2326.

RCUH Policy No. 3.232 RCUH Funding of Positions requires all RCUH employees’ payroll and fringe benefits to be charged to a valid (i.e., active/funded) project number(s). Projects are responsible for all charges incurred on an expired account which may result in a questioned cost. Principal Investigators and Fiscal Administrators are also responsible for ensuring that their employees are on accounts with sufficient funding.

Options for employees that are on an expired or expiring account are:

1. Submit an ePAF to transfer the employee to a valid project number by the RCUH ePAF deadline
2. If you have received your sponsor’s approval for additional funding or for a No-Cost Extension (NCE), provide documentation via eUpload in the HR Portal
3. Terminate employee consistent with Policy 3.285 RCUH Termination of Employment

Effective immediately, RCUH Human Resources will no longer be sending notifications to  the projects every pay period to inform them of employees charged to an expiring project account. In the event we identify employees who have been consistently charged to an expired project account, RCUH HR will reach out to the project for corrective action as appropriate.

If you have any questions, please contact RCUH HR Information Systems at [email protected].

ATTENTION:  Principal Investigators (PIs) & Regular-Status employees at 50-100% FTE

TIAA still has Individual/Employee Retirement (GRA/SRA) Plan Advisory Sessions available for the month of October and November! Schedule now for a virtual appointment with our new TIAA consultant based locally – Cody Ferrell.

Regardless of your current status – whether you are a long-time employee, just hired, or somewhere in between – it is never too early or too late to consider retirement planning. During these personalized sessions, you will be able to discuss your personal financial/retirement goals with a TIAA Financial Consultant on a free and confidential basis.

Because these sessions are being held during normal business hours, all employees must notify their PIs and supervisors if they would like to attend. We encourage PIs to allow their employees to attend the TIAA Advisory Sessions, if requested. 

For employees unfamiliar with the SRA (Supplemental Retirement Annuity) plan, please note that unlike the GRA (Group Retirement Annuity) plan, there is no 12-month waiting period and you may enroll or make changes to your election at any time during the year. The SRA plan with TIAA is considered a 403(b) tax-deferred annuity (TDA) plan which allows an employee to make contributions via payroll deduction from their pre-tax earnings over and above the amount being accumulated under the RCUH basic retirement plan (GRA). 

For more information about the GRA and SRA plans, please review Policy 3.560 RCUH Retirement Plans and visit our Benefits Spotlight: Retirement Accounts.

To schedule a virtual appointment with our new TIAA consultant based locally, Cody Ferrell:

• Employees can visit www.tiaa.org/schedulenow
• Click on the Schedule button under Discuss your financial situation with a TIAA consultant.

• Employees will be prompted to login using their TIAA credentials, or create a guest login if they are not currently a participant.
• Please select or enter “RESEARCH CORP OF THE UNIV OF HI”as the Employer which will then direct them to the open virtual meetings that are available for employees.

• From there, select a date/time and confirm the meeting.

If you have questions or are unable to schedule an appointment online, please call TIAA’s Service and Scheduling Group at (800) 732-8353 Mon-Fri 6am – 1pm Hawai’i Standard Time (HST).

Please contact the RCUH Employee Benefits Section with any questions or concerns at: [email protected].

Relevant Links:

RCUH Policy 3.560 RCUH Retirement Plans

TIAA SRA Plan Agreement for Salary Reduction Form B-6

Meetings are accessible for individuals with disabilities.  Individuals who require special needs accommodations may request assistance in writing to rcuh prior to the scheduled meeting.

To: Employees and Dependents enrolled in RCUH Group Medical Plans

Please see the attached notice about the prescription drug coverage provided to you under the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai‘i group health insurance coverage. This also applies to any dependents who are 65 and older.

Why am I receiving this notice?

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (also called the Medicare Modernization Act or MMA) is a federal law enacted in 2003. The MMA requires entities whose health policies include prescription drug coverage to notify Medicare eligible policyholders whether their prescription drug coverage is creditable coverage. The MMA defines credible coverage as coverage that is expected to pay on average as much as the standard Medicare prescription drug coverage. 

Please contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

All RCUH Human Resources online systems will be down on Thursday, 10/05/23 at 8:00 PM (HST) to 11:00 PM (HST) for system maintenance.

The maintenance will include:

• Human Resources Portal
• Employee Self Service (ESS)
• Careers/Recruiting
• New Hire Documents (EHS)

We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause. This schedule is subject to change and a current announcement will be posted when the downtime is scheduled.

If you have any questions, please contact RCUH HR Information Systems at (808) 956-8900 or [email protected].

TO:                 Principal Investigators and Project Staff who assist new hires in completing Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification

This is an update from the last announcement regarding Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

RCUH Human Resources has been utilizing the new form with new hires since August 2023. We are pleased to share that the new form is more simplified and does reduce the overall time to complete the I-9 process. Effective November 1, 2023, all employers must use the new Form I-9.  We highly encourage PIs and Project Staff to begin using the new version of Form I-9 (Form I-9 Edition 08/01/23). Please note these changes:

• Form no longer an electronic smart form, prior enhancements removed (still form-fillable via free Adobe Reader)
• Section 1 and Section 2 condensed to one page
• Change and/or elimination of fields from prior version (e.g., writing employee’s name and corresponding citizenship/immigration status in Section 2)
• Writing of “N/A” no longer required for fields that don’t apply (e.g., Other last names used, Apt #, Middle Initial, Expiration Date for identity and authorization documents without expiration such as social security cards, birth certificates)
• More flexibility with Section 2: Reference common abbreviations from USCIS: Common Abbreviations for Document Entry in Section 2

We have researched the alternative remote examination procedure. This procedure will still require original (wet) signatures on the form and does not appear to be a streamlined process to implement at this time.

In general, we will complete Form I-9 with new hires based on Oahu. We will continue to work with projects located outside of Oahu to provide guidance and solutions for completing the Form I-9. If you would like to receive training regarding the Form I-9 or have any questions, please contact RCUH Employment:

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: (808) 956-7106