FAQs
What is a Qualified Life Status Change?
What is Imputed Income?
What's the difference between the Columbia University Retirement Plan (Retirement Plan) and the Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan (VRSP)?
When am I eligible to participate in the Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan (VRSP)?
How do I elect my VRSP contributions?
Do my CU Retirement Plan contributions start immediately?
Do my VRSP contributions start immediately?
Where can I find information about my retirement account?
What does “Vesting” mean?
Where can I find more information about the CU Retirement Plan and the Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan?
HEALTHCARE & INSURANCE
Q. What is a Qualified Life Status Change?
A. A “Qualified Life Status Change” is one that is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service which allows you to make a change in certain benefits during the calendar year. After your initial enrollment as a new hire, or after annual Benefits Open Enrollment, you will only be able to change your benefits for the remainder of the calendar year if you experience a qualified life status change. If you have a Qualified Life Status Change, you must log into the Columbia University Benefits Enrollment System with your UNI and password to make any changes to your benefits within 31 days of the event.Examples of a qualified life status change include:
- marriage, divorce, or the beginning or end of a same-sex domestic partnership
- birth, adoption, placement for adoption
- death of a dependent
- a dependent losing eligibility for coverage (child reaches maximum age, spouse/partner loses non-University coverage)
- change in home address that makes you ineligible for your current plan option
- a permanent change in the way you commute to work (applies to the Transit/Parking Reimbursement Program)
You may be subject to audit, so you must be able to provide proof (for example, marriage certificate or birth certificate). Your benefits changes must be consistent with the nature of your qualified life status change.
If you need assistance, please call the HR Benefits Service Center at 212-851-7000, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Q. What is Imputed Income?
A. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require that you pay taxes on the cost or value of any employer-provided group life insurance that is more than $50,000. This cost is known as “imputed” income and is shown on your paycheck. It also appears on your annual W-2 statement.
Life Insurance Imputed Income
You automatically receive Basic Term Life Insurance of one times your salary up to $50,000 at no cost to you. If you elect additional life insurance in excess of $50,000, you will pay Federal Withholding Tax, Social Security Tax (FICA), Medicare Insurance tax and New York City Wage Tax (if applicable) on the value of the life insurance in excess of $50,000. These taxes are deducted from your paycheck where applicable.
Your imputed income is determined by age-related rates established by the IRS similar to premium rates. Columbia University references the IRS rates to calculate the value of your life insurance over the IRS limit of $50,000. Please see the IRS web site (http://www.irs.gov/) if you would like more information on the Life Insurance Imputed Income Table.
Health Insurance and Imputed Income
Contributions for Your Same-Sex Domestic Partner and Your Partner’s Dependent Child(ren)
The amount of your contribution to provide health benefits for a same-sex domestic partner and children of a same-sex domestic partner will be the same as for a spouse and his or her children. However, domestic partners and their children are not tax exempt in the view of the IRS. If your covered dependent is not a spouse or a stepchild through marriage, a payment for health benefit coverage is not exempt from federal taxes unless the person is a “dependent” as defined in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code. If your same-sex domestic partner and his or her children are not your dependents for tax purposes, the payments for coverage under the University’s benefits programs will be deducted from your salary on a pre-tax basis and then the total value of the coverage provided on behalf of your same-sex domestic partner and his or her children under the University’s benefits programs will be considered taxable income to you. In this case, "imputed" income will be deducted from your paycheck. You will not actually receive additional income in your paycheck, but the University will withhold city, state and federal taxes on this additional "imputed" amount and it will be reported on your W-2 for the year. The value of the coverage provided to your same-sex domestic partner and his or her children will be based on the cost of the coverage under the University’s benefits program, as determined by the University.
If your same-sex domestic partner and his or her children are your dependents for tax purposes under Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code, please notify the HR Benefits Service Center to gain the benefit of tax-favored benefits coverage.
If your same-sex domestic partner and his or her children qualify as dependents for tax purposes, the cost of coverage under the University’s benefits programs will be deducted from your pay on a pre-tax basis and no additional income will be imputed to you.
Definition of "Dependent" for Tax Purposes
Under the definition in Section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code, your same-sex domestic partner is a dependent if:
- Your domestic partner is a member of your household, and has his or her principal place of residence in your home.
AND - You will furnish over half of your same-sex domestic partner’s support for the year. In making this calculation, the amount you contribute towards your same-sex domestic partner’s support must be compared with the amounts received for support of your same-sex domestic partner from all other sources, including any amounts supplied by him or her, and including earnings.
AND - For the current year, no other taxpayer can claim your domestic partner as a "qualifying child" for federal income tax purposes.
If you elect to have the eligible children of your same-sex domestic partner covered by the University’s benefits programs, the same rules on dependency apply. The value of coverage will be taxable to you unless the children are your dependent(s). So, if the children do not have their principal place of residence in your home and receive over half of their support from you (or if someone else can claim the children as a "qualifying child" for tax purposes), the children are not your tax qualified dependents and the value of coverage under the University’s benefits programs will be taxable to you.
We suggest that you consult a tax advisor to determine whether you may claim your same-sex domestic partner and/or his or her children as dependents for tax purposes, before you certify that they are dependents.
RETIREMENT
Q. What is the difference between the Columbia University Retirement Plan (the Retirement Plan) and the Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan (VRSP)?
A. The University makes contributions to the Columbia University Retirement Plan for you as soon as you are eligible. You are responsible for choosing your investment funds from those offered under the Plan. You do not need to do anything to receive this benefit, but you do have the option to direct the investment of the money in this account.
You may contribute pre-tax money from your paycheck to the Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan (VRSP). This is a voluntary Plan and you are responsible for choosing your investment funds from those offered under the Plan.
Please see Benefits in Brief for more details.
Q. When am I eligible to participate in the VRSP?
A. You may contribute to the VRSP as soon as you start receiving W-2 salary from Columbia University.
Q. How do I elect my VRSP contributions?
A. You elect your VRSP contributions in the Columbia University Benefits Enrollment System by logging in with your UNI and password. Please choose "Update Your Retirement Plan Elections" from the "Elect" main menu.
Please note: You may make changes to your VRSP elections as many times as you wish during the year.
Q. Do my CU Retirement Plan contributions start immediately?
A. Contributions to your CU Retirement Plan account will start as soon as you become eligible. Please see Benefits in Brief for the eligibility criteria. Contributions are paid as soon as you become eligible. You may select an investment carrier (Calvert, TIAA-CREF or Vanguard) by logging in with your UNI and password to the Columbia University Benefits Enrollment System.
Q. Do my VRSP contributions start immediately?
A. Contributions are processed as soon as administratively possible.
Q. Where can I find information about my retirement account?
A. You should contact your carrier(s) directly:
|
TIAA-CREF |
www.tiaa-cref.org |
(800) 842-2776 |
|
The Vanguard Group |
www.vanguard.com |
(800) 523-1188 |
|
Calvert |
www.calvert.com |
(800) 368-2745 |
Q. What does “Vesting” mean?
A. Vesting means you are eligible to receive a retirement benefit from the Columbia University Retirement Plan.
Q. Where can I find more information about the CU Retirement Plan and the Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan?
A. For more information regarding the CU Retirement Plan and the Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan, please refer to the Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) on this website.