This announcement applies to the University of Illinois at Chicago only. Please distribute this information to those in your unit who work with fringe benefit rates.
We are writing to inform you of an upcoming change in the UIC fringe benefit rates for Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21). These will commence in July 2020 with the BW 16 and MN 8 pay periods (with the exception of Retirement, which is effective with BW 15 and MN 7). The SURS and FICA rates for FY21 are final. However, all other rates are provisional and may require slight adjustment after the federal audit is completed. The final FY21 rates will be communicated at that time.
Unfortunately, the FY21 rate is remarkably higher than last year due to a significant increase in the employer (UIC) share of health insurance premiums. The State Employees Group Insurance Program (SEGIP) is provided by the State of Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS). CMS determines health insurance premium rates by analyzing historical trends of medical costs in addition to factoring in any prior year SEGIP under-recoveries. This year, CMS calculated a substantial increase in employer-paid premiums; employee out-of-pocket costs also increased.
UIC calculates fringe benefit rates annually on a fixed-with-carryforward basis. The new CMS premium rates and final wage base used to compute UIC’s fringe benefit rates become available in July of each year, during year-end close. In response to the year’s upcoming increase, UIC promptly requested approval from our cognizant agency for indirect costs to defer the inclusion of a prior year under-recovery in the Health, Life and Dental rate.
In general, most research sponsors do not award additional funds to cover fringe benefit rate increases and any resulting cost fluctuations will fall under the sponsor’s standard re-budgeting guidelines. Please review your portfolio of research awards for sponsor terms and conditions, and/or reach out to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) if you have any questions.
Academic and Non-Academic Fringe Benefits Rates
Please note that these rates are applicable to academic and non-academic employees eligible for SURS and insurance.
Benefit Type | FY21 Rate |
Retirement/Disability (SURS) | 12.70%* |
Health, Life, & Dental (HLD) Insurance | 27.83%** |
Termination Vacation/Sick (TVS) Leave | 0.86%** |
FICA (Medicare) | 1.45%* |
Workers' Compensation | 0.03%** |
Total for most academic and non-academic appointments of 50% or more | 42.87%** |
Graduate Assistant Fringe Benefits Rates
Please note that these rates are applicable to graduate assistants paid from sponsored funds.
Benefit Type | FY21 Rate |
Health, Dental and Vision (HDV) | 4.30%** |
Workers' Compensation | 0.03%** |
Total for graduate assistant appointments between 25% to 67% | 4.33%** |
* Actual rate for FY21 (FINAL)
** Rate is subject to adjustment after federal audit (PROVISIONAL)
Contact
If you have any questions about the rate calculations, please contact Maureen Johnson, Associate Director for University Government Costing at maureen1@uillinois.edu or 312-996-4045.
If you have any questions about re-budgeting, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs at
gcopost@uic.edu or 312-996-3373.
