April 07, 2009

UCRP Benefit Charge

In their September 2008 Meeting, the UC Regents approved resumption of employer contributions to the UC Retirement Plan, effective July 1, 2009. During their February 2009 meeting, the UC Regents voted to delay the resumption of contributions to mid-April 2010 because of the difficult budget situation. However, UCB Human Resources is now recommending that this expense begin to be considered when preparing contract and grant budget proposals for upcoming projects. The initial recommended amount to budget is 4% of eligible employee salary. As more information about the employer contribution rate becomes available, this information will be updated. It is expected that over time the 4% employer contribution amount will increase. This information is provided for planning purposes and is subject to change. In general, this applies to:
  • Career staff employees (appointment of 50% or greater)
  • Academic appointees (appointment of 50% or greater)
It does not apply to:
  • Visiting academic appointees
  • Staff on limited appointment (less than 1,000 hours in a 12-month period)
  • Appointees whose primary purpose is education or training (GSRs, post-docs, fellows)
For more specific information on eligibility for membership in UCRP, refer to the UCRP Summary Plan Description available at: http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/forms_pubs/spd/ucrpspdwss.pdf

To maintain consistency with university accounting practices this cost should be added to the existing benefit rate for the appropriate personnel classification. In addition, a sentence (sample below) should be included in the budget justification.

Sample: These rates include an estimated increase of 4% for restarting the employer paid contribution to the University of California Retirement Program (UCRP), effective July 1, 2009, for eligible employees and is applicable to all university fund sources.