BENEFITS news Annual Enrollment is October 22 through November 9, OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER Dear Bargaining Unit Member:

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1 BENEFITS news Dear Bargaining Unit Member: Annual Enrollment is here once again it s time to think about your future, your health, and your 2011 benefit choices. This year, I d like to encourage you to get fit for retirement and for life. Getting fit means more than taking a walk around the block or going for a bike ride. It s about making a commitment to your health and your future. Taking control of your health can help you to prevent illness and chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. Not only will you improve your quality of life, but also help to lower the rising cost of health care for you and for the university. Today the university spends approximately $110 million annually to provide health and welfare benefits. This averages out to about $8,500 per employee per year just for medical benefits. You can help manage these costs by: knowing your health numbers, learning your health risks, seeking preventive care and making healthy choices. Learn more later in this newsletter. Getting physically fit requires a daily commitment to improving your long-term health and well-being. The same dedication is required for your long-term financial security. Start saving now to improve your current and future financial health. And this fall, in partnership with TIAA-CREF, we re launching a new retirement planning series to help you better understand the retirement benefits JHU makes available to you. You may also want to keep the following financial principles in mind: save before you spend, save to the max, diversify your investments and develop a plan for a healthy retirement. OCTOBER/ NOVEMBER 2010 IN THIS ISSUE Things to Know for Get Ready to Enroll...3 How Healthy is Hopkins?...3 Keep Your Eyes Fit...4 Plan Carefully for 2011 FSAs Easy Ways to Save Money...5 Save More Than a Tank of Gas...5 Urgent Care vs. ER...6 Exercise At Any Age!..7 Get Fit for Retirement...8 Retirement 5 Things You Can Do Now...8 It s never too late to start getting into shape, and it s never too early to start saving for retirement. This fall, consider the ways you can get fit for retirement and for life! To a happy and healthy 2011! Heidi E. Conway Senior Director for Benefits Services and HR Shared Services 2011 Annual Enrollment is October 22 through November 9, 2010.

2 Things to Know for 2011 This year you ll be using a new mychoices page at (click the mychoices tab at the top) to access the information and tools you ll need to understand and enroll in your 2011 benefits. This page goes live on October 22. Everything is housed in one place to help you make the best choices for you and your family! For 2011, there are some important things to consider when making your benefit choices. Check your Dependent Coverage. As announced this past summer, dependents are now eligible for medical and dental coverage through the end of the year in which the dependent turns age 26, provided the dependent does not have access to his/her own employer coverage. Dependent Social Security Numbers (SSNs) Required. Be sure to have all of your dependents Social Security numbers handy (if you have them) when it s time to enroll. Recent changes in the law require SSNs for benefits enrollment. Medical Premiums Increase. Detailed information about this year's costs can be found in your enrollment kit and online at Complete Your Health Risk Assessment. As the first step to getting fit in 2011, complete your Health Risk Assessment through your health plan today! See page 4 for more details. Introducing a New Voluntary Vision Plan. As a result of survey responses gathered during last year s annual enrollment, we are introducing a new, voluntary vision plan. See page 4 to learn more about how to maintain good eye health for you and your family and obtain discounts for eye wear and laser vision surgery. New Rules for Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts. Beginning in 2011, overthe-counter drugs will no longer be eligible for reimbursement from your Health Care Flexible Spending Account without a prescription from your doctor. See page 4 for more details. Get Financially Fit for Retirement. Join us for a new Financial Education Seminar Series designed by TIAA-CREF specifically for JHU employees: Retirement 101, Staying on Track in a Volatile Market and Life Stages Seminars. See page 8 for more details. Retirement Plan Maximums. Each year the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) evaluates the amount you may set aside pre-tax for retirement. For 2010, you may contribute anywhere from $15 per month up to the IRS annual maximum of $16,500.* If you are age 50 or older, you may make additional catch-up pre-tax contributions up to the IRS maximum of $5,500.* *The IRS is expected to announce 2011 pre-tax limits around the middle of October. Consider these changes when making your 2011 benefit choices. Visit for details on how your medical, dental, life insurance, disability and retirement plans work. 2

3 Get Ready to Enroll Choosing your health care, life and disability insurance benefits are very important decisions for you and your family. The new mychoices page on the Benefits website will help make that decision a little easier. Here s how to get started: Go to Click the mychoices tab in the top right of the screen Select mychoices, Health & Life Once you choose mychoices, Health & Life, you will access a web page that houses all of your enrollment tools, including access to the online enrollment site Before you begin, it s a good idea to have the following information handy: JHED ID and password Social Security numbers of your dependents Be sure to visit the mychoices web page and make your benefit elections between October 22 and November 9, How Healthy is Hopkins? Your overall health is important to the university because it reflects a good quality of life for our faculty and staff. It also helps to save money on health care costs. Based on a recent analysis of the university's health care claims the following five conditions have the most impact on our claims costs: Cardiovascular Brain and nervous system (i.e., depression, psychiatric disorders, migraines and seizures) Diabetes Rare and specialty (i.e, cancer, infertility, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis) Pulmonary If you do not enroll during 2011 Annual Enrollment: You will have the same benefits for 2011 that you have in 2010 (with the exception of your flexible spending accounts). You will not be able to contribute to a flexible spending account in You will not be able to change your benefit elections during 2011 unless you have a qualified change in family status. You can help prevent some of these high-cost conditions by taking action now. Go online and complete your Health Risk Assessment (HRA) today (see page 4). An HRA helps you identify areas in which you may be putting yourself at risk. And knowing your important health numbers, such as your cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and body mass index (BMI), can help you improve your health and prevent chronic diseases. 3

4 To complete your Health Risk Assessment online, click on one of the links below: Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield: carefirst (you ll receive a unique user name and temporary password in a welcome letter with instructions for completing MyHealthProfile online) EHP Classic: (go to Members & Visitors and scroll to the bottom of the screen for the JHU link) Kaiser Permanente: (go to My Health Manager and click on Total Health Assessment) Waived JHU Medical: Go to Keep Your Eyes Fit During last year s annual enrollment survey, many staff members expressed interest in having a vision plan available. We heard you and now you can ensure that you and your family maintain good eye health in 2011 by enrolling in JHU s new voluntary vision plan, provided by UnitedHealthcare. This new plan is in addition to the biennial eye exam offered by Wilmer to CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield participants. It covers annual eye exams after a $15 copay, and it offers discounts on frames, lenses and contact lenses. Keep in mind that your medical plan may offer some limited eye care coverage. Details are available on your mychoices website. Plan Carefully for 2011 FSAs In recent years, the rules around what you could cover with your Health Care Spending Account expanded to include over-the-counter medications. This year, however, Health Care Reform legislation has had an impact on these popular plans. Effective January 1, 2011, you may no longer use your Health Care Flexible Spending Account to cover over-thecounter medications (except insulin) unless you have a prescription from your doctor. This includes things like aspirin, non-prescription allergy medication and other non-prescribed drugs. Keep this important rule change in mind as you consider your 2011 flexible spending account contribution. For a list of eligible expenses, visit (Note: The WageWorks site will not be updated to reflect the rule change until after January 1, 2011.) 4

5 5 Easy Ways to Save Money Get your finances into shape for 2011! Here are five easy ways to start saving money now. 1 Put Away Money Tax-Free with a Voluntary 403(b) Retirement Plan. If you are an eligible employee, you can contribute a portion of your paycheck pre-tax to a voluntary 403(b) retirement savings plan. By contributing pre-tax you can save between 25-35% on the amount you contribute to the plan. Bargaining Unit members are also eligible for a matching contribution from the university. 2 Save on Medical Expenses with a Health Care Flexible Spending Account. Is it painful writing a check for those first few hundred dollars worth of medical or prescription drug expenses each year? If you set up a Health Care Flexible Spending Account, you could make regular contributions throughout the year to cover your deductible and other covered out-of-pocket medical and Rx expenses. You have access to your full account at the beginning of the year, you don t need to save before you spend on your medical expenses. See page 4 for more information. 3 Be a Smarter Commuter. Our Commuter Assistance program allows you to set aside a portion of your paycheck, pre-tax, for your commuting expenses (i.e., public transportation and/or parking expenses). By making your contributions pre-tax, you can save between 25%-35% on your commuting expenses. See below for more details. 4 Become a Better Consumer with Your Voluntary Benefits. Voluntary benefits, such as homeowner s insurance, auto insurance, and now vision coverage, can be purchased through the mychoices program and save you money. You can shop online, compare prices, and find the plans that work best for you. 5 Save Before You Spend. Take advantage of convenient payroll deductions and put aside some money into a personal savings account. It will help you save money before you even have a chance to spend it! For more information on these and other benefits plans offered through JHU, visit Save More Than a Tank of Gas Monday morning commutes can be costly and tough! But the Commuter Assistance program offered though the university can help ease the cost of public transportation and parking at a non- JHU facility. You may be eligible to make pre-tax contributions to cover certain expenses associated with your commute to work. This includes expenses for public transportation, parking costs, or both. If your commuter expenses don t change from month to month, you can opt to have a fixed deduction taken from your paycheck. However, if your commute varies, you may elect to cover different expenses every month. If you currently park at a JHU facility and have your parking fee deducted from your pay, you automatically receive a pre-tax parking benefit outside of this program. The IRS sets limits on the amount of pre-tax dollars that can be used to cover commuter expenses. For 2010, the monthly transit limit is $230 and the monthly parking limit (for JHU parking and non-jhu parking) is $230. This amount can be paid directly on to your SmarTrip card, or to parking facilities. For a list of eligible expenses, visit 5

6 Urgent Care vs. ER If you ve ever spent time in a hospital s emergency room, you know the most urgent cases are treated first, and your personal emergency could take several hours to resolve. As an alternative, if you or your child needs care right away for a medical condition that s not serious enough to be life threatening, you may want to go to a nearby urgent care center. At urgent care centers, you don t need an appointment and the wait will be much shorter than going to a hospital s emergency room. And treatment at urgent care centers is covered under your Medical Plan (a deductible, coinsurance or copay may apply.) Go to erage_benefits/urgent_care_centers.html for a list of urgent care centers in our area. Keep in mind that if you believe your health is in serious danger, or you are concerned that you may have experienced serious damage to an organ or part of your body, dial for an ambulance or seek medical care immediately by heading to the nearest hospital emergency room. Some examples of a medical emergency include: Major injury, such as a broken leg or large wound Heart attack symptoms: severe chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, and nausea Heavy bleeding Bleeding during pregnancy Major burn Unconsciousness Difficulty breathing Poisoning Severe head pain or dizziness So, be ready for that unexpected emergency save the name and location of your nearest emergency room and urgent care center in your phone, post it on your refrigerator and make sure your family members know where to find it. This information could come in handy. 6

7 Exercise At Any Age! Even if you feel as if your body doesn t perform as well as it did when you were younger, it s still important to stay physically active. The university makes a number of resources available to you. There are negotiated gym discounts* available at Merritt Athletic Club, the Maryland Athletic Club and Wellness Center (the MAC) and JHU s fitness centers, the Ralph S. O Connor Recreation Center and the Cooley Center. Moderate exercise can help minimize the impact of aging by: Regulating blood pressure and boosting good cholesterol (HDL) Reducing obesity, which is a contributor to heart disease and diabetes Increasing bone density, which helps to prevent osteoporosis Decreasing your risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, and certain types of cancer Helping to keep your mind sharp and focused For some people, even a weight loss of 5 to 10 pounds can reduce risk of medical conditions such as diabetes. Physical conditioning may even boost your confidence, and getting stronger can improve your posture and balance, increase your mobility, and reduce the odds of injury. Consult a physical therapist, personal trainer, or other qualified instructor if you need help customizing a workout routine. *Check What Types of Exercise Should You Try? Type of Exercise Benefits Age Factors Stretching Strength training Loosening the muscles throughout your body improves flexibility. Stretching increases blood flow and gets your body ready for exercise. It can also be a great way to relax, and may even improve your sleep habits. Besides toning your muscles, lifting weights helps keep your bones and joints strong and can protect you from injuries. If you re not comfortable using a weight machine or free weights, try using resistance bands or lifting soup cans or socks filled with beans or pennies. Start with a weight or resistance you can easily handle. Try a few repetitions, and then rest. As you get stronger, gradually increase the number of repetitions and add more weight or resistance. Stretching is a good exercise for all ages. It can prevent muscle strains, increase flexibility, and keep you limber at any age. Strength training is even more important as you age because it keeps your joints and bones strong. After age 50, you should keep weight resistance low and increase repetitions gradually to lessen your chance of injury. Exercise Warning Signs If you feel sudden pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, or other symptoms that concern you while you re exercising, call your doctor right away. Aerobic activity Weight-bearing aerobic activities, such as walking, stair climbing, and dancing strengthen your heart and lungs and also help keep your bones strong. Staying aerobically fit is important at any age however, after age 50, you should change to a low-impact aerobic activity that is easier on your joints, like swimming or water aerobics. 7

8 Get Fit for Retirement Are you worried about the current volatility in the financial markets and wondering if you ll ever save enough money to retire? Join us this fall for an exciting new retirement seminar series we re launching in partnership with TIAA-CREF. Three topics will be covered: Retirement 101 Learn more about the many benefits of your JHU Retirement Plans, your investment options, general retirement planning, and how to build a portfolio customized to your unique retirement goals. Staying on Track in a Volatile Market After a review of recent economic trends, we ll discuss customized investment strategies to help you succeed in one of the most unique financial markets in history. Life Stages Seminars Based on whether you re just starting out, in mid-career, or preparing for retirement, you ll discover how to fine-tune your strategy, whatever your risk-tolerance and time to retirement. The seminars, targeted by age, are: Save for Tomorrow, Start Today (Early Career), Are You on Target? (Mid-Career), and Ready, Set, Retire (Pre-Retirement). The Financial Education Seminar Series, was designed by TIAA-CREF specifically for JHU employees, and it will be offered across our campuses from September through December. To sign up or learn more about specific seminar times, locations, and dates visit Sign up for the Financial Education Seminar Series now! Attend a seminar and you could win a new ipad! Retirement 5 Things You Can Do Now This year, focus on getting your finances into shape by taking a closer look at your 403(b) Retirement Plan. To maximize your retirement savings, consider these actions: 1 Save regularly. Years of steady saving can help you reach long-term financial goals. 2 Make the most of the university s matching contribution. Contribute as much money as you think is appropriate (up to the IRS limit) but, if possible, at least 3% of pay, so you can maximize the university s matching contribution of 20% on your first 3% once you have completed at least two years of service. 3 Take it to the limit. The 403(b) Retirement Plan allows you to make pre-tax plan contributions up to the IRS limit, which is $16,500 in In addition, if you are age 50 or older on or before December 31, 2010, you can make a catch up contribution of an additional $5,500, for a total of $22,000 in Allocate and diversify. Balance risk and reward by building a diversified portfolio. Review and update your selections at least once per year. 5 Learn more about retirement planning. Sign up for the retirement planning seminar series this fall! Education sessions are happening around campus this fall. To sign up or learn more about specific seminar times, locations, and dates visit events.signup4.com/jhu 8