NEL 215
July 28, 2016
Present:
Committee Members:
Don ClothierDebbie CoppRenda PassekGlen Pinkston Will Wayne Chris McNabb Gordon Shaw Mary Ann Pascucci Joel Burcham Jeff Berry
Others:
Tricia RahalLindsay MitchellDron SilasBreion Rollins
Julius Hilburn Jessica Cadotte
Approval of Minutes
(Clothier) Minutes approved.
Fringe Benefits
(Hilburn) Willis Towers Watson has been chosen to replace Segal Consulting as OU’s new Fringe Benefit Consultants.
The RFP deadline for proposal submission to OU’s Fringe Benefit Programs is scheduled for July 29th.
A Selection Committee has been determined and includes members from EBC to be represented. The committee members are as follows: Will Wayne, Randy Hewes, Don Clothier, Renda Passek, Warren Churchill, Breion Rollins, Julius Hilburn, Angela Hawpe and Sue Anna Miller. Glen Pinkston will also be present for the days that his schedule allows.
Willis Towers Watson will present the summary of proposals to the evaluation committee on August 11th and presentations will begin on August 18th and 19th. A final recommendation will be made by early September.
(Pinkston) Was the RFP written for Medical and Pharmaceutical to be separate plans?
(Hilburn) The proposal was written with the option for vendors to submit them together as a bundled service or independently price them out if they choose to do so.
(Hilburn) Retiree medical is also being evaluated as well. Carriers have begun to offer Advantage Plans that mirror our current plans and we plan to explore if that would be a good option for the University.
(Hilburn) In response to the University’s budget crisis, a 1 year waiting period on OU’s Defined Contribution Plan has been approved to new employees hired on or after July 1st, 2016.
(Pinkston) It will be important to focus on how we frame our recruitment to potential OU employees and their retirement options with the University.
(Rollins) The Retirement Office has already been working on forms of communication to encourage and engage employees in the voluntary savings retirement options that OU offers as well as understanding that there is no waiting period tied to Oklahoma Teachers Retirement contributions.
(Copp) Is there a projection of savings to the University that has been calculated with this waiting period?
(Hilburn) Norman is projected to save close to $1 million annually and the Health Sciences Center Campus around $3 million annually.
Options to change OU’s contribution strategy and possibly reduce the number of salary tiers from 6 down to 3 or 4 are being evaluated. Implementing tobacco rates as well as a possible incentive tied to employees who participate in regular health screenings is being considered. All changes being considered will be evaluated to determine the expected impact on employees.
Wellness Update
(Rollins) There has been an OU Wellness branding and consolidation effort taking place. Lisa Millington has been hired as the OU Wellness Director to include programs for all of OU including students. Lindsay Mitchell will still be the Wellness Coordinator for OU Employees under Healthy Sooners.
(Mitchell) Healthy Sooners has begun to prepare for the annual Fun Run. Routes have been approved and the start and finish location this year will be located near Lloyd Noble Center. The new OU Wellness brand will be the overarching representation of the Fun Run with Healthy Sooners identified within.
Standing Desk applications will be available again in the fall.
Options for a comprehensive wellness portal are being evaluated.
The Eat Down Your Blood Sugar course will be finishing in August. There are 55 employees enrolled with a $89 cost upfront and a 50% reimbursement back to the employee upon completion of the course.
There are efforts being made with the Provost office to expand the number of lactation rooms on the Norman Campus. Currently, there is only 1 designated room available and the expansion effort hopes to add 5 more rooms through the campus.
Retirement Update
(Rollins) The university is seeking a closing agreement from the IRS that dates back to the inception of the optional plan. In order for the agreement to be made, the comprehensive universities will shorten the election period from 90 to 30 days.
We are still waiting on a response from OTRS on how the White Collar changes will affect employees and their participation in OTRS.
(Burcham) Does the OU have the option to hire a fiduciary advisor to help counsel employees in their decisions on retirement and still protect the University from any possible outcomes to the employees decisions made?
(Rollins) We may be able to expand our Magellan Services as a third party to provide advisement to employees on retirement planning and financial management.
HR has been working towards an online New Employee Orientation for employees who cannot attend the in person presentation. There will be an effort for HR to host frequent Resource Fairs as well to assist those employees that do not have direct access to technology through their jobs.
New Business
(Clothier) The PeopleSoft System will not be available off campus to HSC Employees. IT Security is currently working on the issue and hope to have it resolved before annual open enrollment.
(Rollins) The August meeting is scheduled for the 18th and will need to be moved to the following week on the 25th due to RFP Presentations.
(Clothier) Meeting Adjourned at 2:46pm