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CLARIFICATION OF BENEFITS CHANGES / May 4, 2010

Since last week's faculty meeting, I have received requests from several faculty members for clarification of the benefit changes. I hope the following is helpful.

Family Health Insurance Discount for Married/Partnered Couples at Smith

In the past, Smith offered a discounted rate for family coverage of health insurance for married couples or eligible domestic partners who both worked at Smith. Twenty-four couples remained eligible for this benefit at an annual cost to the college of approximately $100,000. The discounted rate provided significant reductions in costs, as follows:

Family HMO Plan: Most employees pay $352.46 a month; the employees eligible under this policy paid $10 a month.

Point of Service Plan: Most employees pay $571.82 a month; the employees eligible under this policy paid $134.55 a month.

This generous benefit for a small group of employees was terminated as part of the $22 million budget reduction. The change was personally communicated to each participant in December of 2009. To mitigate the impact on affected employees, the elimination of the benefit was phased in, with the benefit reducing by half in 2011 and eliminated in 2012.

Tuition Assistance for College-Age Dependents

As referenced under the Tuition Plans Criteria section of the Staff Handbook, when two employees are married/partnered they are entitled to only one tuition benefit per eligible child.

Employees hired prior to July 1, 2010 are eligible for a benefit equal to 40 percent of tuition, up to a maximum of $14,423 (40 percent of Smiths 2008-09 tuition); 3 year waiting period.

Employees hired July 1, 2010 or after are eligible for a benefit equal to 40 percent of tuition, up to a maximum of $10,000; 5 year waiting period.

The Tuition Assistance for Dependents policy will be reviewed again in 2012.

Sincerely,

Larry Hunt
Executive Director of Human Resources

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