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1. What are arrears?
Arrears are missed deductions. For example: An employee who is off-contract and not receiving pay will not have deductions collected from their $0.00 paycheck. When an employee returns to work and begins receiving pay again, the deductions will restart and the arrears balance will begin to be repaid in the specific amounts listed in the "how are arrears repaid" drop down menu below. 

2. Who do arrears apply to?
Arrears apply to any employee who has active deductions that require arrears and that employee experiences a pay period where they do not receive pay.

Employees who are off contract
Employees who are in an off contract status are not receiving pay. This will generate arrears for their missed deductions during the pay periods where an employee was off contract. When an employee returns back to an on contract status, they will begin paying for their deductions again, including any arrears that need to be paid off.

Leave without pay
Employees who experience leave without pay in excess of 10 days must reach out to ua-benefits@alaska.edu to discuss the potential for Family Medical Leave (FML), Short-term Disability (STD), and other benefits that might apply to a specific situation. Some cases - such as an approved Leave of Absence - will be a COBRA event. Specific situations can be reviewed with individual employees. 

3. What deductions require arrears?

• Premium health care
• Basic health care
• HDHP
• Premium dental
• Basic dental
• Vision
• Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HC FSA)
• Corestream Voluntary Benefits
• Supplemental life - employee
• Supplemental life - spouse
• Supplemental life - child
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment - employee
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment - family

 

4. What deductions do not require arrears?

• HSAs
• FSA dependent care accounts
• Pet insurance (Pet insurance payments are made directly with ASPCA and are not included in payroll deduction. Employees are responsible for these premiums.)
• MASA (MASA is direct bill with the vendor - not through payroll deduction)

5. How are arrears repaid?

100% Schedule for Specific Benefits
Arrears will be paid biweekly when the employee returns to work at a rate of 100% of the current deduction(s) until the arrears balance is paid. This means that the employee will pay 200% of the biweekly deduction until the arrears balance is paid off. The deductions paid on the 100% schedule are:

• Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HC FSA)
• Corestream Voluntary Benefits

Example
An employee is currently contributing to a HC FSA at $100 per pay period.
This employee goes off contract for 4 pay periods.
This means that the employee has missed $100 x 4 ($400) deductions for their HC FSA.
When the employee returns to work, the employee will pay $100 for their deduction and $100 toward the arrears balance ($200 deduction in total).
The arrears balance will be paid off in 4 pay periods. At that time, the deduction will return to $100 per pay period.

40% Schedule fo Specific Benefits
Arrears will be paid biweekly when the employee returns to work at a rate of 40% of the current deduction(s) until the arrears balance is paid. This means that the employee will pay 140% of the biweekly deduction until the arrears balance is paid off. The deductions paid on the 40% schedule are:

• Premium health care
• Basic health care
• HDHP
• Premium dental
• Basic dental
• Vision
• Supplemental life - employee
• Supplemental life - spouse
• Supplemental life - child
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment - employee
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment - family

Example
An employee is currently enrolled in premium medical, premium dental, and vision for employee, spouse, and 2 dependent children. The employees current biweekly deduction for these coverages is:

• • $361.47 Premium medical family
  • $25.94 Premium dental family
  • $1.90 Vision family
  • $389.31 total per pay period

This employee goes off contract for 4 pay periods.
This means that the employee has missed $389.31 x 4 ($1,557.24) deductions for their coverages.
When the employee returns to work, the employee will pay $389.31 for their deductions and 40% of each of their deductions toward the arrears balance:

• • $144.59 Premium medical family
  • $10.38 Premium dental family
  • $.76 Vision family
  • $155.73 total arrears per pay period

This means the employee would pay:

• • $389.31 total per pay period for deductions
  • $155.73 total arrears per pay period
  • $545.04 total

The arrears balance will be paid off in 10 pay periods. At that time, the deduction will return to $389.31 per pay period.