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University Benefits Advisory Council

The University Benefits Advisory Council (UBAC) serves in an advisory capacity to the administration concerning policies and decision-making processes that bear on the full range of employee benefits programs at UVM. The UBAC is responsible to "review and evaluate the University's benefits programs and to make recommendations to the President and Provost with regard to the modification of existing employee benefit plans and the design of any new benefit programs."

Read the full text of the charge given at the creation of the University Benefits Advisory Council in 2007.

Guiding Principles

In the spring of 2010, the UBAC expressed its guiding principles for any discussion related to the GASB45 accounting standards and Post-Retirement Medical Benefits (PRMB) as:

  • Protect current retirees from undue financial burden
  • Sustain access to a retiree medical benefit for current employees
  • Preserve a similar premium-sharing structure as for current employees
  • Educate employees and help them plan for their retirement, including medical care
  • Support active employee engagement in health, emphasizing prevention and management of chronic health conditions
  • Consider and continuously review contracts, plan design and/or vendor changes to ensure that UVM has an efficient, effective, and high-quality program, including pharmaceuticals
  • Continue to offer benefits competitive with peer institutions

Contact the UBAC

Comments and Questions related specifically to the current work of the University Benefits Advisory Council can be e-mailed to ubac@uvm.edu.


President Fogel's Comments

In his October Report to the Trustees, President Daniel Mark Fogel wrote:

We cherish each member of our community. Our care extends to those who have retired—or who one day will retire—from University service. As you know, I received some three weeks ago the final report of the University Benefits Advisory Council (or UBAC) on post-retirement medical benefits (or, for short, PRMB). We all owe thanks to the members of the UBAC and its chair, Dr. Jan Carney, to the staff who supported the Council’s work, and to the many members of UVM’s faculty and staff who entered into dialogue with the UBAC through correspondence and participation in public forums. The good work of the UBAC will inform us as we seek to modify the PRMB program.

Allow me to make just a few quick points on this challenging process. First, I believe it is now evident that modifications to the program will be required because the current trajectory is not financially sustainable. Second, in order to ensure UVM’s long-term viability most members of the current work force will likely be affected in some way by program modifications. Third, we plan to make recommendations for addressing the PRMB challenge that will be very mindful of the interests of current retirees and those eligible to retire. Fourth, my recommendations will seek maintenance for current benefits-eligible personnel of a PRMB program in which no one covered by the program will exhaust the benefit by outliving it. And, fifth, we will seek means to provide access to retiree benefits programs for employees who may not, in the future, be eligible for a defined retiree benefits plan with employer-subsidized premiums. We will seek, in short, to keep UVM sustainable and competitive while also ensuring that we remain a humane and equitable organization that values the well-being and security of those who have devoted their professional lives to UVM.


Upcoming Meetings

Health Insurance Working Group

  • No meetings scheduled

Parental Leave/Childcare Working Group

  • No meetings scheduled

Full UBAC

  • No meetings scheduled

Key PRMB Links

Info relevant to the Post-Retirement Medical Benefits discussion:

What Is GASB 45?

The Government Accounting Standards Board Statement 45 is a financial reporting guideline that requires certain institutions to report unfunded liabilities associated with post-retirement medical benefits. See:

Post-Retirement Benefits

Each of the following links goes directly to the post-retirement benefits section of the appropriate plan:

 

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Last modified July 20 2011 02:14 PM

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