UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 29, Page U.D. BENEFITS-1
April 30, 1992
UD Benefits 1992-93
Benefit plan options to take effect this summer
     University employees should be aware of several new benefit plan
options.

Accelerated Benefit
     Effective July 1, University employees will be eligible for a
living death benefit, called the "Accelerated Benefit." UNUM, the
University's life insurance carrier, will provide a lump sum payment
of the lesser of 50 percent of the employee's life insurance amount or
$50,000 once in a lifetime. In order to receive the payment, the
employee must be terminally ill, with a medical prognosis of 12 months
or less to live. UNUM will require a letter to this effect from the
attending physician and an election in writing from the employee.
     The amount elected would reduce the death benefit, and premiums
would continue to be paid on the whole amount.
     This benefit will not be paid if it is required by law to meet
the claims of creditors, or if used to apply for, get or keep a
government benefit or entitlement.
     If the employee has assigned his/her life insurance or made an
irrevocable beneficiary designation, he/she must give consent in
writing before payment will be made.

After-tax contributions for dependent life insurance
     In previous years, contributions for dependent life insurance
were on a pre-tax basis. Effective July 1, the federal law requires
that contributions must be paid with after-tax dollars. Although you
may continue dependent life insurance outside of the tax-free
provisions of the flex program, your premium payments will no longer
be salary reductions for income tax purposes with the beginning of the
new plan year.

Liberty Mutual deductions
     Effective July 1, the University will take payroll deductions for
Liberty Mutual auto, homeowners and personal insurances over 12 months
rather than the previous 10-month schedule. This will result in
smaller deduction amounts spread over the entire year.

SRA loan provision
     Effective July 1, University employees will have a loan feature
available if they participate in a TIAA-CREF SRA account. Although
participants will be able to borrow up to 45 percent of their combined
accumulation, the maximum loan amount is $50,000. In addition,
collateral in the amount of at least 110 percent of the outstanding
loan balance must be kept in the borrower's TIAA SRA certificate.
While it is possible to transfer money from CREF to TIAA to increase
the size of the loan, movement from TIAA to other investment vehicles
is restricted.
     Loans must be repaid in quarterly installments over one to five
years (up to 10 years if the loan is for a principal residence).
     The interest rate will be variable and will be keyed to the
Moody's Investors Service average of the yields on corporate bonds.
Although the rate can be reset each quarter, it will not change for
outstanding loans unless the Moody's average changes by one half of
one percent or more.
     For more information on the new loan feature, please call TIAA at
1-800-842-2776.

Evidence of insurablility
     UNUM, the University's life insurance carrier, requires proof of
insurability in the event of:
          - An increase in employee or dependent life insurance by two
or more levels of coverage, or
          - Effective July 1, 1992, employee insurance coverage in
excess of $400,000.
     Should any of the above pertain to you, please contact the
Benefits Office for an evidence of insurability form. Your increased
coverage will not be in effect without approval from UNUM. If you have
insurance in excess of $400,000, or in special cases, each time you
receive a salary increase, you must complete a new proof of
insurability form before the insurance increment will be approved.
     Booklets describing your group life insurance program are
available from the Benefits Office.