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Baby Gator offering sign language classes for families with young children

Baby Gator Child Development and Research Center at UF is offering sign language classes for families with young children from infancy through age five beginning February 2008. These parent-targeted strategy and activity sessions will give parents resources to begin using American Sign Language (ASL) with their children at home. The program uses a whole-child approach and supports relationship building, learning, and communication.

Classes will be held on four consecutive Saturdays beginning in mid-February for a total of four hours. Class times vary and the cost is $65.00 per family. Enrollment is open to the public.

If you have questions or wish to enroll, please visit the Baby Gator web site at www.babygator.ufl.edu or contact Karen Shea at karenshea@ufl.edu. Enrollment is limited.

Investment provider update

AIG VALIC has been renamed. The company will now be known as AIG Retirement Advisors, Inc. “Our renaming to AIG Retirement is driven by our expansion beyond traditional variable annuity-based group retirement plan solutions to include mutual funds and financial planning on a direct or full-service basis. We believe that AIG Retirement will generate greater awareness of our expanded capabilities in helping clients through every phase of the financial lifecycle,” said Bruce R. Abrams, President and CEO of VALIC and the VALIC Retirement Services Company.

Please contact your local AIG representative with questions or call 1-800-892-5558, x87260.


Consultants available to help employees with 403(b) retirement planning

Investment company representatives are on-site on a regular basis at the HRS Building, 903 W. University Avenue. Please refer to the schedule below if you wish to call for an appointment.

AIG Retirement
1-800-892-5558, x87260
Mondays

Fidelity
1-800-550-4068
Jan. 17, Feb. 20

ING
(352) 372-1802 Tuesdays

TIAA-CREF
1-877-267-4510 x5109
Jan. 24-25, Feb. 11-13

Retirement and financial planning presentations offered

This spring, University Benefits and Retirement is offering a variety of informational workshops for employees who want to make informed decisions regarding their investments, retirement planning, and financial well-being. Visit the Training and Organizational Development web site to register and view a full list of classes.


NEW!
Roth 403(b) Plan (course GET602)

Tuesday, January 29, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., HRS Building, Room 120

Join us for a discussion of the unique characteristics and benefits of the Roth 403(b) plan as compared with the traditional 403(b) plan.

Presented by Owen Brock, AIG Retirement Financial Advisor

NEW! Investment Planning for Everyone (course GET577)

Thursday, February 28, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., HRS Building, Room 120

This workshop presents sound investment principles covering various types of asset classes, allocation of funds according to risk tolerance, and the effects of inflation on savings. Important information for participants in all three UF retirement plans will be covered.

Presented by Dan Grable, Ernst & Young Financial Planners

Could you be reached in the event of an emergency?

The university is enhancing its emergency response efforts to better provide information, warnings, and security for its students, faculty, and staff. Personal cell phone, personal e-mail, and emergency contact information is being collected for campus emergency notification, preparation, and response. This information is protected from disclosure as a public record under an exception to the Florida public records law for security system plans. Additionally, those for whom a cell phone is provided will also receive text messages in the event of an emergency. For more information, please see the Emergency Notification Policy DDD.

This method of contacting you will be used in addition to existing methods, which include e-mails, news media and postings on the UF home page. In the event of an emergency, students, faculty, and staff should continue to monitor those as well.

Ensure that you can be reached if necessary. Submit your emergency contact information today by logging on to my.ufl.edu and navigating to My Account > Update Emergency Contact.


Important information regarding your W-2

Employees’ 2007 IRS Form W-2s will be distributed on January 30, 2008. The university will also provide Employee Year-End Earnings Statements, which are similar to the earnings statements that were issued by the Bureau of State Payrolls, prior to the university’s devolution from the State of Florida.

The earnings statements will assist employees in comparing the amounts on the W-2 form to the earnings, deductions, taxes, and net pay on their last biweekly earnings statement for 2007. It will also include other nontaxable items and the university’s contributions on behalf of the employees.

Employees may use the following calculation to match their calendar year-end gross earnings to their net pay as provided on the Employee Year-End Earnings Statements.

Employee’s Gross Earnings

Add:

Non Salary Earnings* (Not included in Gross Pay)

 

=Total Income

Less:

Before Tax Deductions

 

=Total W-2 Earnings

Less:

Non Salary Earnings * (Backed out for Net Pay calculation)

Less:

Tax Deductions

Less:

Other Miscellaneous (After Tax) Deductions

 

=Net Pay (Calendar Year)

Nonresident aliens receiving IRS 1042-S forms will not receive Employee Year-End Earnings Statements.

Additional information about Employee Year-End Earnings Statements and 2007 W-2 forms may be found beginning on slide 8 of this online PowerPoint guide.

If you have questions or didn’t receive a 2007 W-2 form or an Employee Year-End Earnings Statement, please notify University Tax Services at 392-1324 or e-mail fa-tax-forms@admin.ufl.edu.


 

Important: Update your address for W-2 Distribution

In preparation for the distribution of W-2s this month, please review your home and work addresses in the directory to ensure that they are accurate by completing the following steps:

Log on to the myUFL portal with your GatorLink username and password. (Call 392-HELP if you don’t know your GatorLink username or password.)

  1. Click “My Account” in the myUFL systems menu.
  2. Select “Update My Directory Profile.” Once you are on the Gatordex Self Service page, you may modify the appropriate address information by clicking on the orange hyperlinked text that reads “Addresses and Phone Numbers.”
  3. To modify an address, select the radio button for Permanent Home Mailing Address and/or UF Business Mailing Address and hit submit. Make the necessary change, and hit submit again. 
    • IMPORTANT NOTE: Foreign nationals are required to maintain a foreign address for tax purposes and therefore should not modify the Permanent Home Mailing Address which is reserved for the foreign address. Instead, the Local Home Mailing Address field should be used for the local address. Questions regarding foreign addresses or tax implications should be directed to the Tax Services Office at 392-1324.
  4. If Permanent Home Mailing Address or UF Business Mailing Address is not available, you must add the address by clicking on “Add New Address and Related Phone Numbers” found in the menu options located at the top left of the page.
  5. Fill in your updated address information and click “submit” at the bottom of the page to complete the address change.

Florida Prepaid open enrollment runs through January 31

Open Enrollment for the Florida Prepaid College Plan is now underway and runs though January 31, 2008. Both the Florida Prepaid Plan and the Florida Investment Plan (a 529 Plan) offer affordable ways to save for your children’s future college expenses. Sign up today at www.florida529plans.com or call 1-800-552-GRAD (4723) to request an enrollment kit and application. Your application must first be submitted and approved by Florida Prepaid before you can request a UF payroll deduction. To request payroll deductions, you must complete a separate payroll deduction form. Contact University Benefits and Retirement at 392-2477 (SC 622-2477) or benefits@ufl.edu to request a form.


Verify your benefits deductions

It is important to carefully review your payroll information each payday to ensure the proper premiums are being deducted for items like health and life insurance. Based on recent open enrollment elections, you may notice a change in deductions, or new deductions, for one or more of the following plans beginning on January 4:

  • Medical/Dependent Care Reimbursement and Health Savings Accounts
  • Long-Term Disability
  • UF Term Life

Premiums and coverage for new supplemental plans requiring medical application will not begin until approved by the company. Employees should receive notification of approval or denial from the company in the upcoming months. If you notice your paycheck does not reflect proper deductions for plans you currently have or may have elected during the 2007 open enrollment period, please contact University Benefits and Retirement at 392-2477 (SC 622-2477) or benefits@ufl.edu as soon as possible.


Coming soon! A redesigned HRS web site

Human Resource Services is redesigning its web site to better serve your needs. The site will launch January 21, 2008.

New features include:

  • Improved navigability and readability
  • Hiring Department Resources pages
  • New pages such as Work/Life events, retirement information for retirees and new employees and more

We hope you find this new site to be an improvement. We welcome your feedback, so please send comments or suggestions to human-resources@ufl.edu. We look forward to continuing to serve you.


Practice safe computing at work and home

The UF IT Security Team would like to welcome all new and returning Gators. To help improve your computing experience, here are three things you can do to keep your computer and private data safe:

How much do you know about staying safe online? Take our survey.

To learn about other ways to protect your computer, visit http://infosec.ufl.edu/athome/.