Summary of Benefits
The following is a summary description of the employee benefits program available to employees in regular exempt and nonexempt positions.
Insurance
Insurance coverage for a new regular staff member is effective on his/her first day of employment. Blue Cross/Blue Shield (hospital, surgical, and major medical)
- 100% of semi-private room and board accommodations for 365 days
- 100% of hospital extras for 365 days
- 100% of Usual, Customary, and Reasonable surgeon's fees
- 100% of Usual, Customary, and Reasonable obstetrical fees
- 100% of Usual, Customary, and Reasonable fees for one annual physical exam per covered individual
- well child care
- unlimited outpatient diagnostic x-ray and laboratory coverage
- domestic partners are eligible
- 80% of the first $2,000 of covered major medical expenses (including doctor visits, prescription drugs, outpatient treatment for nervous and mental disorders) after annual deductible of $200 employee; $400 employee +1; $600 per family
- 100% of expenses in excess of $2,000 of covered major medical expenses for the remainder of the benefit period
Dental Plan
- 80% of the dentist's Usual, Customary, and Reasonable charge for regular routine services, and
- 70% of restorative services and other covered dental procedures including prosthetics, orthodontics, and periodontics.
Vision Care
- up to the scheduled amount of covered vision care expenses incurred by an insured employee or dependent
Long-Term Disability
- 60% of insured monthly earnings when employee is totally disabled by a covered accident or illness. Some qualifying periods apply for pre-existing conditions.
Life Insurance
- Group life insurance benefit equal to 1½ times basic annual salary. In addition, an equal amount of Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD & D) coverage is provided. Additional coverage may be purchased by employees increasing the total coverage to 3 times salary.
- Dependent life in the amount of $2,000 on an employee's spouse and $2,000 on each qualifying dependent child. Additional coverage may be purchased on an employee's spouse.
Flexible Spending Account
ACT staff members have the opportunity to arrange Flexible Spending Accounts. These include:
- Unreimbursed health care expenses which qualify for a deduction on a federal income tax return such as:
- Health insurance deductibles, and
- Out-of-pocket health-related expenses up to $3,000 per year
- Dependent care expenses such as, but not limited to, day-care centers or babysitting costs an employee incurs in order to work
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
The ACT EAP is a partnership with Mercy EAP Services and UI Behavioral Health designed to assist in the prevention, early identification and resolution of employee's mental health and chemical dependency issues. This program is a valuable resource offering responsible intervention services for employees and covered family members. Employees in offices outside Iowa have access to a nationwide provider network.
Retirement
TIAA-CREF Retirement Plan
Retirement benefits are provided to eligible regular employees through participation in a 403(b) program with TIAA-CREF. TIAA-CREF provides retirement and tax-deferred annuity plans for colleges, universities, independent schools, and certain other nonprofit and tax-exempt educational and research institutions and their staff members. ACT contributions are defined as a percentage of salary and applied to individual annuities. Employee contributions are optional, but ACT will match employee contributions dollar for dollar up to three (3) percent of salary.
A regular employee is eligible to begin participation the first full pay period coinciding with or next following the regular employment date and attainment of age 21.
Plan contributions by ACT, Inc. as a percent of regular salary:
ACT, Inc.
6%
Matching Contribution
100% match of pre-tax employee contributions up to 3%
All regular employees hired after January 1, 2001, are subject to the following vesting schedule for ACT contributions:
| Years of Service | Vesting Percentage |
|---|---|
| 1 year | 20% |
| 2 years | 40% |
| 3 years | 60% |
| 4 years | 80% |
| 5 years | 100% |
Employees are always 100% vested in their own contributions.
The plan allows rollover of the vested amount to an IRA or other qualified plan upon termination of employment regardless of age or years of service. The rollover must be made directly to the IRA or other plan. Cash payout is allowed upon termination of employment if the total value of the account is less than $4,000 or the employee is at least age 60.
Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA) Plan
In addition to contributions made by ACT, Inc., employees may participate in a Group Supplemental Retirement Annuity (GSRA) plan. Through a salary reduction agreement, an eligible employee may have a portion of his or her compensation contributed toward the purchase of supplemental annuity benefits on a before-tax basis. Participation may be through TIAA-CREF or other financial institution.
Leave Time
Vacation
If regular employment begins on the first Monday of a two-week pay period, the employee earns vacation accrual for those two weeks. If regular employment begins after the first Monday of the two-week pay period, vacation accrual begins the first full pay period following the regular hire date.
Vacation accrual is based on the following:
| Years of Service | Biweekly Accrual | Annual Accrual Hours/Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonexempt – full time | 0 through 3 | 2.8847 hours | 75 hours/10 days |
| >3 through 5 | 3.4616 hours | 90 hours/12 days | |
| >5 through 10 | 4.327 hours | 112.50 hours/15 days | |
| >10 through 20 | 5.769 hours | 150 hours/20 days | |
| Over 20 | 7.212 hours | 187.50 hours/25 days | |
| Exempt – full time | 0 through 10 | 4.327 hours | 112.5 hours/15 days |
| >10 through 20 | 5.769 hours | 150 hours/20 days | |
| Over 20 | 7.212 hours | 187.50 hours/25 days |
Part-time and part-year employees accrue vacation based on the percentage of time worked. For example, the biweekly accrual for a nonexempt part-time employee who works 20 hours per week (53.33% time) with six years of service is 2.3076 hours (4.327 hours x 53.33%).
Holidays
Regular employees are paid for the following ACT-observed holidays:
- New Year's Day and the preceding workday
- Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday (the third Monday in January)
- Presidents' Day (the third Monday in February)
- Memorial Day (the last Monday in May)
- Independence Day (the Fourth of July)*
- Labor Day (the first Monday in September)
- Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday
- Christmas Day and the preceding workday
* If a holiday falls on Saturday, ACT will generally observe it on the preceding Friday. If it falls on Sunday, the holiday generally will be observed on the following Monday.
Sick Leave
Regular, full-time employees will have up to 20 days (150 hours) of paid sick leave in a calendar year. These days can be used for illness, hospitalization, and for medical, dental, and vision care appointments for the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family, which includes spouse, domestic partner and dependent children. Sick leave will be pro-rated for regular employees working a part-time or part-year schedule.
Education
Tuition Refund
ACT has a tuition refund program to assist regular employees who want to enroll in job related courses or courses related to employment opportunities at ACT. Under this program, ACT will reimburse employees for a portion of tuition and fees for up to nine credit hours per 12-month period.
Tuition Scholarship
Dependent children of ACT employees who have worked on a continuous regular basis for five years or more are eligible for the ACT tuition scholarship. The annual benefits for each qualified dependent are equal to full tuition plus the fees required of each student in the institution to a maximum of $1,500 per academic year.
Note: These descriptions are summaries of ACT employee benefits. The details of coverage are subject to the terms and conditions specified in the plan documents.
