Boston University Employee Benefits Task Force
February 17, 2015
Dear Colleagues
Last April I wrote to inform our community about an important initiative to review Boston University’s employee benefits programs. This initiative is part of our ongoing effort to manage BU’s benefit plans so that:
- we offer benefits that continue to attract excellent faculty and staff
- we use our financial resources prudently, and
- our plans comply with applicable regulations.
In Spring 2014 Senior Vice President Todd Klipp and I convened a task force of faculty and staff to review our plans, benchmark them against those of our peers, and offer recommendations that would better help us meet the three objectives.
The task force has presented its analysis and recommendations for changes to the health, retirement, and long-term disability (LTD) plans.
Now we are requesting your input. During the remainder of the spring semester we will be conducting meetings at which representatives of Human Resources will review the task force recommendations and how proposed changes might affect individuals. We plan to finalize our decisions by the end of the spring semester and prepare for possible implementation of the changes in 2016.
We request that you take the following steps:
- Visit the Benefits in Transition website, your central source of information about the recommended changes. We’ll update this site from time to time, so please visit often.
- Mark your calendar and attend one or more meetings where you’ll have an opportunity to learn about the recommendations in detail, review examples, and get answers to your questions.
- Before the meeting please review the Guide to Recommended Benefit Changes, noting your questions and comments; bring those notes to the meeting.
Questions?
We want you to understand the rationale for undertaking this process, the changes that are being recommended, and how those changes might affect you. All these topics and more will be addressed in the meetings and posted on Benefits in Transition. We hope you will engage in the process as, together, we ensure that our benefits remain valuable, competitive, sustainable, and compliant with federal regulations.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Brown
President