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Feature Article

UC Retirement Readiness Program

How prepared do you feel for your retirement? Watch for a new planning tool, coming soon, that will help you see the big picture and make plans for a secure retirement. More>>

At Your Service Redesigned and Updated
At Your Service has a fresh look. The redesigned systemwide website for UC employee information about human resources and benefits, launched in mid-January with improved navigation and several new features. >>More

Call for Nominations: Staff Advisor-Designate to The Regents
The Office of the President has announced a call for nominations for the next Staff Advisor-Designate, who will serve from July 2007 through June 2009. More>>

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UC People

Berkeley
A Gifted Wrapper
Veronica Rodriguez, an administrative assistant for the College of Engineering’s operations and facility management unit, is a national champion. She won the Scotch Brand 2006 gift-wrapping contest, held in New York City in December, and the grand prize of $10,000.More>>

Riverside
"Monk" Business
Charles Evered, assistant professor of playwriting and screenwriting, wrote an episode of the popular USA television series “Monk’ that aired in December.

The episode had the quirky detective played by Emmy Award-winning actor Tony Shalhoub meeting a leper, a situation that seriously challenges the comically phobic and obsessive-compulsive investigator.More>>

Merced Ecosystems, Carbon, Climate Interactions Lara Kueppers, a new professor in the School of Natural Sciences, brings to Merced expertise on the link between global climate change and ecosystems through carbon cycling.
She has established fieldwork in the Colorado Rockies and is now forming working relationships with landowners in the Valley so she can study how land-use changes like agriculture and irrigation affect the regional climate. More>>

Santa Barbara
Myths of Singlehood
A new book by social psychologist Bella DePaulo debunks the myth that married people live longer and lead happier lives than their single counterparts. In "Singled Out: How Singles Are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After", she exposes what she considers a widespread bias against unmarried adults, as seen in everything from missed perks to deeper social and financial prejudices.More>>

San Francisco Diversity Honors Alice Wong, a staff member at the Institute for Health & Aging and the Center for Personal Assistance Services, and Rene Salazar, MD, an assistant clinical professor in general internal medicine, received in January the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards. Wong was honored for several major
accomplishments serving the disabled community at UCSF. Salazar was commended as a role model for advancing diversity at the campus.More>>

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Briefs

A+ Auto and Home Insurance Adds New Benefits
California Casualty, through its A+ Auto & Home Insurance Program recently introduced Identity Theft Resolution Service, a new benefit automatically available to UC members at no extra cost.More>>

Important Updates: HCRA and DepCare
Employees who enrolled or re-enrolled in HCRA for 2007 should have received their new spending account cards in late December or early January. A detailed update about using the card is available.

2006 Filing Deadlines
You may use any 2006 HCRA or DepCare funds that remained in your account at the end of 2006 to pay for qualified expenses incurred through March 15, 2007. Funds from your 2006 account that are unused after that date will be forfeited under IRS rules. You have until June 15, 2007 to file reimbursement claim forms for any qualified expenses incurred through March 15, 2007 with 2006 HCRA or DepCare funds.

Updated Summary Plan Descriptions
The new HCRA and DepCare Summary Plan Descriptions (2007) are available online in the "Forms and Publications" section of At Your Service.

New PIE/Family Status Changes?
Did you know that when you marry or have a new dependent, you have a new period of initial eligibility (PIE) of 31 days from the event to enroll your spouse/domestic partner and dependent(s) in the UC-sponsored medical, dental, vision, legal, HCRA and DepCare Plans.

You can also enroll or increase your supplemental life insurance without an evidence of insurability statement and enroll your spouse/domestic partner and eligible dependent(s) in the expanded dependent life if you purchase supplemental life.Because of the family change, a new PIE is created for these benefits.The enrollment or increase can only be done by paper form; see your Benefits Office for the appropriate UC form.

Emeriti and Retiree Groups Support Restart of Contributions
The chairs of the Council of University of California Emeriti Associations (CUCEA) and the Council of University of California Retirees Associations (CUCRA) have written a letter in support of the reinstatement of contributions to the University of California Retirement Plan. The letter is posted at the Future of UC Retirement Plan website.

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Benefits Q & A

Q. My regular paid time has decreased.How does this affect my benefits?

A. You must maintain an average regular paid time of at least 17.5 hours per week to remain eligible for your current benefit level. If your regular paid time falls below 17.5 hours per week, you become ineligible for medical (including Core), dental, vision, Basic Life, Short-term Disability and Supplemental Disability coverage.>>More