Plan Benefit Information

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lick on one of the links below for information about the benefits offered to certifed staff in the Stamford Public Schools.     

	Medical
	Prescription Drugs
	Dental
	Health Care Flexible Spending Account
	Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Account
	Voluntary Life Insurance
	Tax Sheltered Annuities

Stamford Public Schools offers two medical plan options that are administered by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

• Century Preferred PPO Plan - This is a preferred provider organization plan where you can receive the highest level of benefits when you use any of the more than 5, 000 physicians, hospitals and other health care professionals in the Century Preferred network. You can also receive care from providers that are not part of the network, however benefits are often lower and your out-of-pocket costs will be greater.
• Comprehensive Major Medical Plan - This is a more traditional type of medical plan that provides you with an alternative method of benefit cost sharing. It has the same benefit structure and utilizes the Century Preferred network of providers and hospitals. The plan commences benefit payment once you meet an annual deductible. Click here for a summary. Once you have downloaded the document, click read only to view the summary.

Prescription Drugs

• When you enroll in one of the medical plans administered by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, you are automatically enrolled in the Prescription Drug Plan administered by Medco Health. Use a Medco participating retail pharmacy for short-term prescriptions that you take for up to 30 days. Use Medco by Mail for long-term medications taken for 3 months or more.
• Your plan includes a list of prescription drugs that are preferred because they help to control the rising cost of prescription drugs. This list, sometimes called a formulary, has a wide selection of generic and brand-name medications. For more information about the formulary, visit www.medco.com or call Medco toll-free at 1-800-711-0917.

Dental

Health Care Flexible Spending Account

A Health Care Flexible Spending Account , administered by CIGNA HealthCare, reimburses you for eligible health care expenses not covered by your medical plan, such as copayments, coinsurance, deductibles or certain vision, hearing or orthodontic care costs. You can submit claims for yourself, your spouse and other covered family members, provided they satisfy the definition of a qualifying dependent under federal tax law. Click here for a list of expenses that may be eligible for reimbursement.

On a calendar year basis, you can contribute up to $3,000 to your Health Care Flexible Spending Account through pre-tax payroll deductions. That means the money is deposited to your account before deductions for income tax, Social Security or state withholding taxes. Just prior to the beginning of the calendar year, you choose how much you want to set aside with each paycheck. You then submit claims throughout the calendar year to reimburse yourself for the eligible health care expenses you’ve paid.

 Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Account

A Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Account , administered by CIGNA HealthCare, reimburses you for non-medical day care expenses for children under age 13 or disabled dependents (a dependent not able to care for himself or herself) of any age. Dependent day care expenses are reimbursable as long as the provider is not your spouse, your child under age 19, or another dependent. Click here for a list of expenses that may be eligible for reimbursement.

On a calendar year basis, you can contribute up to $5,000 to your Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Account through pre-tax payroll deductions. That means the money is deposited to your account before deductions for income tax, Social Security or state withholding taxes. Just prior to the beginning of the calendar year, you choose how much you want to set aside with each paycheck. You then submit claims throughout the calendar year to reimburse yourself for the eligible dependent day care expenses you’ve paid.

Voluntary Life Insurance

Stamford Public Schools offers you opportunity to purchase affordable term life insurance, through the Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (Reliance). You can purchase life insurance for you, your spouse and your children on a payroll deduction basis. Choose from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $500,000* (in $10,000 increments) for yourself and/or your spouse. The benefit amounts chosen need not be the same. * Benefits for employees age 75 and over reduce per Reliance's age-based reduction policy. For children, the b enefit amount as of age 6 months is $10,000. Dependent children coverage includes $1,000 benefit for children age 14 days to 6 months. And, n ewborn children automatically become insured at 14 days of age if you insure other dependent children. Click here for more information.

Tax Sheltered Annuities

Stamford Public Schools offers you the opportunity to participate in a 403(B) and/or 457 savings plan. These plans are established under Section 403(B) and 457 of the Internal Revenue Code and permit the savings of pre-tax dollars thus deferring taxes on these contributions until they are withdrawn.

 The 403(B)/457 programs are operated under the following rules, regulations, and procedures:

• You must first establish an account with one of the approved providers. Click here for a list of approved providers.
• The legal maximum contributions have been established by Congress and are administered by the IRS. span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Additions, changes , and cancellations can be made at any time by sending a properly completed form to the Benefit Administration Office. The change will be made on the next available paycheck.
• 457 contributions are deducted from the first paycheck of each month during the ten months of the school year those on the bi-weekly payroll. Contributions for classified employees will be deducted from each week’s paycheck.
• 403(B) contributions are deducted from the second paycheck of the month during the ten months of the school year for those on the bi-weekly payroll. Contributions for classified employees will be deducted from each week’s paycheck.