On Friday, Nov. 4, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., we will be hosting Drake’s annual Benefits & Wellness Fair in Levitt Hall. Please come!
We will have benefits and wellness partners and vendors on hand to answer questions. There will be snacks, freebies, and the chance to enter a raffle for prizes. Most importantly, this is an opportunity for you to be sure you understand and take advantage of the benefits and perks offered to you as an employee of Drake University.
The Fair is an important annual event to help prepare you to make benefit elections for January 1, 2023.
To entice attendees to meet with our guests, we’ll hand out passports that will be stamped by the visitors you meet. If you get enough stamps, we’ll enter your name in a raffle for prizes.
November is open enrollment month! Throughout the month you can enroll in benefits for 2023. Please check OnCampus and review HR communications for additional benefits-related information and events throughout the month of November.
— Marlene Heuertz, Linda Feiden, and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
Because Drake has a mandatory retirement plan, employees who choose to contribute to the voluntary/supplemental retirement plan, may contribute up to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) contribution limits. In 2022, the contribution limit is $20,500.
On Oct. 20, 2022, the IRS announced the contribution limit for 2023 will be increased to $22,500. This limit applies to employees who participate in Drake’s voluntary/supplemental plan offered by Drake through TIAA.
Additionally, the IRS increased the “catch-up contribution limit” for employees age 50 and over to an additional $7,500 in 2023, up from $6,500 in 2022. Thus, employees who are age 50 and older may contribute up to $30,000 ($22,500 plus $7,500) pre-tax dollars to Drake’s voluntary/supplemental retirement account, starting Jan. 1, 2023.
Questions about your Drake retirement plan?
Our TIAA vendor will attend Drake’s Benefits & Wellness Fair on Nov. 4 (9–11:30 a.m.) in Levitt Hall. If you have questions related to your Mandatory or Voluntary retirement plan, please stop by the Fair and speak directly with a TIAA Field Consultant. If you are unable to attend the fair, please reach out to drakehr@drake.edu with any benefits questions.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
The maximum contribution limit for Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) will increase to $3,050 during the 2023 Plan Year. That’s $200 more than this year’s $2,850 limit.
Drake’s Health Care FSA Plan will allow participants to carry over up to $570 of unused 2022 contributions to the 2023 Plan Year. Contributions carried over, in addition to newly elected amounts, may be used to pay for eligible expenses incurred during the 2023 Plan Year.
For example: Participants who elect $3,050 for the 2023 Plan Year and carry over $570 of unreimbursed contributions from 2022 will have a total of $3,620 in their Health Care FSA effective January 1, 2023. Additionally, at the end of the 2023 Plan Year, participants may carry over up to $610 to the 2024 Plan Year.
The maximum contribution limit for Dependent Care FSAs will remain at $5,000 in 2023. Drake’s Health and Dependent Care FSAs are administered by Advantage Administrators.
Important Note about FSA Participation: Your enrollment in an FSA does not automatically continue from year-to-year. If you want to participate in Drake’s FSA plans during 2023, you must make a new election during Open Enrollment this month. If you forget to enroll or re-enroll, you will not be able to enroll once Open Enrollment has closed. Every year at least one person forgets to re-enroll and learns the hard way. Don’t be that person this year!
Questions about flexible spending accounts?
Advantage Administrators will be present at Drake’s Benefits & Wellness Fair on Nov. 4 (9–11:30 a.m.) in Levitt Hall. If you have questions related to flexible spending accounts, please stop by the Fair and speak directly with their representative. If you are unable to attend the fair, please reach out to drakehr@drake.edu with any benefits questions.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
Several employees have expressed concerns about the vision hardware benefit offered by Drake’s Health Plan. The paper reimbursement process has proven to be slow and frustrating at best. In fact, one participant reported they stopped seeking reimbursement due to the inefficiencies of the claims process. We heard you!
Together with the University Benefits Committee and our benefit consultants, we explored other hardware benefit options. We are happy to announce a new vision hardware benefit with Avēsis effective January 1, 2023. Although we are discontinuing the hardware benefit through Wellmark, annual preventive vision exams will remain covered under Drake’s Health Plan.
The Avēsis hardware plan will include provider discounts and value-added features and allow for an enhanced participant experience. While the plan includes a vast network, participants will be able to purchase hardware from out-of-network providers.
Avēsis In-network Hardware Benefit At-A-Glance
This is a voluntary/optional benefit. You may choose to purchase this coverage for yourself or your covered dependents (spouse/partner and dependent children).
Frame allowance = $150
Contact Lens Allowance = $150
Materials Co-pay = $15
Single Monthly Rate = $1.37/month
Family Monthly Rate = $4.37/month
To learn more about the new Avēsis vision hardware benefit, click here. To search for Avēsis network providers, click here.
Questions about the new vision hardware benefit offered by Avēsis?
Avēsis representatives will be present at Drake’s Benefits & Wellness Fair on Nov. 4 (9–11:30 a.m.) in Levitt Hall. If you have questions related to this new vision hardware benefit, please stop by the fair and speak directly with our Avēsis partners. If you are unable to attend the fair, please reach out to drakehr@drake.edu with any benefits questions.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
Important Reminder: Employees on Drake’s health plan who wish to receive a wellness health insurance premium discount in 2023, need to complete a physical with their Primary Care Physician (PCP) between Dec. 1, 2021 and Nov. 30, 2022 and submit a Premium Discount – Annual Physical Form by Dec. 2, 2022. This is the only option to receive the discount in 2023.
Besides receiving a premium discount, an annual physical is a great way to receive important health information through age and gender specific examinations, schedule recommended preventative screenings, and create a doctor-patient relationship.
If you have not scheduled your annual physical yet with your PCP, you are encouraged to do so as soon as possible.
When most people think about the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), they think about workplace safety—having the right equipment to safely do the job (ear plugs, knee pads, safety goggles), putting signs up when the floor is wet, and the like. However, OSHA also works to improve mental health of employees in the workplace.
Through a two-year agreement, OSHA is partnering with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), to promoting workplace mental health and suicide prevention awareness. September is also National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and you are encouraged to take some time to review the OSHA/AFSP resources.
Something to look out for when concerned that a person may be suicidal is a change in behavior or the presence of entirely new behaviors. This is of sharpest concern if the new or changed behavior is related to a painful event, loss, or change. Most people who take their lives exhibit one or more warning signs, either through what they say or what they do.
Talk: If a person talks about:
Killing themselves
Feeling hopeless
Having no reason to live
Being a burden to others
Feeling trapped
Unbearable pain
Behavior: Behaviors that may signal risk, especially if related to a painful event, loss or change:
Increased use of alcohol or drugs
Looking for a way to end their lives, such as searching online for methods
Withdrawing from activities
Isolating from family and friends
Sleeping too much or too little
Visiting or calling people to say goodbye
Giving away prized possessions
Aggression
Fatigue
Mood: People who are considering suicide often display one or more of the following moods:
Depression
Anxiety
Loss of interest
Irritability
Humiliation/Shame
Agitation/Anger
Relief/Sudden Improvement
We encourage everyone to take a few minutes to watch a video, review a poster, or read an article shared on this site. As with planning for any kind of crisis (tornados, fires, etc.), we hope we never need to deploy the resources, but it is always helpful to know where to go to learn more when you really need the help.
Reminder: New 3 Digit Number Available to Get help now.
Call the new three-digit dialing code 988 or find online chat at 988lifeline.org/chat
Para obtener información en español, llame al 1-888-628-9454 o visite el sitio web
— Maureen De Armond, HR; Chris Nickell, Environmental Health & Safety
Do you feel like your use of technology (social media, news outlets, email) is out of your control? Do you feel distracted or unable to focus due to constant digital interruptions? Would you like to start this academic year off by establishing a new relationship with technology? If so, please join us for a Digital Detox inspired by Cal Newport’s book Digital Minimalism: Choosing Life in a Noisy World. Portfolio/Penguin, 2019.
During this six-week session, participants will consider their relationship with technology, set their own rules of technology engagement, and support one another as we detox from the technology that runs our life. Sessions will be held on Mondays from 3:30–4 p.m., beginning Sept. 12. Space is limited to the first 25 that sign up, so commit to a better relationship with tech today.
This is the fourth year of Drake’s Walktober step challenge with Des Moines University (DMU) and Wesley Life Each site has won the challenge (and coveted trophy) once, which makes this the tie breaker year. To bring the trophy back to the Drake campus, we need your help, by joining the Drake Walktober step challenge team.
You will receive a journal and instructions to track your daily steps both on and off campus during the month of October. Any movement that records steps will count toward the total. Along the way, you will receive fun facts and have a chance at individual prizes. This event is open to all faculty, staff, and students. Send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu to register. Registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 30.
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness month. Some points to consider:
Many suicide attempts take place during a short-term crisis, so it is important to consider a person’s access to lethal means during these periods of increased risk.
Access to lethal means (such as a firearms and medication) is a risk factor for suicide.
Reducing access to lethal means saves lives.
There are steps you can take to make your home safer from self-harm and suicide. While many of these tips will seem obvious (and others perhaps not reasonably achieved), safety measures are often and easily overlooked—like a smoke detector that doesn’t work, the flashlight with dead batteries, or an expired fire extinguisher. Periodic safety checks are worth the thought and effort—even if some add a bit of inconvenience.
Weapons and dangerous objects: Research shows that having a gun or weapon in the home increases the risk of dying by suicide.
Guns should be stored unloaded in a locked safe. Bullets should also be locked, but in a separate place.
Gun safe keys or a combination to the lock should be kept only by the adults in the house.
Consider purchasing trigger locks for guns.
When children and teens go to friends or relatives’ homes, ask about gun ownership and storage.
Limit children’s access to knives, razor blades, and other sharp objects.
Medications: Parents and caregivers should be in charge of the medications that are kept in the home.
Secure all medications, both prescribed and non-prescribed (over the counter).
An adult should hand out and control all prescribed and over the counter medications to children.
Keep track of all bottles of medication as well as the number of pills in each container, including those prescribed as over the counter medications (such as pain relief, allergy pills, vitamins, and supplements, etc.) for the household (prescribed pet medications included) in the home.
Dispose of all expired and no longer used prescribed medications by bringing them to your local pharmacy or fire station.
Ask the parents of your child’s friends how their medications are stored in their home.
Drugs and alcohol: If substances that can be abused, like alcohol, are kept in the home, they should be monitored and locked.
Keep track of bottles of alcohol and lock them away. It is not enough to put these items “out of reach.”
If marijuana is kept in the home, lock all forms of it in a lock box that only adults in the house have the lock or combination to.
Talk with the parents of your child’s friends about how they store alcohol or marijuana in the home.
Other toxins/hazardous materials: Other items can be used for self-harm and suicide.
Keep your vehicle keys with you at all times or consider locking them in a lock box when not in use.
Limit access to toxic household cleaners, pesticides, and industrial chemicals away.
Limit access to ropes, electrical wire, and long cords within the home.
Secure and lock high level windows and access to rooftops.
Although, it is not possible to make a home completely safe, following these suggestions can help reduce the risks and chance for a suicide attempt. If anyone in your home is talking about suicide, engaging in acts of self-harm, or researching suicide, they should be urgently evaluated by a qualified mental health provider.
Their services also include financial and legal consultation, child/elder care resources, and life coaching. You may reach EFR by phone (800-327-4692) or visit their website.
Special Note: Representatives from EFR are available to attend a department or staff meeting (in-person or virtually) to highlight their resources and help answer any questions. They will present to groups of any size. If you would like EFR to speak during one of your meetings, please send an email to Dave Bent, EFR Account Manager, at DBent@EFR.org or phone 515-471-2381.
