Composite Benefit Rates - 5 Things You Need To Know

This is the first of a monthly email series intended to help UCSF faculty and staff understand Composite Benefits Rates (CBR). Each month, we will respond to three to five frequently asked questions.

Background:  With UCPath go-live on June 1, 2020, the system will implement a CBR for the employer share of benefits for all faculty and staff.  What is a CBR?  A CBR is the cost of employee benefits as an average percentage of gross salary cost applicable to an employee group.  UCSF Campus employees will be categorized into six CBR groups.

Does CBR affect what employees will pay for benefits?

No, CBR only affects the employer contributions.

Which benefits will be included in CBR?

Most benefits will be included in CBR, but several will continue to be assessed separately. The following table shows the benefits included and excluded from CBR:

Benefits assessed via CBR Benefits assessed separately

Payroll Taxes and Assessments:

  • OASDI (Social Security) and Medicare
  • Workers Compensation (including Postdoctoral)
  • Unemployment Insurance
  • Disability Insurance (including Postdoctoral)

Retirement:

  • UCRP Employer Contribution

Health & Welfare:

  • Health Insurance Contributions (including Core Medical and Postdoctoral)
  • Retiree Health (OPEB)
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Benefits Administration
  • Employee Support Program
  • Life Insurance (including Core and Postdoctoral)
  • Senior Management Supplement
  • PSBP Broker Fee
  • Vacation Leave Assessment (VLA)
  • Faculty Childbearing and Childrearing Assessment
  • UCRP STIP Loan Repayment Component
  • General, Auto, and Employment Liability (GAEL)
  • Graduate Student Tuition and Fee Remissions
  • All benefits processed outside of payroll

 

Are all Salary Components charged for benefits using the composite rates? Are there excluded salaries?

CBRs will be charged to most salary types, including regular pay, X and Y components of faculty salaries, shift differentials, and stipends. Exceptions include: certain agreement/incentive (Z) salaries, assessed and accrued vacation leave, housing and automobile allowances, honoraria, bonuses, relocation benefits, extended sick leave, involuntary severance, and other special supplemental pay not eligible for standard benefits identified by pay type.

What benefits rate will apply to my employees?

Benefits rates for individual employees will be determined by their title code and benefits eligibility. The CBR website shows the rates by title code in the CBR by title code lookup table. Note: financial analysts responsible for departmental budget development should use the UPlan & PLUS planning rates for projection purposes. These planning rates are lower for some groups to account for Vacation time, which will not be assessed for benefits in UCPath. The CBR Website explains how UCPath will assess VLA in further detail.

How are the employees placed in groups?

Employees are assigned a UCSF CBR group based on employee class, benefits eligibility and in a few instances, job code.

Please visit the CBR website for more information or email [email protected] with any questions.

To learn more about the Composite Benefit Rate in UCPath, join the Budget & Resource Management CBR Webinar 10:00-11:00am, Tuesday, April 7.

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