Employee Benefits

BENEFITS SUMMARY

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Health Care Concierge
Flexible Spending Accounts
Life & AD&D Insurance
Long-Term Disability Insurance
403(b) Retirement Plan
Employee Assistance Services
Patient Advocacy Assistance
Vacation, Holidays, Sick and Personal Days
Day Student Tuition Remission
Workers Compensation Insurance
School Store
Meals
Employee Discounts

A summary of all benefits offered to full-time employees of Groton School can be found here.

Medical Insurance – full-time employees
As a full-time employee of Groton School, you have several different plan options from which to choose.

Groton School utilizes Benemax, a third party administrator which manages health and dental plans for the school. Employees are encouraged to log into Benemax's VBM (Virtual Benefit Manager) to review your claims, Explanation of Benefits (EOB) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) balances. When logging in for the first time, you will need the VBM keyword which is Groton, click on claims, claims history and then if you have not set up an account, the instructions for logging in for the first time are on this page.

Your Choices:
Groton School offers two programs from Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS): the HMO Health Plan with Benemax Wrap (HMO) and the PPO Health Plan with Benemax Wrap (PPO).

Groton School will fund a portion of the premium for the HMO Health Plan. Employees wishing to enroll in the PPO plan may choose to buy up to this plan.

Our two choices, starting from the least to most expensive, are listed below. You may follow the links to find summaries of each plan's coverage, deductibles, etc.

HMO Health Plan with Benemax Wrap - a Health Maintenance Organization plan that requires you to obtain services from in-network doctors. You must choose a primary care provider. Referrals are not required as long as you use BCBS in network providers.
PPO Health Plan with Benemax Wrap – In addition to in network doctors, this plan gives you the ability to go outside the BCBS network without referrals.

In addition to the above, our health plan includes prescription drug coverage. Information about the drug coverage is included in each plan's summary.

Enrollment:
Please use the enrollment form for health insurance.

Normally, you can only enroll in health insurance coverage or change your coverage during our annual open enrollment period (the weeks leading up to June 1). The exception to this is when you have a "qualifying event." A qualifying event include things like changes in family status, birth or adoption of a child, starting a job at Groton School at any time during the year, etc. Please reach out to the Director of Human Resources if you have any questions about what might constitute a qualifying event.

Dental Insurance
Groton School offers dental coverage at group rates with Blue Cross Blue Shield Dental Blue Freedom plan and funds 50 percent of the cost of the premium. There is a $2,000 calendar year maximum and a $2,000 orthodontic lifetime maximum.

Vision Insurance
Groton School offers vision coverage at group rates with Blue 20/20. Please see the summary for details regarding coverage.

Health Care Concierge
Blue Cross Blue Shield offers a Care Concierge team of nurses available 24/7 to discuss health conditions, healthier habits, and available programs and resources. They are also available to help you decide whether to see your doctor, go to the ER, or care for yourself at home. Please consult the brochure for more information.

Other Questions or Problems?
If you have specific questions about your coverage, or are having problems getting information from the insurer or getting reimbursed for a claim, please contact Eileen Archambault for assistance.

Flexible Spending Accounts
The school currently offers a Section 125 plan (cafeteria plan) for uninsured medical and dependent care costs. The contributions are pre-tax. Please see the FSA eligible expenses for details on qualified expenses along with the reimbursement claim forms in the Documents box on this page.

Life & AD&D Insurance – full-time employees
Your benefit is equal to 2.5 times your annual earnings, to a $500,000 maximum. You will find summary of benefits in this document.

Per IRS guidelines, you are taxed on this benefit if the benefit is greater than $50,000.

Short-Term Disability – full-time employees
Employees are eligible for a maximum of six months paid sick leave/STD with the proper documentation from a physician. This policy is intended solely to provide income protection in the event of illness or injury of the employee. This policy does not extend to family members.

Family Sick Leave – full-time employees
Time away from work to care for a sick family member will be separate from the Short Term Disability Policy and is capped at five days per year.

Long-Term Disability Insurance – full-time employees working at least 1,000 hours per year
Your benefit is equal to 66.67 percent of monthly wages, to a maximum of $10,000 per month. Details on the coverage are available in this brochure.

Defined Benefit Retirement Plan – Faculty who have completed two years of service are eligible for the Defined Benefit Retirement Plan (the “Plan”).

Benefits are calculated on 1.2 percent times the average salary of the final five years of service, times the number of years served (up to 30 years). The final average compensation is currently limited to a maximum that is “indexed” annually. The annual index will be based on the trustee-approved annual rate of overall salary increase.

403(b) Defined Contribution Retirement Plan – The Groton School Pension Plan is provided through TIAA. Once you become eligible and enroll in the Plan, Groton School contributes to a 403(b) retirement account on your behalf. Plan contributions are a percentage of regular wages as follows:

Full time employees:

Your Contribution	Groton's Contribution
3%	8%
5%	10%

If an employee works at the school more than 500 hours but less than 1,000 hours per year for two consecutive years, they will receive a 3.5 percent contribution to TIAA. If an employee works less than 500 hours per year for 10 years, they will receive a 3.5 percent contribution to TIAA.

Supplemental Retirement Plan
This is an employee contribution plan only, in which you are able to put aside additional pre-tax money for your retirement. The 2024 limit is $23,000 with an additional catch-up limit of $7,000 for those over age 50. You have an additional option of contributing post tax to a Roth plan.

Employee Assistance Services
All employees as well as their immediate family members, are covered under The Hartford Life Essential programs which are detailed below:

Ability Assist^® Counseling Services⁴

Employees enrolled in our Group Disability plan can receive professional counseling for financial, legal and emotional issues. This includes three face-to-face sessions per year and unlimited phone access. Services are also available to spouses and dependent children and can include guidance from highly trained master’s and doctoral level clinicians to help deal with job pressures, relationship and marital conflicts, stress, anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Ability Assist counseling is included with our Short-term and Long-term disability coverages.

Hartford Life Essentials Beneficiary Assist^® (Help for Those Coping With a Loss)²

The Hartford provides expert support to help employees or their loved ones cope with the emotional, financial, and legal issues that arise after a loss. This also includes 24/7-unlimited phone contact with professionals, as well as five face-to-face sessions that help with topics such as grief and loss, job pressures, stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship/marital conflicts. Beneficiary Assist is included with our Life and Accident coverages.

Hartford Life Essentials Estate Guidance^®2

The Hartford helps employees protect their family's future by creating a customized and legally binding online will using a simple but comprehensive online questionnaire. Estate Guidance also provides an online education center and support from a licensed attorney. Additional services include creating living wills and trusts along with guidance about divorce proceedings and durable power of attorney. This is included with our Life coverage.

Hartford Life Essentials Travel Assistance & ID Theft Protection Service³

The Hartford provides pre-trip information that helps employees feel safe and secure while traveling. This includes information about whether a visa or passport is required, immunization or inoculation requirements, foreign exchange rates, and embassy referrals. It also provides access to medical professionals across the globe when traveling 100+ miles away from home for 90 days or fewer. In addition, ID theft protection is available 24/7 whether home or away. ID theft protection offers educational materials on how to prevent identity theft and access to caseworkers who can help victims resolve problems that result from it. Travel Assistance & ID Theft Protection is included with our Life, Accident, and Long-term Disability coverage.

Patient Advocacy – We have an agreement with the McKellan Group, a Connecticut based firm which provides patient advocacy services for various health care issues (they specialize in dealing with insurance companies on your behalf and appealing unfavorable decisions, provide guidance on Medicare or home health care decisions for elderly parents, insurance options for dependents over age 26, etc.) This firm can be very helpful in guiding you through some confusing situations. We’ve reached an agreement whereby they will provide their services to Groton employees at a 50% discount.

Vacation, Holidays, Sick and Personal Days – full-time employees
Refer to your handbook for details.

Tuition Remission – full-time faculty and staff
Five years (grades 8–12) at 80 percent of day tuition or four years (grades 9–12) at 100 percent of day tuition.

Workers Compensation Insurance – all faculty and staff
Workers compensation is provided for all employees who incur job-related illnesses and injuries while engaged in work activities.

School Store – all faculty and staff
All employees receive a 10 percent discount on clothing and gifts.

Meals – all employees
Meals are provided free of charge during the school year on days when the Dining Hall food service is in operation, with the exception of when school is not in session over the summer.

Employee Discounts – all employees
Verizon Wireless: Employees of Groton School are eligible for a 15 percent discount on your data plan and 10 percent off of most accessories in store and 25% online. Please check out Verizon Wireless Teacher Discount for eligibility requirements.

Enterprise/National Car Rental: Employees of Groton School are eligible for a 10% discount off of the standard rates at National and 5% off Enterprise. You can enroll in the two companies Emerald Club and link our corporate number (please contact the Business Officer for the number) to your personal membership so that you will automatically get the discount every time you book a car with them. An advantage of being an Emerald Club member is that you can skip the rental counter and go straight to the cars.