Employee Benefits

The Supplemental Group Term Life Insurance (SGTL) protection plan is in addition to the basic life insurance. It is available at group rates for employees, their spouse, and dependent children. This benefit covers regardless of the cause of death, i.e. illness or accident. An employee can apply for up to six times the annual salary to a maximum of $1,000,000. For active employees, coverage begins to reduce at age 60. The employee's spouse can apply for a maximum of $200,000, and dependents can apply for $3,000, $5,000, or $10,000.

Please go to our Supplemental Group Term Life Insurance page for additional information.

24-Hour Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance (24-hr AD&D) provides protection for accidents that result in the loss (or loss of use) of the following: life, limb, (including hands and feet), vision, hearing, and/or voice. To collect this benefit, the loss must be the direct result of an accidental injury, be independent of all causes other than the accident, and be filed within 90 days of the date of the original accident.

There are many different coverage options and amounts, including employee only, employee and spouse only, employee and children only, or entire family coverage. For the different options and premium rates, please refer to the DMBA.com website.

You are eligible to enroll in this insurance even if you do not enroll in the Core Insurance Benefits. You can apply for or change 24-hr AD&D at any time; it is not constrained to the open enrollment period. Coverage begins the first day of the month after Deseret Mutual has approved your application. There is no health questionnaire or nurse's visit required to apply for or change your 24-hr AD&D coverage.

For more detailed information, please visit the DMBA.com website.

The Deseret 401(k) Plan is a traditional safe harbor defined contribution plan offered to all eligible BYU–Hawaii employees. You can contribute a percentage of your gross income each pay period on a before-tax or after-tax basis. Brigham Young University–Hawaii will make a matching contribution of up to 4% into your account. Find more information on our 401(k) plan page.

Master Retirement Plan

The Deseret Mutual Master Retirement Plan is a traditional defined benefit pension plan that gives you a monthly income for your lifetime. It is completely funded by Brigham Young University–Hawaii and it is designed to work hand in hand with other retirement programs like your employer savings plan, social security benefits, and your personal savings. At retirement, benefits are calculated based on your salary, years of service, age, and benefit credit.

Participation

You will automatically become a participant in the MRP after you meet the requirements for eligibility. These include:

• Age 21 or older.
• Work at least 1,000 hours within the first 12 months of employment or within any future year.
• Not hired into an excluded class.

Benefit Credit

Benefit credit means the number of years of credited service you have earned as a participant. This is used to calculate your retirement benefit. Benefit credit:

• Begins the later of age 21 or your hire date,
• Has a maximum of 33 years, and
• Is calculated and awarded on a monthly basis.

All credited service begins on the first day of the month. If your participation date is:

• The first day of the month, credited service begins that day.
• After the first day of the month, credited service begins the first day of the following month

Vesting

Vesting means ownership of retirement benefits. In other words, you have worked long enough to qualify for a benefit at retirement, even if you terminate employment before then. Vesting credit begins at the later of age 18 or your hire date. Eligible participants are 100% vested after five years of credited service.

You may be entitled to the MRP benefits at normal retirement age, at early retirement age, or as a vested employee who terminated employment before retirement age.

Final Average Salary

Your final average salary is the average of the highest five (5) years of salary.

Benefit Calculation

For the Standard Retirement Benefit at age 65, the retirement benefit is calculated by using the following formula:

• Add your annual eligible salaries for your five highest years.
• Divide the result by 60 to get your monthly final average salary.
• Multiply your monthly final average salary by 1.5% (your benefit accrual rate).
• Multiply that result by the number of years of benefit credit you have earned.
• Divide that result by 12 to get your monthly Master Retirement Plan Benefit.

Other factors (e.g. age at retirement, your choice of payment option) may affect the final benefit amount.

Benefit Payment Options

Several payment options are available upon retirement. Careful consideration of each option is recommended to determine which option best suits your needs.

Information on this page is for general reference only. See the appropriate DMBA Handbook for more complete information on the retirement program.

Master Retirement Plan

The Deseret Mutual Master Retirement Plan is a traditional defined benefit pension plan that gives you a monthly income for your lifetime. It is completely funded by Brigham Young University–Hawaii and it is designed to work hand in hand with other retirement programs like your employer savings plan, social security benefits, and your personal savings. At retirement, benefits are calculated based on your salary, years of service, age, and benefit credit.

Participation

You will automatically become a participant in the Master Retirement Plan (MRP) after you meet the requirements for eligibility. These include:

• Age 21 or older
• Work at least 1,000 hours within the first 12 months of employment or within any future year
• Not hired into an excluded class

Benefit Credit

Benefit credit means the number of years of credited service you have earned as a participant. This is used to calculate your retirement benefit. Benefit credit:

• Begins the later of age 21 or your hire date,
• Has a maximum of 33 years, and
• Is calculated and awarded on a monthly basis.

All credited service begins on the first day of the month. If your participation date is:

• On the first day of the month, credited service begins that day.
• After the first day of the month, credited service begins the first day of the following month.

Vesting

Vesting means ownership of retirement benefits. In other words, you have worked long enough to qualify for a benefit at retirement, even if you terminate employment before then. Vesting credit begins at the later of age 18 or your hire date. Eligible participants are 100% vested after five years of credited service.

You may be entitled to the Master Retirement Plan benefits at normal retirement age, at early retirement age, or as a vested employee who terminated employment before retirement age.

Final Average Salary

Your final average salary is the average of the highest five (5) years of salary.

Benefit Calculation

For the Standard Retirement Benefit at age 65, the retirement benefit is calculated by using the following formula:

• Add your annual eligible salaries for your five highest years.
• Divide the result by 60 to get your monthly final average salary.
• Multiply your monthly final average salary by .75% (your benefit accrual rate).
• Multiply that result by the number of years of benefit credit you have earned.
• Divide that result by 12 to get your monthly Master Retirement Plan Benefit.

Other factors (e.g. age at retirement, your choice of payment option) may affect the final benefit amount.

Benefit Payment Options

Several payment options are available upon retirement. Careful consideration of each option is recommended to determine which option best suits your needs.

Employer Discretionary Retirement Contribution (EDRC)

For eligible employees hired between April 1, 2010 and December 31, 2020, BYU–Hawaii provides and fully funds an EDRC equal to a percentage of their compensation. BYU–Hawaii chooses the percentage of the compensation you will receive and this percentage is subject to change each year. The EDRC is calculated and deposited into your Deseret 401(k) account at the end of each regular pay period. For employees hired after April 1, 2010, the current EDRC amount is 3.5%.

Here is some further information about the EDRC:

• This EDRC is 100% funded by the employer and employees are immediately vested in it.
• Because they are immediately vested, employees who leave BYU–Hawaii at any time can take the full 401(k) and EDRC amounts with them.
• The EDRC is in addition to any employee contributions and any employer match.
• The BYUH match and EDRC do not impact the amount of money employees can contribute to the 401(k), but are in addition to these limits. In 2021, the 402(g) limit for savings plans remains $19,500, with a $6,500 catch-up contribution limit for those aged 50 or older.

Information on this page is for general reference only. See the appropriate DMBA Handbook for more complete information on the retirement program.

Retirement Plan Overview

All employees hired after January 1^st, 2021 can participate both in the Deseret (401K) savings plan and the Employer Discretionary Retirement Contribution (EDRC).

Employer Discretionary Retirement Contribution (EDRC)

For eligible employees hired on or after January 1st, 2021, BYUH provides and fully funds an EDRC equal to a percentage of their compensation. BYU–Hawaii chooses the percentage of the compensation you will receive and this percentage is subject to change each year. The EDRC is calculated and deposited into your Deseret 401(k) account at the end of each regular pay period. For employees hired after January 1^st, 2021, the EDRC is anticipated to be 8%.

Here is some further information about the EDRC:

• This EDRC is 100% funded by the employer and employees are immediately vested in it.
• Because they are immediately vested, employees who leave BYU–Hawaii at any time can take the full 401(k) and EDRC amounts with them.
• The EDRC is in addition to any employee contributions and any employer match.
• The BYUH match and EDRC do not impact the amount of money employees can contribute to the 401(k), but are in addition to these limits. In 2021, the 402(g) limits for savings plans remain at $19,500, with a $6,500 catch-up contribution limit for those aged 50 or older.

Information on this page is for general reference only. See the appropriate DMBA Handbook for more complete information on retirement programs.

Any non-student employee (including non-benefited employees) can choose to contribute to any supplemental retirement savings account available through TIAA as long as he/she is receiving a salary from BYU–Hawaii. Contributions are made through payroll deductions. BYUH does not make any matching contributions to these accounts. Additional information can be found on our TIAA/CREF page.

Effective May 2020, the preset mix asset allocation models will be removed from the 401(k) Plan and BlackRock Life Path index funds will be added as new investment options. Please see our Target Date Funds page for more information.

The university provides paid vacation leave benefits for administrative and full-time staff employees. Upon hire, employees will be granted 40 hours of vacation time. During the first year, non-exempt employees accrue 2.154 vacation hours per pay period. Exempt employees will accrue a rate of 5.667 vacation hours per pay period. After the anniversary date, employees then accrue vacation time at a rate reflected in the table below. A total of 176 vacation hours will be allowed to carry-over into the next year; anything in excess of this amount will be counted as a loss as of December 31 of each year.

As contract employees, Faculty do not accrue vacation time. Faculty are expected to take vacation days during scheduled academic breaks.

Upon hire, administrative and full-time staff employees will be granted 40 hours of sick leave. During the first year, non-exempt employees accrue 2.154 sick hours per pay period. Exempt employees will accrue a rate of 2.3333 sick hours per pay period. After the first anniversary date, employees will then accrue eight hours of sick leave for each month worked. Sick leave accrued cannot exceed 480 hours.

A regular full-time (administrative or staff) employee who gives birth may take six weeks of medical maternity leave and six weeks of parental leave. Employees are expected to give at least one week notice of the need for leave whenever possible. Regular full-time (administrative or staff) employees that need to request maternity and parental leave must complete the Request for Paid Leave— Medical Maternity Leave, Parental Leave, and Short-Term Disability form and submit it to employeebenefits@byuh.edu.

Regular full-time benefited employees are eligible for six weeks (administrative or staff) or one semester (CFS or on-track for CFS) of paid parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child. To request leave, complete the Request for Parental Leave Following Childbirth or Adoption form and submit it to employeebenefits@byuh.edu.

A regular full-time employee (administrative or staff) who gives birth may take parental leave in addition to medical maternity leave and should apply using the Request for Paid Leave - Medical Maternity & Parental Leave form.

Please click here to see the list of holidays that the university observes.

A free and confidential employee assistance program called “My EAP Helper” is available through Beacon for regular and temporary full-time, part-time employees, and their dependents. Student employees are not eligible for this benefit. Eligible employees and their dependents will receive personalized guidance and support from experts at any time when you visit My EAP Helper or call (844) 280-9629.

Please go to our Employee Assistance Program page for a brief outline of how this benefit works.

Employees along with their spouses and dependents are eligible to receive a BYU–Hawaii ID card. The following facilities and activities are available to those with a BYUH ID. Those who receive ID cards agree to abide by the BYU–Hawaii Honor Code and dress and grooming standards when using these facilities or participating in campus events.

• Use of university library.
• BYUH Store discount.
• Reduced rates on tickets to athletic and performance series on campus.
• Use of athletic facilities.
• Discounts at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

More information regarding these benefits can be found on our ID Card Benefits page.

Retiree ID cards will be valid for five years. If you lose your ID card, you will have to pay a $5 fee at the Cashier’s Office before we can issue you a new ID card.

Following are the benefits associated with the BYU–Hawaii retiree ID card:

• Fitness Center access before 6 pm.
• Swimming pool.
• Tennis and basketball courts.
• Library: up to five items; three-week loan period.
• 10% off at the BYUH Store.
• Employee rate for university events.

Employees Taking Classes

Regular full-time employees may register, tuition free, for BYU–Hawaii courses that meet the requirements specified in the tuition waiver policy. Although desirable, it is not necessary for courses taken by the employee to be part of an established degree program. Active full-time employees cannot take more than two courses per semester or one class per term. The first priority for enrollment in a class is given to matriculated students.

Regular full-time employees become eligible for this benefit beginning the first enrollment period following the employee’s hire date.

Employees must complete the tuition waiver form each semester in order to receive the tuition waiver.

Employees' Spouses and Dependents Taking Classes

Spouses and dependents of regular full-time employees are eligible for tuition waivers. Spouses receive a full-tuition waiver for an unlimited number of credit hours. Dependent children are eligible for a half-tuition waiver for undergraduate work only, regardless of marital status. Benefits for dependent children cease when they receive an undergraduate degree, accumulate 152 credit hours, or reach age 30, whichever occurs first (includes credits taken from BYU in Provo, BYU-Idaho, and Ensign College).

Employees must complete the tuition waiver form each semester in order for spouse and dependents to receive the tuition waiver.

Graduate Degree

Regular full-time employees are eligible to receive tuition assistance when enrolled in a graduate program for an accredited institution. Employees become eligible for this benefit on the effective date of their hire. Employees should contact naomi.pasi@byuh.edu to begin the application process. An applicant for tuition assistance must provide evidence that (s)he has been accepted into a Graduate Degree program and that the content of the educational experience in the program has relevance to the university.

Participants will also be required to sign a promissory note under the terms of which, at the time of separation from the University, the employee agrees to repay any outstanding balance of tuition assistance advances that have not been forgiven.

Assistance will be paid as a reimbursement to the employee of one half of tuition paid, not to exceed $15,750 per employee. Tuition assistance beyond the IRS prescribed limit are taxable to the employee and those taxes will be paid by the employee. Requests for payment must be accompanied by a receipt for the tuition paid and evidence of successful completion (e.g., passing grade) of the course(s) taken. The university will provide tuition assistance for only one graduate degree. Exceptions require approval of the President's Council.