Employee Benefits
The City prides itself in its employee benefits package. Full-time and part-time employees are eligible to participate in our plans and programs based on the number of hours they work weekly. In addition to outstanding comprehensive health and welfare benefits, the City also provides a Wellness Program for employees and retirees. Please review the information below for further details on our employee benefits.
Benefits Summary
As a full-time, regular employee of the City of Alexandria you are presently eligible for the following benefits:
- Annual Leave
- Credit Union
- Deferred Compensation
- Defined Benefit Retirement Plan (see your retirement benefits)
- Dental Benefits
- Employee Assistance Program
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Paid City Holidays (special rules for sworn personnel)
- Health Insurance
- Long-Term Care Insurance
- Savings Bonds
- Sick Leave
- Supplemental Life Insurance
- Group Life Insurance
- Long-Term Disability
- Other Optional Benefits
Part-time employees who work 20 or more hours per week are eligible for the above benefits with the exception of Virginia Retirement System benefits. Further, their annual, sick, holiday and funeral leave benefits are pro-rated.
Part-time employees who work 10 but less than 20 hours per week are only eligible for health insurance, savings bonds, credit union, employee assistance program, dental, flexible spending plans, and pro-rated annual and sick leave benefits. School crossing guards accrue sick leave only.
For a full list of benefits, please contact the Human Resources Department, Benefits and Records Division, at 703.746.3777, or log on to “Benefits” in the Human Resources Department page on the Intranet. It is important for you to contact the Benefits and Records section to determine your benefits if you change your employment status, such as changing from a full-time to part-time status. The following is a brief discussion of some of the major benefits offered to City employees.
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Retirement Benefits
The City participates in a number of public employee retirement plans. For detailed information on these plans, please contact the Pension Admnistration, in the City Finance Office at (703) 746-3885 or visit the Pension Administration website.
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Transportation Benefits
The City encourages employees to take transit, walk, bike, vanpool or carpool to work by providing a variety of incentive programs. For detailed information on these programs, or for commute assistance, please contact the City of Alexandria’s Local Motion Program at 703.746.4084 or visit the Local Motion website.
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Health Insurance
Brochures on all health and life insurance and dental plans are available from HR Liaisons and the Employee Benefits Division of the Human Resources Department. Read these carefully and choose the insurance that best suits your needs. The City pays for a portion of the insurance coverage for health insurance plans, regardless of the plan chosen. The remainder of the premium is deducted from the employee's paycheck.
New employees must elect coverage within 30 days of employment, and all other employees must elect coverage within 30 days of a status change that affects the employee's coverage (e.g., divorce, birth or death of a family member, spouse's loss of employment), otherwise they must wait until open enrollment (usually held in mid May). Coverage begins on the first day of the month following 30 days of employment. For example, if an employee starts work on Monday, March 10, his or her medical insurance is effective May 1. If the employee's first day of work is April 1, his or her effective date for coverage is still May 1. Coverage for employees electing to enroll or change during open enrollment begins July 1. The selection of plans and their costs are subject to change.
You may include your spouse on your medical plan only if you are legally married, which means that you must be able to verify your marital status with a marriage license if requested to do so. You also include your unmarried children on your medical plan if all of the following are true: a) you are the biological parent, a legal step-parent, a legal guardian, or the child is legally adopted; and b) the child's age complies with the requirements of your medical plan. Children are eligible for inclusion on most of our plans after they reach age 19 if they are disabled or full-time students. Full-time students are generally covered through age 22. The Healthcare Reform Act of 2010 allows for coverage of dependent adults to age 26. Contact the Benefits Division to discuss contract requirements of the health plans offered by the City. No other individuals are eligible to be covered under the City's medical plans. If you are currently carrying someone on your policy who is not eligible for City medical insurance, you must correct this error immediately. Employees are responsible for notifying the Benefits Division within 30 days of any changes in their dependent's status (divorce, marriage, student disenrollment, etc.). Employees who are in violation of this policy will be charged with a Group III offense under the City's disciplinary regulation (A.R. 6-20), a charge that normally warrants termination of employment.
The City offers employees two plans, Kaiser Permanente and United Healthcare. Both Plans are health maintenance organizations (HMO's) and employees can choose out of plan services with the addition of point of service (POS) options. This allows employees four options to choose from:
Each of the plans provides the following types of benefits:
- Hospital Care, Hospital Physicians Services, Maternity Care, Out-of-Area Emergency Services, emergency Dental Benefits and Mental Health Benefits.
- Preventive Care, including Physical Check-up, Routine Immunizations, Nutrition Counseling, Well-Child Care, Routine Eye Exam.
- Additional Benefits, including Doctor's Office Visits, Diagnostic Lab & X-ray, Physical Therapy, Outpatient Surgery, and Prescription Drugs.
Important: All benefits and services are governed by the specific terms of their respective insurance contracts, and in the event of a conflict between this summary and the actual contract, the contract controls the service provided. Contact the Human Resources Department for detailed, complete descriptions of benefits provided including the duration, limitations and/or lifetime maximums. Employees must notify the Human Resources Department of any change in their status, such as marriage, divorce, or the birth or adoption of a child.
Supplemental Dental Plan
The City offers a supplemental dental plan through Dominion Dental Services. An employee may choose the Dominion DHMO or the Dominion PPO option. The employee contributes 100% of the biweekly premium amount through payroll deduction. Please refer to the plan booklet for levels of service and premium costs or to their web site at www.dominiondental.com.
Retiree Health Insurance
The health insurance reimbursement program is available to all eligible City retirees who participate in outside health insurance plans as well as those who participate in City-sponsored health insurance plans. The purpose of the reimbursement program is to help defray the steadily rising cost of health insurance for those retirees who are not participating in a City-sponsored health insurance program. The City reserves the right to amend or terminate any provision of this program.
Retired full-time employees receiving lifetime monthly benefits from a primary City-sponsored retirement plan who were enrolled in a City health insurance plan at the time of retirement are eligible for the program. Retired police officers and firefighters participating in the defined contribution retirement income plan must have at least 20 years of City Service to be eligible. If you have any questions concerning the amount of the monthly reimbursement and how to elect participation please contact the City's Human Resources Department.
Group Term Life Insurance
The City of Alexandria provides Basic Life Insurance and pays for basic group term life insurance, equal to basic coverage of the lesser of one or two times your basic yearly salary (depending on your date of hire) on January 1, rounded up to the next thousand, or $500,000 for employees. The coverage begins the first of the month following 90 days of continuous service. You can purchase Supplemental Life Insurance in the amount of one (1) or two (2) times your basic yearly earnings, but the total amount of basic and supplemental life will not exceed $750,000. You will be required to show proof of good health if you apply for any amount of Supplemental Life Insurance more than 31 days after the date you become eligible. Employees will also have several options for dependent life insurance. As with all insurance policies, it is important to notify the Human Resources Department of all changes in personal data, particularly dependent and beneficiary changes.
Long-Term Disability Insurance
All regular full-time and 50% or greater part-time employees of the City of Alexandria, except sworn police officers and firefighters, are eligible for long term disability (LTD) insurance benefits through Standard Insurance Co. LTD benefits are designed to partly replace income lost during periods of disability that result from injury, sickness, or pregnancy. Employees may receive 60% of basic monthly pay (excluding bonuses, overtime and other non-basic wages) subject to a maximum schedule amount of $5,000 per month, or until the maximum benefit period ends. The waiting period is 120 days for noncontributory insurance and 90 days for contributory insurance. The Long Term Disability benefits are offset by other benefits received such as Worker's Compensation, Retirement, or Social Security. It is important to read the insurance policy carefully to determine eligibility for benefits and the type and amount of benefits.
Other Life Insurance
Eligible employees may apply for universal life and critical illness insurance and may also insure their eligible family members. This voluntary benefit plan is provided through. This plan does not replace your existing group term life insurance coverage. It is not offered to new employees, since it is only available during special open enrollment periods. You may choose to continue the universal life insurance coverage if you retire or leave City employment for any reason.
Long-Term Care Insurance
The City makes available the Commonwealth of Virginia's Long Term Care Insurance through the Genworth Life Insurance Company. Long Term Care (LTC) insurance covers the costs of services not covered by health insurance. LTC situations can result from injuries caused by accidents, illnesses like MS, diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, or strokes and other chronic conditions. This insurance is provided at group rates. Newly hired full-time and 50% or greater part-time employees can enroll during their first 30 days of employment with no requirement for medical underwriting. Employees who do not elect to enroll at this time can enroll later, but evidence of insurability is required. Enrollment is easy. Go to: www.genworth.com/cov. You may also call 1-866-859-6060 to get a quote.
U.S. Savings Bonds
The U. S. Department of the Treasury offers a free online system for you to purchase, manage, and redeem electronic (paperless) Savings Bonds. For more information about electronic savings through Treasury Direct or to open an account, please visit www.treasurydirect.gov
Flexible Spending Accounts – The Healthcare Reform Act of 2010 addresses IRS changes to the benefit effective January 1, 2011.
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) are available for dependent day care and health care expenses that you estimate you will incur during the year. Health Care accounts are available to pay for out of pocket expenses (like physician and prescription co-pays, eyeglasses, over the counter medicines etc.) for you and your dependents. Dependent day care accounts cover day care expenses for your children (under age 13) or disabled dependents while you work. Each November or open enrollment period you designate the amount to be deducted from your paychecks in equal amounts throughout the next calendar year. The current maximum deduction is $5,000 ($192.31 per pay period) for dependent care and $2,500 ($96.16 per pay period) for medical expenses. Though the actual salary remains the same, the taxable annual salary as reported to the government is reduced by the amount put into the FSA. The FSA can be used to pay for eligible medical, dental and vision services
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