New Professional & Professional Faculty Benefits Checklist
This checklist is designed to assist new professional and professional faculty employees in tracking benefit submission deadlines, actions to take and required forms/documents submittal requirements. Many items are time-sensitive and should be addressed in a timely manner. University Human Resources hopes to make transiting into your new position as simple as possible by completing the action items listed below it will help set you up for success.
Action Items: Required Selections, Optional Selections and Policy Acknowledgements
Required Benefit Selections and Deadlines
Professional and Professional Faculty employees have the option of selecting between two retirement plans, Virginia Retirement System (VRS) or Optional Retirement Plan (ORP). See requirements for selection below.
| Required Selections | Access/Forms | Deadline | Notes |
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Health Coverage Enrollment/Waiver Form and Optional Flexible Spending accounts for Medical or Dependent Care available through Cardinal, DHRM's HCM system. Review the Enrollment Spotlight brochure to see costs and selection options available. Confer with ALEX! |
Register online at Cardinal. See Cardinal information and registration guide.
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Must be completed within 30 calendar days of hire date | New hires generally have access to their Cardinal ID, which is needed for registration, usually within 7 days after start date and can be accessed under Banner Self-Service. |
If selecting Virginia Retirement System (VRS) as retirement provider |
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| Elect to Participate in VRS | Complete Election of Retirement Plan Form VRS-65 | Must be completed within 60 calendar days of hire date | Deadline to submit via Box is within 60 calendar days of hire. The form is digitally fillable. |
| VRS Beneficiary Designation | Online at myVRS | No deadline to elect a beneficiary but recommend within first month of hire. | For member contribution account and employer provided group life insurance. New hires generally have access to their myVRS account 1-2 weeks after receipt of their first paycheck. |
| Select VRS & W&M's Disability Plan | VSDP-2 Opt-Out Form | Must be completed within 60 calendar days of hire date | Deadline to submit via Box is within 60 calendar days of hire. Please submit at same time as Form VRS-65 |
If selecting Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) as retirement provider |
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| Select ORP | Complete Election of Retirement Plan Form VRS-65 | Must be completed within 60 calendar days of hire date |
Deadline to submit via Box is within 60 calendar days of hire. The form is digitally fillable. |
| Complete Online Retirement@Work Fund selection or TIAA.com | Retirement@Work platform | Must complete within 1st pay period after election. |
When an ORP enrollee is setup with an ORP account through TIAA.org will depend on when they submit their VRS-65 and at what point in the payroll processing process their form is submitted. You will have access to your ORP account at TIAA.org after your VRS-65 form has been processed and your ORP enrollment is reflected on your paystub. You will see Optional Retirement – Plan 2 listed under Deductions before Federal Tax.
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| ORP Beneficiary Designation | Contact TIAA at 1-800 842 2252 | No deadline to elect a beneficiary but recommend within first month of hire. | |
| VRS Beneficiary Designation | Online at myVRS | No deadline to elect a beneficiary but recommend within first month of hire. | For employer provided group life insurance. New hires generally have access to their myVRS account 1-2 weeks after receipt of their first paycheck. |
| To Opt out of Auto Enrollment to Deferred Compensation (457b) | To opt-out call MissionSquare at 877-327-5261 Select Option 1. | 90 days of hire | ORP enrollees will be auto-enrolled in the 457(b) plan 90 days after submittal of the VRS-65 unless they opt-out by contacting MissionSquare or they enroll in the 403(b) plan within 90 days of hire. To opt-out call MissionSquare at 877-327-5261 Select Option 1. |
Optional Benefit Selections
| Optional Selection | Access/Form | Deadline | Notes |
| Legal Resources | Online at Legal Resources | Must be completed within 31 calendar days of hire date | |
| Optional Life Insurance | Online at myVRS | Must be completed within 31 calendar days of hire date | Offered by Securian |
| 457b, 403b and/or Cash Match |
To enroll in the 457(b) plan, register for a MissonSquare account managed for VRS. After Registering, Log In, Select Overview, and Select Change Contributions from the drop-down list under COV 457 Deferred Comp Plan. To enroll in the 403(b) plan access the Retirement@Work platform. |
Enrollment available at any time | It will take 1-2 weeks after receipt of first paycheck for employees to have access to set up these type of accounts. |
Acknowledgement of the following William & Mary policies:
Must be signed within 5 business days of receiving link. The link will be sent from Cornerstone (our learning management system).
- Code of Ethics & Mandatory Reporting
- Virginia Drug Policy Acknowledgement
- Health Insurance Deadline Notice
- Affordable Care Act (ACA)
- Cobra Notification
- Clearance Deduction Policy
