Pre-Tax Commute Benefit Services for Faculty & Staff through Wageworks
Program Overview
Program Benefits
Program Overview
The Parking & Tnspraortation Department (P&T) is contracting services with WageWorks, a commute benefit management company, to provide expanded pre-tax transit sales services for UCB employees. WageWorks will also provide pre-tax sales administration of annual employee campus parking permits and the employee AC Transit Bear Pass.
With Wageworks, about 6,000 employees will continue or begin to benefit from the savings provided by pre-tax parking and transit purchases.* Through WageWorks more employees will benefit by the expansion of transit and parking services offered and customer services will be improved.
*Pre-tax purchase provides an additional 12–46% savings. Actual savings are dependent upon your tax bracket
Program Benefits
Extensive transit ticket purchase choices for employees including most bus systems, BART, trains, ferry service and more. The service includes monthly transit pass delivery via mail directly to employee or Smart Card value download
Pre-tax benefit for employees commuting by vanpool
Pre-tax parking payment services for employees that use non-UCB parking facilities
Administration of pre-tax sales portion of the AC Transit Bear Pass program and the UC annual parking permit program
Direct payment or vouchers mailed to the employee for pre-tax parking and vanpool payments
Paperless enrollment by phone or web. Phone services are provided in numerous languages.
On-going ability for employees to change or cancel product and services on-line
Extensive customer support via phone, web and email
P&T will continue to provide the $10 per month subsidy towards transit ticket purchases - this subsidy will be offered to employees purchasing any transit ticket through WageWorks. Vanpoolers will also be eligible for the subsidy**
Over the counter sales for BART and Fairfield/Vallejo transit will continue for those not eligible for payroll deduction.
WageWorks administration, just as the transit and parking programs exist today, allows payment for all or part of the commuting expenses with pre-tax dollars. Effective January 1, 2008, the monthly pre-tax spending limit for public transportation and vanpools is $115 and for parking is $220. If monthly commuting ses eexpenxceed the pre-tax limits, the remainder of the expense will be deducted on an after-tax basis.
**The following current practices will continue: Bear Pass will not be eligible for the monthly subsidy, nor can the subsidy be applied to any AC Transit ticket purchase. Further, annual parking permit holders are not eligible for the subsidy.
Program Products
WageWorks will be offering and administering the following pre-tax products for UC Berkeley employees:
Transit Products
Transit tickets for most every transit provider in the bay area and beyond
Commuter credit card-load pre-tax dollars on the card and purchase tickets yourself at the transit agency
Vouchers
UC Berkeley AC Transit Bear Pass
UC Berkeley Annual Parking Products
UC Berkeley Annual Parking Permits Including: Central Campus "C"; Faculty/Staff "F"; "C" Carpool; "F" Carpool; Hill; Night/Weekend; Night/Weekend Early; Satellite; Motorcycle
Non-UC Parking Products
Pre-Tax parking payment, reimbursement or credit card for parking providers throughout the bay area
Vanpool Fares
Pre-Tax payment, reimbursement or vouchers for vanpool rider fares
Important Dates and Action Needed
Effective December 11, 2007, all pre-tax payroll deduction transit, UC parking permit and AC Transit Bear Pass transactions (new, changes and cancellations) will need to be done initiated through WageWorks. The monthly payroll deduction cut-off date for new orders, changes and cancellations is the 10th at 8:59pm pacific time each month.
Current Pre-Tax Transit Ticket Customers – ACTION NEEDED BY DECEMBER 10TH
Employees currently purchasing BART and Fairfield/Vallejo transit tickets pre-tax will need to take action to elect the transit ticket benefit for January 2008 through WageWorks by December 10, 2007. By doing so, you will receive your transit purchases through the mail during the last week of December 2007.
If you miss the December 10th Deadline:
If you miss the December 10th deadline, your pre-tax transit payroll deduction will be automatically cancelled for your January pay and you will not receive transit tickets via WageWorks or Parking & Transportation for January 2008. If you still want to participate in the pre-tax transit ticket program, enroll through WageWorks by January 10, 2008 in order for you to have your ticket order and pre-tax payroll deduction resume for the February benefit month. BART and Fairfield/Vallejo transit tickets will be sold over the counter with the $10 subsidy at Parking and Transportation, if you miss a month or so of pre-tax transit purchases.
Enroll in WageWorks on-line or by phone:
WageWorks website (http://www.wageworks.com) or by phone (1-877-924-3967)
Please note: beginning in January 2008, employees will no longer be able to pick up pre-tax transit purchases at Parking & Transportation.
Current Annual Parking Permit and AC Transit Bear Pass Customers – N0 INITIAL ACTION NEEDED
For employees already in possession of an annual parking permit or Bear Pass and are paying for these items through payroll deduction, there will be no initial action necessary. Beginning December 11, 2007, any changes or cancellations by current customers will need to be done through WageWorks, as will any new customer transactions.
After December 10th actions can be taken through the WageWorks website (http://www.wageworks.com) or by phone (1-877-924-3967).
Eligibility
Faculty, staff, and other select UC employees are eligible to participate in WageWorks provided pre-tax programs as follows:
Transit Tickets, Vanpool and Non-UC Provided Parking – Monthly Fulfillment
Faculty, staff, and other select employees on UC Berkeley payroll with appointments of 50% or more time, for a period of 60 days or more.
Annual Parking Permits and Annual AC Transit Bear Pass
The same eligibility criteria currently in place will continue with WageWorks: Faculty, staff, and other select employees on UC Berkeley payroll with appointments of 50% or more time, through the end of the fiscal year.
WageWorks Enrollment
You can enroll, cancel and make changes to your permits and tickets via the WageWorks website 24/7. You can also take these actions via the phone, Monday through Friday between 5:00am and 5:00pm.
www.wageworks.com
1-877-924-3967 (Monday through Friday between 5:00am and 5:00pm)
Tips and Info for WageWorks On-Line Transactions
First time going to wageworks.com - make sure to sign in as a first time user. Use the full name the UCB payroll has on file and the last four digits of yor employee ID number to authenticate into the system. You should be able to authenticate if you're already enrolled in a program and if you meet the eligibility requirements described above. Once you have selected your user name and password, return to the main page to log-in and take your actions.
If you have a UC parking permit or AC Transit Bear Pass and wish to cancel it, initiate this request through WageWorks first. WageWorks will alert Parking and Transportation of the request - you will need to return the permit or pass to the Parking and Transportation office before WageWorks will cancel your payroll deduction.
See WageWorks Quick Start Guide for more ordering tips. (Wageworks Quick Start Guide)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why did P&T choose to go with WageWorks? Wageworks provides expanded services, especially in the area of transit, that P&T could not offer offer to customers. Wageworks also enhances and automates P&T and Payroll's administration of pre-tax commuter benefits.
I've tried to sign up on line through WageWorks, but I'm not recognized by the system, what should I do? First time going to WageWorks.com - make sure to sign in as a first time user. Use the full name that UCB payroll has on file and the last four digits of your employee ID number to authenticate into the system. You should be able to authenticate if you're already enrolled in a program and if you meet the eligibility requirements described above. Once you have selected your user name and password, return to the main page to log-in and take your actions. If this doesn't work, contact P&T.
I'm a new employee and WageWorks doesn't have me in the system, what should I do? The two most likely reasons for this are either WageWorks hasn't been informed yet that you are a UCB employee or your appointment length or the percentage of time does not meet eligibility requirements. Contact P&T for your options.
I'm a UCB employee and already have a permit or Bear Pass and WageWorks doesn't have me in the system, what should I do? If you have tried to authenticate into the system following the directions above or have called WageWorks and still are not recognized in the system, contact P&T.
I'm suppose to pay $30.00 per month for the Bear Pass, therefore, why does the Bear Pass show as a $40.00 sale in Wageworks? The WageWorks sales system cannot differentiate between Bear Pass sales and all other transit ticket sales and the application of the $10.00 per month subsidy that P&T provides. As a work-around, we have had to price the Bear Pass at $40.00 and apply the $10.00 per month subsidy to the Bear Pass, so the customer continues to pay $30.00 per month.
I purchase daily parking permits, do I need to use WageWorks now? WageWorks is only for the sale of annual parking permits. Daily permits are still sold directly from P&T.
I ordered transit tickets and they were not delivered, what should I do? If you have ordered transit tickets through WageWorks and did not receive them in the mail by the 1st day of the benefit month, contact WageWorks via telephone to discuss options - make sure to contact them no later than the 3rd business day of the month so that a reimbursement can be made available if appropriate. Note: WageWorks sends transit tickets in non-descript envelopes to reduce the possibility of theft - make sure your tickets didn't get mixed up with other "junk" mail.
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