Human Resources: Benefits

Employees of Ohio public colleges and universities do not participate in the federal Social Security system, other than contributions to Medicare. While employed with the University, your retirement contributions must be invested with the Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP) or one of the state retirement systems. The ARP is a defined contribution plan in which an employee and employer contribute a defined pre-tax percentage of pay. The employee makes all investment decisions and those choices determine the amount of investment risk that the employee bears. The account balance consists of contributions made by the employee and BGSU and the account's investment gains or losses.

Eligibility

Faculty and administrative staff, hired on or after January 25, 1999, with a full-time contract of sufficient duration to qualify for health care benefits, are eligible.

Approved vendors

The following vendors are approved for ARP:

For more detailed vendor information, click here.

Enrollment

Eligible employees may enroll within 120 days of their initial employment or transfer from an ineligible (part time) to an eligible (full time) status. Selection of an ARP vendor, activation of account with the company, and completion of Retirement Plan Election Form must be done before selection can be made effective.

Vesting

Both your contributions and that of BGSU are allocated immediately to the employee's account for investment.

Benefits

There are no defined benefits, such as disability, survivor or medical health care under the ARP. The vested account balance would be available to the employee or beneficiary in the event of retirement, termination, disability, or death.

Change in Vendor

Enrollment is irrevocable while employed with Bowling Green State University. A change in ARP vendor may be made once a year by completing an ARP Vendor Change Form and returning it to the Office of Human Resources between November 29th and December 13th. The election change becomes effective with the first pay in January.

If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Meyer at 419-372-2112 or kmmeyer@bgsu.edu