Budgets
Fringe Benefit Rates
Page at a Glance:
Overview:
Fringe benefits are non-salary employee compensation expressed as a percentage of salary. As such, to calculate the fringe benefits, the salary requested for each individual on a proposal budget is multiplied by the applicable fringe benefit rate percentage.
Fringe benefit rates are categorized as either Composite Rates or Miscellaneous Special Rates.
To print out the Budget Preparation Rates Quick Reference, which includes Fringe Benefit Rates, Tuition Remission Rates and Indirect Cost Rates, click here.
Composite Rates: |
7/1/10 to 6/30/11 |
7/1/11 to 6/30/12 |
7/1/12 to 6/30/13 |
7/1/13 to 6/30/14 |
7/1/14 to 6/30/15 |
7/1/15 and thereafter |
|
Academic Appointees |
25.8% |
30% |
34.2% |
37.4% |
38.6% |
increase by 2% per year |
|
Staff Employee |
34.6% |
39.4% |
44.2% |
48% |
49.8% |
| Miscellaneous Special Rates: (These rates are not escalated like the Composite Rates are above.) | ||||||
|
Academic Visiting Appointee |
10.8% |
|||||
| Academic Summer Salary Appointee - Social Security Coordinated | 12.2% | |||||
|
Academic Summer Salary Appointee - Not Social Security Coordinated |
4.5% |
|||||
| Postdoctoral Scholar - Employee | 22.1% | |||||
| Postdoctoral Scholar - Fellow | 22.2% | |||||
|
Retirees |
2% |
|||||
|
Staff Personnel - Casual with CORE benefits |
4.7% + 6.2% OASDI |
|||||
|
Staff Personnel - Casual without CORE Benefits |
2.5% + 6.2% OASDI |
|||||
|
Undergraduate and Graduate Students - Academic Year |
0.6% |
|||||
|
Undergraduate and Graduate Students - Summer Months |
2.5% |
|||||
Composite Rates:
Composite Rates are a weighted average percentage which consist of the following components:
UCRS Retirement Contribution
Health Plan Contribution
Social Security (FICA)
Dental Plan
Vision Contribution
Workers' Compensation Insurance
Employee Support Program
Unemployment Insurance
Non-Industrial Disability Insurance
-
Employer-Paid Life Insurance
Annuitant Health/Dental Program
-
Employee Incentive Award Assessment
- General Liability Insurance
There are two types of Composite Rates:
Academic Appointees, which include:
Professional Research series, including Project and Research Scientist titles
Professorial series
Adjunct Professor series
Professor of __________ in Residence series
Clinical Professor
Faculty on sabbatical
Postdoctoral Scholar - Employee
Postgraduate Research series
Specialists
Lecturers
Academic Administrators
Continuing Education Specialists
Staff Employees, which include:
Employees at 50% or more full-time for one year or more
These rates are used for pricing proposal budgets and are escalated every year on July 1st. Charges to contract and grant awards are based upon the actual fringe benefit payments.
Under special circumstances, the use of composite benefit rates may understate actual costs for employee benefits (e.g., when the majority belong to family dental and health plans). In those unique situations, or when a more precise measurement of fringe benefit costs is desirable, budgeting the actual fringe benefit costs, expressed as a percentage of salary, would be warranted in proposal budgets rather than total reliance on composite rates. Should this approach be used however, it must be applied consistently to all named employees, and can clearly not conceptually be utilized for "to be named" employees.
Please Note: When calculating actual fringe benefit rates, be sure to exclude any amounts charged for vacation accrual. For some employees, social security (FICA) costs may not appear on all monthly statements, so extra effort must be made to calculate the correct annual amount. Escalate the actual rates by the same number of percentage points as are used to increase the composite rates for each period.
Miscellaneous Special Rates:
Due to the nature of certain specialized employment appointments, there are a variety of unique special fringe benefit rates that have been developed. Each of these rates, which do not need to be escalated, consist of various components, but not all the components, of the Composite Rates. This results in a variety of lower percentage rates.
The following are a list of Miscellaneous Special Rates:
-
4.5% Summer salary for 9-month Academic appointees who are not Social Security (FICA) coordinated
-
10.8% Academic Visiting appointees salaried at 50%-100% for less than one year
Postdoctoral Scholar - Employee:
-
22.1%
Postdoctoral Scholar - Fellow:
-
22.2%
For example: Emeritus/Research Professor and Academic/Staff Returned To Active Duty (RTAD):
-
2.0%
Undergraduate and Graduate Students, Academic Year:
-
0.6% Workers' Compensation only
Please Note: Include Tuition Remission for Graduate Student Researchers during the Academic year, October thru June. For current Tuition Remission rates, click here.
Undergraduate and Graduate Students - Summer Months:
-
2.5% Workers' Compensation, Unemployment, & Medicare Contribution
Staff Personnel - Casual with CORE Benefits:
-
4.7% + 6.2% OASDI (Old Age, Survivors, Dependents Insurance) if applicable
Casual is defined as staff working more than 17.5 hours per week. However, this excludes the following:
Students in casual restricted jobs or an academic title designated as student assistant
Per diem, by agreement, and stipend only employees, and
Initial appointment of temporary for less than 3 months
The OASDI program portion of Social Security (FICA) should be added to the projected fringe benefit rates for current employees who elected OASDI during the period July 1991 through October 1992. All new hires and rehires after October 19, 1992 are not eligible for OASDI.
Staff Personnel - Casual without CORE Benefits:
-
2.5% + 6.2% OASDI (Old Age, Survivors, Dependents Insurance) if applicable
-
Casual is defined as working:
Less than 17.5 hours per week
By agreement
By stipend only
Per diem, and
- Temporary employees
- The OASDI program portion of Social Security (FICA) should be added to the projected fringe benefit rates for current employees who elected OASDI during the period July 1991 through October 1992. All new hires and rehires after October 19, 1992 are not eligible for OASDI.
