The Buffalo State community is saddened by the death of Carol J. Woodard, professor emerita of elementary education and reading, who died September 9, 2015. Additional information is available online.

Dr. Woodard is survived by her husband, Ralph, and three children. A memorial service was held in September.

The State University of New York provides employees with the opportunity to save for their retirement through the SUNY Voluntary Savings Plan. Participation in the SUNY Voluntary Savings Plan is a great way to build your retirement savings and reduce current taxes.

Whether you want to enroll in the plan for the first time or you are already enrolled but wish to change the amount of your deferral, you can accomplish your goal by filling out a Salary Reduction Agreement form.

ELIGIBILITY
All SUNY employees who receive compensation reportable on an IRS Form W-2 are eligible to participate in the plan.

Please take a moment to review the plan materials before enrolling. Once you are enrolled, you can review and change the amount of your contributions as often as once a pay period by submitting a new Salary Reduction Agreement form. The exact date that your investment allocations will take effect may vary depending on the policies of the investment provider managing the investment options you chose for plan contributions.

The tax-deferred plans listed below provide a way for you to contribute to a retirement account on a pre-tax basis through payroll deduction. Your contributions plus earnings are not taxed until you withdraw the funds. Usually this will be during your retirement, when your income may fall within a lower tax bracket.

WHAT ARE MY TAX-DEFERRED SAVINGS OPTIONS?
You may choose from several plan options and investment providers through the SUNY Voluntary Savings Plan. The authorized investment providers offer a wide choice of investment options, including stocks, bonds, and guaranteed funds.

The following plans and investment providers are available:

Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF)
Campus Representative: 
Richard Thompson: (716) 862-5905 or (866) 842-2054, ext. 275905
(800) 842-2252, www.tiaa-cref.org/suny

VOYA Financial
Campus Representatives: 
Gary Witten: (716) 626-3926
George Dougherty: (716) 626-3928
(800) 677-4636, https://suny.beready2retire.com

MetLife
Campus Representative: 
Jason Bird (734) 320-0453      
(800) 560-5001 (account holders), (844) 298-8899 (new enrollees), www.metlife.com/suny  

VALIC Retirement
Campus Representative:
Jeffrey Otterstein: (716) 908-1517 or (800) 892-5558, ext. 89370
(800) 448-2542, (888) 569-7055, www.valic.com/suny

Fidelity Investments (403(b)(7) Mutual Funds)
Campus Representative:
Colin Phoenix: (716) 263-3244
(844) 367-7869, www.netbenefits.com/SUNY

NYS Deferred Compensation Plan (457)
Campus Representative:
Mark Wallace: (716) 903-7253
(800) 422-8463, www.nysdcp.com

HOW MUCH CAN I CONTRIBUTE?
For 2016, you can contribute up to $18,000 per year.

If you are age 50 or older anytime in 2016, you can contribute an additional $6,000 to your tax-deferred account, for a maximum of $24,000 ($18,000 + $6,000).
 
If you have worked for SUNY for more than 15 years, you may be eligible to contribute up to an additional $3,000 annually. To do this, you must obtain a calculation from your investment provider indicating that you are eligible to defer the additional amount. Please send the calculation, along with a new Salary Reduction Agreement indicating the annual amount to be contributed, to the Payroll Office, Cleveland Hall 408.
 
Each participant is limited to the maximum contribution amounts for contributions to all 403(b) and 457 plans; therefore, if you are also a participant in a 403(b) plan or 457 plan with another employer, your combined contributions to that plan and to the SUNY Tax-Deferred Annuity Plan and NYS Deferred Compensation Plan in 2016 are generally limited to $18,000. If you do participate in more than one 403(b) plan and/or 457 plan with other employers, you are responsible for tracking and reporting the amount of all of your contributions to the plans so that the total amount of all your contributions to all plans in which you participate does not exceed the limit. Please also note that the sum of all of your contributions and those of your employers to all 403(b) plans and 457 plans that you participate in are generally limited to the lesser of $53,000 or 100 percent of your compensation in 2016.
 
State employees are able to maximize contributions to both the SUNY Tax-Deferred Savings Plans 403(b) and the NYS Deferred Compensation 457 Plan concurrently.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
If you are enrolling in a plan for the first time, you must complete the appropriate investment provider enrollment materials in addition to a Salary Reduction Agreement form. Please call Al Galone, assistant manager of payroll, at 878-4124 for additional information.

If you are currently enrolled and wish to contribute the same biweekly amount in 2016, no action on your part is necessary unless you are currently contributing additional moneys under the age-50-or-15-year rule outlined above. Please check your pay stub to be sure your current biweekly contribution (Code 404, 408, or 415) multiplied by 26 pay periods does not exceed the allowable 2016 limit.
 
Please remember that if you made a change mid-year, you must make sure that your current biweekly amount multiplied by 26 is the correct annual amount you want deferred for 2016.
 
To change the amount you are now contributing, please complete a new Salary Reduction Agreement form and return it to the Payroll Office, Cleveland Hall 408.
 
In order for a deduction change to be effective in the first paycheck of 2016, your new Salary Reduction Agreement form must be submitted to the Payroll Office by Friday, December 11, 2015.

For further details, please call Al Galone at 878-4124.

The 2016 Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) open enrollment period ends Friday, November 27. PEP is available for 2016 to eligible CSEA, UUP, and M/C employees. This program allows eligible employees to exchange previously accrued annual leave (vacation) for a credit toward the cost of their New York state health insurance on a biweekly basis. Sick leave credit cannot be exchanged under this program.

The enrollment period for the 2016 plan year is October 26 through November 27, 2015. To participate, eligible employees must submit an election form to the Employee Benefits Office, Cleveland Hall 410, by Friday, November 27. Participants currently enrolled in PEP must submit a new election form to participate in the 2016 program.

The PEP description, including eligibility requirements and enrollment forms, is available in Cleveland 410 or on the Human Resource Management website.

Please call the Employee Benefits Office at 878-4821 with questions or for additional information.

The Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) is available for 2016 to eligible CSEA, UUP, and M/C employees. This program allows eligible employees to exchange previously accrued annual leave (vacation) for a credit toward the cost of their New York state health insurance on a biweekly basis. Sick leave credit cannot be exchanged under this program.

The enrollment period for the 2016 plan year is October 26 through November 27, 2015. To participate, eligible employees must submit an election form to the Employee Benefits Office, Cleveland Hall 410, by Friday, November 27. Participants currently enrolled in PEP must submit a new election form to participate in the 2016 program.

The PEP description, including eligibility requirements and enrollment forms, is available in Cleveland 410 or on the Human Resource Management website.

Please call the Employee Benefits Office at 878-4821 with questions or for additional information.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate for the fall 2015 semester will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, November 13, in Butler Library 210. The Senate Meeting Summary from the October 9 Senate meeting (PDF) is available on the Senate website.

Lodging and meal per diem rates increased on October 1, 2015, in accordance with the Office of the New York State Comptroller (OSC). Please see the General Services Administration website for updated meal and lodging rates.

For updated meal breakdowns, please see the OSC website.

Please call the Travel Services Department at 878-4117 with questions.

From the Chair of the College Senate
The next meeting of the College Senate for the fall 2015 semester will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, November 13, in Butler Library 210. The Senate Meeting Summary (SMS) for the October 9 Senate meeting will be posted on the Senate website.

The Business Services Office conducts annual physical audits to assess the accuracy of inventory records for each department. Please be advised that starting tomorrow, October 15, Business Services personnel will begin conducting departmental audits for 2015. You may be asked to help find specific pieces of equipment or to unlock rooms.

Please feel free to contact Business Services at 878-6835 with questions. For information on campus inventory procedures, please visit the Campus Services website.

Your participation is appreciated. Thank you.

Banner will be unavailable from 7:00 p.m. Friday, October 16, through Sunday, October 18, while Computing and Technology Services performs required maintenance. Banner Self-Service and INB will be unavailable, and regularly scheduled Banner jobs will be suspended until after the upgrade. Banner should be available for business on Monday morning, October 19. We apologize for any inconvenience.

To accommodate paving work north of Moore Complex, Iroquois Drive may be reduced to one lane of traffic on an intermittent basis between Friday, October 9, and Wednesday, October 14. Flagmen will be on hand as needed to direct traffic throughout this paving project.

Questions about this project may be e-mailed to vpfm@buffalostate.edu. For more information about construction projects on campus, please visit www.buffalostate.edu/construction.