Employee Benefits

Dental insurance is provided to benefit-eligible employees and their qualified dependents. Dental coverage is determined by your employee category.

Faculty & Librarians (MSCA), Administrators (APA)

An employee and qualified dependents are eligible for coverage under the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education / Massachusetts Teacher Association Health and Welfare Trust Fund MetLife dental plan beginning the day after 181 days from the date of hire.

MetLife provides the VisionSavings Eyecare Program as part of the dental plan program. There is no employee cost for the premium for either individual or family coverage.
 

Administrative & Facilities (AFSCME)

An employee and qualified dependents are eligible for coverage under the Massachusetts Public Employees Fund Dental and Vision Care Plans beginning on the first of the month after 6 months from hire date. There is no employee cost for the premium for either individual or family coverage.

Excluded & Non-Classified Employees

An employee and qualified dependents are eligible for coverage under the Non-Unit Employee Health & Welfare Fund beginning the first day of the calendar month after the completion of two months of continuous service.

MetLife provides the VisionSavings Eyecare Program as part of the dental plan program. The premium for individual coverage is $22.80 per month and for family coverage is $45.60 per month. 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires that all employees enroll in a qualified retirement plan. Retirement programs for state employees fall under either the State Employees’ Retirement System (MSERS) (a defined benefit plan) or the Department of Higher Education Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) (a defined contribution plan), an option for benefitted faculty, librarians and administrators.

Membership in the State Employee Retirement System is mandatory for nearly all state employees who are regularly employed at least 50% of full-time hours.

Benefitted faculty, librarians and administrators have the option to enroll in the Department of Higher Education Optional Retirement Program. An employee’s retirement benefit would be based on the total amount contributed and allocated to ORP investment funds and the investment experience of those funds. There are two ORP Providers: Fidelity and TIAA.

Both plans have the same mandatory pre-tax contribution based on most recent entry date into the state retirement system. The pre-tax contribution rate for new state employees at BSU is 9% of regular salary plus an additional 2% for any amount earned over $30,000.

If an employee is vested under MSERS, the employee will continue membership in MSERS. Benefitted faculty, librarians and administrators are eligible for participation in the Optional Retirement Program (ORP), as long as the employee is not vested under MSERS. Eligible employees must elect coverage under the ORP within 180 days of becoming an eligible employee, or the default is MSERS. The election is irrevocable.

Part-time, seasonal or temporary employees of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are required to participate in an Alternate Retirement Plan (OBRA) through the SMART Plan. This plan is an alternative to Social Security as permitted by the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA).

Massachusetts state employees do not have Social Security taxes withheld from their earnings. Employees retiring from the Commonwealth, who are eligible for Social Security benefits, may have their Social Security benefits reduced by Social Security’s windfall elimination provision or government pension offset. Please contact your local Social Security office if you have questions regarding this information. 

BSU state employees are eligible as of hire date for the following payroll savings opportunities for retirement and education. An employee may enroll at any time during the year.

Commonwealth 403(b) Savings Plan [IRS 403(b) plan] is a voluntary tax-deferred retirement savings plan available to all BSU employees (except student employee) through enrollment with an approved Commonwealth service provider. There are currently three providers: Fidelity, TIAA and VALIC.

SMART Plan [IRS 457(b) plan] is a voluntary Massachusetts deferred compensation plan administered by Empower Retirement Services.

U.Fund [IRS 529 plan] is the Massachusetts college savings plan administered by Fidelity Investments. 

Full-time 12-month employees on the state payroll are entitled to 12 holidays per year:

Benefitted employees are entitled to paid and unpaid leave benefits and leave accruals in accordance with the respective collective bargaining agreements.
 

Faculty (MSCA)

The academic year is a nine months' duration and shall commence on Sept. 1 and end on the May following. Faculty are paid bi-weekly over 12 months, allowing for continuous benefits.

Sick leave accrues at the rate of 3.842 hours per pay period during the academic year, a total of 10 days per academic year.

Faculty members are credited with two personal days at the beginning of each year. Faculty beginning on Sept. 1 will receive one personal day. Personal leave cannot be carried over into the next calendar year.

BSU offers up to 12 weeks of parental leave to faculty members who have been employed full-time by BSU for at least one year. The first two weeks of parental leave are paid by BSU, and faculty members can use up to 50 days of their accrued sick time to be paid for the remaining weeks. Faculty members who join the MSCA union sick bank can also request sick bank hours for parental leave if they do not have enough accrued sick time to cover the full 50 days. Faculty members have Family Advocates and Human Resources Leave Coordinators they can work with to learn more about the leave benefits available to them under the law and their union contract. We provide education about the leave types, process for taking a leave, and possible impacts of leave on career and benefits to ensure work/life balance.
 

Librarians (MSCA) and Administrators (APA & Excluded)

Sick leave accrues at the rate of 4.326 hours per pay period, a total of 15 days per year.

Full-time 12-month employees are credited with five personal days each calendar year. Employees hired after the beginning of the calendar year are credited with a prorated number of days according to the following schedule:

Personal leave cannot be carried over into the next calendar year.

Vacation leave accrues on an hour-per-hour basis and is awarded at the end of each biweekly pay period. An employee’s accrual rate is based on years of service.

Administrative & Facilities (AFSCME & Non-Classified)

Sick leave accrues on an hour-per-hour basis and is awarded at the end of each biweekly pay period. Time off the payroll and leaves of absence without pay will automatically prorate and reduce an employee’s sick leave accrual amounts. The accrual rate is based on an annual total of 15 days.

• Employees with a regular workweek of 37.5 hours accrue sick leave at the rate of 4.326 hours per biweekly pay.
• Employees with a regular workweek of 40 hours accrue sick leave at the rate of 4.615 hours per biweekly pay.

Full-time 12-month employees are credited with five personal days each calendar year. Employees hired after the beginning of the calendar year are credited with a prorated number of days according to the following schedule:

Personal leave cannot be carried over into the next calendar year.

Vacation leave accrues on an hour-per-hour basis and is awarded at the end of each biweekly pay period. Time off the payroll and leaves of absence without pay will automatically prorate and reduce an employee’s vacation leave accrual amounts. An employee’s accrual rate is based on years of service.

Employees with a regular workweek of 37.5 hours

Employees with a regular workweek of 40 hours

After six months of employment, full-time employees, as well as the employee's spouse and dependent children, are eligible for tuition remission benefits. Only tuition charges are waived or reduced. Waivers are valid for all state community colleges, state colleges and state universities, except the University of Massachusetts Medical School. 

The Employee Wellness Program encourages all BSU employees to “Be Well Work Well” through health and wellness educational events and fitness classes.

The Mass4You Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to all active, state and municipal employees and their families who are eligible for GIC benefits. Mass4You serves as a free and confidential counseling and referral service. Mass4You can also help with adult and eldercare services child, family and parenting support; service referrals like home or auto repair, pet services or moving services; legal, financial and retirement planning; relationship counseling — and much more.