Managing Benefits Costs for Postdocs on External Pay

Description

A small percentage of Postdoctoral Researchers and Postdoctoral Fellows receive compensation directly from an external funding source. These funds are not managed by Penn, but they must still be properly documented in Workday@Penn.

This resource explains how externally paid postdoctoral trainees remain eligible for Penn benefits and outlines the responsibilities of Penn HR, schools and departments, and postdoctoral trainees when benefits costs are charged or recovered.

Compensation Documentation:

Externally paid postdoctoral trainees must have their full compensation documented in Workday.

External Allowance Plan
Postdoctoral trainees who receive compensation directly from an external sponsor must be set up with an external pay allowance in Workday equivalent to the amount they receive from the sponsor, regardless of whether they also receive compensation from Penn.

Penn Compensation Plan
If the postdoctoral trainee receives any additional compensation from Penn, a salary plan must also be included in Workday. Penn and external compensation must be documented together to ensure the postdoctoral trainee’s total compensation from all sources meets Penn’s minimum stipend level based on years of service.

Benefits Cost Responsibilities:

HR and departmental management of benefits costs for externally paid postdoctoral trainees generally falls into two categories:

• The University’s 21% employee benefits (EB) rate; and
• the postdoctoral trainee’s contribution toward any elected health insurance and/or dependent life insurance.

University 21% EB Rate:

Penn HR will charge the 21% EB rate to the default costing allocation or organizational assignment in Workday. This charge is based on the postdoctoral trainee’s internal and external compensation, up to the Penn minimum salary for year one.

If the external sponsor provides funding to the postdoctoral trainee to cover the employer cost of benefits, the department is responsible for recovering those costs from the postdoctoral trainee.

Postdoctoral Trainee Contribution Toward Benefits:

If the postdoctoral trainee does not receive Penn compensation, or if the Penn compensation does not fully cover the cost of the trainee’s benefits contribution, the outstanding benefits contribution amount will be charged to the default costing allocation or organizational assignment in Workday.

The department is responsible for collecting the amount from the postdoctoral trainee and applying those funds to the appropriate account.

For postdoctoral trainees who receive both Penn and external pay, if the compensation paid by Penn covers the full cost of the trainee’s benefits contribution, no additional charges will be applied to costing allocations or organizational assignments in Workday to cover the trainee’s benefits contribution.

External Allowance Plan:

Postdoctoral trainees who receive compensation directly from an external sponsor must be set up with an external pay allowance in Workday equivalent to the amount they receive from the sponsor, regardless of whether they also receive compensation from Penn.

Department Notification:

HR Benefits will contact departments with postdoctoral trainees whose EB rate has been charged to the default costing allocation or organizational assignment.

Departments are responsible for determining whether the external sponsor provides the postdoctoral trainee with funds to cover the University’s contribution toward benefits. Once the charge has been processed, the department is responsible for recovering the applicable contribution from the postdoctoral trainee, when appropriate.

Department Notification:

If the postdoctoral trainee receives any additional compensation from Penn, a salary plan must also be included in Workday. Penn and external compensation must be documented together to ensure the postdoctoral trainee’s total compensation from all sources meets Penn’s minimum stipend level based on years of service.

Questions:

HR Benefits will contact departments with postdocs whose EB rate has been charged to the default costing allocation or organizational assignment. It is up to the department to determine if the funding agency provides the postdoc with funds to cover the University’s contribution toward the benefits (21% EB Rate). Once the charge has been processed, the department will be responsible for recovering the postdoc’s contribution from the postdoc for their benefits.

For questions regarding the benefits charges outlined above, please contact the Penn Employee Solution Center – solutioncenter@upenn.edu, 215-898-7372

Examples – 21% EB Rate

	Penn Annual Compensation Plan	Annual External Allowance Plan	21% EB Rate Cost
Postdoc A	$0.00	$65,000	$13,650/year or $1,137.50/month
Postdoc B	$11,699	$54,800	$11,193/year or $932.76/month
Postdoc C	$2,000	$75,000	$13,230/year or $1,102.50/month

Examples – Postdoc contribution

	Penn Annual Compensation Plan	Annual External Allowance Plan	Postdoc Contribution needed to be reimbursed by Postdoc to Department
Postdoc A elects single Keystone/HMO medical only	$0.00	$65,000	$600/year or $50/month owed by the postdoc
Postdoc B elects family coverage – Aetna POS medical and VSP	$11,699/year or $974/month	$54,800	$0 needed (Penn compensation plan covers the benefits of $534.55/month)
Postdoc C elects single PennCare/Personal Choice and Dental	$2,000/year or $166/month	$75,000	$1,144.08/year or $95.34/month owed by the postdoc (Penn compensation plan cover $2,000/year or $166/month)

FY24 enrollment rates for medical, dental, vision, and dependent life insurance are below.

Postdoc Benefit enrollment rates FY2024
Medical	Employee	Employee + Spouse	Employee + Children	Employee + Family
Keystone/AmeriHealth HMO	$50.00	$296.00	$186.00	$365.00
Aetna Choice POS II	$65.00	$414.00	$273.00	$515.00
PennCare/Personal Choice	$234.00	$586.00	$394.00	$728.00
Vision Plans
VSP Plan	$7.10	$15.33	$11.53	$19.55
VSP Choice Plan	$10.71	$23.13	$17.40	$29.50
Dental Plan
MetLife Dental	$27.34	$54.62	$60.18	$82.03