Human Resources

Western Illinois University Benefits Office

WIU employees have access to competitive benefit options through the State of Illinois and WIU. All full-time employees are entitled to insurance benefits. Part-time employees at least at a 50% appointment can receive the insurance benefits as well, but would have to pay a portion of the employer cost.

Insurance Benefits

FY2025 Benefit Choice Resources

  • FY25 Benefit Choice Booklet
  • FY25 Benefit Choice Member Fair Presentation slides
  • Insurance Plan Map
  • Contacts
  • CDHP, OAP, and HMO Benefits
  • Life Insurance
  • Monthly Contributions
  • Vision & Dental Benefits
Health Insurance

All eligible employees have various insurance options through The Department of Central Management Services (CMS) through the State of Illinois. MyBenefits is the administer for CMS, so all insurance selections are conducted through MyBenefits.

Below are plans available in McDonough County

HMO through Aetna and Health Alliance

  • No deductible and you only pay the co-pay
  • Must see your Primary Care Physician and get referrals for other services
  • Prescription Coverage

Open Access Plan through Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Healthlink

  • Providers are in a Tiered system
    • Tier I- HMO like with only co-pays
    • Tier II- PPO like with small deductible and co-insurance
    • Tier III- Out-of-Network providers
  • Prescription Coverage

Quality Care Health Plan through Aetna

  • Deductible determined by salary
  • Co-insurance after the deductible is met
  • Prescription Coverage

Consumer Driven Health Plan through Aetna

  • High deductible plan
  • Comes with a Health Savings Account that the employer contributes to yearly to help pay for medical costs
  • Prescription Coverage

Visit the MyBenefits webpage and select State Employees Group Insurance Program (SEGIP) or call 844-251-1777 for more information or to make changes to your account. See enrollment guidelines here.

Dental Insurance

CMS offers the Quality Care Dental Plan administered by Delta Dental. Members enrolled in the dental plan can choose any dental provider for services; however, out-of-pocket costs may be lower when they receive services from a network dentist. Employees now have the option to enroll in Dental Only coverage. However, if you enroll in health coverage and choose dental coverage, dependents must mirror the coverage of the member.

Visit the webpage for CMS or Delta Dental for more information.

To enroll in Dental, log into your MyBenefits account or call 844-251-1777. See enrollment guidelines here.

Vision Insurance

If you are enrolled in one of our health plans, you will automatically receive the vision coverage at no extra cost. The vision coverage is administered by EyeMed.

Visit the webpage for CMS or EyeMed for more information.

Life Insurance

The State offers life insurance through MetLife. Employees receive one times their salary in life insurance at no cost. They can elect to add the following:

  • Up to 8x their salary
  • 4x their salary in Accidental Death and dismemberment
  • Dependent coverage

Visit the webpage for CMS or MetLife for more information.

To enroll or make changes to your life insurance, log into your MyBenefits account or call 844-251-1777.

Voluntary Long-Term Disability Coverage

WIU has voluntary long-term disability coverage available to their employees. Long-Term Disability is administered by Prudential. If you have this coverage and become unable to perform your job duties, Prudential will pay you 2/3 of your average monthly earnings.

To enroll or for more information, please contact Human Resources at HR-Benefits@wiu.edu or (309)298-1971.

Flexible Spending Accounts

The State offers Flexible spending accounts administered by ConnectYourCare. The advantage of these programs are the tax savings, as they are pre-taxed dollars set aside from your payroll to use for the appropriate account. There are two types of Flexible Spending Accounts:

  • Medical Care Assistance Plan (MCAP) for medical expenses
  • Dependent Care Assistance Plan (DCAP) for child and/or adult day care expenses

You must re-enroll every plan year to continue your FSA.

Visit the webpage for CMS or ConnectYourCare for more information.

To enroll in an FSA, log into your MyBenefits account or call 844-251-1777. See enrollment guidelines here.

Enrollment Period

You can only change the following benefit options either during the open enrollment or if a change of status happens:

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Flexible Spending Accounts

The following options can be changed anytime during the year:

    • Changes in member's life insurance coverage above $50,000. Includes Basic Life and any Optional Life insurance coverage. An approved Evidence of Insurability is required to increase coverage.
    • Changes to Spouse Life or Child Life coverage. An approved Evidence of Insurability is required to add coverage.
    • Changes to member's Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) coverage. Evidence of Insurability is not required.
    • Changes in dependent health coverage in the two-or-more Dependent category not affecting the premium may be made at any time.
Open Enrollment

Our open enrollment period is the month of May every year. Our plan year runs from July 1 to June 30 every year so the changes you make in May will be effective July 1.

Change of Status

If a member experiences a qualifying change in status, they have 60 days from the event to make changes to certain benefit selections. View the list of qualifying changes.

Visit the CMS webpage for more information.

Retirement Benefits

State Universities Retirement System

An eligible employee has a choice of three State Universities Retirement System (SURS) plans upon initial employment – Traditional Plan (defined benefit), Portable Plan (defined benefit) and the Retirement Savings Plan (defined contribution).

See Chart for more details (PDF version)

An employee's eligibility is determined by the University and participation is mandatory if an employee meets university criteria. The employee will receive information from SURS and will have to choose a plan within six months from the date of receiving a notification letter from SURS. If no choice is made by the employee they will default to participation in the Traditional Plan. This choice or defaulting is a lifetime choice and cannot be changed even upon re-employment in participating organizations.

Eligible employees will pay Medicare costs and build credits toward Medicare eligibility but will not pay into nor build credit with Social Security while participating in SURS. Employees who are ineligible for SURS participation will pay into Medicare and Social Security and build credit in those systems.

Visit the SURS webpage for more information.

Steps to Retire

Congrats! Retirement is such an accomplishment and we are here to help you through the process.

Your first step would be to talk to a SURS counselor at 800-275-7877. They will help you start the process.

After you talk to SURS, you will notify the University by emailing hr-benefits@wiu.edu or by calling Human Resources. We can set up an appointment with you to discuss what needs to be done before you leave WIU.

403b Plans

If you want to save more for retirement, WIU has a list of 403b providers you can choose from to start saving extra for your future. A 403b account is all individual contributions up to the IRS limit.

Please contact hr-benefits@wiu.edu to obtain the list and start the process of opening a 403b account.

Deferred Compensation Plans

If you want to save more for retirement, WIU has two Deferred Compensation (or 457) providers you can choose from to start saving extra for your future. Deferred Compensation accounts are all individual contributions up to the IRS limit.

Please contact the carrier directly to start an account:

Other Benefits

Adoption Benefit Program

Employees who adopt children are eligible for reimbursement of adoption expenses up to $1500.00 through the Adoption Benefit Program.

Employee Assistance Program

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides confidential counseling services and resources for those who may need it. Employees and dependents who participate in the State Employees Group Insurance Program may utilize this benefit.

Visit the webpage for CMS for more information, or Compsych and use the member Web ID code: StateofIllinois

Leaves

Approved leaves are available to employees who need to be away from work for an extended period of time and have no vacation and/or sick leave available. Some of the leaves available include Disability, Educational, FMLA, Medical, Military, and Parental. Contact Human Resources at (309)298-1971 or HR-Benefits@wiu.edu for more information.

Mental Health Awareness Tools

*** If you or someone you know Is having thoughts of suicide or experiencing a mental health or substance crisis, Dial 988 for 24/7 connection to confidential Crisis Support. You may also text 988 to connect with a trained crisis counselor who can help. *If it is an emergency situation, please dial 911 for emergency services. ***

Now, more than ever, mental health is an important part of your overall wellness. The Pandemic had a direct impact on many people, and we have many resources available to you to help when you are needing it, or even when you don’t. A good work-life balance is important to your physical wellbeing, get a kickstart on your mental health, get back on track, or simply maintain the work you are already putting in with these resources.

Miscellaneous Benefit & Discount Information

State of Illinois employees have access to many types of discounts through our insurance providers.

Delta Dental -  Information
  • Member Connection (pg. 1)
  • Smile Perks (pg. 5 - Member discounts available on the below)
    • Hotels/Flights/Car Rentals
    • Theme Park Tickets/Walt Disney World
    • Sam’s Club
    • Liberty Mutual
    • Dell/Lenovo
    • Many more discounts available, all discounts are subject to change based on delta dental’s discount guide.
  • Amplifon Program – Hearing support / Hearing Aid Savings (pg. 6,7)
EyeMed - Information
  • Eyemed In Network List for 61455 zip code (pg. 1)
  • Eyemed Summary of Benefits (pg. 3)
My Benefits Plus - Information

Available during open enrollment only

  • Accident Insurance
  • Critical Illness Insurance
  • Hospital Indemnity Insurance
  • Legal Services

Available for year-round enrollment

  • Auto & Home Insurance
  • Identity Theft Protection
  • Personal Loans & Financial Wellbeing
  • Pet Health Insurance
  • Purchase Financing

Enrollment in these discounts can be done by logging in to your account at mybenefits.illinois.gov, or by calling 844-251-1777.

Psychology Clinic

Within the context of providing training in helping skills to advanced graduate students in psychology, the mission of the Psychology Clinic is to help individuals and families improve the quality of their lives by assisting them in dealing with personal and interpersonal problems.

The Psychology Clinic is located in Waggoner Hall 116. They provide many services at a low cost to you and are available for employees, and anyone in the Macomb community. The Clinic offers Individual Psychotherapy services for Adults and Children, Family Therapy, Group Therapy, Couples Therapy, and Assessments. The clinic is open Monday – Thursday 8AM – 5PM and Fridays 8AM – 12PM. A limited number of appointments can be scheduled outside regular hours to meet special needs. You can contact them at 309-298-1919, or visit the Psychology Clinic website.

Smoking Cessation Program

Members and their enrolled dependents are eligible to receive a maximum $200.00 rebate upon completion of an approved Smoking Cessation Program.

Tuition Waivers
WIU Employees

WIU Employees may be eligible to waive up to 6 credit hours at WIU or any other State of Illinois school.

Child of WIU Employee

Children of employees at any Illinois public university that have been employed for at least 7 cumulative years at 50% or more may receive a waiver for 50% off tuition at WIU or any other State of Illinois school.

Children of employees employed at 50% or greater may receive the Double Room Waiver at WIU only. There is no minimum length of time of employment required for the room waiver.

Retired from WIU

WIU retirees are able to waive 3 credit hours per semester at WIU.

Children of a WIU Retired employee can receive the 50% Tuition Waiver. The Retiree must have been employed by the University for at least seven cumulative years.

To request a waiver, fill out the appropriate form and turn it in to Human Resources or HR-Benefits@wiu.edu.

Weight-Loss Benefit

Beginning July 1, 2014, employees are eligible to receive a maximum $200.00 rebate toward the cost of an approved weight-loss program once every three plan years.

Workers' Compensation

If an employee is injured on the job, they should immediately notify their supervisor and contact Gallagher Bassett, the Workers’ Compensation administrator for the State of Illinois. 

Gallagher Bassett: (833) 891-1372 

When they ask for the employer, please state you work for the State of Illinois. 

Please email HR-WorkComp@wiu.edu with any questions.

YMCA

WIU employees receive a discount to the Macomb YMCA. Our open enrollment period is at the end of each year. You can only add or make changes to your membership during the open enrollment.

Contact Human Resources (309)298-1971 or HR-Benefits@wiu.edu for more information.