Employee Assistance Program: The DCMO BOCES offers an employee assistance program for employees through Employee Services, Inc. The employee assistance program offers you immediate confidential access to professional counselors who are trained to help you identify the specific nature of your difficulty and develop a plan to help you constructively resolve your problem. The EAP can assist you with many personal concerns you may have, such as:
Family
Marital
Stress and Life Crisis
Emotional
Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Consumer Problems
Financial Difficulties
Your Employee Assistance Program can be reached by calling (800) 252-4555. All calls to Employee Services are confidential and are both voice and TDD accessible.
Flexible Spending Benefits: As per the negotiated contracts for BTA and BESPA, our BOCES offers Flexible Spending Accounts. A Flexible Spending Account can be used for out of pocket medical and dental expenses, including drug card and doctor office visit co-payments under the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Participating Provider Plan. It has recently been ruled that over-the-counter drugs can also be a part of your Flexible Spending Account. If you have specific questions on what over-the-counter drugs are eligible, please contact Customer Service, EBS Benefit Solutions, at (800) 828-0078 or (315) 671-7073. For your convenience, you may download the Flexible Spending Account Enrollment Application and information cover letter. If you need assistance, contact Mike Rose at 335-1239, JoAnn Wormuth at 335-1309, or Maura Carlson at 335-1390.
Health Insurance; If you have a question regarding enrollment in the DCMO Consortium health plan, contact Mike Rose in payroll at 335-1239.
Particular questions regarding claims through the BOCES Consortium health plan can be addressed to Kim Martin, Employee Benefits Clerk, at 335-1299.
If you have question regarding benefits or claims and wish to contact the plan yourself, contact:
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Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Utica-Watertown |
Retirement: Retirement programs for BOCES employees are through either the New York State Teachers' Retirement System or the New York State Employees' Retirement System. If you have a question as to which system you are in, check your pay stub or contact Mike Rose in payroll at 335-1239. If you wish to contact your retirement system in Albany, you can do so by using the following:
New York State Teachers' Retirement System
Phone: 1 (800) 348-7298
Web Site: http://www.nystrs.org
New York State Employees' Retirement System
Phone: (518) 474-7736
Web Site: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/retire/
Tax Sheltered Annuities: As an employee of the DCMO BOCES you have the opportunity to contribute part of your pay to a Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) under the terms of Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. A TSA may be of value to you since it provides substantial tax savings for retirement savings. If you are interested is setting up a Section 403(b) TSA you should first talk to your financial planner to see which plans may be best for you. TSA’s for employees of the DCMO BOCES are administered through the OMNI Financial Group. To set up a TSA you will need to complete the OMNI Flex Form that can be downloaded here or from the Omni Financial Group website where you will also be able to view a list of approved investment vendors. Forms and additional information can also be obtained from Mike Rose in payroll at 335-1239.