Health & Benefits Office

Mission Statement

The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) designs, develops and administers quality, cost-effective benefit programs. The agency offers our employees a competitive benefits package.

YOUR 2025 BENEFITS

2025 Benefits Guide for Employees and Retirees 2025 Benefits Rates

If you have any questions, contact your Health and Benefits Office (301-454-1694 or benefits@mncppc.org.)

News

FORM 1095-C Available for you by March 3, 2025

Important information about Form 1095-C:

You are not required to send the IRS a copy of Form 1095-C or other proof of healthcare coverage when filing your tax return.
However, it is a good idea to keep this form in your file for your records in case you are audited by the IRS.

You will not incur a penalty if you were not covered by a health insurance plan in 2024.

Form 1095-C will not be automatically mailed to your home address this year. They will be made available to benefit eligible employees by March 3, 2025.

The 1095-C form can be accessed via Document Self Service (DSS). See the Document Self-Service User Manual If you need help accessing DSS.

If you have any questions, contact your Health & Benefits Team (benefits@mncppc.org or 301-454-1694).

IRS LIMITS – Retirement Savings Plans

2025 Retirement Savings Account Annual Contribution Limits 457 & Roth/Traditional IRA

The annual contribution limit for the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan is $23,500 ($31,000 if age 50 or over; or $47,000 if qualified for the pre-retirement catch-up). Your contributions are made on a pre-tax basis which reduces your taxable income at the end of the year.

Contributions to the Roth IRA or the Traditional IRA are made on an after-tax basis. The annual contribution limit remains $7,000.
The additional catch-up contribution limit if over age 50 remains $1,000.

Review

As we usher in a new year, take time to review your retirement savings accounts to determine if you are on track for a comfortable retirement. You can make changes to your contributions at any time during the year.

If you have questions concerning your accounts, contact MissionSquare (formerly ICMA-RC) at (800) 669-7400.

If you have any other questions, please contact a representative of the Health & Benefits Office at (301) 454-1694.

Benefits Summaries

Seasonal Employees (PDF) Appointed Officials (PDF) Career (Merit) Employee (PDF) Retirees (PDF) Term Contract Employees (PDF) Part Time Merit/Career Employees (PDF)

Employee Health & Benefits Guide and Forms – Health, Life, LTD, Sick Leave Bank and Flexible Spending Account

Health Plan Price Transparency in Coverage Employee and Retiree 2025 Benefits Guide 2025 Healthcare Plan Rates Employee Benefits Handbook Retiree-Survivor Benefit Enrollment Form Benefit Enrollment/Change Form Flexible Spending Account Election Form 2025 Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation Form (Basic/AD&D/Supplemental/PDF) FOP Additional Life $50k Designation of Beneficiary Form Supplemental Life and Evidence of Insurability Form (PDF) Sick Leave Bank Enrollment Form Supplemental Long Term Disability (Salary Must Be Greater Than or Equal to $108,000) Guide to Viewing Current Benefits and Designating Your Group Life Beneficiaries Using ESS Group Life Insurance Evidence of Insurability Worksheet M-NCPPC Behavioral Health Resources Snapshot 2020 What Happens to Your Benefits When You Separate or Retire?

457 Deferred Compensation Plan

EASY ONLINE ENROLLMENT – MissionSquare 457/Roth & Traditional IRAs Maximize Your MissionSquare 457 Plan Retirement Benefits MissionSquare (formerly ICMA-RC) 457 Enrollment Form (Employer Plan Number – 303368) ICMA Traditional and Roth IRA Authorization Form (PDF) ICMA-RC IRA or ROTH Application Form 5 Reasons to Choose an ICMA-RC Payroll Roth IRA MissionSquare Pre Retirement Catch Up Form 2024 MissionSquare (formerly ICMA-RC) Emergency Withdrawal Form 457 ICMA Employee Information Change Form (PDF) MissionSquare 2025 457 Deferred Compensation Change Form MissionSquare 2024 457 Deferred Compensation Change Form

Tuition Assistance Program

TAP Practice and TAP Application (Amended 11-03-2021) TAP Procedure (Amended 11-03-2021)

Occupational Health

Authorization for Evaluation and Treatment at Secure Medical Care (PDF) Directions to Cardiovascular Consultants (PDF) Directions to Hiland and Associates Office in La Plata (PDF) Directions to Secure Medical Care Both Locations (PDF)

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

Benefit Strategies administers the FSA plan. The 2023 Health Care FSA annual election limit is $2,850. The Dependent Care FSA limit remains $5,000 (limit is $2,500 if you are married filing jointly). The annual FSA limits are governed by IRS.

In order to participate in the FSA program, you must re-enroll each year during open enrollment. The 2023 plan year will end March 15, 2024 Your eligible expenses must be incurred from January 1, 2023 through March 15, 2023 and submitted for reimbursement by March 31, 2024. 

To find out more about the Flexible Spending Accounts and eligible expenses, go to www.benstrat.com.  

Flexible Spending Account Election Form 2025 (PDF) Dependent Care FSA Eligible Expenses (PDF) Healthcare FSA Eligible Expenses (PDF) FSA Reimbursement Request Form (PDF) Mobile Technology Sheet (PDF)

Sick Leave Bank

The Sick Leave Bank is a short-term, income-replacement disability plan designed to provide income-replacement , once you exhaust your accrued leave (except for 80 hours of annual leave) in the event of your own serious illness (including pregnancy), the illness of a family member-children up to age 26 or parental responsibilities (newborn, adoption, foster care).

Joining
Full-time or part-time career employee’s may join the plan within their first 60 days of hire/rehire or open enrollment.

Purpose of Use
The Sick Leave Bank is only to used to cover lost wages up to 80% of your base pay rate. Up to 688 hours each calendar year for an employee’s own serious illness; up to 240 hours each calendar year for parental responsibilities and up to 160 hours for the serious medical condition of a family member. (Part-time employee’s maximum hours is one-half of those stated.)

Contributing Time
Employees must contribute the required hours of sick leave as designated each year for membership in the Sick Leave Bank. Full-time employees must contribute 8 hours and part-time employees must contribute 4 hours per year; this is subject to change based on the balance of hours in the bank. Contributions are taken within the first quarter of the calendar year and are reflected as a reduction in your leave balance.

MCGEO Sick Leave Donor Program Request Form Sick Leave Bank Administrative Procedures Sick Leave Bank Enrollment Form

Long Term Disability (LTD)

Long Term Disability (LTD) is a mandatory benefit for career employees. This benefit protects an individual’s income in the event of an illness or injury that prevents one from working. The LTD plan pays 66 2/3% of your basic monthly earnings, up to a maximum monthly benefit of $6,000. For example, an employee who earns $1,500 a month would be eligible for an LTD benefit of $1,000 a month, calculated as: 66 2/3% x $1,500 salary. The Commission pays 80% of the premium and the employees pay 20%.

Eligibility

To apply for LTD you must contact MetLife at 1-866-729-9201. MetLife will determine whether you are eligible for LTD benefits. This process takes anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks. To ensure that you continue to receive income, you should file your application after being disabled for 60 days. If you have been disabled or expect to be disabled for more than 120 days, you must apply for LTD. If you do not apply before 60 days have lapsed, you may not be eligible for other income programs such as the Sick Leave Bank or the Commission’s Disability Pay program for work related injuries or illnesses.

Once you have been approved for LTD, you will no longer be able to use your accrued leave or the Sick Leave Bank. The Health and Benefits office will coordinated the start of your LTD payments with your department.

How to File Your MetLife LTD Claim MetLife LTD Certificate for Full-Time and Part-Time Employees MetLife LTD Certificate for Park Police LWOP Operational Procedures

Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave per calendar year for FMLA approved events. The mandated leave allowance is inclusive of other available leave and permits employers to offset the total 12-week entitlement with any paid leave taken under the FMLA.

Commission employees are required to use certain types of accrued paid leave as available under the Merit System Rules and Regulations (MSR&R) before Leave-Without-Pay can be granted. Once the required amount of paid leave has been used the employee may request Leave-Without-Pay for the balance of the 12 workweeks. For instance, if an employee is required to use 30 workdays (6 workweeks) of Sick Leave before requesting unpaid leave, she/he has 30 workdays (6 workweeks) which may be taken as Leave-Without-Pay under the FMLA.

Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of a Current Service Member for Military Family Leave (PDF) Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of a Veteran for Military Caregiver Leave (PDF) Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee’s Serious Health Condition (PDF) Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member’s Serious Health Condition (PDF) Certification of Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave (PDF) Family and Medical Leave Act Certification of a Serious Health Condition (PDF) FMLA Application Form (PDF) FMLA Instructions (PDF) FMLA Poster (English) (PDF) FMLA Poster (Spanish) (PDF) FMLA Rights and Obligations (PDF) FMLA-Notice-of-Eligibility-and-Rights-and-Responsibilities FMLA Designation Notice