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.
News
Do You Need Life Insurance?
If you think you don’t need life insurance, you’re right — technically, at least. You don’t purchase life insurance for yourself. You purchase it for the loved ones you leave behind.
Life insurance is one of the most selfless gifts you can give to the people you would leave behind if you pass away.
Life insurance is not as complicated or expensive as many people may think. So rather than view it as such, consider what it could mean to your loved ones someday if they lost you — and think of it instead as a potentially happy ending to a difficult situation.
If you’re putting off buying life insurance, here are a couple a few reasons to stop procrastinating.
Protect your family from financial hardship
Short-term family needs
Upon your death, would your spouse or partner be able to pay the rent? Afford the bills? How about pay for funeral costs, which can average between $7,000 and $10,000?
At a time of great emotional stress, financial concerns can pile on — especially if your loved ones are forced to move, re-enter the workforce or make other significant lifestyle changes.
Would you leave behind significant credit card debt or student loans? If you’re young and your parents cosigned on your loans, they may be liable for your debt. If your loan includes an acceleration clause, your parents may have to pay off the loan immediately.
Life insurance can help keep your family members from having to tackle large financial issues when they may be least equipped to do so.
Long-term family needs
Your family can feel the economic impact of your loss well into the future.
Sometimes family members must make major changes that create additional expenses, such as a non-working spouse returning to the workforce and needing to pay for daycare. Life insurance proceeds can help cover those new expenses.
If you have children, life insurance can help provide stability and normalcy in their lives — for example, remaining in their school district, participating in sports, having the ability to go to college or pursue other dreams. Perhaps your family includes a child, sibling or parent who is disabled and will require lifelong assistance and financial support. Life insurance can help ensure the continuity of their care
Life insurance can help you leave a legacy
When you purchase life insurance, you choose at least one beneficiary — the people or entities that would receive a benefit from your policy.
In addition to naming family members as beneficiaries, some people choose to name their church, favorite charity or nonprofit organizations that supports causes they care about.
In some cases, life insurance can enable you to give in death more than you might have been able to donate to the cause during your lifetime.
Special Enrollment
- Open Enrollment
2024 Retirement Savings Account Annual Contribution Limits 457 & Roth/Traditional IRA
The annual contribution limit for the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan is $23,000 ($30,500 if age 50 or over; or $46,000 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 is $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
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 2024 Benefits Guide
GuÃa de beneficios para empleados y jubilados (en español)
2024 Healthcare Plan Rates
Employee Benefits Handbook
Benefit Enrollment/Change Form
Flexible Spending Account Election Form 2023
Flexible Spending Account Election Form 2024
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)
Dependent Life Insurance Enrollment Form (PDF)
Life Insurance Brochure/Rate Worksheet
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
M-NCPPC Behavioral Health Resources Snapshot 2020
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 (formerly ICMA-RC) Emergency Withdrawal Form 457
ICMA Employee Information Change Form (PDF)
MissionSquare 2023 457 Deferred Compensation Change Form
MissionSquare 2024 457 Deferred Compensation Change Form
Tuition Assistance Program
Domestic Partner Documents
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.
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.
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.
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 Designation Notice (PDF)
FMLA Instructions (PDF)
FMLA Notice of Eligibility and Rights and Responsibilities (PDF)
FMLA Poster (English) (PDF)
FMLA Poster (Spanish) (PDF)
FMLA Rights and Obligations (PDF)
