Benefits FAQ

Administrative Professional employees and Faculty have Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield as their health care provider. Two medical plan options are available. A summary of the plans can be found under the CHEIBA Insurance Plan Comparison. Administrative Professional employees must enroll separately for vision insurance.

Classified employees are eligible for two plans under United Healthcare. The summary of each plan can be found on the State web site.

Employees living in certain zip code areas are eligible for Kaiser. The list of eligible zip codes can be found on the Colorado State Government website and a summary of the Kaiser plan can be found here.

Administrative Professional employees and Faculty have Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield as their dental provider. Two dental plan options are available.  A summary of the plans can be found in the CHEIBA summary booklet. 

Classified employees have a choice between two dental plans offered through Delta Dental.

Administrative Professional employees and Faculty benefit costs can be found under CHEIBA rates.

Administrative Professional employees and Faculty can make changes to their insurance elections during open enrollment in November and December. The benefit year begins January 1 and ends December 31. Benefit changes made during open enrollment that result in a premium change for the new benefit year will be reflected in the December paychecks because benefits are prepaid.

Classified employees can make changes during open enrollment beginning in the month of April. The benefit year begins July 1 and ends June 30.

Any employee who has a qualifying event or life change such as the birth of child, marriage, divorce, loss of dependent or spouse, and/or spouse loss coverage during a plan year may make changes at that time without waiting for open enrollment. Employees have 30 days from the date of the qualifying event to make changes to their insurance. Please contact Human Resource as soon as you have a qualifying event or life change.

Administrative Professional employees and Faculty have vision benefits available through Blue Cross Blue Shiedl (BCBS).  A summary of the plan can be found in the CHEIBA summary booklet.  

Classified employees have vision benefits through their individual medical plan. Additional vision discounts are available through Delta Dental.  Information about this discount program can be found here.​

Classified employees have $50,000 of basic life and accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) insurance coverage at no cost to the employee. Additional life insurance may be purchased, subject to approval by the insurance carrier, for the employee and spouse in increments on $10,000 to a maximum of $500,000. A spouse is eligible for 50% of the value of the employee’s optional life insurance coverage. Evidence of Insurability forms are required to be submitted to Minnesota Life Insurance for any increase in optional life insurance coverage during open enrollment. Employees may elect life insurance for their dependent children in the amount of $5,000 or $10,000 in coverage.

Disability coverage helps replace a portion of your income if you become disabled due to a covered illness, pregnancy or injury.
Administrative Professional employees and Faculty are eligible for Long Term Disability coverage through Standard Insurance. The disabled employee must satisfy a 90 day waiting period before benefits are payable. The plan plays 66 2/3% of your pre-disability earnings or 70% of your pre-disability earnings, reduced by other deductible income. Administrative Professional employees and Faculty do not have a Short-Term Disability benefit.

Classified employees are automatically enrolled in the state Short-Term Disability (STD) program. The plan is provided by the State of Colorado at no cost to the employee, and pays up to 60% of an employee’s pre-disability income for up to 150 days following the required 30-day waiting period. Classified employees can purchase Long Term Disability (LTD) coverage, pending insurance carrier approval. Premiums are determined by salary, age, and PERA vesting status. After a six-month waiting period, benefits are payable up to 60% of the employee's pre-disability earnings until age 65 (later in some cases) if the employee continues to meet plan requirements. LTD enrollment is NOT guaranteed. You MUST complete an Evidence of Insurability (EOI) form. Without EOI, no application can be approved. The EOI form must be submitted to UNUM no later than 31 days after your enrollment period. Otherwise, you will need to wait until the next Open Enrollment period to apply. If you have at least five years of PERA covered employment, you may be eligible for PERA disability benefits. LTD Premiums for PERA-vested members are lower than for non-vested members. Please refer to the chart comparing PERA and State disability benefits available on the State web site. For information about PERA benefits, please call PERA directly at 1-800-759-7372.​

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) enable you to pay for certain eligible medical and dependent/day care expenses with pre-tax dollars. By lowering your taxable income, you can reduce your income tax liability.

Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty can find more information about their flexible spending benefits options in the CHEIBA Benefits Booklet.

Administrative/Professional staff and Faculty can set aside contributions for the following:
Health Care FSA Contributions: up to $5,000/year
Dependent Care FSA Contributions: up to $5,000/year

Classified employees can find more information about flexible spending benefits on the state web site. 

Classified employees can set aside contributions for the following:
Health Care FSA Contributions: $120 - $6,000/year
Dependent Care FSA Contributions: $120 - $5,000/year

You may check your leave balances by logging into the Employee Portal and clicking on Leave.

The Employee Portal provides you with your current balances as of the end of the month indicated, your leave earning rates, and documentation of leave taken each month during the fiscal year. It also calculates the amount of leave you would lose at the end of the fiscal year assuming you take no leave from the current month to the end of the fiscal year.

Administrative Professional employees and Faculty are eligible to participate in Colorado’s PERA if an employee has one year of earned service credit and previously has not closed their PERA account. Otherwise, the employee must participate in one of the Optional Retirement Plans (ORP), currently VALIC Retirement or TIAA-CREF.

Classified employees must elect PERA retirement.

CSU-Pueblo is social security exempt. All employees are required to elect a retirement plan.

Administrative Professional and Faculty have the options of TIAA-CREF or VALIC. PERA is an option if an employee has one year of earned service credit in the last 12 months. TIAA-CREF and AIG are both 401A’s. The employee contributes 8% and the university contributes 11.1%. Employees are vested immediately in these accounts.

Classified employees are required to contribute to PERA retirement Employee and employer contribution rates are determined by the state. For more information about PERA, please go to their web site at http://www.copera.org.

Deferred compensation plans for all employees include 403Bs through TIAA-CREF, VALIC, and the Colorado PERA 457 plan.

Employees who are current members of PERA are eligible to enroll in the PERA 401K plan.