Benefits Plans

Health Care Plan

The purpose of the health care plan is to provide insurance protection from the financial burden of catastrophic illness or injury to eligible faculty and staff and their family members.

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Vision Care Plan

The purpose of the Vision Care Plan is to provide the opportunity for faculty and staff to purchase insurance protection covering a significant portion of the costs of an eye examination and eyewear.

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Dental Care Plan

The purpose of the Dental Care Plan is to provide dental insurance as protection from the financial burden of catastrophic dental care needs to eligible faculty and staff and their family members.

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Group Term Life Insurance Plan

The purpose of the Group Term Life Insurance Plan is to provide faculty and staff with term life insurance coverage as some degree of financial support to designated beneficiaries in the event of the death of benefits-eligible faculty and staff.

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Optional Term Life Insurance Plan

The purpose of the University Optional Term Life Insurance Plan is to provide the opportunity for individuals to purchase term life insurance protection above the amount of Group Term Life Insurance provided by the University

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Spouse Term Life Insurance Plan

The purpose of the University Optional Term Life Insurance Plan is to provide the opportunity for individuals to purchase term life insurance protection for an employee's spouse.

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Dependent Child Term Life Insurance Plan

The purpose of the University Dependent Child Term Life Insurance Plan is to provide the opportunity for individuals to purchase term life insurance protection for eligible dependent children.

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Retirement Plan

The purpose of the Northwestern University Retirement Plan is to:

• provide faculty and staff with the opportunity to accumulate a source of retirement income in addition to income from Social Security and personal savings.
• enable eligible employees to make basic Contributions which are matched by the University on a two for one basis and to delay the payment of income taxes on the Contributions.
• enable an individual to make supplemental or voluntary Contributions which are not matched by the University up to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) limits and to delay the payment of income taxes on the Contributions.
• enable an individual to make age 50 catch up voluntary Contributions which are not matched by the University up to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) limits and to delay the payment of income taxes on the Contributions
• provide the opportunity to allocate Contributions among any fund offered by University-sponsored investment companies.
• offer participants with a range of conservative to aggressive investment fund options.
• offer participants with some degree of flexibility for the transfer and withdrawal of accumulated funds.

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Flexible Spending Account Plan

The purpose of the FSA Plan is to provide a tax-savings plan for paying out-of-pocket health, dental and dependent care expenses.

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Short Term Disability Plan

The purpose of the Short Term Disability (STD) Plan is to help employees avoid or minimize the financial burdens that may result from an extended non-work related accident or illness.

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Long Term Disability Plan

The purpose of the Long Term Disability (LTD) Plan is to provide continued income to an eligible employee in the event he or she is unable to work due to total disability.

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Long Term Care Plan

The purpose of the Long Term Care Plan is to provide eligible faculty and staff with some degree of financial protection from the costs of a variety of services for individuals who are unable to care for themselves. Such care needs could be assistance in the home with day-to-day activities or special attention in a nursing home.

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Educational Assistance and Tuition Plans

The purpose of the Educational Assistance, Reduced Tuition and Portable Tuition Plans is to provide financial assistance to full-time University employees who are taking courses at Northwestern University and to an employee's spouse or dependent child who are taking undergraduate courses at Northwestern or at other accredited schools.

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Accidental Death & Dismemberment Plan

The purpose of the Supplemental or Voluntary Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Plan is to provide financial assistance in the event of the accidental death or dismemberment (injury) of a covered employee, his or her covered spouse, or covered dependent children.

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