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Employee Benefits Summary
Health Insurance
Participation in one of the county-sponsored plans is voluntary.
Employees may choose between five levels of coverage: employee only, employee and child, employee and children, employee and spouse, and family coverage.
- Premiums are deducted on a pre-tax basis from 24 of the 26 pay periods per year.
The county offers the following plans:
Point-of-Service (POS) healthcare plan
- Copayments are required for certain services obtained under the POS.
- Members are required to select a Primary Care Physician.
High Deductible Health Plan with Health Savings Account (HDHP)
- Empowers you to take control of your health, including the dollars you spend on healthcare for you and your family.
- Provides the benefits you would receive from a typical health plan plus healthcare dollars to spend your way.
Anthem Machine Readable Files
Transparency in Coverage (TIC) regulations require health insurers and group health plans to create machine readable files (MRFs) that contain the negotiated rates for in-network providers and allowed amounts derived from historical claims for out-of-network providers and make those files publicly available. A machine readable file is a digital representation of data or information in a file that can be imported or read by a computer system for further processing without human intervention.
To access Chesterfield Anthem MRFs, enter EIN 54-6001208.
Dental Insurance
Participation in the dental plan is voluntary.
Employees have the same five levels of coverage as healthcare from which to choose. Premiums are deducted on a pre-tax basis from 24 of 26 pay periods per year.
Employees have three dental insurance plans.
Basic and Comprehensive
These two traditional dental plans cover:
- diagnostic and preventive care
- basic dental services
The Comprehensive plan also covers major restorative dental services and orthodontia. Orthodontia is limited to a lifetime benefit of $1,500.
Exclusive Provider Organization Plan (EPO)
This third dental plan provides basic as well as most major services at a set copayment and also covers orthodontia. Orthodontia is limited to a lifetime benefit of $1,500.
Long Term Disability
You may elect coverage in a long-term disability plan with The Hartford Insurance Company. The plan
- provides income protection for accident or illness that renders incapacity for a minimum of 90 days.
- replaces approximately 65% of pre-disability income, not to exceed $4,000 per month, and is "offset" by any other sources of income to which you may be entitled.
The maximum length of benefit payments is 24 months. The plan is 100% paid for by the employee on an after-tax basis.
Life Insurance
The County provides basic group term life insurance to employees through the Virginia Retirement System and underwritten by Minnesota Life Insurance Company.
- This coverage is provided at no cost to the employee.
For a natural death, the benefit is equal to the employee’s pay (rounded to the next $1,000), and then doubled.
For accidental death, the benefit is four times the employee’s pay. There is no maximum limitation on this benefit.
Optional Life Insurance
- This program allows employees to elect up to four times their pay (not to exceed a maximum of $800,000) of additional life insurance.
- This plan also allows employees to purchase coverage for a spouse and/or children.
- A spouse’s benefit is up to one-half the employee’s benefit amount.
- Premiums for the employee and spouse are based on the age of the insured person and increase with age.
- Coverage for children is $10,000, $20,000 or $30,000 per child.
- Premiums for children are based on level of coverage and cover all children; there is no per-child rate.
- Some levels of coverage may require Evidence of Insurability and may be subject to limitations.
- Optional Life Insurance is 100% paid for by the employee on an after-tax basis.
Paid Time Off (PTO)
The PTO plan is a comprehensive program for full-time employees that recognizes the many diverse needs of employees for time off from work and includes a short-term disability plan for income protection to cover periods of extended illness or injury.
- Hours accrued in the PTO plan may be used for any purpose when scheduled in advance or at times when unforeseen circumstances cause an unscheduled absence.
- For unplanned absences, employees must follow department procedures for supervisor approval.
- PTO is accrued on 24 biweekly pay periods. Accrual is based on length of service with the county.
- Your supervisor must approve the use of PTO in advance.
Holidays
Chesterfield County observes the following 12 holidays each year.
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Presidents Day
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Veterans’ Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Day after Thanksgiving
- Christmas Eve
- Christmas Day
View the 2023 Calendar of Holidays, Religious and Cultural Observances and Presidential Proclamations (PDF).
VRS Retirement Benefits
Chesterfield County participates in the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) defined benefit plan. The plan provides retirement benefits for full-time employees.
- All full-time employees contribute 5 percent of their income on a pre-tax basis to VRS.
- The county also contributes a percentage of all full-time salaries to VRS.
- The percentage is determined biannually by VRS.
- Participants of VRS are vested once 5 years of creditable service are earned.
Employees are in one of three categories: Plan 1, Plan 2 or Hybrid Plan employees.
Plan 1 and Plan 2 are defined benefit (pension) plans. Employee contributions go to the employee’s Member Contribution Account with VRS, and are used to pay future retirement benefits to the employee.
Plan 1
Employees are employees who were hired prior to July 1, 2010 or hired after July 1, 2010 with prior VRS service credit and were vested (5 years of service) by January 1, 2013.
Plan 1 Retirement Benefit
The retirement benefit is determined by age at retirement, the highest 36 consecutive months of salary and years of service. VRS Plan 1 participants are eligible for full retirement benefits at age 65 with at least five years of service; or at age 50 with at least 30 years of service. Participants may also retire as early as age 55 with at least five years of creditable service or as early as age 50 with at least 10 years of creditable service.
Plan 2
Employees are those who were hired on or after July 1, 2010, rehired with no prior service credit in VRS, or hired before July 1, 2010 and not vested by January 1, 2013.
Plan 2 Retirement Benefit
The retirement benefit is determined by age at retirement, the highest 60 consecutive months of salary and years of service. VRS Plan 2 participants are eligible for full retirement benefits when they reach normal Social Security age and the participant has at least five years of service credit, or when age and years of service equal 90. Participants may also retire early at age 60 with at least five years of service credit.
Hybrid Plan
Employees are employees hired after January 1, 2014. Public Safety employees eligible for enhanced hazardous duty benefits are exempt from the Hybrid Plan.
The Hybrid Plan is a combination of a defined benefit (pension) plan, and a defined contribution (retirement savings) plan. Of the 5% mandatory contribution, 1% goes to the defined contribution plan. Employees can voluntarily elect to contribute up to an additional 4% to the defined contribution plan and receive an employer match of up to 2.5%.
Hybrid Retirement Benefit
The retirement benefit is determined by age at retirement, the highest 60 consecutive months of salary and years of service. VRS Hybrid Plan participants are eligible for full retirement benefits when they reach normal Social Security age and the participant has at least five years of service credit, or when age and years of service equal 90. Participants may also retire early at age 60 with at least five years of service credit. The percentage used to calculate the retirement benefit is lower than what is used for Plan 1 and Plan 2 employees. Employees use the defined contribution plan (retirement savings) to supplement their benefit.
Hazardous Duty Positions
Whether you are considered a Plan 1 or Plan 2 employee, VRS participants that are in hazardous duty positions are eligible for full, unreduced retirement at age 50 with at least 25 years of creditable service or age 60 with at least five years of creditable service. Those age 50 with at least five years of creditable service are eligible for an early, reduced retirement. Employees who have at least 20 years of hazardous duty service at retirement may be eligible for a hazardous duty supplement, payable from the time of retirement until their normal social security age.
More information about these benefits can be found on Virginia Retirement System.
Part-Time Benefits-Eligible Employees
An eligible part time position is defined as a position for which the duties meet an ongoing operational need and for which the work schedule is expected to be at least an average of 24 hours per week.
Health/Dental Insurance
Qualified part time employees are eligible to participate in the same county-sponsored health and dental plans. Part-time employees pay 100% of the monthly premium. Additional information on the health and dental plans can be found under the Full-Time Employees section above. Premiums are deducted on a pre-tax basis from 24 of the 26 pay periods per year.
Part Time Leave
Benefits eligible part-time employees will accrue Part Time Leave (PTL) at a rate of four hours per pay period based on 24 pay periods. This time may be used to provide pay on County holidays, vacation and for absences due to illness, medical appointments or personal reasons.
Virginia 529 College Savings Plan
Chesterfield County employees may open a Virginia529 account and set up direct deposit contributions. Virginia 529 accounts help families save for education expenses. The money can grow free from federal taxes when used to fund qualified education expenses at eligible institutions. Plus, Virginia taxpayers enjoy the additional benefit of a state income tax deduction on contributions to their Virginia529 accounts. There are 20 investment portfolios to choose from to customize your savings strategy.
- Chesterfield County will offer information sessions to help employees learn about 529 accounts and how to get started.
- Virginia529, an independent state agency, administers this program.
- Open a Virginia529 account anytime.
C-Fit Wellness Program
C-Fit, Chesterfield County Government and Schools employee wellness program is dedicated to creating an environment of wellness that enables employees to develop healthy lifestyles that enhance the quality of their life. C-Fit offers employees a variety of programs to meet those needs including programs related to fitness, nutrition and physical and emotional well-being.
Deferred Compensation
The county provides employees additional opportunities to save for retirement.
- Employees in the VRS Hybrid Retirement Plan participate in the MissionSquare Retirement deferred compensation savings plan (Full-time employees in the VRS Hybrid plan only.)
- All employees are eligible to participate in the Empower Retirement deferred compensation savings plan.
Employee Assistance Program
The county's Employee Assistance Program (EAP), is a free, voluntary and confidential program designed to help employees and family members resolve personal problems which impact job performance. The EAP provides you with assessment of problems, consultations and referrals to community resources when appropriate.
Employee Medical Center
The Chesterfield Employee Medical Center is staffed by board-certified medical providers who are trained to diagnose and treat illnesses and write prescriptions when medically necessary.
The Medical Center serves the employees of Chesterfield County and Chesterfield County Public Schools.
Employee Recognition Program
Chesterfield County expects you to provide the best possible service to our customers. Toward this end, the county will recognize individuals and teams who demonstrate exceptional customer service, continuous improvement, and/or teamwork.
Family Medical Leave
Employees are eligible under Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if you have worked a minimum of 1,250 hours during the previous 12 months.
Federally Required Benefits Notice
When you get emergency care or get treated by an out-of-network provider at an in-network hospital or ambulatory surgical center, you are protected from surprise billing or balance billing.
Leave Donation
You may be permitted to receive donated annual leave or part time leave (if you are part-time benefits eligible), if you are unable to work due to your own serious medical condition or the serious medical condition of an immediate family member.
Telework
Telework is a type of alternative work arrangement available to eligible employees within departments that can maintain official county business operations with the employee working from an alternate work location. In certain departments, telework can be a viable option. The employee and department management must understand that adherence to these guidelines and procedures is an essential requirement of the program.
Employees must be employed for a minimum of six months to be considered eligible for telework, however, exceptions may be granted by the Department Director.
Tuition Assistance
Employees are encouraged to participate in courses that will help maintain a high level of job performance. Tuition assistance is available for courses related to the business of the employee’s department and can be applied for after completing the one-year probationary period. The employee’s department director and the Learning and Performance Center approval are required. Employees receiving proper approval and a grade of "C" or better may request reimbursement.
Virginia Credit Union
Virginia Credit Union is a savings, checking and loan organization available to all county employees. It offers convenient transactions through payroll deductions. If you are interested in becoming a member, contact the Credit Union Office.
Workers’ Compensation
If you are injured while on the job, you may be eligible under the Workers' Compensation Program for related medical care and certain leave benefits during any period of disability, resulting from injury within the guidelines of Workers' Compensation. The county's Risk Management Department administers the Workers' Compensation Program. Immediately report any job-related injury to your supervisor.