Budgeting Salaries & Fringe Benefits for Sponsored Projects Update 7-14-2021
July 14, 2021
SUBJECT: Budgeting Salaries & Fringe Benefits for Sponsored Projects
Please use the following recommendations when budgeting salary and fringe benefits for sponsored projects. This memorandum supersedes our previous memo on the same subject dated July 7, 2020. Proposal budgets for FY21/22 and beyond should use the below fringe benefit information.
- Faculty and Staff fringes should be calculated using the Specific Identification (SI) method. Under SI, fringe costs are based on average actual costs and individual participation in retirement. The following tools have been updated to help you budget with SI:
- KC Budget Module: Web tool to calculate comprehensive detailed budgets including SI fringe rates. The FY21/22 rates will be updated in the KC Budget Module on the evening of 7/15/2021. A System Implementation Update will be sent on 7/16/21 with instructions on syncing rates and how to budget for the temporary reduction in retirement match. For assistance with looking up salary and fringe benefit rates in KC, see our KC training video.
- SI Excel Worksheet: Excel worksheet with formulas that can be copied into your existing worksheets. This tool is not as precise as the KC Budget Module, because it does not pro-rate the health component of the SI rate based on your project period dates. For FY 21/22, an additional column has been added to the SI tab labeled Estimated Retirement Match, where the retirement contribution can be changed between 5% and 10% to account for the temporary reduction in retirement match for some employees.
- SI Fringe Chart: Chart that shows the relationship between the salary rate and the SI fringe rate.
- Academic-year faculty paid for summer school should be budgeted at 7.65% of salaries.
- Research Associates’ fringe benefit rates should be budgeted using the principles of the SI method, which typically includes an additional 10% retirement benefit after the employee completes 3 years of University employment. However, if the hired research associate participated in a 403(b), 401(a), 401(k) or other retirement plan at a previous employer that made employer contributions, or if they are age 55 or older upon their employment at MSU, they may immediately be eligible for the retirement match. Please take this into consideration when putting together your proposal budgets.
- Part-time employees (< 50% appt. or < 9 months) should be budgeted @ 7.65% of salaries:
- Please exercise caution when hiring a current MSU employee into a temporary position. MSU employee contracts differ on what qualifies as part-time and may involve bridging of past time worked that will make the current position/person benefit eligible, which then triggers full SI fringe. Also, part-time employees have been known to fill the remainder of their time with other MSU employment opportunities which again might make the employee benefit eligible and therefore the full fringe rate would apply. Questions should be addressed to Human Resources, but when in doubt, budget full SI fringe.
- The Affordable Care Act (ACA) should also be considered when budgeting part-time employees. For employees that meet the Affordable Care Act eligibility requirements, the Office of Sponsored Programs recommends budgeting an additional $428.57 per month to allow for mandated health care coverage. Please review ACA information to determine eligibility requirements: https://hr.msu.edu/aca/.
- Hourly student employees: If hourly students are enrolled full-time, no fringe benefits are budgeted (no FICA and Medicare). Often times, students take less than a full course load in the summer, so generally should budget 7.65% of summer wages. If any time during the year, a student falls below a minimum number of credits set by the IRS, e.g., undergrads enrolled for less than 6 credits during a semester; master's level students enrolled for less than 5; and doctoral level students enrolled for less than 3 credits, then the account will be charged FICA and Medicare at 7.65%.
- Graduate Assistant
fringe benefits
(tuition and health) will be proportionately charged to accounts each bi-weekly period. Rates are listed below.
- Health benefits will be $1,548 per semester (Fall 2021 and Spring 2022) and $0 for Summer 2021. Total health benefits will be $3,096 for the 21/22 year.
- The health amount should be increased by 5% in each succeeding year.
- Tuition for all graduate students except for those in the College of Engineering will be $5,330 per semester for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, and $2,331 for Summer* 2022. Total tuition will be $12,991 for the 21/22 year.
- These amounts should be increased by 4% in each succeeding year. *MSU Human Resources offers Summer-only stipend-only no-tuition Research Graduate Assistantships for qualifying individuals. Contact MSU HR for further details at 517-353-4434.
- For College of Engineering students, tuition will be $5,511 per semester for Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, and $2,331 for Summer 2022. Total Engineering tuition will be $13,353 for the 21/22 year.
- These amounts should be increased by 4% in each succeeding year.
- Graduate Assistant salary
ranges
Salary rates
for all employees should be inflated in the 1- 4% range for each succeeding year, except as otherwise specified by sponsoring agencies. The default inflation rate for Salary and Non-Personnel costs in KC is 2%.
Please note that even though NIH wants you to build detailed budgets with your actual institutional base salary, if that salary exceeds the Executive Level II cap (currently $199,300 for AN appointments or $149,475 for AY appointments), NIH will adjust the award in accordance to this cap. Please see the following links for more information about the NIH Salary Cap:
Attached is the fifty-eighth edition of OSP’s Kuali Coeus System Implementation Update. The contents of this edition include:
The Updates are posted on SPA’s website under the Resources/Training section. This issue will be posted shortly.
If you have any questions please contact the KC Helpdesk.
Thank you,
Office of Sponsored Programs
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