OF RECORD Summary Annual Reports on Benefits Plans


Health Benefits Programs for Eligible Employees, Dependent Care Expense Account Supplemental Retirement Annuity Plan and Basic Tax Deferred Annuity Retirement Plan

This is a summary of the annual reports for the University of Pennsylvania Plans named above for the Plan Year beginning January 1, 1998 and ending December 31, 1998. These Plans are sponsored by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, whose Federal Employer Identification Number is 23-1352685. The annual reports have been filed with the Internal Revenue Service as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

It is also required under the terms of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 that these Summary Annual Reports be furnished to Plan participants. To facilitate publication, the reports for the Plan Year ended December 31, 1998 have been combined. Consequently, portions of this summary may refer to the Plans in which you are not currently participating.

Health Benefits Program

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania have committed themselves to pay certain medical claims incurred under the terms of the Plan. The Plan has contracts with Keystone, Independence Blue Cross/Pennsylvania Blue Shield, and Aetna/US Healthcare to pay certain claims covered under the terms of the Plan. The total premiums paid for the Plan Year ending December 31, 1998 were $15,061,225.

Because the Independence Blue Cross/Pennsylvania Blue Shield indemnity contracts are so-called "experience rated" contracts, as opposed to most of the HMO contracts which are "community rated" contracts, the Independence Blue Cross/Pennsylvania Blue Shield premium costs are affected directly by the number and size of claims the University participants "experience." Of the total premiums paid for the Plan Year ending December 31, 1998, the premiums paid under such "experience-rated" contracts were $18,467,994 and the total of all benefit claims paid under these experience-rated contracts during the Plan Year was $22,721,817.

Dependent Care Expense Account

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania maintain a Plan providing reimbursement of dependent care expenses funded through salary reduction agreements for full-time and part-time faculty and staff. The University provides these benefits in accordance with the terms of the Plan.

Supplemental Retirement Annuity Plan

The Plan has a contract with the Teachers Insurance Annuity Association/College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA/CREF) which allocates funds toward individual annuity contracts. The total premiums paid for the Plan Year ending December 31, 1998 were $3,644,327.

Basic Tax-Deferred Annuity Retirement Plan

The Plan has a contract with the Teachers Insurance Annuity Association/College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA/CREF) which allocates funds toward individual annuity contracts. The Plan also has a contract with the Vanguard Group of Investment Companies, which allocates funds toward individually owned, fully funded custodial accounts. The total premiums paid to TIAA/CREF for the Plan Year ending December 31, 1998 were $27,554,398. Payments to the Vanguard Group were $20,397,010.

Additional Information

As described below, you have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report of any of the Plans, or any part thereof, on request.

The items listed below are included in that report:

  1. Assets held for investment;
  2. Insurance information (including sales commissions paid by insurance carriers).

To obtain a copy of the full annual report(s), or any part thereof, write or call the office of the Vice President of Human Resources, who is the Plan Administrator, Room 538A, 3401 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (215) 898-6884. The charge for the full annual report of the Retirement Allowance Plan is $5.00. The charge for the other full annual reports is $2.50, and the charge for any single page is 25 cents.

You also have the right to receive from the Plan Administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Plans and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the Plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the Plan Administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge.

Your Rights to Additional Information About These Plans

In addition, you have the legally protected right to examine the annual reports at the University of Pennsylvania, Benefits Office, Room 527A, 3401 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. You also have the right to examine the annual reports at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department of Labor should be addressed to Public Disclosure Room, N4677, Pension and Welfare Benefit Programs, Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20216.

--Division of Human Resources


Almanac, Vol. 46, No. 11, November 9, 1999

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