Total Rewards

Total Rewards is the combination of benefits, compensation and “perks” that employees receive and/or are eligible for from PHDC. This section will give an overview of the benefits and perks PHDC employees receive and/or request. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with all that is offered to you as a PHDC employee. If you have any questions or concerns, please send a ticket to the HR Ticketing System

Health and Wellness

Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC) is proud to provide our employees with a benefits program that offers choices designed to meet their individual needs and lifestyles. Each year, we review our benefit plan design to continually provide a comprehensive benefits package for our employees and their families.

August 2023 – July 2024 Benefit Guide  – Just about everything you need to know about our current benefit plans with clickable links to important benefits websites.

Medical & Prescription Drug – Independence Blue Cross: Keystone POS 1B or Personal Choice PPO 1B

  • www.ibx.com or call 1-800-ASK-BLUE
  • Telebehavioral Health Services: You also have the option to schedule a virtual visit with a behavioral health care professional (including psychiatrists, psychologist, and counselors) in the Magellan network. They can provide consultation, diagnosis, or treatment for your behavioral health concerns. Virtual visits are convenient, flexible, and completely confidential.
  • 2021 MDLIVE and Magellan TeleBehavioral Health Member Flyer

Dental – Delta Dental: All employees and retirees enrolling in Medical are automatically enrolled in Dental coverage at no cost

Vision – Vision Benefits of America: Employees have the option to waive this coverage

Flexible Spending Accounts – Active employees only. Newly Hired employees must complete six (6) months of service before signing up for this benefit.

  • Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts: You may set aside an annual amount up to $3,050 on a pre-tax basis to use towards health care purchases. These purchases include medical copays, prescription drug copays, dental costs not covered by insurance, vision costs not covered by insurance as well as other items. Participants are able to rollover $610 of unused healthcare FSA funds at the end of the plan year. Your annual contribution is divided by your number of pay periods, and that amount will be deducted pre-tax each pay period. The amount you elect may not be changed or revoked during the plan year unless you experience a qualifying life event.

Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts: This spending account allows you to set aside a portion of your pay on a pre-tax basis to pay for eligible dependent expenses so that you and your spouse can work. Generally, expenses will qualify for reimbursement if they are the result of care for:

  • Your children, under the age of 13, for whom you are entitled to a personal exemption on your federal income tax return.
  • Your spouse or other dependent, including parents, who are physically or mentally incapable of self-care.
  • You can set aside an annual amount up to $10,500 ($5,250 if married and filing separately). At the end of the plan year, any amount that is left over will be “forfeited.”

Transportation Benefit – Active employees only. Newly Hired employees must complete six (6) months of service before signing up for this benefit.

  • PHDC provides a transit benefit, which allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for expenses related to commuting to and from work as well as work-related parking costs. This includes transit passes, tokens, vouchers, parking passes, vanpooling, and more. Once enrolled, you will get a debit card that you will use to pay for such expenses. The monthly contribution limit for transit and parking expenses is $300. You will not pay federal income or FICA taxes on these dollars. This benefit is provided to you through Discovery Benefits.

Aflac

Aflac provides supplemental insurance to help pay out-of-pocket expenses your major medical insurance doesn’t cover.

Product Information:

  • Accident – Help ease the financial stress of covered injury.
  • Cancer – Helps financially and emotionally after a cancer diagnosis.
  • Dental – Helps protect oral and overall health with a variety of benefits.
  • Disability – Helps relieve the financial stress of covered disability.
  • Hospital – Helps with expenses health insurance doesn’t cover.
  • Vision – Helps with expenses related to maintaining healthy eyesight.

If you would like to sign up for Aflac, please reach out to our Agent directly:

Alfred Sanford
215-495-4515
Alfred_Sanford@us.aflac.com

If you are an existing policyholder with Aflac, you can make changes to your current coverage during open enrollment, December 01, 2023 – January 31, 2024.
Check out PHDC-Aflac Page to review and choose the Aflac benefit options that best fit you.

Life Insurance and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)

  • Basic Life and AD&D
    • PHDC employees, who are former PRA employees, have Life and AD&D insurance through The Standard at no cost for a benefit amount of one times annual earnings, rounded to the next highest $1,000 to a maximum $100,000 without evidence of insurability. Retirees receiving a PRA pension are covered by this benefit for 5 years from the date of retirement.
    • PHDC employees, who are enrolled in one of the City of Philadelphia’s pension plans, have Life & AD&D insurance through Securian/Minnesota Life at no cost for a benefit amount of $20,000. Retirees are eligible for $6,000 for their lifetime from the date of retirement.
  • Voluntary Life and AD&D
    • Former PRA employees (not retirees) can purchase additional Voluntary Life coverage through the Standard. You will have to complete a health questionnaire if enrolling for the first time, and may need to complete a health questionnaire if increasing your coverage amounts. You can purchase coverage for yourself, spouse and children.
    • PHDC employees, who have pension benefits through the City of Philadelphia, can purchase additional Voluntary Life and AD&D coverage through Securian. You can purchase coverage for yourself, spouse and children.
  • Cincinnati Life Insurance
    People are always looking for ways to achieve a more financially secure future for their family. As an employee, you can purchase life insurance for yourself, your spouse, dependents and grandchildren at the cost and amount of coverage you choose through our simple and flexible payroll deduction program. Additional life insurance ensures your loved ones will be provided for financially when you die.

    If you have any questions regarding this benefit, please reach out to our Benefits Counselor:

Al Sanford
215-495-4515
Alfred_Sanford@us.aflac.com

Long Term Disability – Active employees only. Newly Hired employees must complete six (6) months of service before signing up for this benefit.

  • You may select a monthly benefit amount in $100 increments. The monthly benefit amount must not exceed 60% of your monthly earnings. The maximum monthly benefit is $6,000; the minimum benefit is $200. You may also elect a benefit waiting period, which is the period of time that you must be continuously disabled before benefits become payable. If you do not elect this benefit when you are first eligible, you will be able to elect or make changes during open enrollment, but you will be required to complete and submit a Medical History Statement prior to being approved. Cost will be paid by you and based on your benefit amount and waiting period elections.

The Current Benefit Plan Year is 8/1/2023 – 07/31/2024. Newly Hired Employees, you have thirty (30) days from your hire date to elect health benefits or waive coverage. Current Employees, per Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules, employees enrolled in pre-tax benefit plans may only make elections or changes to their plans once per year (during open enrollment). Open Enrollment will close on Thursday, July 6, 2023 for current employees. However, you may make changes to your election if you experience one or more of the following special circumstances, which are known as “Qualifying Life Events (QLEs)”:

  • Marriage or divorce
  • Birth, adoption or placement for adoption of an eligible child
  • Loss of spouse’s job or change in work status (when coverage is maintained through spouse’s plan)
  • A significant change in your or your spouse’s health coverage that is attributable to your spouse’s employment
  • Death of spouse or dependent
  • Loss of dependent status
  • Becoming eligible for Medicare or Medicaid during the year
  • Receiving a Qualified Medical Child Support Order (QMCSO)

These QLEs allow you to make plan changes during the year. For any allowable changes, you must inform PHDC’s Human Resources Department within thirty (30) days of the event. Benefit changes that are requested due to a “change of mind’ cannot be allowed until the next Open enrollment Period (July, 2024). For additional information concerning plan changes, please contact Human Resources at PHDC-HR@phila.gov.

Employee Assistance Program

There are times in life when you might need a little help coping or figuring out what to do. Take advantage of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which includes WorkLife Services and is available to you and your family. EAP offers confidential, short-term counseling from Licensed Professional Counselors for a full range of personal issues and achieving a healthy work/life balance across the life span. In a crisis, emergency help is available 24/7. EAP services can help with:

  • Depression, grief, loss and emotional well-being
  • Family, marital and other relationship issues
  • Life improvement and goal-setting
  • Addictions such as alcohol and drug abuse
  • Stress or anxiety with work or family
  • Financial and legal concerns
  • Identity theft and fraud resolution

To explore a wealth of information online, including videos, guides, articles, webinars, resources, self-assessments etc., please visit http://www.healthadvocate.com/standard3.

Additional Resources:

Professional Development

Professional development is an opportunity for employees to increase their skills and enhance their contributions to the organization. An employee’s work performance is vital to the success of our organization. Providing professional development to our employees is an investment in their careers and the organization’s future.

PHDC is proud to offer our employee’s tuition assistance. Employees have two (2) options to receive tuition assistance: advancement or reimbursement.

The payment of tuition and/or required course fees, in whole or in part, or any combination of the foregoing, up to $3,000.00 per EMPLOYEE per calendar year.  Such payments shall not exceed a maximum of $50,000.00 per calendar year for all regular full time EMPLOYEES in the Bargaining Unit. The payment of up to $3,000.00 shall be for a regular full-time EMPLOYEE in order to secure career related education or training appropriate to any work performed by the EMPLOYER.  In addition, employees attending an accredited degreed college or university shall be entitled up to an additional $3,000.00, provided the EMPLOYEE maintained a “C” or better average in the prior semester and that the maximum annual allocation of $50,000.00 has not been exhausted.  This is subject to the following terms and conditions:

(a) the expenses are approved by the EMPLOYER in writing prior to the start of the course; and (b) the EMPLOYEE’S agreement not to voluntarily leave the employment of the EMPLOYER no less than six (6) months after completion of the course and not prior to one (1) year; and (c) the execution of a Promissory Note, or other documentation, under terms acceptable to the EMPLOYER, which obligates the EMPLOYEE, out of any wages, benefits or funds to which the EMPLOYEE  may be entitled, to repay, according to the following prorated schedule, any funds advanced by the EMPLOYER upon the EMPLOYEE’S failure to comply with the terms of the tuition reimbursement. This includes legal action.

  • 0 – 6 months – 100%
  • 7 months – 60%
  • 8 months – 40%
  • 9 months – 35%
  • 10 months – 25%
  • 11 months but less than 1 year – 15%

Employees will need to submit a Tuition Request Information Form and include a Memo to their director requesting their approval to attend the course/class or training. In addition, employees must submit information on the course/training/program, dates of attendance, and the specific amount of funds requested.

For more information related to Professional Development, please reach out to PHDC-HR@phila.gov.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. As a not-for-profit organization that is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, PHDC is a qualifying PSLF employer.

To qualify for PSLF, you must

  • be employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or not-for-profit organization (federal service includes U.S. military service);
  • work full-time for that agency or organization;
  • have Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal student loans into a Direct Loan);
  • repay your loans under an income-driven repayment plan; and
  • make 120 qualifying payments.

To help you track your progress toward qualifying for PSLF, it recommended that you submit the PSLF Form annually. It will make it much easier once you are ready to apply for forgiveness after 10 years of employment in public service!

For assistance completing Section 4 on your PSLF form, please email your form to PHDC-HR@phila.gov. For additional information on PSLF or to find out if your student loans qualify for this program, please review the Public Service Loan Forgiveness FAQs | Federal Student Aid or contact FedLoan Servicing at 1-855-265-4038.

Working Advantage: Corporate Discounts and Perks

As a PHDC employee, you now have access to exclusive savings nationwide on movie tickets, theme parks admissions, top shows and events including Broadway, top attractions and tours in the most popular destinations and exclusive discounts up to 60% off on hotels around the country and around the world.

New to Working Advantage? Getting started is easy.

    1. Visit WorkingAdvantage.com
    2. Click Become a Member
    3. Enter PHDC company code (942873092) or use your work email to create an account

Once you registered, you will have access to the Working Advantage site and receive regular updates, news, and information. You will have the ability to plan, search, and book all of your entertainment and travels needs at up to 60% off retail prices. You can receive assistance from Working Advantage’s customer service team 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Need Help? Call Working Advantage at 1-800-565-3712 or email CUSTOMERSERVICE@WORKINGADVANTAGE.COM

Rocket Lawyer

Signup for Rocket Lawyer Legal Benefits TODAY because I can’t guarantee that it will be available after this calendar year. Whether you’re starting a family, buying a home, working through a landlord dispute, or planning your estate, Rocket Lawyer Legal Benefits can help. This is a great FREE benefit that PHDC has been providing to employees.

Get Started at:  http://go.rocketlawyer.com/phdc where you will have access to the following:

  • Legal Documents Library:  Employees can access Rocket Lawyer’s online legal document library (e.g. Trust, Power of Attorney, Lease, Child Care Authorization Form and so many more!).
  • Attorney Q&A: Employees can submit legal questions on Rocket Lawyer’s legal platform and receive answers back from an attorney in about a day.
  • Attorney Phone Consultations:  Employees will receive free 30 minute phone consultations with a Rocket Lawyer attorney, on every new legal matter.
  • Attorney Discounts:  Employees will receive a 40% discount off the attorney’s hourly billing rate, after the 30 minute free consult.
  • So much more!

Link to Rocket Lawyer presentation with PHDC.

PHDC Info Session Deck, April, 2021, PowerPoint Presentation