Fringe Benefits/OPE

Fringe benefits or OPE (Other Personnel Expenses) are budgeted on all salaries and wages and can include costs for:


State Employee Relations Board fee, SAIF (State accident insurance), PERS (State retirement plan), FICA (Social Security), WCD (State workers compensation), unemployment insurance, mass transit fee*, Medicare, and for eligible employees, medical and dental insurance premiums.

*Mass transit @ .0060 is assessed only on salaries paid by non-federal sources. 

Under the negotiated facilities and administrative (indirect) cost rate agreement between the University of Oregon and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) dated 5/17/04, fringe benefits are an allowable direct charge on grant proposals. The AVERAGE rates found on the Quick Reference Card are applied to salaries and wages for estimating and budgeting fringe benefit (OPE) costs on proposals. However, only the actual costs for each employee's fringe benefits are charged to the grant.


Actual OPE costs, which may be more or less than the average rates, are charged to a grant for each employee. Because OPE components include both fixed costs (fixed monthly amount for insurance) and variable costs (a percentage of pay), actual rates can vary widely for individuals within the same category of appointment based on annual salary rates. For example, the OPE for a half-time academic research assistant paid $18,000 with full benefits for 12 months can cost $10320 with an effective OPE rate of 57%, while the effective rate for a full-time professor paid $60,000 will be about 41%.

ACTUAL fringe benefit rates may be used instead of average rates, if known for an individual based on historical costs. Divide monthly benefit charges into monthly salary costs to obtain an individual’s actual benefit rate. It is recommended that the benefit costs be examined over several months or years, as actual costs vary month to month, before determining an actual rate for budgeting purposes.


GTF Insurance and Fees

In addition to the 1% OPE for GTFs, you must also add in the required insurance costs for GTFs (see rates on Quick Reference Card). Non-instructional fees should also be included in the total fringe benefits for GTF appointments.

• OPE charged on salary paid: 1%
  
  
• Non-instructional Fees: per term for 3 terms/year.
  
  
• Insurance: each term for up to 4 terms/year. Use projected costs for each GTF who is already employed when the chosen plan option is known. For GTFs not yet hired or when the plan option is not yet identified, use the recommended average costs, based on AY plus summer costs. Annual increases should be included at 5% each year.
  
  
• All fringe benefits are charged with F&A (indirect), including GTF insurance and non-instructional fees.