Total Rewards FAQs
Access
How do I print my Total Rewards statement?
Enter the following in the Workday Search Bar: “View Total Rewards Export View”.
After selecting this report, enter your name and hit OK. You can print to an Excel spreadsheet or PDF by clicking the corresponding icon on the right of your screen.
We do not suggest using the Excel and PDF icons on the Total Rewards page at this time. Workday continues to enhance functionality and accessibility, and we hope to see improvements in the future. Instead, use the View Total Rewards Export View described above.
Compensation
How does my Total Rewards statement show base pay if I hold a non-12-month position?
- For salaried employees, the Total Rewards Statement displays your annualized salary based on a 9 or 12-month work period using the current salary as of the date viewed.
- For hourly employees, the Total Rewards Statement displays your anticipated annual earnings based on expected hours worked in a year (scheduled weekly hours per week x 52 weeks in a year).
This amount does not factor in leaves of absence, planned position changes or upcoming compensation increases. Expected end dates on fixed-term positions are not considered in the annualized calculation.
Does my Total Rewards statement outline guaranteed earnings?
No. Although great care has been taken to make this statement as accurate as possible, it reflects an illustrative example of your total rewards as of a point in time. Provisions of this statement do not constitute a guarantee of continued employment, earnings or benefits eligibility.
Health and Welfare Benefits
How are employer contributions toward health benefits calculated?
Employer contributions reflect CMU’s share of contributions toward health benefits over the past 12 months. As with employee contributions, CMU’s contribution rate varies by the plan and level of coverage you elected. Any updates to your elections in the past 12 months are accounted for in these totals.
Does my Total Rewards statement include the employee portion of the associated benefit costs?
No. Your Total Rewards statement only represents the value of what CMU contributed toward the associated benefits costs. You can view both the CMU contribution and your employee share in Workday by selecting View Benefits Detail on the Benefits and Pay Hub.
Can I view my employee contributions from my Total Rewards statement?
Employee contributions are not part of your Total Rewards statement. They can be viewed from the Benefits and Pay Hub. In the sidebar on the left, click “Benefits” then “Benefit Elections”. Here, you will see all of your employee benefit contributions alongside Carnegie Mellon’s employer contributions for easy comparison.
Other Rewards
What are Other Rewards and how can I use these benefits?
Carnegie Mellon University offers a variety of benefits and programs designed to meet the needs of faculty and staff members.
- Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) Pass
Eligible employees can use their CMU ID Card to access transportation via the Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) system at no cost to them. - Fitness Centers and Associated Services
Carnegie Mellon offers wellness and fitness facilities and classes that are available to the campus community. A valid CMU ID is required. - Employee Assistance Program
Carnegie Mellon is committed to being a healthy workplace. This includes providing resources to help you manage personal and work-life issues. As a faculty or staff member, you and your household members have access to CMU's Employee Assistance Program (EAP). - Care for Business
Carnegie Mellon offers dependent care benefits through Care.com’s Care for Business program. Eligible employees receive a free premium membership to Care.com, where you can search provider profiles or post jobs. The program also provides emergency backup care options at a subsidized rate to cover unexpected gaps in care for children and adults.
Retirement Benefits
Who is eligible for university retirement contributions?
Faculty and staff who are age 21+ and full-time or, if part-time, work at least 1,000 hours in an employment year (minimum age 21) and have U.S. source income and are paid in U.S. dollars are eligible for university contributions.
When am I enrolled in university retirement contributions?
Full-time faculty and staff members are enrolled automatically on the first of the month coincident with or following their date of hire. Part-time employees are enrolled once their 1,000 required hours are reached during their employment year.
How are university retirement contributions calculated?
Carnegie Mellon contributes an amount equal to 8% of your eligible base salary unless you have a 9-month academic year appointment; then Carnegie Mellon contributes 9.78% of your academic year salary, paid over nine months.
Is there a vesting requirement for university retirement contributions?
Yes. Vesting means that you own the funds Carnegie Mellon has contributed on your behalf, as well as any earnings from those investments. If you separate from the university before you are vested, you will lose all university contributions and any earnings. The Carnegie Mellon University retirement plan requires that you complete three years of service for university contributions to be vested. You must complete at least 1,000 hours in each of the three employment years. Your employment year begins on your date of hire and is not necessarily a calendar year.
Statutory Benefits
What are statutory benefits and what do they include?
Your Total Rewards statement features a Statutory Benefits card. As your employer, Carnegie Mellon is legally required to contribute these amounts on behalf of each eligible employee based on the detailed requirements of the legal statute.
This includes the employer’s share of federal, state, or local taxes, and employer-paid, state or municipality-specific, mandatory leave programs. Most employees will see rows for Medicare and Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI, sometimes called Social Security). Some states or municipalities impose a tax on the employer to fund mandatory programs such as sick leave or unemployment. If any of these apply to you, they will be shown on the Statutory Benefits card.
Time Away From Work
Why is my time away from work not included in my Total Rewards summary?
The Total Rewards summary shows the breakdown of your base salary and other cash compensation. The value of your paid time off is factored into your total compensation, which includes your base salary.
When you take paid time off, you continue to receive your salary when you aren’t working. Since your full salary is included in the summary, we don’t include time away from work to avoid double counting.
For details on your time off plan eligibility, please review the Staff Handbook [pdf].
How does a leave of absence impact my Total Rewards statement?
Due to their unplanned and unpredictable nature, leaves of absence are not included in your Total Rewards Statement. A paid leave of absence entitles you to continue receiving some or all of your salary even when you are not working, so the amount is already included as part of your base pay in your Total Rewards statement.
How is the value of my time away from work calculated?
- For salaried employees, time away from work is calculated by dividing your annual salary by your scheduled weekly hours times 52 weeks in a year., then multiplying by the number of hours you accrue in your current anniversary year.
- For hourly employees, time away from work is calculated by multiplying your hourly pay rate times the number of hours you accrue in your current anniversary year.
The value uses the number of hours you accrue in your anniversary year as of the day you are viewing it. Once you reach your anniversary date, if you move to a new accrual level you will see that reflected in the value.
Note that your actual balances and any carryover balance are not included. To view your balances in Workday select Time Off from the menu in the upper left corner of the main page.
For details on your time off plan eligibility, please review the Staff Handbook [pdf].
Can I view my time off balances from my Total Rewards statement?
No. To access your time off balance details, go to the Navigation Menu, then click the Time Off app.
Tuition Benefits
In the Tuition Benefits card, what is the difference between sample tuition benefits vs. benefits you received?
The Tuition Benefits card highlights your employee and dependent tuition benefits received. If you or your dependents haven’t used the tuition benefits in the last 12 months, these sections won’t appear.
The Tuition Benefits card also includes sections that highlight the value of tuition benefits that you may be eligible for as an employee and that your dependents may be eligible for if you meet the provisions of the plan. These sections are titled “Sample Tuition Benefits Value for Employees” and “Sample Tuition Benefits Value for a Dependent”.
Only the value of the benefits you or your dependents used in the last 12 months are added to your Total Rewards statement pie chart.
In the Tuition Benefits card, how were the amounts selected for the tuition eligibility value?
In the Tuition Benefits card, you can view a sample value of tuition benefits that you and your dependents may be eligible for in an academic year. Because the tuition benefits plan contains a variety of alternatives, we have selected a common scenario to illustrate the value of the tuition benefits.
Employees
Many employees are eligible for tuition benefits for academic programming at CMU. For full-time employees, this amount illustrates the value of tuition eligibility based on the per unit cost for an undergraduate course published by the Office of Enrollment Management of $865 x 12 units per course x 2 courses per semester x 2 semesters.
For part-time employees, this amount illustrates the value of tuition eligibility based on the per unit cost for an undergraduate course published by the Office of Enrollment Management of $865 x 12 units per course x 1 course per semester x 2 semesters.
Please note that this is an illustrative example. Your actual benefit value will depend on factors such as course level (undergraduate versus graduate course) and program enrollment (tuition for graduate programs varies by college and program).
Dependents
Dependent tuition benefits include a maximum value at CMU ($62,260) and outside of CMU ($6,820) per academic year for one dependent. Your actual benefit will be different depending on the number of dependents, number of semesters and cost of the school they are attending.
Note that these are illustrative examples based on the plan design. Please see the Tuition Benefits page for details.
Why are my tuition benefits not included in my Total Rewards summary?
Only tuition benefits that you have received in the past 12 months are included in the Total Rewards summary.
Tuition benefits and their associated monetary value are calculated based on many factors including employee vs. dependent, CMU vs. non-CMU, undergraduate vs. graduate courses and full-time vs. part-time employment. The Tuition Benefits card in your Total Rewards statement provides an example of the value of these benefits. The potential range of all possible values for the overall tuition benefit varies widely.
To learn more about tuition benefit options, please visit the Tuition Benefits for Staff Members page.