Employee Benefits

Information regarding the City’s benefits, including summaries and descriptions, can be found in the Employee Benefits Guide. Currently, some medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums for employee-only coverage are fully paid by the City (dependent on employee status).

Who is eligible?

Benefit-eligible employees are permanent full-time employees, those permanent part-time employees who are regularly scheduled to work twenty (20) hours or more per week, and elected Councilmembers. Temporary employees, interns, contractors, and volunteers are not benefit eligible at this time. Benefit eligibility begins on the first day of employment.

Health Insurance

Employees may choose to waive health insurance or select from the following plans available through United Healthcare:

• The Choice plan – this is a standard PPO plan. This plan only has coverage for in-network benefits.
• The Choice Plus plan – this is the same standard plan as the Choice plan but offers both in-network and out-of-network benefits.
• The Choice Health Savings Account (HSA) plan – This plan carries a higher deductible, but then covers the cost of most services without co-insurance. The plan allows for payroll deduction of funds to be used for medical expenses.

If waiving health insurance, the City will contribute the amount of the employee-only premium to a 457 Deferred Compensation Plan account in the employee’s name.

Dental Insurance

Employees may choose from two dental plans or may waive dental coverage. Currently, dental insurance is available through United Healthcare, via the following plans:

• PPO Plan 7100 (High) – this is a standard dental plan but offers  more coverage and a lower deductible for out-of-network benefits than Plan 7101 (Low).
• PPO Plan 7101 (Low) – this is the same standard dental plan as the Plan 7100 (High) but offers less coverage and a higher deductible for out-of-network benefits.

Vision Insurance

Employees may choose from two vision insurance plans, EyeMed or VSP, which are available through Ameritas.  There are slightly different coverages if utilizing out-of-network doctors, but the main difference between the two plans is the doctors offices available in each network. The City recommends looking at the EyeMed or VSP websites to verify if preferred doctors or vision outlets are available. Learn more here.

Maryland State Retirement and Pension System

As a participating jurisdiction in Maryland, all full-time employees are required to participate in the Maryland State Retirement Plan. Those part-time employees that work 500 hours or more per year are also required to participate.

Participating employees must contribute 7% of their annual compensation to the Retirement System.  For more information, employees are encouraged to visit the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System website or view a welcome pamphlet here.

Life Insurance and Long Term Disability Insurance

The City provides all benefit-eligible employees with Term Life Insurance / Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance, as well as Long-Term Disability.

The life insurance benefit amount is equal to the employee’s annual salary up to $250,000 for non-AFSCME members and equal to the employee’s annual salary up to $50,000 for AFSCME members.

Employees may choose to pay for supplemental insurance for specific situations.  Optional policies include:

• Life Insurance (additional beyond what is paid by the City)
• Short-Term Disability
• Critical Illness – includes specific health incidents like heart attack, stroke, or cancer
• Accident

Information on each of these policies can be found here.

Flexible Spending Accounts

Employees may choose to set aside pre-tax money from their paycheck to help pay for qualified expenses, such as medical expenses or child care.  Employees choose the amount, up to the maximum allowed annual contribution, that is deducted from each paycheck via payroll deduction.

If an employee chooses to participate in either the medical or child care FSA, they will receive a card in the mail, similar to a debit card, from Health Equity / Wage Works.  Tracking of expenses is available online via a mobile app.

Learn more about the Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA)   or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA).

Quick Links

• Careers with Takoma Park
• Salary Range Tables
• 2024 Payroll Calendar (pdf)
• Forms and Resources for City Employees
• Employee Benefits
• Personnel Policies
• Collective Bargaining Agreements

Benefits package includes:

• Heath and Dental
• Vision
• Maryland State Retirement
• Life and Long Term Disability Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Legal Resources
• 457 Deferred Compensation
• SmartBenefits Commuter Benefits
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Programs

Legal Resources

Employees may choose to receive comprehensive legal coverage on a broad range of services on topics like family law, estate planning, traffic violations, or civil actions.  Representation is via various law firms in the DMV and your use is not shared with the City. The current cost is $18 per month, with many services covered at 100%. Learn more here.

457 Deferred Compensation Plan

Employees may contribute pre-tax dollars to a 457 Deferred Compensation plan, with contributions matched by the City up to two percent (2%) of the employee’s annual pay.  This plan will also receive the benefit paid for waived health insurance. Learn more here.

Smart Benefits Commuter Benefits Program

SmartBenefits allows the employee to transfer funds to their SmarTrip® card via pre-tax payroll deductions.  The employee chooses the amount which is loaded onto their card. These SmartBenefits can be used to pay for transit anywhere Metro’s SmarTrip® card is accepted, including Metrorail parking lots. Learn more about SmartBenefits.

Tuition Reimbursement

Depending upon the availability of funds, the City shall provide tuition support to employees, who wish to matriculate at an accredited institution of higher learning and whose course of study is related to their City job. The same support shall be provided to employees wishing to acquire a high school diploma or it’s equivalent where tuition payments are required. Learn more about tuition support.

Employee Assistance Programs

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) are resources available to help employees through stressful situations and events.  These are third-party resources, and use of them is never reported to the City.  EAP support is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

Every City employee has access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for yourself, your eligible dependents, and anyone living in the same household.  EAP is offered through Assistance by BHS, Mutual of Omaha, and Optum/United Healthcare.  Specific information for each plan is provided below.

Assistance by BHS

• Available to all employees and their household members at no cost.
• Eligible to receive up to 4 short-term problem resolution sessions per issue, per year.
• Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via toll-free number 800-327-2251.
• Provides information and referral resources.
• Confidential emotional support.

Mutual of Omaha

• Available to benefit-eligible employees and their eligible dependents at no cost.
• Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via toll-free number 800-316-2796, or online at mutualofomaha.com/eap
• Provides information and referral resources.
• Confidential emotional support.

Optum/United Healthcare

• Available to UHC members and covered dependents at no additional cost, unless referred to a physician where co-pays would apply.
• Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via toll-free number 1-866-342-6892