Human Resources Department

Benefits

If you have any questions about the information on this page, you may contact our Benefits and Classification Division by emailing klogan@cityofchesapeake.net or ecmiller@cityofchesapeake.net.

AUTOMATIC BENEFITS

AUTOMATIC BENEFITS If you join the City of Chesapeake as a full time regular employee, the City will provide a foundation of benefits for you. Coverage will begin the first day of employment on the following benefits that the City provides at no cost to you:

Retirement Plan

Planning for the future is very important, no matter how old you are. The City participates in the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and pays the total cost of this benefit on your behalf. This plan helps you meet your retirement needs by offering:

Full vesting after five years of employment

The opportunity to retire at age 50 with 10 years of service or age 55 with 5 years of service with a reduced benefit.

A benefit from the VRS will be based on:

Service with the City as a covered employee.

Your age when you start to receive benefits from the plan.

The average of your highest 36 months of continuous earnings.

The basic formula used by the plan is 1.7% times the highest of 36 months of continuous earnings times the number of years of covered service. The Plan has several options of payment, including a survivor benefit. To learn more about these options visit VRS' home page on the World Wide Web for complete details.

Life Insurance

The City pays the total costs of regular life insurance coverage, which is through Minnesota Life Insurance Company. You are covered up to two times your annual salary (rounded to the nearest thousand dollars) for normal death and four times of your annual salary for accidental death. You are also covered for dismemberment.

You are eligible to purchase optional life insurance for yourself and your spouse and dependent children. The costs of this coverage vary with your selection of coverage and your age.

Holidays

The City observes many paid holidays. See the full calendar of observed holidays here.

Annual Leave

Except for employees eligible to accrue leave at a higher rate due to compensatory schedules, regular full time employees accumulate annual leave per month as follows:

Sick Leave

Regular full time employees accrue sick leave at 8 hours per month.

OPTIONAL BENEFITS

The following benefits are available as optional benefits, where the City either shares in the cost or you pay the total cost:

Deferred Compensation

Regular City employees are eligible to participate in the International City Management Association (ICMA) Retirement Corporation deferred compensation plan, which is covered under Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code.

You may defer a maximum of $15,500 of your total income per taxable year, or $20,500 if you do the "age 50" catch up contribution. The amount of money you defer is not taxed under federal or state taxes until it is withdrawn, or when you terminate or retire from the City of Chesapeake.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

The City provides a Flexible Spending Account Plan that you can elect to participate in.

Flexible Spending Accounts provide an opportunity for you to reduce your federal, state and Social Security taxes which will increase your take home pay by setting aside money on a pre-taxed basis (Section 125 of the IRS Code) for certain health care expenses not covered under our medical plan as well as dependent care expenses.

Medical Plans (including dental coverage)

The City gives you the flexibility to choose the medical coverage that’s right for you and your family. The City offers five (5) medical plans that you may elect coverage from. These plans include dental coverage. Dental can also be purchased separately if the City's medical coverage is not elected. Costs of these plans vary with the coverage you choose.

If you decide to elect medical coverage, you pay for this protection with before tax dollars.

EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2009, THE AVERAGE ANNUAL COST TO THE CITY IS $6980.

OTHER BENEFITS

If you join the City you will be eligible for other benefits, too. These include:

• College Savings Plan
  • Virginia Education Savings Trust (VEST), an Internal Revenue code Section 529 college savings program sponsored by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
    
• Credit Union
  
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • A program administered by our Employee Relations and Training Division.
    
• Employee Suggestion Program
  • Visit our Employee Relations and Training Division for full details.
    
• Free Parking
  
• Funeral Leave
  
• In-house Training Program
  • Visit our Employee Relations and Training Division for full details.
    
• Leave Donation
  
• Long Term Care Insurance Plan - Administered by Aetna.
  • (effective January 1, 2005)
    
• Military Leave
  
• Optional Life Insurance (mentioned previously under Life Insurance)
  
• Pre-Paid Legal Services Plan
  • This benefit offers employees a comprehensive package of legal services that includes advice, consultation, and courtroom representation. When you have a legal need (Will preparation, purchasing or selling a home, credit disputes and traffic court, etc.), you're covered! Participating employees enroll for a minimum 12 month period and, through payroll deduction, pay a $10 enrollment fee and a $17 monthly subscriber fee.
• Public Service Leave
  
• Recognition Program
  • Visit our Employee Relations and Training Division for full details.
    
• Savings Bonds
  
• Sick Leave Bank
  
• Tuition Assistance

INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE

This page provides highlights of specific aspects of the benefit program for full time regular employees of the City of Chesapeake. If you join the City, you will receive detailed descriptions of the benefit plans. The actual payment of benefits under any plan is totally governed by the respective plan.