Quick Reference - Benefits
Employee Benefit Projections – Composite Benefit Rates
UCR’s payroll/ personnel processing was transferred to UCPath effective January 1, 2018. Consistent with the UCPath goals of standardizing processes and increasing efficiency, UCR has established fringe benefit rates that are based on a percentage of an employee’s salary according to Employee Groups that do not vary by individual employee benefit selections. These rates are commonly referred to as Composite Benefit Rates (CBRs).
All proposals shall include the following CBRs:
| Approved by DHHS | For Planning Purposes Only - Estimated Rates* (Subject to Change) | |||||||||||
| Employee Classification | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | FY 2028 | FY 2029 | FY 2030 | Note(s) |
| Faculty | 35.10% | 35.10% | 34.4% | 35.6% | 35.2% | 36.0% | 36.0% | 36.0% | 36.0% | 36.0% | 36.0% | Note 2 |
| Faculty Summer | 6.8% | 8.5% | 12.8% | 12.0% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 7.9% | 7.9% | Note 2 |
| Health Science Compensation Plan (HSCP) Faculty | 25.6% | 25.3% | 27.6% | 27.3% | 27.6% | 30.0% | 30.0% | 30.0% | 30.0% | 30.0% | 30.0% | Note 2 |
| No Benefit Eligibility | 3.2% | 2.9% | 4.5% | 4.0% | 1.8% | 2.10% | 2.10% | 2.10% | 2.10% | 2.10% | 2.10% | |
| Other Academic | 39.2% | 41.2% | 43.0% | 44.2% | 43.1% | 43.7% | 43.7% | 43.7% | 43.7% | 43.7% | 43.7% | Note 2 |
| Partial Benefit Eligibility | 4.2% | 4.9% | 12.8% | 4.0% | 1.8% | 2.10% | 2.10% | 2.10% | 2.10% | 2.10% | 2.10% | Note 2 |
| Post-Doctoral Researcher | 20.9% | 23.2% | 24.1% | 20.4% | 20.5% | 22.3% | 22.3% | 22.3% | 22.3% | 22.3% | 22.3% | Note 2 |
| Staff Exempt | 43.2% | 43.9% | 45.2% | 44.2% | 43.1% | 43.7% | 43.7% | 43.7% | 43.7% | 43.7% | 43.7% | Note 2 |
| Staff Non-Exempt | 50.9% | 54.5% | 55.8% | 53.6% | 52.0% | 49.9% | 49.9% | 49.9% | 49.9% | 49.9% | 49.9% | Note 2 |
| Student | .9%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | .9%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | 2.3%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | 4.0%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | 1.8%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | 2.10%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | 2.10%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | 2.10%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | 2.10%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | 2.10%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | 2.10%+ GSHIP and Fee Remission + Tuition Remission, if applicable | Note 1 |
*For proposal submissions that include the Estimated Rates, please add the following statement to your budget justification:
The rates requested are based on the University's estimated Composite Benefit Rates which have been submitted to, and are currently pending approval from, the University's Cognizant Federal Agency, DHHS.
Vacation Leave Accrual (VLA) costs cannot be included in proposal budgets as such costs constitute budgeting for a contingency, which is expressly disallowed in federal awards. Therefore, for consistency across all sponsors, VLA’s are not to be included in the proposal budget. As vacation leave is accrued, departments should encourage employees to take their annually earned vacation; otherwise, the department will need to adjust other charges as allowed by the terms of the award to adjust for the VLA expense.
Notes:
1. This rate is for all students (graduate and undergraduate). The rate does not include GSHIP, Tuition, and Fee Remission and they should be added for graduate student researchers, if applicable. (See the Tuition, Fee Remission, GSHIP tab in the Quick References section of this website for more information.)
2. For Non-Federal Sources, the Interest on Retirement Plan was not included in the CBR and should be assessed the following:
| INTEREST ASSESSMENT AS % OF ALL NON-FEDERAL SOURCES OF COVERED COMPOSITION (ASSESSED OUTSIDE OF CBR) | ASSESSMENT RATE |
| July 1, 2017 | 0.20% |
| July 1, 2018 | 0.65% |
| July 1, 2019 | 1.28% |
| July 1, 2020 | 0.77% |
| July 1, 2021 | 0.30% |
| July 1, 2022 | 0.30% |
| July 1, 2023 | 0.68% |
Example: FY Faculty - Faculty Rate (FY2024) 35.2% + .68% = Benefit Rate of 35.88%
See the Composite Benefits Rate Frequently Asked Questions for additional information on CBRs. You may also email questions to CBRINFO@ucr.edu.
For information on Benefit Rates and Calculations prior to January 1, 2018