Sponsored Projects Principal Investigators and Departmental Administrators:
FSU is implementing a new simplified process for calculating fringe benefits to employee salaries which will change how fringe benefits are charged to sponsored projects. This pooled fringe benefit rate process will align with common practices utilized at most universities.
Currently, fringe benefits are budgeted and charged to sponsored projects for actual costs based on each individual employee’s employment status, health insurance, retirement, etc. Budgeted and actual costs often differ, in some cases, significantly, due to changes in the individual employee status such as marriage, family, etc.
In the new simplified process, a fringe benefit pooled rate will be budgeted and charged to the sponsored projects based on the employee’s job classification/group. The rate will include retirement, FICA, workers’ comp, reemployment comp, terminal leave, and health insurance, so health insurance will no longer be budgeted separately. In RAMP-Grants, the proposal budget will be developed using the pooled rate for the named employee or job classification/group. Principal Investigators and departmental administrators will no longer calculate fringe benefits based on personal benefits elections or appointment duration and there will be no changes during a project due to employee personal status such as marriage, family, etc.
This transition will take place July 1, 2024, with the first payroll (June 21 – July 4, 2024). However, the new anticipated pooled rates should be used, effective immediately, for sponsored project proposals with start dates on or around July 1, 2024, and thereafter. The anticipated pooled rates are posted on the SRA Facts Sheet at https://www.research.fsu.edu/research-offices/sra/facts-sheet/. FAQs are also being developed and will be provided athttps://budget.fsu.edu/benefitspool.
Questions should be directed to Pamela Ray, Sponsored Research Administration atpray2@fsu.edu.
