As part of our ongoing commitment to best practices, all employees will be paid on a biweekly pay cycle. Overall, we believe that this change will positively impact employees. A number of other universities and private organizations have made this transition as it not only streamlines administrative processes, but actually gives employees access to funds on a more frequent basis.

The University decided to standardize their payroll processes for several reasons:

  • The ability to terminate access to our systems much sooner with a biweekly pay cycle.
  • The administrative efficiencies gained for employees and departments throughout campus. 
  • It is best practice and several universities have already moved to biweekly payrolls.  Examples include Florida State University, University of Arizona, College of Brockport (State University of New York), Lake Superior State University, Rice University, Butler University, and Western Kentucky University.
  • Utilizing direct deposit has removed historical cost constraints associated with printing paper checks.
  • Reduction in pay cycles and benefit deductions makes it easier to communicate to employees.
  • The benefits gained for University employees.

Benefits of a Biweekly Pay Cycle

  • You will have access to funds more quickly (see chart below).
  • Funds will be deposited into your Health Savings and Flexible Spending accounts biweekly, giving you access to those funds sooner. This is especially important when employee deductbles and out of pocket maximums are reset in January or for those individuals electing an FSA for dependent care.
  • Contributions to retirement plan accounts will happen biweekly, allowing them to be invested sooner.
  • Missed payments will be processed on the next biweekly pay check. Currently, you must wait until the next monthly pay period or your department must process a request for a special payment if a missed payment occurs.
  • New employees who are transitioning to Ball State will receive their first paycheck in a much shorter timeframe. Depending upon the start date, some new employees must wait up to six weeks before they receive their first check.

Frequently Asked Questions

The transition from a monthly pay cycle to a biweekly pay cycle for professional staff, faculty, and exempt staff goes into effect Jan. 1, 2019.

As part of the transition, you will receive your final monthly check on Dec. 31, 2018, and receive your first biweekly check on Jan. 4, 2019. After that timeframe, you will be paid biweekly.

Going from a monthly to a biweekly pay cycle will initially look and feel different; however, it gives you the opportunity to access your money sooner, ahead of a monthly schedule.

Not at this time, once the transition from monthly to biweekly occurs, HR and Payroll are committed to testing and eventually offering a deferred payment option. The soonest this could happen would be August 2019.

All monthly paid employees (Faculty, Professional, and Exempt staff) will be transitioned to biweekly payroll starting in January 2019, there is not an option to opt out.

Prior to January, you will need to review your personal elections on deposits, auto payments, and billing cycles such as the setup on the following items: 

  • Review your Personal Budgets - Being paid biweekly will look and feel different as first.  Learn how to transition your budget from a monthly basis to a biweekly basis.
  • Direct Deposit Allocation – If you currently deposit $1,000 to a saving account monthly, you may want to consider changing it to $460 biweekly ($1,000 per pay x 12 monthly pays per year = $12,000 / 26 biweekly pays = $461.54).  You can update your direct deposit information on Self Service Banner.
  • Automatic Payments – If you currently have any automatic payments scheduled, do any of the dates need to be changed?
  • Utility Billing Cycles – If you are concerned that all your bills are due at the same time of the month (like the first of the month), you can call to see if you can request a different billing cycle.
  • Federal Income Tax Form aka Form W-4 - If you are an employee who elects to have additional withholding per pay taken out, do you need to adjust the additional amount withheld?  If you are unsure of your federal withholding, you can check your withholdings on Self Service Banner.  If you wish to change your Form W-4 information, please complete a new form and drop it by the Office of Payroll and Employee Benefits room G29.

On December 31, 2018 (and going forward) you will begin submitting your Kronos leave reports on a biweekly basis.  Currently, you report your leave on the 21st of the month for a portion of the current month and a portion of the previous month.  Following the transition,  you will submit your leave (time off) report every Monday immediately following the pay period during which the time off was taken.  In departments where the Kronos Manager enters your time, please make sure you provide your time off on a biweekly basis. 

There will be employee as well as Kronos Manager training and additional information provided closer to the implementation date.

 

During the annual Open Enrollment session, you will elect your benefits and be given biweekly rates. The elections you make during open enrollment will move over to Self-Service Banner. Your other voluntary deductions like parking, recreation services, athletics, etc. will be recalculated automatically to biweekly rates.

The Office of University Human Resource Service in conjuntion with the Office of Payroll and Employee Benefits will be offering Open Forums to address your questions on the following dates:

  • April 4, 2018 – 2 p.m. – Student Center, Room 310
  • April 17, 2018 – 9 a.m. – Student Center, Room 301-2
  • April 19, 2018 – 9 a.m. – Bracken Library, Room L82A-B
  • April 24, 2018 – 10:30 a.m. – Alumni Center, Assembly Hall A
  • April 24, 2018 – 2 p.m. – Student Center, Room 301-2

There is also an Employee Assistance Program that offers a free, 30-minute financial health consultation and several online resources via Lifeworks.

Pay Schedule Comparison

12-month employees

If your annual salary is $35,000 per year, your monthly gross pay is $2,916.67 and your biweekly gross pay for the remainder of the 2018-19 fiscal year is $1,250.

Transitional biweekly pay calculation

$35,000 / 2 = $17,500
$17,500 / 14 = $1,250
Transitional biweekly pay = $1,250

Permanent biweekly pay calculation

$35,000 / 26 = $1,346.15
Permanent biweekly pay = $1,346.15

Because you are transitioning from monthly pay to biweekly pay in the middle of a fiscal year, you will have 12 pays in the fall and 14 pays in the spring. However, at the beginning of the new fiscal year 2019-20, your biweekly gross pay will increase so that it is evenly distributed over the 26 biweekly pays.

Biweekly pay Schedule (xls)

Even though the biweekly pay is less, you will receive it more frequently, thus increasing your cashflow throughout the month. By your third biweekly check you'll experience increased cashflow which means you'll have access to your cash faster.

Cashflow Comparison

Download the cashflow comparison Excel spreadsheet to see your cashflow increase and calculate your pay.

Calculate Your PaY (XLS)

Biweekly pay calculation

$35,000 / 20 = $1,750
Biweekly pay = $1,750

For a 10-month employee, if your annual salary is $35,000 per year, your monthly gross pay is $3,500 and your biweekly gross pay is $1,750.00. Even though the biweekly pay is less, you will receive it more frequently, thus increasing your cashflow throughout the month.

By your third biweekly check you'll experience increased cashflow which means you'll have access to your cash faster.

Biweekly pay Schedule (xls)

Cashflow Comparison

Download the cashflow comparison Excel spreadsheet to see your cashflow increase and calculate your pay.

Calculate Your Pay (xls)