Fringe Benefits

UNC Charlotte’s fringe benefits are divided into two categories:

• Direct Charge Rates: Established and regulated by federal & state governmental agencies and private industry outside the University (FICA, FICA medical, Health Insurance, and Retirement). These expenses are direct charged to funds, including sponsored agreements. These rates are determined by the federal government (FICA & FICA medical) and the State of North Carolina (health insurance & retirement) and are not negotiated with our cognizant agency because they are subject to the State of NC approvals by State Legislature.
• Claims-Made Rates: Costs include worker’s compensation, unemployment compensation, terminal leave, severance pay, employee assistance program, employee tuition waivers, & short/long-term disability. Claims-made fringe benefits are benefits where the University only incurs costs when a claim is made. The claims-made fringe benefit rates are set through a negotiation process with the federal government based on a proposal submitted annually.

To facilitate the budgeting of grant and contract proposals to external agencies, the Cost Analysis Unit of the Office of Grants & Contracts Administration has provided a four-year rate projection. Rates for fiscal years 2018-20+ are based on approved/projected rates for medical insurance premiums paid for employees by the state, a biennial state directive on retirement rates, & federally negotiated Claims-Made rates.

This approach is as described in Section II of the University’s Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Rate Agreement. UNC Charlotte estimates direct fringe benefit costs on grant applications and contract proposals. Estimates of the direct cost portion of fringe expenses are based on average faculty & staff salaries for each employee category because health insurance is a static premium ($) per year and not a function of an employee’s salary. The composite fringe benefit rates used for proposal projection budgets below are expressed as a percentage of the average salary.

If you have any further questions about fringe benefit rates, please contact the Cost Analyst Team at budget-genfund@uncc.edu or 704‑687‑8279.

Fringe Benefit Rates

• FY2021 to FY2024 Fringe Benefit Rate (Effective 7/1/2023)
• FY2025 Fringe Benefit Rates (effective 7/1/2024)
• FY2021 Fringe Calculator (revised 7/14/2022)

Related Links:

ORS – Budget Preparation information can be found here.