Dependent Insurance Fund
HGSU-UAW Dependent Insurance Subsidy Summary and FAQs
The contract between Harvard University and the Harvard Graduate Students Union (HGSU-UAW) Local 5118 establishes a fund of $475,000 annually to subsidize the costs of health insurance for both spousal and child dependents enrolled in the Harvard University Student Health Insurance Plan. Visit the Benefits Overview page to learn about upcoming deadlines.
All applications will open at least 6 weeks before the deadline. Student workers may submit their application for reimbursements here.
Eligibility and Coverage
To be eligible to receive funds from the Fund, a person must:
- be a student enrolled in a Harvard University degree program;
- be actively employed as a Research Assistant (but not an undergraduate Research Assistant), Teaching Fellow, Instructional Fellow, Pedagogical Fellow, or Course Assistant in at least 1 academic term in the contract year;
- receive pay on a salaried basis; OR receive pay on an hourly basis and have worked at least 280 hours either between January 1 and June 30, 2023 or between July 1 and December 31, 2023; and
- have a married spouse and/or at least 1 dependent child under the age of 26 enrolled in Harvard SHIP as a dependent.
Eligibility can be complicated, so we created this guide to help you figure out which expenses are eligible at which deadline. You may need to go through this cheat sheet a few times to account for all the periods in which you may have been working.
Last year, the average reimbursement per applicant from the dependent insurance fund was $3,750.
No, for the purposes of subsidizing child dependent health insurance, the fund is administered as a per-child benefit.
Unfortunately, no. Ensuring coverage of health insurance for student workers has been an important campaign goal, and we will need to organize for it in the future. To get involved, send an email to hgsu.general@gmail.com
No, this fund specifically subsidizes dependent health insurance. There are separate funds to offset dental costs and other health expenses.
Application Questions
No. For simplicity of administration, household income is self-reported.
No, you may receive reimbursement for the entire year at any application deadline, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria.
Include any income earned by yourself as well as a spouse or committed partner. You do not need to report financial information of extended family members or roommates unless they contribute significantly to household expenses.
If you are unable to log in to our application to apply via HarvardKey, that means that you have not worked in an HGSU-UAW eligible position in the relevant time period (July 1, 2023–present) according to the records Harvard has shared with us. If you are planning to teach this semester, try accessing the fund the first week after your class meets; you should appear in our records by then. If you have worked in an HGSU-UAW eligible position and still can’t access the application, email hgsu.benefits@gmail.com with your HGSU-UAW appointment letter and we will help you get access to the application.
Fund Rules - In Plain English
Section
Dependent Insurance
Scope
Premiums paid for spouse and/or dependent children through Harvard SHIP
Eligibility
Appointed to an eligible position in the bargaining unit at one point in the contract year covered by application
Application Timeline
Salaried workers: fall expenses at October deadline; spring expenses at March deadline.
Hourly workers who became eligible in the previous spring semester can get the previous year’s expenses covered at the October deadline
Benefit Structure
Pool
Determination of Benefit Amounts
Are there fixed costs/grants?
Yes—cost of premium for spouse and each dependent child are preset by Harvard SHIP
Are there variable costs?
No
When does household income affect reimbursement?
When eligible expenses exceed available fund amount
Maximum annual payout
None (subject to fund availability)
Typical documentation
Screenshot of enrollment
Applications
SmarterSelect, open from 6 weeks before next deadline
January Review (Quarterly for CC); Fund Governance
Minor changes made by vote of FBC; major changes are subject to HGSU membership vote
Fund Rules
For full (legalese) version of the rules, please go here. For the most granular information on expenses we cover, refer to bullet point 1 of the Section entitled “Determination of Benefit Amounts.”
