North Carolina Office of State Personnel Announces Online Enrollment for State Employees Participating in NCFlex.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- State employees will soon be able to manage their Flexible Benefits accounts online, thanks to a new pilot program being conducted by the NC Office of State Personnel (OSP). Web-based enrollment and employee self-service will standardize and streamline the enrollment processes for the state's Flexible Benefits Program (NCFlex).

The State of North Carolina awarded the bid for the web-based enrollment system to RewardsPlus of America. The use of the outsourced application service provider supports the strategic design of the benefits technology plan developed and executed by the Office of State Personnel's NCFlex Program.

NCFlex, the state's first Section 125 Cafeteria Plan, was established in 1995. Since that time, the program has grown from 727 employees to over 130,500 employees in 2005. NCFlex currently offers eight voluntary products, and plans to expand the number of products offered as well as the number of state employees who have access to the plan. This expansion makes automating enrollment and building employee self-sufficiency essential. All state employees across North Carolina are potential users and beneficiaries of this system.

"Both taxpayers and state employees are winners with NCFlex," said Thom Wright, state personnel director. "The NCFlex plan is 100% self-sustaining through the FICA savings we enjoy when employees elect Section 125 benefits."

RewardsPlus and their RealLife Benefits(R) platform was selected in a competitive bid process that began last summer. According to NCFlex manager Pani Tademeti, the RealLife Benefits technology and service solution stood apart from the competition in its ability to deliver high quality personalized service. "Customer service is our number one priority and I'm confident that the staff at RewardsPlus who engage with our employees are aligned with this commitment," commented Tademeti.

The six agencies/universities participating in the pilot program --North Carolina State University, UNC Health Plan, Department of Correction, Department of Administration, Wake Technical Community College and Wilson Technical Community College-- will begin using the web-based program during this year's fall enrollment. Web-based enrollment will then be phased into other agencies and universities.

More about NCFlex

NCFlex is a qualified cafeteria plan under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 125, for eligible employees of the State of North Carolina and the University of North Carolina System. All contributions for NCFlex benefits are made through payroll deduction before taxes are withheld. Therefore, employees who participate save 25% or more on plan products because contributions are made on a pre-tax basis. For more information on NCFlex, visit http://www.ncflex.org.

More about RealLife Benefits by RewardsPlus

A leader in benefits management automation and outsourcing services, the RealLife Benefits solution simplifies and automates benefits communications, enrollment and administration in addition to offering call center services and a dedicated support team. RealLife Benefits clients include a wide array of brokers and consultants as well as nationally recognized corporations including Magellan Health Systems, Bombardier, Unilever, AT&T and Comcast. For more information, visit the RewardsPlus Web site at www.rewardsplus.com.

RealLife Benefits is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a service mark of Rewards Plus of America Corporation.