Employee Benefits

The City of South Portland offers a comprehensive package of benefits to permanent full-time and permanent part-time employees who work twenty (20) hours per week or more on a year-round basis.  The Human Resources Department is available to provide assistance regarding benefit questions and enrollment.

  • Retirement Plans
  • Roth IRA
  • Long-term Disability
  • Income Protection Plan (Short Term Disability)
  • Life Insurance
  • Health and Dental and Vision Insurance
  • Section 125  Flexible Spending Accounts-Medical and Dependent Care
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Non-Union Wellness Program
  • Educational Reimbursement
  • Paid Holidays 

Retirement Plans 

Although not intended to be a sole source of retirement income, the City does cover its non-Firefighter employee’s for social security. Firefighters are exempt from FICA coverage and are required to enroll in MePERS.

The City of South Portland currently offers two retirement savings plans. These plans are classified as a “defined benefit plan” and a “defined contribution plan”

Our “defined benefit plan” is administered through the Maine Public Employees Retirement System or MePERS (formally known as Maine State Retirement System or MSRS).

The second retirement plan offered is our “defined contribution plan” and is administered by MissionSquare Retirement formerly known as ICMA-RC. This is defined as a 457/401a deferred contribution plan.  The City will match up to 8%. Employees are 100% vested after three years. For employees enrolled in the MePERS plan, they can also contribute to the 457 plan but without an employer match. 

Roth IRA

The City offers enrollment in a ROTH-IRA administered through Mission Square. Contribution limits are set annually by the IRS. Employees must self-enroll through the Mission Square website. Please feel free to visit the Mission Square websites for additional information.

Long Term Disability

All employees who participate in either retirement plan (MePERS or Mission Square)  will be covered under a Long Term Disability plan. Employees who do not participate in a retirement plan will NOT have LTD coverage. MePERS administers their own LTD plan for all participants. Mission Square participants will be automatically enrolled in a LTD plan administered by UNUM. There is no charge to the employee for either LTD plan.

Income Protection Plan (Short Term Disability) 

MMEHT Income Protection Plan is a short-term disability plan that provides income benefits to employees to replace a portion of the employee’s weekly salary up to a maximum of $1,000 per week during an extended absence from work caused by a non-work related accident, injury or illness. Eligible employees may select income replacement benefits at 40%, 55% or 70% of their weekly salary. Weekly benefits begin on the first (1st) day of an accident and eighth (8th) day of an illness. Benefits are payable for a maximum of 52 weeks for each separate period of disability. Eligible employees are responsible for application and enrollment in the Plan and payment of all costs associated with the Plan. Costs of the Plan are dependent on the level of salary replacement selected and the employee’s income. 

Employees receiving weekly income replacement benefits through the Plan at either the 40%, 55% or 70% of salary level are required to use accrued sick, vacation or personal leave, to the extent available, to equal 100% of the employee’s regular pre-tax weekly earnings.

Life Insurance Plans

The City offers life insurance coverage through MePERS and Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust (MMEHT). Both plans offer basic life, supplemental life and dependent life coverage.

Employee’s can elect to have life insurance coverage under either or both plans. You do not have to be a contributing MePERS member to enroll in the life insurance plan. Nor are you required to be covered under the City’s health insurance plan at MMEHT to participate in the life insurance plan. However, if you do participate in the City’s health insurance plan, you will receive one times your annual salary in basic life insurance through MMEHT at no cost.

Health and Dental Insurance


Dental Insurance: The City offers Dental Insurance coverage through Delta Dental. There are three levels of coverage. Single, 2 people or 3 or more. Dental Insurance is 100% employee paid.

Health Insurance: All non-union employees eligible for health insurance (working 20 hrs a week or more) who are hired on or after  December 1, 2010, are only eligible to participate in either a Acadia (formerly POS-C) or Katahdin (formerly PPO-500) Health Insurance Plan administered through Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust (MMEHT). Part-times employees pay a pro-rated portion of the single plan and must pay the entire portion of the dependent health insurance costs based on their budgeted hours. Enrollment in the City’s Health plan entitles the employee to one times their annual salary in life insurance at MMEHT at no cost to the employee.

Vision Care

Full-time and part-time non-union employees working twenty (20) hours or more per week are eligible to participate in a Vision Care Plan. Vision Insurance is 100% employee paid.

The EyeMed Plan (formerly VSP) is through the Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust (MMEHT) and offers employees personalized eye care, eye wear and choice of providers, both in and out-of-network.  Employees receive discounts and savings on eye exams, frames, lenses, contacts, prescription sunglasses, second pair of glasses and laser vision correction surgery. Enrollment in the plan is voluntary with 100% employee contribution through pre-tax weekly premiums for a variety of coverage options; employee only, employee and spouse, employee and children, and family. Each December there will be an open enrollment for the following January 1st effective date.

Plan information, including weekly premium rates, savings and discounts is available in the Human Resources Office.  For more information visit Maine Municipal Employees Health Trust.

Legal Shield & Identity Theft Protection

Full-time and part-time non-union employees working twenty (20) hours or more per week are eligible to enroll in a pre-paid legal services program (Legal Shield) consisting of Life Events Legal Plan and Identity Theft Shield benefits.

The plan offers 24-hour emergency access to legal services for personal and family matters, home sale or purchase, lease agreements, problem credit, divorce, child support, motor vehicle and traffic violations, IRS audits, trial defense, debit or credit card issues, wills, power of attorney, identity theft and restoration, and much more.

The benefit covers the employee, spouse or domestic partner, and all qualified dependents. Enrollment in the plan is voluntary with 100% employee contribution through after-tax weekly premiums. Employees may enroll in both the Life Events Legal Plan and Identity Theft Shield, or each separately.  The benefits are month to month with no long-term contract. The benefits are portable, at the discounted group rate, should the employee leave employment with the City.

Employees may sign up during the annual benefits open enrollment period in December with an effective date of January 1st.  More information on the Legal Shield Plan, including benefits and weekly premiums is available in the Human Resources Office, or visit their web site at the Legal Shield quick link provided below. Participation in this plan is 100% employee paid.

Section 125 Medical and Dependent Care Reimbursement Plan

Our third-party administrator for our flexible spending plan is Voya Financial. The FSA-Flexible Spending Account allows employees to have a pre-tax deduction withheld from their pay to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses not covered by health insurance. 

The Dependent Care Account allows employees to have a pre-tax deduction for Dependent care expenses.

Both plans are 100% employee paid and contribution limits are set by the IRS annually.

Employee Assistance Program

The City offers an employee assistance program through Anthem EAP. Life is not easy.  During tough times, Anthem EAP is one place you can turn to for help from caring, experienced professionals. Anthem EAP can offer information and advice to help with a wide range of problems – from relationship and family concerns, workplace conflict, anxiety, stress, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, grief, and even financial, legal, child care, elder care and much more.  Anthem EAP provides employees and dependents with free confidential assistance, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; up to 3 free face-to-face counseling visits per employee/household member per issue; lots of on-line resources. To see what Anthem EAP can do for you, visit www.anthemEAP.com for a 10-minute orientation video or call 1-800-647-9151. This service is 100% confidential.

Wellness

Did you know that the monthly cost of health insurance for employee’s eligible for benefits, is directly tied to our overall health. The healthier we are and the better we take care of ourselves, we can actually impact the rate of increase in our costs for coverage. It is in all of our best interests to strive for a healthy workforce. Our Wellness Committee has initiated a program, with incentives, to challenge our non-union staff to achieve a healthier lifestyle. Wellness exercise logs, attendance at the monthly Wellness classes, annual age appropriate physicals, Wellness profiles, blood pressure and BMI monitoring, when successfully completed according to the program can earn you up to $285.00 per calendar year and a “Wellness” day off with pay!   

Educational Reimbursement

The City of South Portland may provide educational assistance provided by an accredited institution for full-time employees. Employees must have successfully completed their probationary period and received prior approval of courses.  An employee may be reimbursed up to fifty percent (50%) of the tuition, laboratory fees and books.  An employee must receive a grade of “B” or better to be eligible to receive reimbursement as described in the Personnel Policy. This program is subject to available funds and not guaranteed.

Holidays

All regular full-time employees, and employees who work twenty (20) hours per week or more, shall receive time off without loss of pay for the following holidays:

  • New Year’s Day
  • Martin Luther King Day
  • President’s Day
  • Patriot’s Day
  • Memorial Day
  • Juneteenth Day
  • Independence Day
  • Labor Day
  • Indigenous People's Day 
  • Veteran’s Day
  • Thanksgiving Day
  • Day After Thanksgiving
  • Christmas Day