The below post is taken from the Video Blog, the Subject Matter Minute. If it’s a little hard to read, it’s because it’s taken from the spoken word. You can view the episode on YouTube if you would like. Find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_gI1crrZco&t=8s
If YouTube is blocked for you or your agency, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to view it from Google Drive.
You can also listen to an audio version here: Episode #1: Longevity Pay
Welcome to state of Wyoming Subject Matter Minute, where we cover a wide variety of subjects related to state of Wyoming employment. This information is for you, and me, the state employee. From hidden benefits to systems and processes, we will make your job easier by giving you the lowdown, the how-to and hopefully entertain you a bit along the way. And now today’s Subject Matter Minute.
Hey, hey, hey! Welcome to the first episode of the subject matter minute, thanks for joining me… honestly, thank you. It’s not only the first episode of the show, it’s the first time I’ve ever done a video blog so I’m hoping you’ll bear with me. Be nice in the comments. I assume I’ll get better over time. One of the ideas is that I’m going to try to edit as little as possible. So I’m going to try to get through the stuff fairly smoothly. I’m assuming that I’ll have a hard time, there will be some slip-ups, but it should get better and we’ll see how it goes. 🙂
Alright, so there’s two reasons I’m doing this video blog. One is that in the three years that I’ve worked for the state… (I have 15 years service but a bunch of that was university employment) so in the three years that I’ve worked for the state I keep coming across these little things, like benefits or processes that I didn’t know about or don’t know how to do, and I’ve got to assume that if I don’t know about it other people don’t as well. So, I thought this might be a cool way to get that information out.
The second reason is this is a lot like presenting or public speaking and so I took it upon myself as a challenge to improve myself in those areas. I know I’m just talking to a little camera, but in reality I’m talking to an audience so there’s some of the same stuff. You know? Alright. So those are the two reasons.
I’m going to try to do this as a weekly show, (this has since been changed to monthly) and that’s going to partly depend on the subject matter experts out there getting me the information. Now I’m going to kind of give you a call to action, ok, because the stuff that’s most important is the stuff that’s on your mind. So if you guys have something that you can help with, something that you do that would help other employees, or if you have questions or you know of a topic that would help employees across the state… if you could email me or put it in the comments, I would truly appreciate it. I have a long list of subjects but the ones that are at the top of your mind might be the best ones to hit first, so feel free to comment and help me out in that area.
So without further ado let’s get going on the first subject matter minute episode – longevity pay.
Longevity pay – what is it and who gets it.
Well I found out about it kind of on accident. As many of you might know, I stream trainings and courses and meetings sometimes. There was this one, probably about retirement or something, and I was working, so I wasn’t really listening, but I suddenly heard something that made my ears perk up and realized that it might have something to do with me. So I watch the video afterwards and thought, what is this longevity pay thing, and am I getting it? Longevity pay is rewards for people who stick with the state, for those who work with state for a long time. So specifically, after five year blocks you get an extra forty dollars a month to your check. After five years of service you’re getting forty dollars a month added to your check. After 10 years you’re getting eighty dollars a month added to your check. After 15 years, a hundred and twenty dollars a month added to your check, and so on. It’s a really nice benefit and it’s automatic. That was the other thing… I’m glad it was automatic cause if I had to fill out paperwork for it I would have never known and probably never have gotten it.
So how do you know if you’re getting it? Well, first of all, it’s automatic. So if you’re past those milestones then you are getting it. But you can also look on your pay advise. In the upper left-hand corner it’ll say “long,” (that’s the abbreviation for longevity) and should have a dollar amount after it. You can also look at it in your ESS system. Right below your base salary, there’s one for long and it’ll show you how much you got.
When I found out about my longevity pay, it wasn’t like I suddenly was making a hundred and twenty dollars extra month because it had automatically started, but it was really nice to know and I think it’s a great benefit.
So you’ve made it through episode 1 of the Subject Matter Minute. I really appreciate you making it to the end and listening. I would love it if you pass on the information to others, and I would love it if you would subscribe to my channel. That way you’ll know when there’s new stuff uploaded. Subscribe, get the word around, send me your questions, send me the things you’d like me to cover, and I’ll see you next time on the Subject Matter Minute episode 2!
Here is the full episode!