Transition to twice-monthly payroll

To members of the MIT community,

To align with payroll best practices, next spring MIT will make an important change. Beginning in April 2018, all monthly paid MIT faculty, staff, graduate students and fellows will transition to a semimonthly (twice-monthly) pay schedule. With this transition, you will receive half of your monthly pay on the 15th of the month and half on the last day of the month, or the prior business day if either falls on a weekend or holiday. Hourly-paid employees and undergraduate students will continue to be paid on a weekly basis.

There will be no change to total monthly pay, tax withholdings or benefit deductions, but under this new plan, you will be paid 24 rather than 12 times per year. All current payroll deductions will be evenly divided between the two semimonthly pay periods, except for commuter rail and Vanpool deductions, which will be deducted at the end of the month.

The first semimonthly pay date will be Friday, April 13, 2018.

A more frequent pay schedule provides several benefits for payees, including earlier pay each month and more frequent contributions to 401(k) plans. In addition, the current monthly pay schedule can be difficult for individuals moving to monthly paid roles at MIT from prior positions with more frequent pay cycles, and the twice-monthly pay schedule can ease this transition.

Additional information

Information sessions will be offered for members of the community wishing to learn more about this change, and for administrative staff handling appointments and payroll-related activities. VPF Assistant Director of HR/Payroll Chris Durham is also available to answer questions, and FAQs are posted on the VPF website for reference.

As we near the end of the calendar year, this is also an opportunity to review your direct deposit preferences and 401(k) contributions, and you can elect to go paperless and receive only electronic W2s and paystubs if you have not already done so. Visit About Me on Atlas to review your selections and make changes as needed.

Sincerely,
Israel Ruiz
Executive Vice President and Treasurer