A Human Resources official with the UC system has issued a memo about the Board of Regents decision to resume collecting retirement contributions, saying he wants "to clearly state what the regents' action means to employees."

The April 26 memo from Randy Scott, executive director of benefits policy and program design in the UC Office of the President, states: "There has been widespread misinterpretation of the regents' action on the part of designated representatives of certain employee groups.

"In some cases, statements have been circulated that are not true."

Scott continued: "Active employees will not be asked to make 16 percent contributions to the retirement plan, nor is there any action under consideration to reduce employee pay by 8 percent in July 2007."

He said the regents in March adopted "the concept of a multiyear contribution strategy under which contributions from employees and the university will be shared and will increase gradually over time."

As Dateline has reported, the regents declared that the combined total of university and member contributions must eventually equal 16 percent of covered earnings, with the split yet to be determined.

Scott's memo stated: "The specific levels of employee and university contributions have not yet been decided by the regents. The reinstatement of contributions to the UCRP is subject to the budget process and the collective bargaining process for represented employees."

The memo went to chief human resources officers, academic personnel directors and benefits managers in the UC system, with a note to "please circulate this message broadly."

The Office of the President offers a Web site on the retirement plan's future: www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/ucrpfuture. For Dateline coverage, see dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=8763.