Postdoctoral scholars who cannot be considered salaried university employees because they receive stipend or salary support directly from a granting agency or a funding source that does not allow university employee status as a condition of the award, are eligible to receive benefits, but the benefits package differs in some respects from that of individuals who are salaried employees of the university. As applicable, it is the responsibility of the faculty mentor and/or department chair to ensure that resources are available from grants, departmental funds or other university sources to cover the university’s share of the costs for medical insurance before a postdoctoral trainee is accepted.
The University of Missouri System Faculty and Staff Benefits Handbook provides a comprehensive list of benefits available to postdoctoral trainees who are classified as employees. Details regarding benefits for stipend-funded and other non-employee postdocs are available from the Office of Postdoctoral Education in the Graduate School.
Postdoctoral Benefits
Compensation
Although faculty mentors are responsible for establishing the level of compensation for their postdoctoral scholars, it is expected that compensation will be consistent with the background of the trainee, the norms for the discipline and the minimum levels established by the Office of Postdoctoral Education. Minimum levels will be established annually and posted on the Postdoctoral Education Website at the beginning of the fall term.
As of December 1, 2016, the minimum salary for postdoctoral fellows (Job code 6990) is $47,476. For those hired or reappointed after December 1, 2016, the minimum salary for postdoctoral fellows – teaching (Job code 6992) is $36,000. Unlike research postdocs, teaching postdocs can be hired for 9-months to coincide with an academic year. The minimum salary of $36,000 is for a 9-month appointment; a 12-month appointment minimum for a teaching postdoc is $47,476. Please note that this minimum amount may be superseded by specific funding or visa requirements.
Benefits
All postdoctoral scholars are eligible to receive benefits, but the type of benefits package received is dictated by the nature of the relationship between the postdoctoral fellow and the university. Postdoctoral fellows can be considered as having either an employer–employee relationship with Mizzou or one that is educational.
Employer-employee relationship
This category includes individuals who, while pursuing their postdoctoral training, provide services to Mizzou for compensation. They receive a salary and are classified by the job title postdoctoral fellow or postdoctoral fellow – teaching. To be benefit eligible, they are expected to work 1.0 FTE with an indicated appointment duration of at least nine months. Service credit under the UM retirement program requires a minimum of 1500 hours worked per year. These benefits are detailed on the Faculty and Staff Benefits website.
Educational relationship
Postdoctoral scholars in this category typically receive support from the university through a federal training grant that enables them to pursue research and other training as defined above under the heading postdoctoral fellow.