Faculty/Staff - NMU Events and Announcements

Faculty/Staff

Heart disease is the #1 cause of death for women. And it can show up during phases of life you might not expect.

Here’s what to watch for, when risk can change, and one small step to take today.

Heart symptoms can look different in women.
Fatigue, nausea, back pain, and jaw tightness are common—and often brushed off as stress or aging. If something feels off, trust that feeling. You’re worth the follow-up.

3 times when heart health can shift:
❤ Pregnancy and postpartum
1 in 7 women develops hypertension during pregnancy, and risk can rise after delivery. A quick blood pressure check-in can make a difference.
❤ Perimenopause and menopause
Blood pressure often rises during this transition. If you’re over 40, this is a good time to start knowing your numbers.
❤ Stressful stretches
Chronic stress can raise blood pressure, even without a prior history. One check-in can show if stress is affecting your blood pressure—and give you a number to share with your doctor

Start with one small step
● See your doctor and check your blood pressure
● Have a heart-to-heart with someone you care about and share this information
● Learn more

Northern Michigan University partners with Hello Heart to provide blood pressure cuffs and app support for employees and their spouses on the NMU Health insurance.  Get started with your free benefit.

Faculty/Staff

The student loan landscape is undergoing major shifts that may directly impact your monthly budget. With the new end of the SAVE plan, the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) rolling out, the introduction of borrowing caps, and new restrictions on Parent PLUS loans, it is more important than ever to stay informed. As an NMU employee, you have exclusive access to Savi, a tool designed to help you navigate these changes, lower your payments, and stay on track for loan forgiveness.

The fastest way to find relief is to get started with your free Savi account now at nmu.bysavi.com. After entering your information, you can receive a personalized breakdown of how these new federal policies impact your specific situation. Ensure you aren’t overpaying or missing out on forgiveness credits you’ve already earned by signing up today!

Savi is hosting a free webinar on June 3rd at 4pm EST via Zoom to discuss the changes that are coming to student loans this summer.  Reserve your spot now.

NMU Savi members have reduced their monthly student loan payment on average by 66%.  Keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket.  Engage with Savi today.

Faculty/Staff

NMU employees and their spouses are using Hello Heart in a big way!  

In 2025, NMU members engaged with the Hello Heart app by

• logging 6,000 blood pressure readings
• reading 1,500 digital insights
• generating 245 clinician reports

Not only are our health plan enrollees using the app, they are achieving meaningful changes in lowering their risk of a cardiovascular event.

• 71% of our population who is enrolled with Hello Heart that had readings consistent with Stage 2 Hypertension (Average systolic reading above 140 and/or average diastolic reading above 90) reduced their blood pressure.
  • 47% of this group improved enough to move into a better blood pressure category (Stage 1, Elevated, or In Range!) 

These results are meaningful to the patients and their families as well as the health of our plan, helping to avoid cardiovascular claims that require high levels of costly medical intervention by addressing the problem early.  

Hello Heart is free to NMU employees and spouses who meet all the below criteria

1. Enrolled in NMU's medical insurance
2. Have high blood pressure or high cholesterol or are in menopause

What have you got to lose - except maybe some points off of your blood pressure!?  Sign up today.

Faculty/Staff

Retirement Plan Information

The 403(b) retirement plan performance report for the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2025 is now available for viewing.  The report includes industry updates, market commentary and review, plan investment review, and fund fact sheets for the 403(b) retirement plan (TIAA).  Please visit MyNMU, Employee Services tab, and click on Retirement Plan Information.

Faculty/Staff

April is Stress Awareness Month. This nationwide campaign is dedicated to educating people about stress, its impact on mental and physical health, and the tools available to help manage it.

Did you know that NMU provides a free and confidential support system to help you and your family members navigate any and all of the things that are adding stress to your lives?

• Relationships (work and personal)
• Legal problems
• Debt
• Grief
• Parenting
• Depression
• Anxiety
• And the list goes on

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides 8 counseling sessions per calendar year per issue you experience.  

Also available completely confidentially and free are one-on-one coaches to help you 

• Manage finances
• Balance life & work
• Build resiliency
• Wellness coaching
• And more!

Engage with EAP your way - online or over the phone.  Licensed counselors are ready to answer your call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  

www.theEAP.com/Higher-Education-EAP

1-800-252-4555

Faculty/Staff

As an employee of NMU, you may be eligible for Public Student Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)!  SAVI and TIAA work together to help people navigate this space.  Interested in getting an estimate in how much PSLF might save you? Get savings estimate.  

As you may have heard, some things are changing related to student loan forgiveness and policies.

Join this live session on April 1, 2026 at 4pm EST to hear about those changes.  Advance reservations are suggested so sign up today.

The borrower experience has been broken for too long. Savi is on a mission to change that experience for the better. No borrower should struggle alone, which is why we’ve created this space for our community of borrowers, friends and family members to access trusted support and guidance around their student loan debt.

Attend this LIVE and interactive virtual webinar with student loan experts to help you:

• Understand the latest policy changes impacting federal repayment, forgiveness and relief programs
• How these policies will directly impact YOU!
• What actions you need to take in order to maximize your potential benefit under these programs
• How Savi tools and resources can assist you in achieving the best outcome possible

Faculty/Staff

TIAA is featuring three webinars in April.  Prioritize your financial wellness and sign up for one or more now. 

• What you need to know about social security | April 7 | Noon (ET) | Register now 
• Quarterly Market Update | April 15 | Noon (ET) | Register now 
• Navigating the sandwich generation: Financial strategies for the caregiving squeeze | April 22 | 11 a.m. (ET) | Register now

Faculty/Staff

Understanding Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)  

When you make pretax contributions to your retirement account, taxes aren’t due until you withdraw your money in retirement. But what if you don’t withdraw the money? Well, the IRS makes sure you do—through required minimum distributions when you turn 73. 

In this webinar, you’ll get insights on: 

• What RMDs are and when they apply 

• Exceptions to the basic RMD rules 

• How to take your RMDs 

• How to avoid costly mistakes 

• What you can do with your money

Reserve your spot for the March 26th Webinar happening at 12pm EST here

Faculty/Staff

Talkspace Go is a FREE & CONFIDENTIAL resource available to NMU employees and their families through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), ESI.  

Check out this month’s topics designed to improve your mental health and wellbeing! These live, online group classes are therapist-led, anonymous, and free.

There are new classes every month covering a broad range of topics related to work, family, relationships, and mental health.

Review the classes, decide which you want to take, and register in advance through the Talkspace Go app. Or sign on to the app on the date and time of the classes to join.

• Don’t yet have the app? Download it for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play
• Sign up and create an account
• Enter your organization’s code: ESIEAP
• Once registered, review the calendar and click the links for the classes that you want to take

See the full class schedule and sign up here.

Faculty/Staff

Talkspace Go is a FREE & CONFIDENTIAL resource available to NMU employees and their families through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), ESI.  

Check out this month’s topics designed to improve your mental health and wellbeing! These live, online group classes are therapist-led, anonymous, and free.

There are new classes every month covering a broad range of topics related to work, family, relationships, and mental health.

Review the classes, decide which you want to take, and register in advance through the Talkspace Go app. Or sign on to the app on the date and time of the classes to join.

• Don’t yet have the app? Download it for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play
• Sign up and create an account
• Enter your organization’s code: ESIEAP
• Once registered, review the calendar, and click the links for the classes that you want to take

See the full class schedule and sign up here.

Additional information on the EAP and Talkspace Go can be found at https://nmu.edu/hr/mental-health-wellness-resources.