Separating and Your Benefits

COBRA Continuation Coverage Rights

Introduction The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) gives workers and their families who lose their health benefits the right to choose to continue group health benefits provided by their group health plan for limited periods of time under certain circumstances such as voluntary or involuntary job loss, reduction in the hours worked, transition between jobs, death, divorce, and other life events. This notice contains information about your rights to COBRA continuation coverage, which is a temporary extension of the University of North Georgia sponsored group insurance coverage under the university’s Plan.

Eligibility for COBRA Coverage Dependents (spouse and/or children) are eligible for COBRA coverage only if they were covered under the plan the day before the event occurred. COBRA continuation coverage can become available to you and your family when you would otherwise lose your group health coverage. It is identical to the health coverage carried by the University System of Georgia.

Qualifying Events COBRA continuation coverage is a continuation of Plan coverage when coverage would end because of a life event known as a “qualifying event.” Specific qualifying events include:

• Voluntary or involuntary job loss (except for gross misconduct)
• Reduction in the hours worked
• Transition between jobs
• Death of the employee
• Divorce or legal separation
• Employee becoming entitled to Medicare benefits (under Part A, Part B, or both)
• Dependent child losing eligibility under the Plan

Enrolling in COBRA Once you have officially separated from the University of North Georgia, you will receive a letter regarding COBRA from the OneUSG Connect - Benefits Call Center within 14 days of notification of your qualifying event. You must enroll in COBRA within 60 days of the date you lose coverage or the date on the COBRA Enrollment Notice, whichever is later. You may enroll in COBRA through the OneUSG Connect - Benefit Call Center either through your benefit portal or by phone.

Duration of COBRA Coverage COBRA continuation coverage generally lasts for up to a total of 18 months. However, there are circumstances that allow for extensions:

• Disability Extension: If you or a family member is determined to be disabled by the Social Security Administration, you may receive up to an additional 11 months of COBRA continuation coverage, for a total of 29 months.
• Second Qualifying Event Extension: If another qualifying event occurs during the initial 18-month period, the spouse and dependent children can receive up to 18 additional months of COBRA continuation coverage, for a maximum of 36 months.

Notification Requirements The Plan will offer COBRA continuation coverage to qualified beneficiaries only after the Plan Administrator has been notified of a qualifying event. For certain events like divorce or a dependent child losing eligibility, you must notify the Plan Administrator in writing within 60 days of the qualifying event or the date coverage is lost, whichever is later.

Contact Information If you experience issues logging into the OneUSG Connect – Benefits Call Center portal or fail to get COBRA enrollment information, please contact the OneUSG Connect – Benefits Call Center directly at 1-844-5-USGBEN (1-844-587-4236). Representatives are available Monday – Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern.

Keep Your Plan Informed To protect your family’s rights, keep the Plan Administrator informed of any changes in the addresses of family members. Keep a copy of any notices you send to the Plan Administrator for your records.

If You Have Questions

Questions concerning your Plan or your Cobra continuation coverage rights should be addressed to:

The University of North Georgia
Department of Human Resources
82 College Circle
Dahlonega, Ga. 30597
706-864-1440

Your medical (individual policy #), dental (policy #GA 16711), and vision (policy #1002280) will continue through the end of the month in which you separate and premiums will be collected via payroll or an outreach effort. If an employee terminates either voluntarily or involuntarily on any day of the month, the employee owes the full month of premiums for benefit coverage provided during that month. Benefits premiums owed to UNG may be deducted from final pay and/or vacation payouts if applicable. If there is an outstanding receivable associated with your benefit coverage after you leave UNG you will receive a letter mailed to your home address requesting payment to UNG by check, cash or money order. By law, UNG must recover these funds and unsuccessful attempts may result in further collection recovery.

You may continue your coverage through The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for up to 18 months through the University System of Georgia's COBRA administrator, OneUSG Connect. 

FSA claims must be incurred in the plan year in which you participated in FSA. Additionally, your claims must occur on or before your last day of employment. You must submit your eligible claims to Optum no later than 90 days following your last day of employment with UNG in order to qualify for reimbursement. Unused FSA funds will be forfeited. If you are enrolled in the FSA program at the time of your separation, you may also elect to continue your FSA contributions through COBRA on an after-tax basis.

If you have any questions regarding your account, you may contact Optum directly at 1-877-470-1771.

If you are enrolled in the HSA program and have a remaining balance in your HSA account, you may continue to use your remaining HSA funds for qualifying expenses until your funds are exhausted. Your funds do not expire, not even after employment has ended.

If you have any questions regarding your account, you may contact Optum directly at 1-877-470-1771.

MetLife basic and (if applicable) supplemental life and AD&D benefits end on your last day of employment. 

Continuation of coverage — If you are no longer eligible for coverage as an active employee, you may be able to keep your Basic, Supplemental and Dependent Term Life coverage and pay the full cost (this portability ends at age 70), or you can convert this coverage to an individual life insurance policy. Premiums may be higher than those paid by active employees.

You must contact MetLife (policy #307601) directly to initiate the portability process within 30 days of your separation by calling 1-800-638-6420. 

MetLife Short Term and Long Term Disability (policy #307601) enrollment ends on your last day of employment. Disability is not eligible for portability.  

If an active employee is approved and receiving disability benefits and leaves employment, disability benefits will continue until exhausted. All questions or concerns regarding your disability benefits will need to be directed to MetLife at 1-800-300-4296.

If you contribute to a 529 plan through TIAA, your contributions will stop as of your last payroll. Please contact TIAA customer service directly at 1-877-424-4377 Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET for further information after separation. 

Teacher’s Retirement System (TRS)

For information related to distributions, rollovers, and general account information, you must contact TRS. Any separation elections you may choose must be completed through your online account portal accompanied with your TRS ID. Once you complete an action through TRS, UNG will certify your action through TRS’s online portal. TRS will not complete any action chosen until all contributions from UNG have been sent, including the ones from your final payroll.

• Your account may remain as is. If no activity within a four (4) year period, TRS will contact you and discuss moving forward.
• To defer taxation, you may elect a direct rollover of the taxable funds in your account to another qualified retirement plan.
• You may request a refund of your contributions. Keep in mind, any time one closes a retirement for a personal refund, taxes and penalties may apply. If a refund is processed and you later resume TRS employment, you will begin your vesting period once again.

If you would like to contact TRS directly, their number is 1-800-352-0650.

Optional Retirement System (ORP) & Supplemental Retirement Plans: 403(b) and 457(b)

For information related to distributions, rollovers, and general account information, you must contact the applicable financial institution.

Fidelity Contact Information

To begin your process with Fidelity, please visit the Fidelity website or call 1-800-343-0860, Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

TIAA-CREF Contact Information

To begin your process with TIAA, please visit the TIAA-CREF website or call 1-800-842-2252, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

AIG (formerly VALIC) Contact Information

To begin your process with AIG please visit the AIG website or call 1-800-448-2542, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

• To defer taxation, you may elect a direct rollover of the taxable funds in your account to another qualified retirement plan.
• Since you are immediately vested in the ORP plan, you may request a refund of your account balance. Keep in mind, any time one closes a retirement for a personal refund, taxes and penalties may apply.

A terminating employee shall not be paid for sick leave earned but not taken.

If one is enrolled with the Teachers Retirement System retirement plan, any accumulated sick leave will be certified by UNG and forwarded to TRS for the possibility of additional service time. Additional service credit will not apply if you choose to close your TRS account.

The Board of Regents Policy Manual establishes the requirements for the payment of the accrued vacation leave to an employee. An institution shall never pay an employee for vacation leave in excess of 360 hours. The payment of the accrued vacation leave (vacation payout – VPO) should be disbursed separately from, and after the payment of the final work-hours payment, with limited exceptions. The final work-hours payment is the regularly scheduled payment that includes the employee’s last work day. The VPO check will be scheduled for the subsequent pay day for the employee after the final work-hours payment. The delay of the payment for accrued leave allows time for validation of the employee’s leave usage for the final pay period and the awarding of the leave for the final month of employment. If an employee is funded by a grant or contract, the grant or contract must be reviewed to determine if a VPO payout is an allowable expense. If not, the VPO should be made from an alternative funding source.

It is the responsibility of the employee to contact the vendors of any enrolled voluntary benefits to discuss portability options within 30 days of termination.

Tax forms from the previous year will be mailed to the address on file in OneUSG Connect. If you need to update your address after leaving UNG, please contact the OneUSG Shared Services Center (SSC) at 877-251-2644.

A transfer is the movement of an employee from a position at one of the University System of Georgia’s (USG) twenty-eight (28) institutions to a position at another USG institution to or from the University System Office (USO) without a break of employment in-between and within 30 calendar days.

During a transfer, all benefits, accumulated leave, retirement, and service continuity will be transferred from one institution to another.

It is of utmost importance that the employee intending to transfer to another USG institution advise UNG Human Resources, as soon as possible to avoid any lapse in benefits.

The Shared Services Center (SSC) works with the institutions to assist in the transition of the transfer between the two institutions.

Benefit Transfer Types

Seamless Benefit Transfer: If you transfer between institutions within 30 calendar days in the same month, your benefits will transfer without interruption.

Lapse Benefit Transfer: If your termination date and transfer start date occur in two different months and you decide to take personal time off between the two dates, your health benefits will begin again on your date of hire at the new institution. This will cause a lapse in coverage. You will receive a benefit continuation packet, called COBRA (The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act), from your previous institution. COBRA is voluntary.

• For example: An employee is transferring from UGA to UNG. Their last day at UGA will be Friday, June 15. Their first day at UNG will be Monday, July 5, using some vacation time around the holiday. The employee’s UGA benefit coverage will stop June 30. As a result, the OneUSG Connect Benefit Call Center will mail a COBRA packet. Their benefits coverage will begin their first day at UNG, which is July 5. In this example, the employee will not have coverage from July 1 to July 4, which is why COBRA is offered.

Mid-Month Transfer: If an employee transfers mid-month it will be the responsibility of the former institution to collect benefit premiums for the entire month when the transfer occurs.

• For example: An employee is transferring from UNG to Valdosta State University. Their last day with UNG is Friday, November 10 and they begin with VSU on Monday, November 13. UNG will be responsible for collecting all benefit premiums for the entire month of November. VSU will take over benefit premiums as of December 1. Benefit premiums owed to UNG may be deducted from final pay and/or vacation payouts if applicable. If there is an outstanding receivable associated with your benefit coverage after you leave UNG you will receive a letter mailed to your home address requesting payment to UNG by check, cash or money order. By law, UNG must recover these funds and unsuccessful attempts may result in further collection recovery.

Sick Leave

Upon a transfer, an employee must transfer all accrued sick leave from one institution to another.

Vacation Leave

Up to twenty (20) days of accrued vacation leave will automatically be transferred, and any amount over twenty (20) days an employee may elect one of the following options:

1. Transfer of the total accrued vacation balance, not to exceed 45 days (360 hours, which is the USG limit an employee may have at any time); or,
2. Payment by the former institution of accrued vacation leave in excess of 20 days (160 hours) at your hourly rate. The total accrued vacation leave for which the employee may be paid shall not exceed 25 days (200 hours).

Transfer Letter

The Transfer Letter includes your years of service, retirement and supplemental elections, and vacation and sick leave balances.

Termination & Transfer Start Dates

Once hired at UNG, your last day worked at the previous institution must not overlap your new hire date. The same applies when transferring to another institution from UNG. 

After the transfer is complete, confirm the following:

• Review all benefits you may have been enrolled in from your former institution, via the OneUSG Connect Benefit portal.
• Review your retirement and supplemental enrollment via the Retirement@Work platform.
• Vacation & Sick Leave Accrual via OneUSG Self Service platform. (see note below)
• Direct Deposit Information via OneUSG Self Service platform.
• Federal and State Tax elections via OneUSG Self Service platform. At times during a transfer, tax elections may default to single-0. Please make sure you make any changes necessary.

Note: It can take up to 30 days to receive or send final leave accruals to allow your last accrual to update. This information is not viewable to the transferee until your first payroll with UNG is processed. If you need to take time off in the interim, you will need to discuss your leave with your immediate supervisor.

As a USG employee, you are required to serve the first six months in your new position on a provisional basis.

Important Note: If your break of employment between USG institutions exceeds 30 calendar days, you will be considered a new hire — no previous benefits or service time will be retained.

Transferring from a State of Georgia Agency

If transferring from a State of Georgia agency to an USG institution, you can transfer up to 96 hours of sick leave. UNG must receive an official letter of sick leave credit from the terminating agency.

Healthcare, annual leave, retirement and other benefits are not transferable.