Leaving UNC

Ending your chapter with UNC?

This page reviews important considerations for:

details Final Pay

details COBRA Options

details Retirement (can be found under the retiring employee link below)

details Returning university property

Final Pay

Timing

If you're leaving on your own accord, you will receive final salary, leave payouts, and and additional payments on your final regular pay date. For example, if you are paid monthly and leaving June 15, you will receive your final pay on June 30.

Leave Payouts

 Your leave accruals and payouts depend on whether you are a classified or professional administrative staff member.

Classified Staff Vacation Payouts

You will receive a vacation payout for total accrued hours up to the maximum balance based on years of service for full-time employees. Monthly accrual rates are prorated for part-time employees, but maximum accruals remain the same. Upon termination or death, unused vacation leave is paid out up to the maximum accrual rate. Employees will forfeit all accumulated leave in excess of maximum accruals.

Classified Staff Sick Payouts

If you meet PERA age-and-service requirements for a full or reduced retirement, you are eligible for a partial payout of unused sick leave.

The maximum allowed payout for sick is 25 percent of the unused current balance up to the maximum eligible sick balance. For state classified employees hired July 1, 1988 or later, the maximum eligible sick leave balance is 360 hours (45 days).

For employees who had a frozen sick balance on June 30, 1988, the maximum accrual may be higher than 360 hours (360 hours plus the frozen sick balance). Twenty-five percent of the employee's remaining balance (up to his/her maximum allowed) will be paid out at termination

Professional Administrative Staff

Full-time employees may accrue and accumulate vacation leave equivalent to the maximum vacation leave which they could accrue under this policy during a two-year period based upon the full-time equivalency designation of their position at the time of accumulation determination. At the time of separation from UNC, an employee will be paid up to a maximum of 36 days of unused vacation (288 hours). Effective 1/1/21, for all types of separation, including, but not limited to, retirement, resignation, and termination, the maximum vacation payout is 288 hours minus the number of hours of annual leave taken during the thirty (30) calendar days immediately prior to the date of separation from employment.

COBRA Benefits Coverage

COBRA requires continuation coverage to be offered to covered employees, their spouses, their former spouses, and their dependent children when group health coverage would otherwise be lost due to certain specific events. Those events include the death of a covered employee, termination, or reduction in the hours of a covered employee's employment for reasons other than gross misconduct, divorce or legal separation from a covered employee, a covered employee becoming eligible for Medicare, and a child's loss of dependent status (and therefore coverage) under the plan.

Here is a video that will help you understand the benefits of COBRA. The video is offered in both english and spanish. 

 COBRA Video

Who is entitled to continuation coverage? 

• Covered Employee who is (or was) covered under University of Northern Colorado's group medical, dental and/or flex plan at the time of the qualifying event.
• Qualified Beneficiaries: Employee's legal spouse and/or dependent children provided each is (or was) insured under the plan on the day before the qualifying event occurred.

Employee's Responsibilities

If you enroll in medical, dental or the flex plan you will receive a COBRA Initial Rights Notification mailed to your home address. This notification outlines your responsibilities if you experience a COBRA qualifying event that results in loss of insurance coverage. Please be sure to keep this notification for your files.

For detailed information about your right under COBRA, please refer to: An Employee's Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA (a U.S. Department of Labor Publication).