Leaving the U of M

Visit the Office of Information Technology’s Leaving the University guide for information on how long you’ll have access to email, MyU, and other University technology. The guide also includes instructions on how to handle your digital and physical University assets.

Remember to email important contacts with updated contact information. You may also consider setting up a vacation reply stating where you can be reached.

• Update your personal information in MyU. This will allow mail such as W-2 forms to reach you. You may also want to print copies of previous pay statements or W-2s before you lose access to MyU (as outlined above).
• Cancel your parking contract. Your parking contract does not automatically stop. You will be billed until you contact Parking and Transportation Services to cancel your contract.

Your medical, dental, and life insurance coverage ends on the last day of the month in which you actively worked in a benefits-eligible position. Disability coverage ends the day after your last day of employment in a benefits-eligible position.

Federal and state laws allow you to continue your medical, dental, life insurance, and EAP coverage at your own cost. This continuation of coverage becomes effective following the last day of your group coverage. If you wait up to 60 days before applying, you may experience a gap in coverage due to the cancellation of benefits.

Your FSA participation stops after your last day of employment. This means you will no longer be able to incur expenses and receive reimbursement for those expenses after your last day of employment.

If you still have money in your FSA, and you don’t have enough eligible expenses before termination to use up the balance, you can avoid losing the money if you elect to continue participation through COBRA.

Contributions to your Dependent Care FSA end with your last paycheck. This means you will no longer be able to incur expenses after your last day of employment. If you have a remaining balance, your grace period is March 31 of the following year to submit claims for dates of service prior to your last day of employment.

When you leave the university, you could be eligible to continue and/or convert your life insurance coverage without answering health questions or requiring a doctor's exam. Here is an overview of what life insurance options are available to you when you leave the University (PDF).

Contact your plan provider(s) to discuss any impacts that leaving the University has on your pension plan or retirement accounts.

On your last day of employment, the University stops additional contributions to the faculty retirement plan. At that time, you will have a number of decisions to make about your retirement account. You will receive information about the options available from Fidelity.

Each employee group has its own policy for paying out unused vacation hours. However, employees in any employee group are not paid for unused sick leave or unused Earned Sick and Safe Time when they leave the University.

Vacation time that is paid out to an employee will be taxed. This pay cannot be tax-sheltered by investing it directly into a retirement account.

An employee who leaves the University is entitled to be paid for accumulated, unused vacation.

An employee who leaves the University or who gives notice of voluntary termination of at least two weeks, is entitled to be paid for accumulated, unused vacation.

Civil service staff who leave the University with 10 or more years of continuous service and more than 200 hours of accrued vacation have their payout deposited into an individual, tax-free account called the Health Care Savings Plan (HCSP). Money in the HCSP can be used to reimburse eligible medical expenses.

Employees who leave University employment with fewer years of service or hours of remaining vacation are entitled to be paid for unused, accrued vacation.

When the employee terminates University employment, unused vacation days up to a maximum of 176 hours are paid out, provided the employee has worked 67 to 100 percent time in an eligible position for at least eleven months and has not been terminated for cause. If the employee has not worked the required time or has been terminated for cause, the employee’s unused vacation will not vest, and the employee will have no right to payout of any vacation balance.

An employee who voluntarily resigns will receive pay for unused, accumulated vacation.

However, employees who leave the University with 10 or more years of service in the bargaining unit and 80 hours or more of accrued vacation will have their payout deposited into an individual, tax-free account called the Health Care Savings Plan, to be used to reimburse eligible medical expenses.

Both scenarios above are contingent on the employee submitting a written notice of resignation to the assigned supervisor at least two calendar weeks prior to the effective date of resignation.

Leaving the University could have implications for your paychecks. Refer to the Special Pay Circumstances webpage for more information.

If you do not return to work in the fall, your benefits will retroactively end backdated to May 31. You will be sent COBRA materials, which you can use to enroll in University benefits for up to 18 months at full cost. If coverage is ended backdated to May 31, any medical and/or dental visits over the summer months would be reprocessed and you will be responsible for the full cost of the services.

If you are eligible for Medicare, contact Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 or at a Social Security location to discuss impacts. If you are retiring, you may also want to review the Preparing for Retirement page for other information on retirement.

No contributions are made to the Faculty Retirement Plan (FRP), Optional Retirement Plan (ORP), and 457 Deferred Compensation Plan on pay dates following the last day of employment.

Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) contributions are made for eligible earnings on pay dates following the last day of employment. Eligible earnings do not include vacation payout or severance payments.