Leaving Ohio State
The following information will help you manage the transition when you leave the university. If you are retiring from Ohio State or one of the state retirement systems, please see Preparing to Retire.
To ensure timely processing of your final paycheck employees should complete the “Submit a Resignation” process in Workday as early as possible prior to their intended date of resignation. Please see Submit a Resignation in Workday in the Administrative Resources Center for details.
Benefits
University medical, dental and vision coverage will terminate on the date your employment with the university terminates. Deductions will be prorated based on the number of days an individual is covered in a pay period. Medical, dental and vision coverage may be continued in accordance with COBRA, which in general allows for coverage continuation for 18 months beyond the termination date at the expense of the faculty or staff member. COBRA enrollment is retroactive, if you are eligible, you should receive information from Luminare Health approximately three weeks after your Ohio State employer health coverage ends.
Enroll in health insurance offered through the Health Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace), which may be more affordable than COBRA continuation coverage. You have 60 days to enroll in the Marketplace after your University health coverage ends. For more information about the Marketplace, visit HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596.
Access to HealthEquity
Once you leave Ohio State, you will no longer be able to log in to your HealthEquity account via Workday. If you did not create a HealthEquity unique username and password when you were a benefits-eligible employee, you will need to follow the steps below to create log in credentials directly with HealthEquity.
- Register your online account by visiting HealthEquity/WageWorks.
- Select the “Log In/Register” button.
- Click “Employee Registration” to create your new unique credentials.
- When asked for your ID Code in the self-identification process, use the last four digits of your Ohio State-assigned employee ID.
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
Your participation in an FSA will end on your last day of employment with Ohio State. You have until the appropriate plan year filing deadline to submit reimbursement requests for eligible expenses that were incurred during your period of participation.
You also have the option to choose to continue Health Care FSA participation on an after-tax basis.
Visit the FSA page for more information and FSA claim form.
Health Reimbursement Account (HRA)
Unused credits in your HRA will continue to be available until the appropriate plan year filing deadline. You may be reimbursed for eligible expenses incurred from start date of applicable plan year (January 1 or your medical coverage start date) through date your Ohio State medical plan terminated.
Unused credits in your HRA after the filing deadline remain with Ohio State unless you elect to continue your medical coverage through COBRA.
Ohio State HRA balances are not eligible to be transferred to another HRA account. They must remain in the HRA account under which they were earned. This also includes individuals who move from an Ohio State medical plan as an employee to another Ohio State medical plan as a dependent.
Visit the HRA page for more information and HRA claim form.
Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA)
Eligibility for LSA ends on your termination date. You have 15 days from your termination date to submit reimbursement requests for eligible expenses incurred from the start of the calendar quarter through your termination date.
Visit the LSA page for more information and the LSA claim form.
If you have any questions, please contact HealthEquity Customer Service by calling at 1-877-924-3967, Monday – Friday, 8 am – 8 pm EST or by chat 24/7.
Group term life insurance and voluntary group term life insurance coverage ends upon your termination from the university. You may be able to continue all or a portion of your insurance or convert to an individual policy. If you wish to port or convert your coverage, you can apply directly to Minnesota Life. You must apply and pay the first premium within 31 days after your Ohio State coverage ends. For more information, contact Minnesota Life, an affiliate of Securian Financial, at (866) 293-6047.
Your mandatory and supplemental retirement plan enrollment(s) end upon your termination from the university. If you have earnings after your termination date, contributions may continue in accordance with plan terms. For information on your options related to your retirement accounts, please contact your provider directly. Visit Distributions, Transfers and Rollovers for an overview of your options after separation from employment.
You may contribute all or a portion of your vacation payout to your 403(b) and/or 457(b) Supplemental Retirement Account (SRA) upon separation from the university. If eligible, you may also contribute all or part of your sick leave payout to your SRA upon retirement. See the Paid Time Off Policy for information on unused accrued vacation and sick time. Fidelity’s NetBenefits website to enroll or update your 403(b) and/or 457(b) elections. Ohio Deferred Compensation 457(b) enrollments and payroll contribution changes must be made directly with ODC at ohio457.org or by calling 877-644-6457. Visit the Supplemental Retirement Plan Overview to view SRA contribution limits and election calendars to determine when to submit your election. ODC’s submission deadlines may differ from the calendars.
Faculty and Staff Tuition Assistance
A change in employment status during an academic semester could impact your eligibility for continued tuition assistance. For purposes of this Plan, the last day of an academic semester is the day of the commencement ceremony for that academic semester.
You will continue to be eligible to participate for the remainder of the academic semester if you experience a disability separation, retire (including disability retirement) and meet the eligibility requirements for OSU Retiree Benefits or if you incur a reduction in force that results in either a termination of employment or a reduction in your appointment to less than 75%. If an individual dies during an academic semester during the semester, the benefit will end and no repayment will be required.
In the event of any other change in employment status that impacts your eligibility, the tuition assistance benefit will cease immediately, and you will be responsible for paying the full tuition for the academic semester in which such change occurs.
Learn more about Faculty and Staff Tuition Assistance.
Dependent Tuition Assistance
Under certain circumstances, a dependent of an eligible employee can still use the tuition benefit if the eligible employee is no longer employed by the university. Outside of those circumstances listed on the Dependent Tuition Assistance page, dependent tuition assistance will cease immediately after the academic term in which the change in employment status occurs. If a dependent is the eligible dependent of two employees and one of those employees’ FTE falls below 50% for any reason, the tuition assistance benefit will decrease from 75% to 50% for the academic term following the change in employment. Learn more about Dependent Tuition Assistance.
If you have been covered for at least 12 consecutive months and your employment ends, you may be eligible to convert LTD to an individual policy. You must apply for conversion coverage within 31 days of losing group coverage and you may be required to provide medical evidence of insurability .
To apply for coverage:
- Complete the employee portion of the conversion coverage form and fax or e-mail the completed form to Integrated Absence Management and Vocational Services.
- Fax – (614) 292-0271
- Email – hr-IntegratedDisability@osu.edu
- Employer section will be completed by Integrated Absence Management and Vocational Services and faxed to Unum for continued processing.
Please contact Unum at (800) 421-0344 with additional questions or to check the status of your application.
Payment for unused accrued vacation is made at time of termination according to the terms of the Paid Time Off Policy. Employees who retire from active service with Ohio State with 10 or more years of state service are paid one-fourth the unused accrued sick time balance up to a maximum of 240 hours. See Preparing to Retire for additional information.
No payment is made for unused accrued sick time at termination, although your accumulated sick time can be transferred to the State of Ohio or any of its political subdivisions and remains on record for 10 years.
You may contribute all or a portion of your sick and vacation payout(s) to your 403(b) and/or 457(b) Supplemental Retirement Account (SRA) upon separation from the university. Review the information in the above Retirement Plan section.
Email Access
Faculty/staff who resign or are terminated will have their email account access and email forwarding discontinued immediately. Please notify your important contacts of your alternate email address and save or forward any essential emails before your last day of employment.
Requests for copies of emails from your university email must be made via a public records request. Please refer to the public records policy for additional information.
Parking
If you have a payroll deducted parking permit, please contact CampusParc to stop your payroll deduction for parking. You can find additional information on the CampusParc website.
Personal Contact Information
As you prepare to leave Ohio State, complete the following items to ensure you can access and receive important information and updates from the university, including tax documents:
- Review and update your home contact information, particularly your email, mobile number and mailing addresses, in Workday.
- Note and keep record of your Employee ID (available on your Workday profile page) and Ohio State username (name.#).
- Maintain Duo on your mobile device for BuckeyePass multi-factor authentication.
Payslip and W-2
Terminated employees have access to Workday for 16 months after their last day or employment. During this time you will be able to make changes to personal information, view payslips and access W-2s. Please save all past payslips and W-2s. After 60 days you will no longer have access to Workday.
Since you will have access to Workday through the tax season following your termination, consider opting out of receiving a paper W-2, if you have not done so already. This facilitates secure and quick access to your W-2.
If you wish to receive a paper W-2, update your personal information in Workday before mid-December.
Please save all past payslips and W-2s before you lose Workday access. If you need to request W-2s or payslips after 16 months, contact HR Connection at (614) 247-myHR(6947) or HRConnection@osu.edu. When making a request for W-2s or payslips, please provide:
- Full name
- Employee ID#, lastname.#, or medical center ID#
- Address at time of employment
- Current address
Unemployment Compensation Resources
Unemployment compensation is wage replacement for individuals who have lost a job, are temporarily furloughed, or are partially unemployed due to lack of work. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) determines your eligibility for benefits.
You should apply as soon as you become unemployed. Usually, individuals file during the first calendar week after losing a job. Weekly benefits are not paid retroactively (the sooner you file, the sooner you may be eligible for benefits). You may use the tools for Ohio State employees below to help estimate your unemployment application and weekly claim filing timeline, or your wages for partially worked weeks.
If you have a disability and experience difficulty accessing the Unemployment Assistance Application, please call the Accessibility Helpline at 614-292-5000.
Applying online is the quickest way to start receiving unemployment benefits. To apply online, go to unemployment.ohio.gov. A step-by-step guide to applying online is also available. If you don’t have access to a computer, you can apply by phone by calling 877-644-6562. Call center hours have been extended to Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please remember that The Ohio State University does not have any oversight of this process and cannot submit your application for you.
Visit ODJFS’ Helpful Resources to find out what information you need to apply, or get answers to other questions you may have.
Severance
The university provides a staff severance program. This program is for eligible staff who are terminated during a reduction in force. For those eligible for severance, the pay is based upon continuous service and is issued in one lump sum payment. For more information, refer to the Staff Severance Program Policy, 2.40 and Staff Severance Program Frequently Asked Questions.