º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ

Coverage for health, dental and vision plans ends as of the 1st of the month following your termination date or the date of a reduction in hours which results in a loss of benefits eligibility. Continuation of benefits through COBRA is available.

You can also elect to continue your Health Care Reimbursement Account through COBRA for the remainder of the calendar year. Eligible expenses must be incurred prior to or on your termination date. It is important to understand that should you elect COBRA, your monthly contributions will be made on an after-tax basis. With this in mind, if you have enough receipts to allow you to claim the funds already deducted from your pay prior to your termination date, you may decide not to elect COBRA continuation coverage. If, however, you anticipate difficulty in claiming funds already withdrawn from your pay and you anticipate future expenses within that same calendar year, this may be a way to extend the period of time during which you may incur eligible expenses.

Please Note: An eligible employee can rollover up to $550 of an unused Health Care Reimbursement Account into the following plan year. If an employee terminates employment any time during the plan year they will not be eligible for the rollover unless they elect COBRA for the remainder of the year and pay the COBRA contributions through the end of the year.

You have up to 60 days from your termination date to elect COBRA for your Health Care Reimbursement Account. If the election form is completed and returned to the College's Cobra administrator within the 60 day window, your coverage is reinstated retroactively to the date it ended. If elected, monthly billing information will be sent to you by the College's Cobra administrator.

COBRA applies only to "health plans" (including medical, dental, vision, and medical reimbursement account plans). It does not apply to your Dependent Care Reimbursement Account. For a Dependent Care Reimbursement Account, however, you can continue to submit daycare expenses incurred during the remainder of the calendar year.

Coverage for Basic and Supplemental Life insurance ends on your termination date. You can apply to continue both the basic and supplemental life insurance plans, including any dependent supplemental life insurance coverage, by porting them as term life coverage or by converting the coverage to a whole life policy – a cash value policy. To be eligible, you must complete and return the appropriate application (including the completed employer section) directly to the Hartford along with the first payment within 31 days of your termination of employment. The portability and conversion application can be found below. You may also call the Hartford's Life Customer Service Center to apply by phone (within 31 days) at 1-877-320-0484.

To request completion of the employer section of the application, please contact Mary Cote in Human Resources at (207) 725-3033 or mcote@bowdoin.edu. For questions about how to complete the application or for verification of the rates, please contact The Hartford at 1-877-320-0484.

Hartford Notice of Conversion and Portability Rights

 

There is no option to continue Short or Long Term Disability Insurance. Coverage for these plans ends on your termination date.

While working at º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ you may have received contributions from the º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ 401(a) Retirement Plan with Fidelity Investments and/or you may have made your own contributions to a Supplemental 403(b) Retirement Account through Fidelity Investments or Vanguard.

Once your employment has ended, you may decide to leave the funds where they are (please see the important information below regarding the 401(a) plan) or you may decide to transfer the funds out of the plan keeping them tax-deferred. For example, you could initiate a rollover to an IRA or to your future employer’s retirement plan (if allowed by their plan). You may also decide to withdraw part or all of the funds as cash, although you would be required to pay taxes on the withdrawal and a penalty for early withdrawal if applicable.

Important Information for the 401(a) Plan: If you have a balance in the º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ 401(a) Retirement Plan with Fidelity Investments (Fidelity Plan #90127) that is $5,000 or less the plan rules outlined below apply. Fidelity will attempt to reach out to you before this action is taken. For this reason, it is important that Human Resources be notified if your address will be changing when you leave the College. If no pro-active decsion is made between yourself and Fidelity, the following will take place automatically:

• You will receive a check from Fidelity for plan balances of less than $1,000. The money you will receive will be considered taxable income in that tax year. There is also an additional tax penalty for early withdrawal if applicable.
  
  
• Balances between $1,000 and $5,000 will be rolled over to a Fidelity IRA.
  
  
• If you have any questions, please contact Fidelity at 1-800-343-0860. You can view your account balance at .

To discuss your options and/or to initiate a transfer/withdrawal, please contact the appropriate retirement carrier listed above for the associated paperwork.

Any accrued but unused vacation time will be paid to you automatically in your last paycheck from º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ.

There is no cash value to any accrued but unused sick time. You may decide to donate half of your remaining sick time balance to the Support Staff Emergency Sick Time Bank at the time of your termination of employment by contacting Mary Cote in Human Resources.

Date:  May 2021

Policy: An employee who leaves College employment, having completed at least fifteen years of continuous service in a regular position after reaching age 40 (and attaining age 55) is considered a retiree of the College and eligible to participate in the retiree medical offerings outlined below. We recommend that individuals who are considering retirement arrange a meeting with Human Resources to review benefit plans.  Retirees who will be age 65+ at the time of retirement or cover a spouse age 65+ are advised to confirm their retirement date with Human Resources 2 to 3 months in advance.

Retiree Medical Benefits (under age 65). Eligible employees and their dependents who are already enrolled in a º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ medical plan when the employee retires may enroll in the medical plan in place at the time of retirement in the retiree group.  These are the same medical plans offered to active employees.  Retirees pay the same monthly cost as active employees, paying the highest contribution tier (subject to change each calendar year).

Employees anticipating retirement should be sure to enroll along with any eligible family members in medical coverage during the annual open enrollment prior to their intended retirement date because, outside of a qualified event prior to retirement, there is no opportunity to enroll or add family members to the retiree medical plan at the time of retirement or after retirement.  If retiree medical coverage is declined at the time of retirement or it is elected and later dropped, there is no opportunity for re-instatement and the retiree will not be offered benefits available to retirees age 65+.

Retiree Medical Benefits (age 65 and older).  Medical coverage for retirees under age 65 may continue until the 1^st of the month in which the retiree turns age 65 and becomes Medicare eligible.  A covered spouse under age 65 can continue coverage in the medical plan in place when the retiree turns age 65 (or passes away), but must pay the full monthly cost in order to continue coverage under the spouse then turns age 65.

Retirees age 65 and older are offered enrollment in a Medicare plan of their choice through Via Benefits.  Via Benefits is the nation’s largest Medicare marketplace, operated by Willis Towers Watson.  Through Via Benefits, retirees of the College choose from Medicare Advantage Plans, Medicare Supplement Plans, and Part D Drug plans.  Via Benefits provides retirees and their eligible spouses with free advisory services to help them make informed decisions and enroll in the plan of their choice that best matches their needs, along with providing ongoing support.

Eligible retirees receive a College funded Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) in the amount of $100 a month, which can be used to reimburse themselves for the Medicare coverage they purchase, Part B premiums, or other out-of-pocket medical expenses.  To be eligible for the College funded HRA the retiree must purchase a Medicare plan through Via Benefits.  If at any time the coverage purchased through Via Benefits is dropped, eligibility for the College funded HRA will end and there is no opportunity for re-instatement going forward.  Spouse’s pay 100 percent of the plan they purchase, but have access to the exchange services through Via Benefits.

º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ Retiree Health Reimbursement Accounts Plan (effective July 1, 2019)

º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ Retiree Health Reimbursement Accounts Summary Plan Description (effective July 1, 2019)

For employees hired on or after July 1, 2019, the College will discontinue eligibility for future HRA contributions, but allow access to the guidance and choice services provided through the Via Benefits Medicare exchange.

The º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ Retirement Plan. Employees are eligible to participate in the Plan on the first day of the calendar month following the attainment of age 26 and one year of service with 1,000 hours. Employees are fully vested from the time that contributions begin. This means that 100% of the funds belong to the employee immediately, but withdrawals from the plan are not allowed until employment terminates.  More information about the º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ Retirement Plan is available in The Summary Plan Description for the º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ Retirement Plan, available in the Benefits Section at the HR Website.

A representative from Fidelity Investments visits campus on a regular basis.  Individual appointments may be made by contacting Fidelity at 1-800-642-7131.

Dental and Vision Insurance. Dental and Vision insurance is not a retiree benefit.  Coverage as an active employee ends at the end of the month following retirement.  Retirees and/or covered family members may elect coverage under COBRA continuation coverage for up to eighteen months.  COBRA must be elected within 60 days of the coverage end date.  By electing COBRA, the participant pays the full monthly cost plus 2%.

Life Insurance. Basic Life and Supplemental Life Insurance end on the last day of employment.  An individual may apply to Aetna to port the coverage as term life or to convert the coverage to a whole life policy within 31 days of their last day of work.  If elected, the retiree will pay the insurance company directly for coverage.  Life insurance amounts are reduced by 35% at age 65, 50% at age 70 and 75% at age 75 (minimum of $5,000).

Retirement Date. An employee's retirement date is the last day worked and the employee must be actively at work for at least two weeks prior to the retirement date.  This date cannot be extended by the payout of unused vacation time, College holidays, or other paid time off.  Human Resources reserves the right to review/approve retirement dates on a case-by-case basis.  Accrued but unused vacation time is paid out in the final paycheck. Sick time is not a vested benefit, and no payment for unused sick time is made at retirement. Employees may elect to donate up to half of their sick time balance to the emergency sick time bank at the time of retirement.

Retirees may continue to participate in the life of the College by attending various campus events. They may use athletic facilities by purchasing a facility pass from the Athletic Department, subject to applicable terms and conditions.

Emeritus status is an honorary designation for retired persons with a minimum of 25 years of service who have rendered exemplary contributions and services to º¬Ðß²ÝÑо¿ÊÒ as a member of the faculty or staff.  Emeritus/Emerita status is conferred by the Trustees on the written recommendation of the Senior Officers or the President of the College and may be withdrawn by action of the Board of Trustees.  Senior officers’ written recommendations must include clear evidence of outstanding teaching and/or administrative services beyond normal expectations supported by a recognized record of professional achievement, growth, and development.

Emeritus status can also be granted posthumously with applications made on behalf of the deceased that follow the policy guidelines.

Upon receiving the title of emeritus/emerita, the former employee will be eligible to have an Emeriti ID card with library privileges, a College email address, invitations to campus activities, and the ability for the employee and his/her spouse to use College athletic facilities at no charge.   Other benefits of emeritus status include the title of emeritus/emerita in all College publications and materials and the option to attend commencement in full academic regalia.

Casual Employment.  Retirees who have interest in working at the College as a casual employee may apply and be considered for re-hire after a break in service of greater than six months.