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Separation Information for Departing EmployeesCity and County of DenverCareer Service System2022Note: This summary of information is intended to give you an overview of the effects of separatingemployment from the City and County of Denver. Please note that this is a summary and does notconstitute a policy. Detailed provisions are contained in each provider’s plan document, regulation,city policy and/or rule. If there is a discrepancy between what is presented here and the official plan,regulation, city policy and/or rule documents, the official plan, regulation, policy and/or, rule willgovern.For specific questions related to the topics in this guide, contact the entity listed under the specifictopic.This document can be found online at www.denvergov.org/humanresources.City and County of DenverOffice of Human Resources201 W. Colfax Ave., Dept. 412Denver, CO 80202720.337.4357www.denvergov.org/humanresources
IntroductionThis guide provides a brief description of the effect employment separation has on your electedbenefits and your options for continuation of coverage. This guide is not intended to be a completesource of information on the benefit plans or city policies.Table of ContentsIntroduction . 2Employment Separation . 3General Benefits Information . 4COBRA Benefits Continuation Options . 5Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance Enrollment Options . 7Health Savings Account (HSA) . 8Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) . 9Denver Employees Retirement Plan (DERP) . 10Deferred Compensation . 13Life Insurance Continuation . 14Technology Equipment . 15RTD Passes . 16Employee Parking Contract Cancelation . 17Employee Assistance Program . 18ARAG Legal Services . 19Sick and Vacation Leave – Accrued Hours Pay-Out . 20Paid Time Off – Accrued Hours Pay-Out . 22Personal Holiday and Administrative Leave–Accrued Hours . 23Final Paycheck and Separation Pay-Out . 242022 Payroll Schedule . 25W-2, Contact and Past Employment Verification Information . 26Unemployment Benefits Information . 27Confidentiality Information . 28Page 2 of 28
Employment SeparationBelow is information on voluntary and involuntary employment separation.ResignationandRetirementResignation is the voluntary separation of an employee from the Career Service system. Anemployee in the Career Service system may designate their resignation as a retirement whenthey meet the eligibility requirements of the Denver Employees Retirement Plan (DERP).It is your responsibility to resign in good standing from the Career Service system to providewritten notice to your immediate supervisor at least 10 calendar days prior to your last day asa city employee. The appointing authority may waive this time requirement for good andsufficient reasons. The Office of Human Resources agency Human Resource service team shallbe notified of the resignation for the separation to be processed.For more information about voluntary separation effective dates, refer to the Career ServiceRules.InvoluntarySeparationFor involuntary separations (dismissal, disqualification, lay-off, unsuccessful completion ofemployment probation or death), the effective date of separation shall be determined by thedepartment/agency. You, the Office of Human Resources, Records Unit and Payroll shall benotified of the involuntary separation effective date in writing by the department/agencyand/or the Office of Human Resources so the separation may be processed. If an employeedies, the effective date of separation is their date of death, and no written notification will beprovided from the city.For more information about involuntary separation effective dates, refer to the Career ServiceRules.ContactsOffice of Human :720.337.4357Address:Office of Human Resources201 W. Colfax Ave., 4th FloorDenver, CO 80202Controller’s Office, Payroll ntroller’s Office, Payroll Division201 W. Colfax Ave., 4th FloorDenver, CO 80202Page 3 of 28
General Benefits InformationThe chart below indicates when your active benefit coverage will end and if you have the option forcontinuation of coverage after your separation from the City and County of Denver. For flexiblespending accounts, claims can be submitted to Alerus for reimbursement from March 31 of thefollowing year.PlanCoverage EndsContinuation Available?MedicalLast day of the month in which youremployment ends*YES (COBRA eligible or you can purchase a policythrough the Health Insurance Marketplace)DentalLast day of the month in which youremployment ends*Last day of the month in which youremployment ends*Date employment endsYES (COBRA eligible or you can purchase a policythrough the Health Insurance Marketplace)YES (COBRA eligible or you can purchase a policythrough the Health Insurance Marketplace)YES (Conversion or portability of the LifeInsurance Policy within 30 days)YES (Conversion or Portability of the LifeInsurance Policy within 30 days)VisionLife InsuranceAccidental Death andDismemberment (AD&D)InsuranceShort Term Disability (STD)Date employment endsLong Term Disability (LTD)Date employment endsHealth Savings Account (HSA)Payroll deduction contributions endwith last paycheckDate employment endsHealth Care Flex Spending(FSA) AccountDependent Care Flex SpendingAccount (FSA)Parking Flex Spending Account(FSA)GuidanceResources ServicesARAG Legal ServicesWellness Center MembershipRTD EcoPassDate employment endsNO (Unless you are currently approved for anopen STD claim and are receiving STD benefitpayments)NO (Unless you are currently approved for anopen LTD claim and are receiving LTD benefitpayments)YES (Your HSA belongs to you for your lifetime)Date employment endsYES (COBRA eligible if contributions exceedexpenses claimed)NODate employment endsNO90 calendar days from the date youremployment ends*Last day of the month in which youremployment ends*Date employment endsDate employment endsNONONONO*If your last day of work is the last day of the month, your benefits will end on that day.Page 4 of 28
COBRA Benefits Continuation OptionsBelow is information on benefits continuation under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget ReconciliationAct (COBRA). Following your separation from the City and County of Denver, the city’s COBRAadministrator (Alerus) will send information on COBRA to your address on record.COBRACoverageDetailsCOBRA is a federal law that allows separated employees to continue certain insurancebenefits at their own cost. If you are currently participating in the City and County of Denvermedical, dental, vision and/or health care flexible spending account (FSA) plans, you will beeligible to enroll to continue coverage for yourself and any covered dependents throughCOBRA for up to 18 months (sometimes longer in certain instances) following your separationdate.The following benefits are eligible to be continued through COBRA if you were enrolled in thatbenefit on your last day of work: medical, dental, vision and health care FSA.You will be responsible for the entire cost of your elected benefit coverage, plus an additionaltwo percent administration fee. The monthly COBRA premium costs shown in the chart belowincludes the two percent administrative fee. Refer to the chart below for2022 COBRA monthly premiums:EmployeeOnlyEmployee SpouseEmployee Child(ren)Family 504.47 1,109.83 1,008.94 1,614.30Denver Health Medical PlanHMO 624.34 1,373.56 1,248.69 1,997.90Kaiser Permanente HDHP 520.31 1,144.67 1,040.61 1,664.71Kaiser Permanente DHMO 620.70 1,365.54 1,241.40 1,986.24United Healthcare HDHP 748.37 1,646.42 1,496.75 2,394.81United Healthcare CDP 776.30 1,707.86 1,552.59 2,484.16Delta Dental EPO 31.25 69.38 62.51 111.26Delta Dental PPO, Low Option 30.08 66.77 60.14 107.06Delta Dental PPO, High Option 41.10 91.25 82.19 146.31Vision Service Plan (VSP) 5.83 11.87 10.94 20.00Benefit ProviderMedicalDenver Health Medical PlanHDHPDentalCOBRAPremiumsPage 5 of 28
COBRA forHealth CareSpendingAccountYou have until your last day of employment to incur costs to be reimbursed from your healthcare flexible spending account (FSA). If you have not incurred enough costs to be reimbursedby the amount you have contributed, you may elect to continue your health care FSA throughCOBRA. Under COBRA coverage, you will be able to incur expenses to access the moneyalready in your account.If you elect to continue your health care FSA through COBRA, you will contribute the sameamount you did as an active employee, plus an additional two percent administration fee(after-tax). You are only eligible to continue the health care FSA through COBRA through theend of the calendar year.COBRADisabilityCoverageIf you are medically disabled, you may be eligible to extend COBRA beyond 18 months for anadditional 11 months. After 18 months, the cost increases to 150 percent of the premiumcost.ElectingCOBRAPlease review the process for electing COBRA coverage:1. You will receive a letter listing your enrollment options for COBRA, which will bemailed to your home address on record following your separation.2. To continue your benefits coverage through COBRA, you must enroll by returning theCOBRA election form by the later of:a. 60 calendar days from the date of the COBRA notice; or,b. 60 calendar days from the date that your coverage ceases3. Upon receipt of your first payment, your coverage will be reinstated effective the firstday of the month following your last day of employment.COBRAPremiumPaymentsIf you elect COBRA coverage, you will receive a monthly bill for your COBRA premiums. Keepin mind that you are responsible for payment of your monthly premiums. Failure to pay yourpremiums will result in termination of your coverage.COBRAReinstatementIt is important to remember that the process to reinstate benefits takes time. Generally, thecarriers can reinstate benefits within 10 business days after receiving your election andpayment. Should you require benefit services before your benefits are reinstated, you mayhave to pay for those services out-of-pocket and submit a claim for reimbursement.ContactsAlerus Retirement and mPhone:877.661.4727Office of Human Resources, e of Human Resources, Benefits201 W. Colfax Ave., 4th FloorDenver, CO 80202Page 6 of 28
Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance Enrollment OptionsBelow is information on health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).ACA HealthInsuranceMarketplaceCoverageOptionDetailsIn accordance with the Federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), you may choose to purchase healthinsurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace (HIM) if your loss of health insurancecoverage is related to your employment separation (including resignation, lay-off orinvoluntary employment separation). Loss of health insurance coverage related toemployment separation is considered a “life event,” which qualifies for a special enrollmentperiod outside of the HIM annual open enrollment period.PurchasingInsurancefrom theHealthInsuranceMarketplaceIf you would like to purchase insurance from the HIM as related to your employmentseparation from the City and County of Denver, you must enroll either:ContactsFor coverage options within Colorado—Connect for Health 2.6749For coverage options outside Colorado—US Dept. of Health and Human fice of Human Resources, e of Human Resources, Benefits201 W. Colfax Ave., 4th FloorDenver, CO 80202 60 calendar days in advance of the date your benefits coverage will end (to avoid alapse in coverage); or,60 calendar days from the date that your benefits coverage ceases.Page 7 of 28
Health Savings Account (HSA)Below is information on the Health Savings Account (HSA) following employment separation.HealthSavingsAccountYour HSA belongs to you for your lifetime. Payroll contributions for the HSA will discontinueupon employment separation. However, any unspent contributions that have been depositedinto your HSA will remain in your account at the time of your employment separation, andyou can continue to use those funds for qualified out-of-pocket medical, dental and visionexpenses. If your new employer has a high deductible health plan (HDHP), you can transferyour Optum Bank account balance to your new HSA vendor or you can leave your money ondeposit with Optum Bank .ApplyingSeparationPayout toHSAYou have the option to elect to have an eligible portion of final separation pay that mayinclude payment of accrued vacation leave, sick leave, paid time off and/or compensatorytime hours to be sent to your HSA. Electing this option will defer some taxes on the lumpsum payment.Should you choose to have any eligible hours from vacation leave, sick leave, paid time off(PTO) and/or compensatory time to be applied to your HSA, you must complete theSeparation Payout form. The complete form must be sent to Payroll as soon as possible, priorto your last day of employment.ContactsOptum Bank Web:www.optumbank.comPhone:866.234.8913Office of Human Resources, e of Human Resources, Benefits201 W. Colfax Ave., 4th FloorDenver, CO 80202Page 8 of 28
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)Below is information on Flexible Spending Account (FSA) plans (pre-tax dollars set aside for certainqualified expenses).Health Care(Medical,Dental andVision) FSAYou are only eligible to submit claims for costs incurred before your coverage ends (last day ofemployment with the City and County of Denver) for the health care FSA. If you have notincurred enough costs to be reimbursed by the amount you have contributed, you may elect tocontinue your health care FSA through COBRA. If you elect this coverage under COBRA, you willbe able to incur expenses and access the money already in your account.If you continue your health care FSA through COBRA, you will contribute the same amount youdid as an active employee plus an additional two percent administration fee. You are onlyeligible to continue the account through the end of the calendar year from the date of yourseparation from the City and County of Denver.Claims can be submitted to Alerus for reimbursement from the health care FSA until March 31of the following year.DependentCare FSAYou are only eligible to submit claims for costs incurred before your coverage ends (last day ofemployment with the City and County of Denver) for the dependent care FSA. Claims can besubmitted to Alerus for reimbursement from the dependent care FSA until March 31 of thefollowing year.Parking FSAYou are only eligible to submit claims for costs incurred before your coverage ends (last day ofemployment with the City and County of Denver) for the qualified parking FSA. Claims can besubmitted to Alerus for reimbursement from the qualified parking FSA until March 31 of thefollowing year.ContactsAlerus Retirement and mPhone:877.661.4727Address:PO Box 6453St. Paul, MN 55164-0535Office of Human Resources, e of Human Resources, Benefits201 W. Colfax Ave., 4th FloorDenver, CO 80202Page 9 of 28
Denver Employees Retirement Plan (DERP)Below is information on Denver Employees Retirement Plan.DERPEligibilityBy law, City and County of Denver eligible employees are automatically enrolled in DERP andbecome a member of DERP on their first day of employment. Each pay period, bothemployee and the city contribute a pretax percentage of the employee’s total gross salary toDERP. Employees also earn service credit every pay period they receive pay and contribute toDERP and they become vested after earning five years of service credit.If you have less than five years of service credit, you are not vested. When you separate fromUnvestedContributions the city, or you transfer to a position that is no longer eligible for membership, your personalcontributions, plus interest, can be refunded to you in a lump-sum*, or as an alternative, youmay roll your personal contributions over to another qualified retirement account. If yourequest a contribution refund, you forfeit all years of service credit and any future DERPPension Benefit eligibility. Your employer’s contributions remain with DERP.*If you return to work in a DERP eligible position, you are eligible to reinstate the servicecredit you lost by repaying the amount of the refund, plus interest, within 24 months of yourrehire date. If you want to purchase this service after 24 months of your rehire date, theamount you pay will be based on the full actuarial cost of the service.Your personal contributions cannot be refunded when you separate from the city. Instead,VestedContributions your contributions will remain a part of the DERP trust fund and will be used to fund yourfuture DERP Pension Benefit.Page 10 of 28
PreviousFurloughDays and theImpact toYour DERPPensionBenefitThe DERP Pension Benefit calculation formula uses the average of: The highest 36 consecutive months of salary for those hired prior to July 1, 2011; The highest 60 consecutive months of salary for those hired on or after July 1, 2011.Furlough days may impact the average monthly salary piece of your DERP Pension Benefitcalculation if the furlough days fall within your highest 36 or 60 consecutive months of salary.You can negate the impact of the furlough day on your DERP Pension Benefit by purchasing thefurlough days. The cost to purchase a furlough day is equal to the total contributionpercentage rate (both the employee and employer portion) based on the missed salary forthat day. Interest is assessed on this cost at a rate of 3% each June 30.If you want to purchase a furlough day, email Help@DERP.orgto request your cost.Previous City and County of Denver Furlough 23/201212/24/20201AllRetirementNotificationand Actions3 flexibledaysdates listed were mandatory furlough days except 11/28/2008 which was voluntary.To begin collecting your DERP Pension Benefit:1. Meet with a DERP membership services representativeSetup a counseling session with a membership services representative so you can askquestions, discuss health insurance options, review timelines, go over your paperwork,and more. Login to your MyDERP.org account, click the Counseling Appointmentsbutton to request an in person, phone, or virtual one-on-one counseling session2. Submit your notification of intent to retireMembers who are retiring from active service should submit their notification of intentto retire, in writing, to their supervisor, the Office of Human Resources (OHR) ordesignated human resources representative, and to DERP. Be sure to clearly indicateyour last day of work as an employee and state the reason for separation isretirement.DERP will contact you upon receipt of your intent to retire, and/or your onlineretirement application, and share next steps.3. Submit your Retirement ApplicationPage 11 of 28
Your signed and notarized Retirement Application, and all required documents, mustbe received by DERP within 30 days of your last day worked.You can complete the Retirement Application securely on your MyDERP.org account.You will have to print the application, sign it, and have it notarized.Visit the DERP.org Forms page and expand the Active Members section for theRetirement Application.Submit the Retirement Application and all required documents by email, fax or mail.Email: Help@DERP.orgFax: 303-839-9525Mail: Denver Employees Retirement Plan, 777 Pearl St., Denver, CO 80203Important: Your monthly DERP Pension Benefit payment will be deferred if you submit anincomplete package, or if DERP does not receive your complete package within 30 days of yourlast day worked. Failure to submit your retirement application and all other required formsand documents within 30 days of separation, will result in your DERP Pension Benefit monthlypayments being delayed and the loss of the Lump-Sum Death Benefit.Your DERP Pension Benefit is effective the first day of the month following your separation ifyou’ve worked continuously up to retirement. Your monthly DERP Pension Benefit will bedeposited in your account on the first business day of each month.ContactsDenver Employees Retirement Plan .839.5419Fax:303.839.9525Address:Denver Employees Retirement Plan777 Pearl St.Denver, CO 80203-3717Page 12 of 28
Deferred CompensationBelow is information on the deferred compensation plan 457(b) – the Summit Savings Plan.DeferredCompensationThe City and County of Denver offers a voluntary deferred compensation plan 457(b) to cityemployees from Nationwide. The deferred compensation plan is a savings vehicle availablefor city employees to assist in long-term retirement needs. Participants can choose to electeither pre-tax or after-tax (Roth) contributions in an array of investment choices fromNationwide.While you will no longer be able to contribute to your City and County of Denver deferredcompensation plan 457(b), your current balances will stay invested with no interruptions.Once retired or separated from service you can keep the account open to continue to grow,take periodic payments or take a lump sum distribution. By keeping your money in thedeferred compensation plan 457(b), you benefit from institutionally priced fees which aretypically lower than retail investments. You can access personalized advice from aNationwide financial consultant at no additional cost to you.Note: The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECUREAct) became law on December 20, 2019. The Secure Act made major changes to the RMDrules. If you reached the age of 70½ in 2019 the prior rule applies, and you must take yourfirst RMD by April 1, 2020. If you reach age 70 ½ in 2020 or later you must take your firstRMD by April 1 of the year after you reach 72.ApplyingSeparationPayout toDeferredCompensationIf you are currently enrolled in the vacation and sick leave plan or the paid time off leaveplan (PTO), you have the option to elect to have an eligible portion of final separation paythat may include payment of accrued vacation leave, sick leave, PTO and/or compensatorytime hours to be sent to your deferred compensation account. Electing in this option willdefer some taxes on this lump-sum payment.Should you choose to elect to have any eligible hours from vacation leave, sick leave, PTOand/or compensatory time to be applied to your deferred compensation account, you mustcomplete the Separation Payout to Deferred Compensation form. In order to qualify for thisdeferment, you must be enrolled into a 457(b) account a month previous to separation. Thecomplete form must be sent to Payroll as soon as possible, prior to your last day omPhone:833.268.7079Controller’s Office, Payroll ntroller’s Office, Payroll Division201 W. Colfax Ave., 4th FloorDenver, CO 80202Page 13 of 28
Life Insurance ContinuationThere are two possible options for coverage continuation upon separation from the City and Countyof Denver. The following will give an overview of each option.ConversionPortabilityElecting LifeInsuranceConversion orPortabilityLife InsurancePortabilityRequirementsContactsConversion is available for basic life insurance and supplemental life insurance. Conversion takes yourcurrent life policy and converts it to an individual whole-life policy. The whole-life policy can build cashvalue over time and is used as an investment vehicle. The premiums are more expensive than yourcurrent rates. There is no evidence of insurability required for conversion. Contact Standard InsuranceCo. for a life insurance conversion premium quote.Portability is available for basic life insurance, supplemental life insurance and accidental death anddismemberment (AD&D) insurance. Upon your separation from the City and County of Denver, you mayhave the option to buy portable group insurance coverage, subject to the conditions listed below. Boththe employer-paid and employee-paid portion of your life insurance is portable. Portability changesyour group term policy to an individual term life policy. It functions similarly to your current coverageunder the group term life policy. It will pay a benefit if you die, but will not build cash value over time.The premiums are less expensive than conversion premiums, and there is no evidence of insurabilityrequired for portability. Contact Standard Insurance Co. for a life insurance portability life premiumquote. Limits to the amount of coverage apply.You have 30 calendar days from your last day of work to convert or port your life insurance. ContactOHR Benefits to request the conversion or portability application information. There are two forms onthe application that need to be completed: one the separating employee completes, and one OHRBenefits completes. Once you have completed the separated employee’s portion of the application,submit it to OHR Benefits for completion of the employer’s portion of the form and submission toStandard Insurance Co.To be eligible, you must meet the following requirements on the date your employment ends:1. You must have been continuously insured under the City and County of Denver’s group lifeinsurance plan for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the date that your employment ends.2. You must be able to perform with reasonable continuity the material duties of at least onegainful occupation for which you are reasonably fitted by education, training and experience onthe date your employment ends.3. You must be under the age 65 on the date your employment ends.4. If you do not purchase life insurance for yourself, you may not purchase any other coverage(e.g. for dependents).Office of Human Resources, e of Human Resources, Benefits201 W. Colfax Ave., 4th FloorDenver, CO 80202Standard Insurance Co. (for general information and premium quotes)Web:www.standard.comPhone:800.378.4668 ext. 6785Page 14 of 28
Technology EquipmentBelow is information on returning city-owned equipment when separating from the city.TechnologyEquipmentAll employees must return city-owned equipment when separating from the city. Thisincludes devices (laptops, desktop computers, tablets, mobile devices) and peripherals(docking stations, cables, chargers, webcams, etc.). Failing to return equipment or returningdamaged equipment will result in you receiving an invoice from the city for the replacementvalue of the equipment. The failure to pay that invoice will result in the amount payable beingreferred to collections.ContactsTechnology 337.4357Address:Technology Services201 W. Colfax Ave., 3rd FloorDenver, CO 80202Page 15 of 28
RTD PassesBelow is information on the City and County of Denver RTD EcoPass program upon
Benefit Provider Employee Only Employee Spouse Employee Child(ren) Family Medical Denver Health Medical Plan HDHP : Denver Health Medical Plan HMO : Kaiser Permanente HDHP : Kaiser Permanente DHMO : United Healthcare HDHP : 748.37 1, 646.42 1, 496.75 2, 394.81 : United Healthcare CDP : 776.30 1, 707.86 1, 552.59 2, 484.16 : Dental
