When You Leave Employment with FCPS

This document provides an overview of the impact on your FCPS benefit programs upon termination of employment. It is not a comprehensive reference and should be reviewed in conjunction with your FCPS benefit materials and the plan documents of your respective retirement system(s). In the event of any conflict between official benefit plan documents, benefit contracts, retirement plans, and this document, official information will govern. Benefit terms and conditions are subject to change.

Address Changes

To make sure you receive all communications related to your termination of employment, such as your final pay advice and W-2 Wage and Tax statement, you must report any address changes to the FCPS Office of Payroll Management prior to your last day of work (if possible). While employed, address changes may be made online in UConnect. To access UConnect, you must be connected to the FCPS network or through VPN. For post-employment address changes, you may contact the Office of Payroll Management at [email protected].   
     
Note: After you leave employment, you should report address changes to the Payroll Office until you receive your W-2 Wage and Tax statement. You should also notify the retirement system(s), which hold the contributions accumulated during your FCPS employment. If you do not know your retirement plan, contact HR Client Services by using FCPS StaffConnect or by calling 571-423-3000.

When Health Benefits End

If you paid all required premiums for your medical and dental coverage, your plan enrollment will continue according to the following schedule:

• If you terminate employment in June, July, or August, your coverage will end on August 31.
• If you terminate employment in any month other than June, July, or August, your coverage will end on the last day of the month in which you leave FCPS.
• If you are retiring on July 1, your last day in active status is June 30. Your medical and/or dental coverage will terminate as an active employee on August 31. 
• If you were on a leave of absence and have not paid all required premiums, your coverage will end on of the last day of the month for which the full premium payment was received and applied. 
• If you are terminating employment with FCPS but are on long-term disability, and have paid the required premiums, your coverage will end based on the schedules shown in bullets 1 and 2. You will be receiving a letter from the Disability and Leaves team regarding your employment termination and related benefits.

After your coverage terminates, you may be eligible to elect COBRA continuation coverage. Your COBRA election notice and form will be mailed separately to your home address. 

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

You, your eligible spouse, and/or children covered under an FCPS health and/or dental plan on the date your employment ends may be entitled to continue coverage through a provision known as COBRA. If eligible, you will receive a COBRA notice and election form via separate mailing from OptumHealth Financial Services, Inc., FCPS’ administrator for COBRA Continuation coverage. 

To continue health care coverage through COBRA, you must complete and return the election form within 60 days of your benefit termination date (or COBRA notice date - whichever is later). You must also pay the required premiums within 45 days from the date you submit your COBRA election form; coverage is not effective until the premium is paid. If you elect COBRA continuation coverage, you are responsible for the full COBRA premium (employee + employer share), plus a 2 percent administrative fee. 

In most cases, the maximum period you can continue coverage through COBRA is 18 months.

Your Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)

Your FSA benefits terminate on the same schedule described above for health benefits, provided that contributions were made for the entire period. You have 90 days from the end of the calendar year to submit claims. If not claimed, any money remaining in your account(s) is forfeited and cannot be returned to you.

Claims must be incurred (i.e. services received) during your period of enrollment and prior to the termination date of the benefit. 

Note: The carryover provision for the health care flexible spending account does not apply to retirees and employees who have terminated employment.

Annual Leave

Employees in 12-month positions will be paid for accumulated annual leave at the rate of pay in effect at the time of termination. Employees hired on or after July 1, 1998, will not be paid for any annual leave in excess of the applicable maximum. Annual leave in excess of the cap is converted to sick leave. The annual leave payout will be processed as a separate payment following the last regular 12-month payment. 
 
FCPS employees who transfer, with no break in service, to the Fairfax County Government (FCG), may request to have annual leave transferred in lieu of payment. The FCPS Office of Payroll Management must receive the request for transfer of accumulated annual leave in writing from the employee (or FCG agency representative) within one month of termination. The choice of payment or transfer of accumulated leave is a one-time irrevocable election. 

Unused Sick Leave

If you are fully vested for retirement, meaning you have at least five years of credited service under either FCERS or ERFC, your accumulated unused sick leave will be automatically converted into retirement service credit at the time of your FCPS employment termination unless you indicate otherwise prior to your departure. If you wish to transfer your unused sick leave in lieu of having it converted into retirement service credit, you must complete and return Request to Transfer Unused Sick Leave Form (FS 73-06) to the Office of Payroll Management no later than your effective termination date. The form can be found at: www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/forms/fs7306.pdf. 

VRS/ERFC Retirement Plan Members

Full-time, monthly paid educational, administrative, and operational employees are covered by the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) AND the Educational Employees’ Supplementary Retirement System of Fairfax County (ERFC).

Retirement Contributions: If you are terminating employment without retiring, ERFC will post an electronic separation letter to your ERFCDirect account with information about your retirement account options; members will receive an email notification when the letter is available. 

If you have not already done so, it is important that you register for ERFCDirect so that you can access your electronic letter when it is sent. Go to ERFCDirect to create your account using your personal email address. If you have already established an ERFCDirect account using your FCPS email address, make sure that you log in to your account and change your ERFCDirect email to your personal email address. (Note that you cannot access ERFCDirect if you are using VPN.) More information on retirement account options is available in Chapter 8 of your applicable ERFC Member Handbook. More information on your VRS retirement account options is available in Chapter 9 and Chapter 4 (Hybrid Plan) of your applicable VRS Handbook for Members (Plan 1 and Plan 2). You can also contact VRS directly at 1-888-827-3847. 

Life Insurance: If you are a VRS/ERFC member not eligible for retirement, you may convert your VRS group and/or optional life insurance coverage to an individual plan. Contact the Virginia Retirement System to obtain the Conversion of Group Life Insurance Enrollment (VRS-35) form (also available at www.varetire.org/forms). You must submit this form and the first premium payment within 31 days of your employment termination date. Your form should be mailed to: Securian Financial Group, Richmond Branch Office, P.O. Box 1193, Richmond, VA 23218-1193. 

Note: Certain terminating employees with more than 15 years of service are eligible to retain group life coverage under VRS. Contact VRS to determine your eligibility.

FCERS Retirement Plan Members

Maintenance, custodial, food services, transportation, and less-than-full-time educational, administrative, and operational employees are covered by the Fairfax County Employees’ Retirement System (FCERS). 

Retirement Contributions: If you are terminating employment without retiring, contact FCERS at 703-279-8200 to determine your options regarding your accumulated contributions. More information regarding the FCERS retirement plan can be found in your FCERS Retirement Handbook for Active Employees.

Life Insurance: 

• If you are an FCERS member not eligible for retirement, you may be eligible to convert your Basic, Optional, and/or Dependent Life insurance coverage to an individual plan.  Upon your request, the FCPS Office of Benefit Services will provide you a completed Notice of Group Life Insurance Conversion Privilege form. (You may also view the form on the FCPS Benefits Forms webpage).  To request the notice, contact the FCPS Office of Benefit Services at 571-423-3200, Option 3, then Option 2.  
• You may also be eligible to convert coverage lost due to a benefit reduction because of reaching age 65, age 70, due to retirement, or due to a reduction in hours/salary. 
• Once you receive the completed notice from Office of Benefit Services, you must contact MetLife at 1-877-275-6387 to initiate the conversion application.
• The Application Period to initiate the conversion application is based on the date your group coverage terminates or reduces and the date of the Notice. Generally, you have 31 days from the date group coverage ends or reduces to apply for conversion. However, if the Notice is dated more than 15 days from date of termination or reduction, your application period is extended for an additional 15 days. If the 15-day extension applies to you, it will not exceed more than 91 days from the date group insurance was terminated or reduced.
   

Tax-deferred Savings Accounts

Contributions to the 403(b), 457(b), and Hybrid 457 plan end upon resignation or retirement.

If you are a 12-month employee and receive an annual leave payout, your tax-deferred contribution(s) will continue to be deducted from that payment unless you stop your contribution(s) prior to that payout. Contact your investment provider(s) for advice.

If you are considering re-employment with FCPS, please be aware of the following potential impact on your tax-deferred savings plan:

• Temporary, hourly employees are eligible to contribute to the 403(b) plan through payroll deduction. However, this is not an option for the 457(b) plan.
• If you are retired and re-employ in a temporary hourly position, such as a substitute teacher, you may not be eligible to initiate a distribution, such as a rollover or cash withdrawal, from your FCPS 403(b) or 457(b) plan. Because you are an active employee, various tax laws prohibit distributions from these plans, except when certain criteria are met.

Accessing Your Funds

• Contact your 403(b) and/or 457(b) investment provider for distribution advice about your account. Here you can find contact information on the approved 403(b) and 457(b) vendors.
• Federal tax law generally requires that plan participants receive an annual required minimum distribution (RMD) no later than April 1 of the year following the year you turn age 73 or, in the year you retire from FCPS, whichever is later. Contact your investment provider(s) for further details.

403(b) Distributions

All 403(b) distribution requests can be initiated by contacting TSA Consulting Group (TSACG), FCPS’ third-party administrator responsible for approving distribution and withdrawal transactions (including cash withdrawals, rollovers, loans, and hardship withdrawals). You may request distributions by completing the necessary forms obtained from your investment provider, attaching them to a Transaction Routing Request, and submitting all completed documents to TSACG for evaluation and approval. 

457(b) Distributions

You should contact EMPOWER Retirement for distribution information at (877) 449-FCPS (3277) or on the EMPOWER website.

Hybrid 457 Distributions

Participants in the VRS Hybrid 457 Plan must submit the appropriate distribution form to ICMA-RC, the third-party administrator for the VRS Hybrid Defined Contribution components. The forms can be found at www.varetire.org/hybrid. A separate form is required for distributions from both the Hybrid 457 Deferred Compensation Plan and the Hybrid 401(a) Cash Match Plan. Participants who have terminated employment still must satisfy the one full calendar month break in service rule but now have the convenience of requesting a distribution through Account Access, ICMA-RC’s secure online portal. Participants can access their accounts by visiting www.varetire.org/dcp and selecting their plan to log in or create a user ID and password. Once logged in, participants can choose the applicable plan and select “Withdrawals” from the navigation bar.