Leaving USC

USC medical, dental, and vision coverage ends on the last day of the month in which your separation date occurs.

You may be eligible to continue your health benefits and those of your dependents for 18 months from the date of your separation date. This continuation is via the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, also known as COBRA, or the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

COBRA provides workers who lose their health benefits (and their families) the right to continue group health benefits for limited periods under certain circumstances, such as voluntary or involuntary job loss, reduction in hours worked, transition between jobs, death, divorce, and other life events. 

For information about your COBRA rates, please contact the HR Service Center. 

If you elect COBRA, you will be charged for the full premium cost plus a 2% administrative fee. The university will not contribute toward the cost. More information on COBRA is available by contacting the HR Service Center. Note that any employee wellness discounts (like the health assessment credit) will no longer apply to your premium. 

If COBRA is not a viable option, you can visit www.healthcare.gov or call 800-318-2596 to review ACA options, 24/7. 

IMPORTANT: If you elect COBRA but subsequently determine that coverage through an ACA marketplace plan is a better choice, you will not be able to enroll in an ACA marketplace plan if you voluntarily cancel COBRA. You must wait until you either exhaust your COBRA coverage (18 or 36 months) or until the next marketplace open enrollment period, whichever comes first – unless you are still within 60 days of having lost your employer group coverage. 

HealthyEquity, USC’s COBRA administrator, will send a COBRA election packet to your home. You must return the required paperwork postmarked within 60 days of the date of that mailing, or your separation date, whichever is later — if you fail to do so, you forfeit the COBRA opportunity. The fastest way to ensure that your COBRA coverage is activated is to use HealthEquity’s online enrollment process. You can elect COBRA and set up payment at mybenefits.wageworks.com. 

For questions regarding your COBRA account, contact HealthEquity at 888-678-4881. 

To obtain COBRA coverage, you must pay the full premium plus a 2% administrative fee. (HMO participants who fully exhaust their initial 18 months of COBRA coverage may be eligible for an additional 18 months under Cal COBRA AB1401.) 

Note that while by law you have 60 days to elect COBRA, your coverage will not be activated until your COBRA election is actually made and the premium payment has been applied/cleared. UNTIL THEN YOU ARE NOT COVERED. Once you have elected and paid, your COBRA coverage will be activated back to the original effective date, which is the first of the following month after your active employee coverage ended. 

If you are over the age of 65, you still qualify for COBRA, but it is recommended that you decline COBRA and go directly onto Medicare. Medicare has specific enrollment deadlines, which, if missed, result in lifetime penalties. However, your spouse (if not Medicare-eligible) and other dependents may be eligible for COBRA. Note that if you elect COBRA coverage, you cannot switch to an ACA marketplace policy until COBRA coverage is exhausted or the next ACA marketplace open. 

Your credit card is deactivated after your separation date. Health care expenses submitted for reimbursement must be incurred by a plan participant prior to your leaving USC.  You have until the end of the month following the last day of your employment to incur services by paying out of pocket and submitting a claim to HealthEquity.   

Services after your separation may be claimed if you elect COBRA continuation of your Health Care FSA on an after-tax basis (if eligible). You have till March 31 to submit claims for services rendered from the prior year. Any unclaimed expenses are forfeited. 

You may submit claims for eligible dependent care services incurred through the end of the calendar year in which your employment with USC ends. You will be reimbursed up to the amount remaining in your account. You have till March 31 to submit claims for services rendered from the prior year. Any unclaimed expenses are forfeited.

Your contribution to your USC Retirement Savings Program will be taken from your final paycheck, and the university’s matching contribution will be made.

Supplemental contributions are not taken automatically. You can contact USC Retirement Plan Administration at 213-821-8100 or rpadmin@usc.edu before your final check is prepared for a calculation of how much, if any, you are eligible to contribute.

Reach out to your retirement provider regarding options and repayment of any outstanding loans.

Please visit the Retirement guidance page on the Employee Gateway for more information and retirement provider contacts.

Your contribution to the Keck 401(k) plan will be taken from your final paycheck. Contact Fidelity at 800-343-0860 regarding your options and repayment of any outstanding loans. 

The freezing of this plan on July 1, 2007 has no effect on employees leaving USC. If your separation date is after June 30, 2007 and the present actuarial value of your benefit is less than $5,000 when you leave, you will need to take action regarding your benefit. If the value is more than $5,000, you cannot receive payment or rollover the benefit. Your retirement benefit will be available to you upon retirement as early as age 55, although a reduction in the monthly amount will apply until age 65 when the full benefit is available. To initiate the process, please contact the HR Service Center. 

For MetLife Legal Plans (formerly Hyatt Legal), you must enroll for “portable enrollment” within 30 days of your last day of employment. Call 833-214-4175 to apply. Enrollment is prepaid by lump sum, equal to 12x the plan’s monthly rate, and will remain effective for 12 months (no refunds allowed). Plan details remain the same as those for active employees. Visit MetLife’s dedicated legal plans website to review. 

Coverage ends on the last day of the month in which your employment with USC ends, provided premiums have been paid. MetLife will automatically contact you and provide information regarding the continuation options available (conversion and portability). Premiums may be higher than those paid by active employees. 

Pet parents must report the end of their employment with USC to MetLife.  MetLife will modify the group association and policies will continue at the same rate as that of the active group. However, at the time of policy renewal, the enrollee will be re-rated, and the group  discount will no longer apply. Contact MetLife at 866-937-7387 to begin this process.

Staff employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2019 who received tuition assistance towards their own education, must remain employed by the university as an Eligible Employee for two full years after completion of their degree, or after the last day of the semester in which the employee takes their last class if they do not complete a degree. Failure to meet this two-year employment requirement will result in forfeiture of the entire benefit used, and the staff employee will be responsible for repayment of all tuition benefits received, unless the staff employee was laid off. 

Access and repayment of your tuition benefits depend on your situation. Please read the following to understand which applies to you:

• Employees who resign or are terminated with cause during a semester in which they are receiving tuition assistance for themselves or their dependents will receive a prorated bill for the cost of tuition for the remainder of the semester, unless they are laid off. 
• Employees who are laid off with severance while receiving the benefit, for themselves or dependents, may continue to use the tuition assistance benefit until the end of the academic year in which their employment with USC ends.
  • Further, employees who are laid off with severance are not subject to the two-year post-education service requirement and will not be required to repay any tuition benefit.
• Employees who are involuntarily terminated without cause while receiving the benefit, for themselves or dependents, may continue to use the tuition assistance benefit through the end of the semester in which they are terminated, after which the benefit will cease.
  • Further, employees involuntarily terminated without cause are not subject to the two-year post-education service requirement and will not be required to repay any tuition benefit.

Employees hired prior to July 1, 2011, who have accrued 15 years of eligible service before their separation date, should contact the HR Service Center to discuss possible dependent child eligibility for tuition assistance. 

Use of the benefit under these circumstances may have tax implications; seeking professional tax advice is recommended. 

The university subsidy for USC Child Care Programs ends on the last day of the month in which your separation date occurs. If possible, 30 days’ notice should be provided to your child care administrative office. For more information, call  the UPC office at 213-743-2446 or the HSC office at 323-442-3333.

Please work with your departmental payroll representative to make arrangements for delivery of your final paycheck (direct deposit or check). For instructions on how to find your departmental payroll representative(s), please review these step-by-step instructions.

Discuss unused vacation days with your manager. You will receive a check for any unused vacation days.

Make arrangements to continue payments after separating from USC for deductions such as: USC Credit Union loans; School of Dentistry payment plans; Fidelity or Vanguard retirement loans; and ticket office purchases. 

Contributions for all current benefits will be deducted from your paycheck, including for your USC Retirement Plan or hospital 401(k). In addition, other deductions such as parking citations, charges on your USCard and University Club card, wage assignments, applicable taxable tuition assistance benefits, etc., will be deducted automatically from your final paycheck. 

Only staff employees who have left USC due to layoff or reorganization are eligible for severance pay. Excluded are: those who were employed for a specific period of time only (e.g., in positions offered in writing as fixed-term or funded by contracts and grants where an end date was communicated); faculty; those claiming student status (including teaching and research assistants); and staff who have resigned, been terminated for cause, have retired, or who have abandoned their jobs. For further details on severance pay, please review the Layoffs and reorganizations policy.

Contact USC Transportation at 213-740-3575 at UPC or 323-442-1201 at HSC to cancel your parking payroll deduction. In order to cancel your parking permit, please complete the online cancellation form. The form is USC Shibboleth protected; if you can no longer access it, please email auxtrans@usc.edu. 

Identify university property and keys in your possession. For assistance with checkout procedures, consult your department administrator or HR Partner. Please return laptops, keys, ID cards, etc., by your last day. You may turn in your USCard to your department or to USCard Services.

Gold Card Services are for those who are 55 years of age or older, have completed at least 10 years of benefits-eligible service, and leave the university in good standing. Contact the  USC Emeriti Center to learn more about the  USC Gold Card program. 

As a former USC employee, you have access to your Workday profile until June 30  of the calendar year following your departure.  
 
Examples: An employee leaving USC in October 2025, will have access to Workday until June 30, 2026. An employee leaving USC in March 2025, will have access to Workday until June 30, 2026. 

Below is the link and username/password combination to access:

URL:  wd5.myworkday.com/usc
Username:  7-digit Employee ID 
Password: Usc$Trojan[last four of SSN] 

To further our commitment towards the safe use of applications and to safeguard data, USC uses multi-factor authentication (MFA) for former USC employees logging into Workday. 

• The primary method to generate this code will be to download and use the Microsoft Authenticator app on your phone.  
• The secondary method will be to have a temporary code sent to your email on file with USC.  

Please review the Workday direct login using multi-factor authentication (MFA) Quick Reference Guide (QRG) for detailed instructions on the process.  

If you have been previously provided credentials to log in and are now having issues due to MFA, or no longer remember your password, contact ITS at 213-740-5857 or itsworkdayfinancehelp@usc.edu. ITS help is available Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.

If you wish to update your mailing address, please make these updates in your Workday account. To update your address with your retirement vendor, please contact your vendor directly. 

Unemployment insurance is a state benefit that provides weekly unemployment payments to workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. 

To apply for unemployment benefits, you must fulfill all three of these requirements: 

• Be unemployed or working less than full-time; 
• Be ready and looking for work; and 
• Have worked in the last 18 months. 

To file a claim, visit the state Employment Development Department (EDD) site. All questions should be directed to EDD at 800-300-5616. 

The address to use for “last employer information” is: 

University of Southern California 
3720 S Flower St 
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0704 
213-821-8100 

If you reside outside California, please visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s CareerOneStop to access unemployment insurance information for your state.