Kansas State University

You are not eligible for any payout of Sick Leave upon resignation or termination of your employment with Kansas State University. Should you return to the University or State of Kansas agency within 365 days of your termination date, your sick leave will be reinstated.

You will be paid for any accumulated overtime and holiday compensatory time that has not yet been taken in your last paycheck.

You are not eligible for any payout of Discretionary Time upon resignation or termination of your employment with Kansas State University.

A retiring employee will be paid for accumulated vacation leave at the time of retirement to a maximum of 240 hours at the employee’s regular hourly rate of pay.

Payment for part of an employee’s sick leave balance will be paid at retirement only when these conditions are met: 

The payout is calculated using the employee’s hourly wage rate at the time of retirement and is typically included in the retiree’s final paycheck from the University.

Also, we encourage you to consider if you want the difference between your total Sick Leave and the amount that is available to be paid/deferred at retirement to be donated to KSU’s Shared Leave program.  If you do decide to donate, Form PER-64D needs to be completed and returned 2 weeks before you retire to Human Resources:  benefits@ksu.edu.  Click on Shared Leave Policy for more information on this program.

Separation

If you had health insurance as an active employee and the date of separation is on the 2^nd day of the month or after, Health Insurance ends the last day of that month. Should the date of separation be the 1st of the month, coverage ends that day. You will receive information regarding options for continuing health insurance through COBRA. COBRA is administered for the State of Kansas by COBRAGuard. (866-952-6272) SEHP Enrollment Guide 2020 (ks.gov).

Retiree/Direct Bill | 866-541-7100

If the date of retirement is on the 2^nd day or after, Health Insurance ends the last day of that month. Should the date of retirement be the 1st of the month, coverage ends that day. If you retired and elected to continue with the State of Kansas Health Insurance plan, you will receive an email sent to your K-State email address regarding the Retiree/ Direct Bill Program (for Medicare eligible and non-Medicare eligible) and how to enroll.

Members can continue the Direct Bill Non-Medicare plans until they reach 65 or qualify for Medicare.  Depending on your situation, you may want to enroll in COBRA for the allowable 18 months. But premium rates to enroll directly in the Direct Bill Non-Medicare plans (Plans A, C, J and N) will cost less per month than the COBRA program. SEHP Enrollment Guide 2020 (ks.gov)

Should you desire an in-person exit interview, please reach out to Human Resources directly at hr@ksu.edu.

An HSA is owned by the employee, so the account will remain intact for those separating employment. Funds in your HSA are yours to use until the funds are exhausted. Contact MetLife at 877-759-3399 for questions concerning your account.

The HRA is not portable, at termination, you will have sixty (60) days from your last date on SEHP coverage to file any eligible claims incurred. Call MetLife Customer Service for any questions concerning your account at 1-877-759-3399.

Employees that terminate will have 90 days after their contributions end or employment is terminated to file claims that were incurred while coverage was active.

Teachers and Employees Association (TEA):

Separating employees are eligible to continue life insurance. For questions, please contact The Hartford at 877-320-0484.

KPERS Optional Group Life Insurance (OGLI):

Separating employees are eligible for Optional Life Insurance through KPERS,

on a self-pay basis. For questions, please contact Standard at 844-289-2306.

Normal retirement age at Kansas State University is based on the retirement provisions of KBOR Mandatory Retirement Plan.  Normal Retirement is the earlier of (a) Ages 55-59 with 10 Years of Service or Age 60 with no service requirement. 

If you are eligible to retire, you need to complete Form PER-37 and return it to your manager.  Once the form is received, your HR Specialist will complete a PER-39 form which initiates the retirement process within Human Resources.

Successful retirement planning will convert potentially complex decisions into a manageable process. Human Resources staff members provide information and confidential counsel throughout the retirement planning process. Employees can request a one-on-one retirement consultation with a Benefits Specialist by emailing benefits@ksu.edu.

Please visit the Pre-Retirement Planning page to help you plan for your retirement.  This page includes items to consider from five years prior to retirement through the week of your retirement, providing a general guide in your retirement planning process from start to finish. 

Important websites and phone numbers:

• TIAA 1-800-842-2252
• VOYA 1-855-00-343-0860
• Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR)
• Human Resources 785-532-6277

KPERS Tier 1 members are eligible for:

Full retirement at:

• age 65 plus one year of covered service
• Age 62 plus 10 years of covered service
• 85 points (age plus covered service equals 85 or >)

Early Retirement (with a reduction in benefits) at:

• Age 55 plus 10 years of contributions

KPERS Tier 2 members are eligible for:

Full retirement at:

• age 65 plus 5 years of covered service
• Age 60 plus 30 years of covered service

Early Retirement (with a reduction in benefits) at:

• Age 55 plus 10 years of contributions

KPERS Tier 3 members are eligible for:

Full retirement at:

• age 65 plus 5 years of covered service
• Age 60 plus 30 years of covered service

Early Retirement (with a reduction in benefits) at:

• Age 55 plus 10 years of contributions

You are guaranteed a monthly retirement benefit for the rest of your life if you leave your contributions in your account. Often, if you have a significant amount of service, your benefit is more valuable than your actual contributions. If you keep your contributions with the Retirement System, you can apply for retirement benefits when you become eligible. They will continue to earn interest and you can withdraw at any time if you change your mind.

You are not guaranteed a retirement benefit. You need to withdraw your account within five years. After five years, your contributions stop earning interest and you forfeit your service credit.

If you do not withdraw or retire and you return to employment in a KPERS covered position within five years, you will immediately become an active member again and keep your service credit.

You can apply to withdraw contributions to KPERS anytime 31 days after you end employment. If you withdraw, you will give up all Retirement System rights, benefits and service credit. Employer contributions made on your behalf stay with the Retirement System.

You can receive your contributions and interest as a direct payment to you or roll over the amount into an eligible retirement plan. The decision to withdraw could affect your financial future, especially if you have many years of public service and accumulated contributions. Seek professional tax advice before withdrawing.

To withdraw your KPERS contributions you must complete the Application for Withdrawal of Contributions (pdf) form and submit directly to KPERS.

As a KPERS retiree, there are certain rules and limitations if you return to work for a KPERS covered employer after you retire.  These rules and limitations do not apply if you work for an employer that is not a KPERS covered employer. 

The State of Kansas is considered one employer. State agencies, boards, commissions, and Board of Regents institutions are all part of the State of Kansas. Going from one to another is not considered changing employers.

Any rehire of a retiree is subject to normal university recruitment approval process. In addition, Human Resources Benefits must approve the rehire of all retirees. You can find more information on the KPERS website.

KPERS retirees cannot make prearrangements to return to work for any KPERS covered employer. That means no communication in any way about an intent to return to work. This includes both before retirement and during the waiting period discussed below.

As a retiree you cannot return to work for any KPERS covered employer until a waiting period is satisfied. The time is calculated based on your KPERS retirement date (which will be the first day of a month), not your last day on the University’s payroll.

For individuals that retired before January 1, 2018, the waiting period is 60 days.

For individuals that retire on or after January 1, 2018, the waiting period is 60 days if you were age 62 or older at the time of retirement. If you were under age 62 at the time of retirement, the waiting period is 180 days.

Because you are 100% vested in the entire account balance in the KBOR Mandatory Retirement Plan, you are now responsible for determining not only the investment choices but when you want to make withdrawals from this plan.  Keep in mind that you should meet with not only your Investment Provider but also a Financial Advisor if applicable.  This will enable you to determine what the tax consequences will be once you start withdrawing from your retirement account or rolling this retirement account to another program.  Each cash withdrawal will be taxable to you as income and if you are under Age 59 ½, there will be an additional IRS penalty of 10%. If you are older than 70 ½, you are required by the IRS to begin taking a Required Minimum Distribution.  For tax reporting purposes, keep in mind that because you are a State of Kansas Employee, there will be no State of Kansas taxes required to be paid as long as you reside in Kansas.  If you are planning on moving to another state, you may want to see how distributions from this retirement plan will be handled per their state tax laws. 

While you worked at Kansas State University, you were enrolled in the KBOR Mandatory Retirement Plan and employee pre-tax contributions were required.   The University was also required to make employer contributions into this retirement program.  You are 100% vested, which means that when you leave the University, the retirement account is yours.  This retirement plan is a 403(b) Plan, which the IRS allows for the employee contributions to be made with pre- tax dollars.  When you begin taking distributions, they will be taxed to you as income and some distributions may have an additional penalty assessed by the IRS.  You might want to consider other distribution alternatives such as rolling the account into another qualified retirement program.

Once you have made the decision to leave KSU, you will need to notify your manager and provide them with your last day.  The termination date will be sent to your investment provider via an updated payroll file.  You should reach out to your Investment Provider and talk about what the next steps are for your retirement account.  Should you keep the account?  Should you transfer it to another 403(b)-retirement program or an IRA?  Or should you liquidate the account.  If you withdraw money, it will be taxable to you as income and there may be some IRS penalties.   Keep in mind that the more you save for retirement, the more you will have available to you once you retire.

Keep in Mind: Due to privacy rules, Kansas State University will not have the ability to see or access your account information once you leave the University.

Retirees are eligible to retain their KSU Wildcat ID card and to use all services which require the card such as the libraries. Contact the ID Center for more information.

Retirees are also eligible to keep their KSU email accounts.  Enjoy the Rec Center facilities with a free membership.  Additionally, talk to Parking about obtaining a free parking permit.  Additional questions concerning such retirement benefits should be directed to the office administering the service.

IRS rulings and case law confirm that access to retirement funds requires a bona fide separation from service. Consequently, rehiring a retiree must be in the best interest of the University and within the bounds of this policy. The retiree may not be rehired into the same position with job duties and job title identical to those which he/she held before retirement. Any rehire is subject to the normal university recruitment approval process. In addition, Human Resources must approve the initial rehire of all retirees prior to allowing the retiree to work in order to document compliance with the following policies.

A retiree who participated in the KBOR mandatory retirement plan may be rehired no earlier than 60 calendar days after the retirement date. Access to retirement funds will be dependent upon prevailing KBOR and retirement provider policy. See the Kansas Board of Regents Bona fide Separation from Service directive.