Use the information on this page to know when to submit a sick leave certification and in the appropriate timeframe. See the Sick Leave Conversion Program Employer Manual (ET-1170) for more information about sick leave certifications.

Submit Sick Leave Certification within 30 Days

Sick leave certifications should be submitted to ETF within 30 days of an employee’s termination or retirement.

Late submitted and/or incorrect sick leave certifications can have negative impact on the employees.  For example: If an employee only has enough sick leave credits to last for a month or two, their coverage will continue, but they will have to pay for it using either a deduction from their annuity or by paying the health plan directly. If the certification is delayed, the employee might owe back premiums due to the timing of when the new contract is set up, which can be a big financial burden on employees.

Ending Health Insurance Coverage

If an employee is retiring, make sure to use the retirement option instead of the termination option when ending their health insurance contract. To use this option, the employee needs to have enough sick leave credits to cover them for at least 2 months after termination. The retirement option automatically sets up a retiree health insurance contract for the employee, so they don’t need to worry about any gaps in coverage while they are retiring.

Determining eligibility

You don’t need to certify sick leave in every situation. Follow this flowchart or the steps below to determine when a certification is needed and when you might need to issue a Continuation – Conversion Notice (ET-2311). Note: the guide below does not include death.

Be aware that an employee must be vested to have their sick leave credits certified. There are two exceptions to this. If the employee passed away before becoming vested, their sick leave credits can be certified. Also, public officials don’t need to be vested to have their sick leave credits certified, but won’t be able to use their credits unless they become vested at a later date.

1. Is the employee over minimum retirement age (MRA) when they terminate?

  • Minimum retirement age is 55 for most employees but can be 50 if an employee had protective service.
  • If they are under minimum retirement age, skip to step 5.

2. Does the employee have State Group Health Insurance?

If the employee is over MRA at termination, check if they have health insurance coverage through the State Group Health Insurance Program at the time they terminated.

  • Coverage could be under themselves or under a spouse.
  • Coverage under a local employer doesn’t count towards this requirement.
  • If the employee doesn’t have coverage, they might qualify for the special enrollment life event. See the section below about special enrollment.

3. Does the employee have 20 years of WRS creditable service?

If the employee is covered under health insurance, see if they have over 20 years of WRS creditable service. This includes both state and local service.

4. Submit a sick leave certification within 30 days of employee's termination or retirement.

Regardless of their years of service, submit a sick leave certification for the employee within 30 days of the employee’s termination or retirement.

5. Is the employee under minimum retirement age? (Continued from step 1)

If the employee is under MRA, check if they have over 20 years of WRS creditable service. This includes both state and local service.

6. Is the employee a public official?

If the employee doesn’t have 20 years of WRS creditable service, are they a public official?

7. Are they terminating employment due to a disability?

If the member is not a public official, are they terminating employment due to a disability?

8.  Do they have health insurance at termination?

If they are terminating due to a disability, do they have health insurance at termination?

  • If they don’t, they might qualify for the special enrollment life event. See the section below about special enrollment.
  • If the member chooses not to enroll, please submit the sick leave certification to ETF within 30 days of the employee’s termination or retirement. We will determine if the member is eligible for their credits.

9. Submit materials within 30 days of employee's termination or retirement.

If the member is enrolled in coverage, issue the Continuation – Conversion Notice (ET-2311) to the employee and submit the sick leave certifications to ETF within 30 days of the employee’s termination or retirement.

Special enrollment

Please go to the Retire life event link on the Life Events Guide page for information about employees enrolling in health insurance before retirement.