COBRA notices after a layoff come with clocks.
When a layoff ends health coverage, COBRA notices follow in a set order. Each step has a deadline, and a missed one is the employer’s problem.
Three notices, three clocks.
Employer to Administrator
The employer generally has 30 days from the qualifying event to tell the plan administrator that coverage has ended.
Election Notice
The administrator then sends the election notice, generally within 14 days of hearing from the employer. An employer that acts as its own administrator generally has 44 days in total.
The Election Window
Qualified beneficiaries generally have at least 60 days to elect, and 45 days after electing to make the first premium payment.
How it plays out.
Consider an employer that lets 12 people go on the same Friday. Coverage ends on a date set by the plan, often the last day of the month. Depending on the plan’s terms, the COBRA clocks run from the layoff or from the loss of coverage, so the first task is to confirm which.
Next, the employer sends the administrator the names, the qualifying event, the date coverage ends and the dependents on each plan. Missing dependents are the most common gap, because a spouse or child is a separate qualified beneficiary with a separate right to elect.
From there the administrator sends the election notice and tracks elections and payments. The employer’s job is to keep its own records, and the carrier’s, in line with what the administrator sees.
How we help.
A broker should take work off a smaller HR team, not add to it.
Dates From Day One
We help work out the coverage end date and the notice dates for each person affected.
Hand-Off to Your Administrator
We help get the right names and dates to your COBRA administrator so notices go out on time.
Checking the Rest
We help check that carrier records and payroll agree on who lost coverage.
Your first five days.
Confirm the End Date
Check the plan or carrier contract for when coverage ends after a separation.
List Every Covered Person
Include spouses, dependent children and anyone on more than one plan.
Send the Notice Package
Give the COBRA administrator the names, dates and plans in writing, and keep the send date.
Calendar the Deadlines
Put the 30-day, 14-day and 44-day dates on one calendar, with an owner for each.
Mistakes that cost money.
Counting From the Wrong Date
Starting the clock at the layoff announcement rather than the qualifying event or loss of coverage, depending on the plan.
Forgetting Dependents
Leaving spouses and children off the list means they never get an election notice.
No Proof of Mailing
Notices that cannot be shown to have been sent are hard to defend later.
Related guides.
Right-Sizing HR After Layoffs: The Benefits Workload
The full picture.
Does a Layoff Trigger COBRA?
A layoff that ends group health coverage is generally a COBRA qualifying event.
Layoff Benefits Notices Checklist
A layoff can trigger COBRA, WARN, state unemployment and plan-level notices.
Is HR carrying more than it should?
Tell us what changed, and we will show you what to take off the desk.
Your renewal letter
Your census
Your current plan documents
Your renewal date
Rough answers are fine. We build the numbers from there.
Laws and rules referenced
COBRA: ERISA §§ 601-608, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1161-1168
COBRA notice timing: 29 C.F.R. §§ 2590.606-2 and 2590.606-4
U.S. Department of Labor: COBRA — Continuation coverage overview.
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