For Employees | Retirees | Family members

Employees

UC offers three benefits packages — Full, Mid-level and Core. Your eligibility for a particular package depends on the type of job you have, the percentage of time you work and the length of your appointment.

For employees in career, academic, limited, partial-year career, contract and floater appointments:

Full Benefits

Employees in the above categories, working 50 percent time or more for at least one year and eligible for primary retirement benefits, are eligible for:

Employees who are ineligible for Full benefits can gain eligibility based on the accumulation of 1,000 eligible hours (or 750 hours for a Non-Senate Instructional Unit) in a rolling 12-month period, with the exception of floater appointments which are generally ineligible for primary retirement and Full benefits.

Mid-Level Benefits

Employees in above categories, generally hired to work 100 percent time for at least three months but for less than one year OR hired at 50 percent time or more for a year or more but not eligible for primary retirement benefits, are eligible for:

Core Benefits

Employees in above categories, hired for 43.75 percent time are eligible for:

Employees in per diem, casual/restricted (students), by agreement or seasonal appointments are eligible for Core benefits if appointed to work at least 75 percent time for at least three months.

For more information, see A Complete Guide to Your UC Health and Welfare Benefits.

Retirees

To be eligible for retiree health and welfare benefits, you must meet the following criteria (in addition to age and service credit requirements):

  • Have a retirement date that is within 120 days of the date you end UC employment (for Savings Choice participants, the date your retiree health benefits coverage begins will be treated as your retirement date for this purpose)
  • Be an active eligible employee enrolled in either UCRP (including Pension Choice) or Savings Choice
  • Be enrolled in or eligible to enroll in Full UC employee benefits
  • Continue health coverage until your retiree health benefits become effective

Retiree health and welfare benefits are not available to those who elect a UCRP Lump Sum Cashout or to those who take a full refund or rollover of Savings Choice accumulations before beginning retiree health benefits. A partial refund or rollover of Savings Choice account funds will not affect eligibility for retiree health benefits, or retiree health service credit, as long as the DC Plan account maintains a balance of at least $2,000 (with some of that money remaining in the Savings Choice account).

Retirees are eligible for:

UC contributes to the cost of medical and dental benefits; retirees receive a percentage of the contribution based on their years of service to the university. These benefits are separate from your primary retirement benefits and are not a vested benefit. That means these benefits are not guaranteed and that UC’s contributions to the cost of these benefits may change or be discontinued at any time.

For more information see Retiree health and welfare benefits.

Family members

You may enroll the following family members in your UC benefits:

  • Spouse
  • Domestic partner
  • Children (biological or adopted, stepchildren, domestic partner’s children)
  • Grandchildren, step-grandchildren, domestic partner’s grandchildren
  • Legal ward

For information on eligibility criteria see A Complete Guide to Your UC Health and Welfare Benefits or the Group Insurance Eligibility Fact Sheet for Retirees.

Verification of family member eligibility

UC requires all faculty, staff and retirees who enroll family members in their medical, dental and/or vision insurance plans to provide documents to verify their family members' eligibility for coverage.