Medical, Prescription Drugs, Dental, and Vision Plans

As a result of your divorce, you may need to enroll in a University medical, prescription drugs, and/or dental, and/or vision plan if your spouse previously covered you. If already enrolled in CMU’s benefits plan, you will need to remove your ex-spouse as of the date of the divorce. If the divorce decree requires you to cover your children, you may need to add them to your benefit plans. If you previously covered stepchildren on your plans, they need to be taken off as of the date of divorce. Your ex-spouse has the right to continue medical and dental participation through COBRA if he/she had CMU coverage at the time of the divorce. If there is a name change, it will be done electronically once you have changed with the university.

Life Insurance & Disability Plans

You will need to re-evaluate your current life insurance coverage to accommodate the change in your family structure. If your spouse and/or stepchildren were covered on your dependent life insurance, they need to be taken off. You need to review whom you have named as your life insurance beneficiary(ies). You can make changes to your life insurance beneficiary(ies) at any time.

Flexible Spending Accounts

Consider whether to participate in the Flexible Spending Accounts, or if participating, decide whether you need to increase, decrease or stop your contributions. Your ex-spouse will have the option to continue with a separate Health Care Flexible Spending Account through COBRA if he/she was participating in that program at the time of the divorce.

Retirement and Tax Deferred Investment (TDI) Plans

Update the beneficiary(ies) you have listed under these plans. You may want to review your investment elections and contribution amounts under the Tax Deferred Investment Plan to accommodate your new situation. You may choose to begin, increase, decrease or stop contributions due to your new circumstances. Any name change or change in beneficiary needs to be done with the carrier.

Be Sure to Make Changes with the Benefits Office at 774-3661 within 30 days of your divorce.

**Read: Guide for Qualifying Status Change Events before filing a status change forms.

This summary is not designed to serve as your reference for the details of these benefits. There is a Summary Plan Description for each benefits plan, which is available from the Benefits Office and which contains more complete information about the plan, including important details about limitations on benefits and your legal rights. The actual provisions of each benefit plan will govern if there is any inconsistency between this summary and Central Michigan University's formal plans or contracts. This summary does not constitute a contract for any benefit.

Other changes you may need to make:

Remove spouse, children, or step-children from benefits

Change beneficiary(ies) for Life and Retirement Plans (Fidelity, TIAA-Cref)

Change address with CMU and its carriers (MESSA, BCBS, etc)

Make adjustments to your Flexible Spending Account(s)

Begin or change TDI elections

Drop Spousal Life Insurance (If applicable)

If your name changed, you will need to fill out a CMU change form and show copy of new social security card before CMU can change your name.