Dependent Becomes Ineligible

My child turned 26. Now what?

When your dependent child reaches age 26, they are no longer eligible for most IU-sponsored dependent benefits, unless they are fully disabled (see below).

You don’t need to submit an online life event change for your medical or dental coverage. The university has an internal means of identifying when a child becomes ineligible due to age, so the termination of their medical and dental coverage, as well as their COBRA offer, are processed automatically.

The child will be removed from your plan(s) at the end of the month when they turn age 26, and your coverage level will be automatically adjusted if needed (for example, moving you from employee with child to employee only coverage).

Other dependent insurance situations

The information on this page is related to dependents aging off of your plan. If your dependent gained coverage due to another reason, choose that type of event from the life event changes for employees option in the Employee Center.

Go to the Employee Center

If your disabled child turns 26 while on your IU benefits

If you have a fully disabled child who reaches age 26, you must apply for disabled child eligibility to continue coverage under most plans. If the child does not meet the disabled child requirements, their medical and dental coverage will be discontinued at the end of the month in which they turn age 26, and COBRA will be offered.

However, if they are certified as fully disabled, they will continue to be eligible as long as their disability continues and they remain financially dependent on you. Contact askhr@iu.edu to request the form to certify your child as a disabled dependent. Please note that the university will request recertification of their disabled status periodically.

Note: If your child stops being your dependent under the IRS support test, (reasons other than turning 26), you are responsible for notifying the university within 30 days of their loss of eligibility.

Benefits you can change

You may take the following actions:

  • Decrease your coverage level.

You may take the following actions. The change must be consistent with the life event.

  • Decrease your healthcare FSA election (if already enrolled)
  • Decrease your dependent care FSA election (if already enrolled).

Make this change within 30 days of the event by submitting a life event change through the Employee Center.

Removing your ineligible dependent from your medical coverage mid-year may result in your coverage level changing (for example, from employee with child to employee only). This means that your annual HSA contribution limit may decrease, resulting in a situation where you may need to change or stop your HSA contributions, or remove excess contributions from your account, to remain under the annual limit.

You are responsible for tracking your contributions to ensure you don’t exceed the IRS annual contribution limits. If removing your dependent results in excessive contributions, you must work with WEX to resolve the issue. See the Instructions for IRS Form 8889 or contact a tax advisor for additional information.

Make this change within 30 days of the event by submitting a life event change through the Employee Center. If you enroll in the HSA or change your HDHP coverage level on or after October 1, you will not receive IU’s contribution to your HSA for the remainder of the calendar year.

ask HR logo

Can’t find the information you’re looking for?

Find answers to our top questions and learn how to get in touch if you can’t find what you need on our website.

Ask HR