Coverage for a member will terminate if the member voluntarily cancels the member’s coverage or ceases to be eligible for benefits due to divorce. The termination date for an ex-spouse and stepchildren is the day before the date on the court signed the decree. A divorce decree is needed if the courts decide which parent is awarded custody and/or must provide health care benefits to the children. Divorce is a qualifying event for COBRA. The employee and/or qualified beneficiary must notify the employer or PEHP in writing within 60 days of divorce or legal separation. An ex-spouse may not continue Term Life or AD&D coverage. As an additional reminder, this is an appropriate time to review beneficiary designations and make any changes.

Once you are divorced, you must remove your spouse and/or stepchildren from your coverage on the day before the divorce decree is signed by the court. If you are ordered to continue to provide coverage for your ex-spouse, it must be done as COBRA coverage. If you fail to notify PEHP within 60 days of your divorce, and PEHP makes payment for services that should not have been covered, PEHP will ask you (the employee, not the person who used the benefits) to reimburse the amount paid.

To remove members from your insurance plan, log on to www.pehp.org fill out the Medical and Dental Enrollment and Change Form and submit it to PEHP.

When a divorce occurs, this is also a good time to change your beneficiary information. You may change beneficiaries for Employee Term Life, Spouse Term Life, Dependent Child Term Life, and Employee AD&D by logging on to www.pehp.org and filling out the Group Term Life Change Form.

State employees getting divorced should review the following items and make any changes needed: 

• Update Address and Emergency Contact: Click here to learn more about updating your address. Please follow the same instructions when updating your emergency contacts.

• Name Change: Click here to learn more about changing your name. 

• Update W-4: Employees can update W-4 forms on the Employee Self Service (ESS) System or by submitting a new W-4 form and submitting it to payroll@utah.gov 

• Update Direct Deposit: Employees can change Direct Deposit information on the Employee Self Service (ESS) System.

• Obtain Social Security Card: Individuals often change their name when getting divorced. Contact the Social Security Administration.

• Update Beneficiaries: Please log into your myPEHP (Employer: State of Utah) and myURS accounts to update your beneficiaries.