Dependent children are covered by your UBC benefits plan if they are under 19. In some cases, your children between the ages of 19 and 25 can also continue to receive coverage through your UBC plan. This applies if your child is enrolled in post-secondary education or if your child is disabled.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Your child can continue to receive coverage through your UBC Benefits Plan until they are 25 if they are enrolled in post-secondary studies and meet other eligibility criteria.
- Your child may also continue to receive coverage under your plan if they are disabled under certain conditions.
- Depending on your employee group, your dependent child may be eligible to have some or all of the costs for their tuition at UBC waived.
Learn more about how we define a dependent child.
For Workday resources and help visit the Integrated Service Centre.
Is your child enrolled in post-secondary education?
Your child between the ages of 19 and 25 is eligible for coverage through your UBC benefits plan if they are:
- not married or in any formal union recognized by law, and
- a full-time student attending an educational institution recognized under the Income Tax Act (Canada), and
- entirely dependent on you for financial support.
After your child turns 25, they are no longer eligible for coverage under your UBC benefits plan.
Confirm your child’s status as a student
You will need to confirm that your child is a student for them to continue receiving coverage under your benefits plan. Confirmation is required annually and is done in Workday.
If your child takes a break from their studies that is not a summer break (non-summer break), they are not considered a full-time student and coverage will be cancelled. When they resume full-time studies, you can reinstate their coverage.
If your child is on approved medical leave from their school, coverage may continue during the approved leave if you provide supporting documentation from the school approving the leave.
If there are any changes (for example, your child takes a non-summer break from their studies, graduates earlier than originally indicated or changes plans and will not return to school), it is your responsibility to make the appropriate change in Workday. For more information please visit Making enrolment changes page.
What if my child is studying abroad? Are they still covered?
Your child is still covered by your benefit plan if they meet the eligibility criteria described above.
Is my child still covered by my benefit plan if they are 25 or older?
Once your child is over the age of 25, they are no longer eligible for dependent coverage under your UBC benefits plan. Their coverage will end at the end of the month they turn 25. The only exception to this is if Sun Life approved lifetime coverage for your child for their disabled status (see below).
Is your child disabled?
Your child is eligible for coverage through your UBC benefits plan if they:
- become disabled before age 19; or become disabled between the ages of 19 and 25 and they are a full-time student attending an educational institution recognized under the Income Tax Act (Canada), and
- are not married or in any formal union recognized by law, and
- are incapable of financial self-support because of a physical or mental disability, and
- are entirely dependent on you for financial support.
If your child becomes disabled after age 25, they are not eligible to apply for disability status.
Confirm your child’s disability status
For your disabled child to continue to receive coverage under UBC benefits plan after the age of 19, you must submit a form to Sun Life and Sun Life must approve your child’s disabled status.
You must confirm your child’s disability status in Workday. Once your enrollment is submitted you will receive Sun Life’s form and a Workday action item with next steps.
You must submit Sun Life’s application form within 31 days of your child’s coverage ending (for example, if they are turning age 19 and not attending a post-secondary institution). If Sun Life approves your child’s disabled child status, your child can continue as a dependent under your Extended Health and Dental plans for as long as Sun Life has approved coverage (in some cases Sun Life will approve lifetime coverage). This also applies to your child’s coverage under the Employee and Family Assistance Program. MSP will set up your child with an individual account.
Optional life insurance and your dependent child
If you have Optional Life Insurance coverage, your dependent child will also receive coverage at no charge to you. For each $25,000 unit of coverage you purchase for yourself, you will receive $5,000 of coverage for each dependent child. Once your child no longer meets the definition of dependent child, they will no longer have optional life insurance coverage.
Tuition Waivers for dependent children
If you are an eligible staff member, you may transfer up to 12 undergraduate credits from your Tuition Fee Waiver to your dependent child. If you are an eligible faculty member, your child is eligible for tuition waivers equal to 120 undergraduate credits, which is equivalent to the credit requirements of an undergraduate degree.
Once your child no longer meets the definition of dependent child, they are no longer eligible for tuition waivers.