The durations, the premium ceilings and the notice clocks. Each number has a near neighbor, so learn them in pairs.
Duration: 18 against 36, and 29
- 18 months for termination other than gross misconduct and for reduction in hours.
- 36 months for all other qualifying events: death of the covered employee, divorce or legal separation, the employee's Medicare enrollment, and loss of dependent child status. A spouse and two children who lose coverage on the employee's death get 36.
- 29 months is the disability-extension total only. 24 months is not a COBRA maximum at all.
The disability extension
If the Social Security Administration determines a qualified beneficiary is disabled before the 60th day of continuation coverage and the disability continues through the rest of the 18-month period, all qualified beneficiaries in that family are entitled to an 11-month extension, a total maximum of 29 months.
A determination on day 45 qualifies — the rule requires only that it fall before the 60th day, not before coverage began. Two frequent errors: limiting the extension to the disabled person, and giving 18 extra months to 36, which is the second-qualifying-event rule, not this one.
Premiums: 102 against 150
- During the initial 18 months, the maximum is 102 percent of the cost to the plan for similarly situated individuals who have not incurred a qualifying event — plan cost plus 2 percent for administration. At $650 per month: 650 x 1.02 = $663.00.
- For months after the 18th under a disability extension, the ceiling rises to 150 percent of the plan's total cost. In month 22 at $840 per month: 840 x 1.50 = $1,260.00.
The ceilings are alternatives, not multipliers — never stack 1.02 and 1.50.
The 44-day notice clock
After receiving notice of a qualifying event, the plan must provide qualified beneficiaries an election notice within 14 days. Where the employer is also the plan administrator, the 30-day employer-to-plan period and the 14-day election-notice period combine to 44 days. They run sequentially, not concurrently, and 44 days is not the 60-day election window.