US Employee Exit Checklist: COBRA, 401(k), PTO

• The dated notice or separation letter: names the last day and the reason the record shows. Layoff versus quit changes several state windows.
• The final-pay confirmation: hours, rate, accrued PTO, reimbursements, and the due date. The final-pay calculator prints the date from your state and last day.
• The PTO balance statement: hours, accrual rate, and the plan version in force on your last day. Seven states treat accrued leave as wages; three treat it as wages unless a valid written forfeiture term applies; the rest follow the policy. See state PTO payout rules.
• The benefits end date: the date coverage stops, not the date you left. COBRA gives 60 days from coverage ending at up to 102% of the group premium, and small employers fall under state continuation law instead.
• The vesting and equity dates: the 401(k) match schedule, the cliff date, and the post-termination exercise window. A vesting date inside your notice window can change the value of your last two weeks.
• The separation wording, in writing and signed: the line HR will read to a reference. Most reference checks confirm dates, title, and rehire eligibility, and that answer comes from the file, not from a conversation. The reference letter generator drafts the neutral written line while the file is still open.

Mark each item on a calendar before the last day. The application tracker keeps the follow-up dates beside the applications you send afterwards.

Deadlines that run from the last day

Almost every clock starts at separation, not at notice:

• Final pay: at separation in California and Colorado, within 24 hours on written demand in Minnesota, within 6 days in Texas, within 10 days in Michigan for a discharge and in the District of Columbia, next regular payday in New York, New Jersey, Washington, Illinois and Ohio. The state rule pages list all of them.
• COBRA election: 60 days from coverage ending or from the election notice. State-only plans run their own windows, and a missed state deadline is usually final for the year.
• ACA special enrollment: 60 days from loss of coverage, and the subsidy is set from projected income.
• 401(k) loan offset: a 60-day rollover window measured from the offset date, not from your last day.
• Unemployment: file as soon as you stop working; in states that allocate severance across weeks, filing order matters more than package size.

Print the dates once and reuse them. The notice-date calculator turns a notice date into a last day and a pay date so the list has real numbers instead of approximations.

What to collect before access disappears

• Payslips or the payroll export for the last twelve months, including the bonus and commission lines.
• The PTO balance screenshot with the date visible, plus the plan document version in force.
• The compensation statement or band range for your level, and any written offer or promotion letter.
• The remote approval email and the home-office stipend line, if you worked remotely: these are the location facts a wage claim or a jurisdiction argument is built from.
• The W-2 and 1095-C when they arrive, and the 401(k) statement with the vesting schedule.

Collect them while you can still log in. After the last day, the same records come from a request that takes days and may be answered with a summary instead of the document. Ask for the written separation wording with the reference letter generator and the exit record with the exit interview response generator before access ends.

Scripts and wording

Two asks, sent dated, one line each:

"Please confirm in writing: my last working day, the final-pay date and amounts (hours, accrued PTO, reimbursements), the benefits end date, and the separation wording that will be used for reference checks."

"Please send the plan documents that were in force on my last day: the PTO policy version, the vesting schedule, and the post-termination exercise window for any equity award."

Ask for documents, not opinions. A dated written confirmation is what a later dispute quotes; a verbal answer is not.

The exit checklist by phase

Before you rely on a date or an amount on this page, check it against the California job exit rules page and the Colorado job exit rules page, along with the resignation exit guide hub. Rules move, and those pages carry the current text.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the single most important exit document?

The written confirmation of your last working day and the separation reason. Almost every other clock, from final pay to unemployment eligibility to the reference answer, starts from that date and that wording. Ask for it before your access ends.

Do I have to complete an exit interview?

Usually not, unless your employer's policy or agreement says otherwise. Whatever you say is written into the file and shapes the reference answer and payout decisions. Bring a one-page factual handoff and keep claims verifiable. See the exit-interview entry and the exit interview response generator.

Which deadlines are easiest to miss?

The COBRA and marketplace windows: both are 60 days, and state-only plans do not follow the federal window. Then the 60-day 401(k) loan-offset rollover clock, which runs from the offset date. Missing either turns coverage or taxes into an avoidable cost. Compare both coverage routes in the COBRA cost calculator.

Should I keep the paperwork after the money arrives?

Yes. Keep the pay records, the plan documents, the written separation line, and the claim correspondence for at least three years. Wage claims, unemployment appeals and tax questions all run on the same file, and a summary is not the document.

Can my employer withhold my final check for "incomplete transition"?

No. Wages for hours worked are owed regardless of transition quality (FLSA via dol.gov).

Do I keep access to my 401(k)?

Yes. The account is yours; the company can't freeze it. Rollover is optional; leaving in the plan is fine if fees are low.

Does COBRA cover dental/vision?

It mirrors your employer plan, including dental/vision when enrolled.

The short-window lines in this checklist are three kinds of clocks: state pay windows, the federal COBRA election window, and the rollover clock on a plan loan. The state entries were graded in this build, some from reported sources. Confirm each window with the state agency named on the state rule pages before you write a deadline into a demand, and keep the four documents — the PTO balance, the coverage end date, the last-day date, and the address of record — in one dated file. Keep the four dates in the application tracker so the coverage end, the loan offset, and the last day do not drift.