KPMG Employees Face COBRA Rules After Job-Based Health Coverage Ends

The first thing to check after a layoff or exit

The biggest surprise after leaving KPMG is often not the final paycheck, it is the health insurance cliff. Job-based coverage can end right away, and COBRA is the rule that may let you keep the same plan temporarily, but usually only if you move quickly and are ready for the full cost.

That matters at a firm like KPMG, where staffing changes, reductions in audit teams, and voluntary exits can arrive during the same busy stretch when families are also dealing with prescriptions, specialists, and dependent coverage. COBRA is designed for exactly that kind of transition, but it is not cheap and it is not automatic.

How COBRA works

The U.S. Department of Labor says COBRA continuation coverage gives workers and families who lose health benefits the right to keep group coverage for limited periods after certain events, including job loss, reduced hours, divorce, death, and other qualifying changes. The guidance also says COBRA generally applies to private-sector group health plans maintained by employers with at least 20 employees on more than half of business days in the prior calendar year.

That means many KPMG employees and families can fall within the rules when they leave a role, are laid off, or have hours reduced. Continuation coverage is usually available for 18 to 36 months, depending on the event that triggered the loss of coverage, which can buy time to land a new employer plan or sort out a Marketplace option.

Why the cost shocks so many families

COBRA keeps the same coverage, but it does not keep the same subsidy. In most cases, the former worker or family member pays the full premium cost, plus up to a 2% administrative charge, because the employer is no longer paying its share.

That is where the numbers get painful. KFF’s 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey found average annual premiums of $9,325 for single coverage and $26,993 for family coverage. In 2024, those averages were $8,951 for single coverage and $25,572 for family coverage. Those figures help explain why COBRA can feel like a sudden budget crisis, especially for households that were used to payroll deductions instead of the full bill.

For KPMG employees, the arithmetic can be especially stark after a separation. The plan may be the same, but the check you write is not.

What the October 2025 cuts showed about the stakes

KPMG’s own workforce changes give this issue real-world urgency. Bloomberg reported in October 2025 that the firm cut 195 employees from its U.S. audit business, equal to just over 2% of that workforce. KPMG said it was providing severance, access to extended health benefits, and career transition services to separated employees.

International Accounting Bulletin described the move as KPMG’s fourth layoff round in three years, following two rounds in 2023 and one in 2022. That pattern matters for people in a profession built around utilization rates, promotion cycles, and the long push toward partner track. When reductions happen repeatedly, insurance continuity stops being an abstract HR issue and becomes part of personal risk management.

The scale of the firm also shows why these decisions draw attention. KPMG International reported FY24 global revenues of US$38.4 billion and global headcount of 275,288, while KPMG’s U.S. revenues were reported at $12.6 billion in 2024. Even in a profitable network, individual teams can still shrink, and the people affected still have to solve the same immediate problem: how to stay covered.

When the Marketplace may be the better bridge

COBRA is not the only option. HealthCare.gov says loss of job-based coverage can trigger a Special Enrollment Period for a Marketplace plan, and it says people who leave a job for any reason and lose that coverage can enroll in a Marketplace plan.

That option can matter a lot if COBRA would stretch the budget too far. A Marketplace plan may offer a better price for some families, especially if subsidies are available, while COBRA may make sense for someone in the middle of treatment who wants to keep the same doctors, prescriptions, and network. The right answer depends on what the family is paying now, what care it uses, and how long the gap is expected to last.

The key point is not to wait until the old plan is already gone and the new one is not yet active. In a transition at KPMG, where people may be juggling severance paperwork, career searches, and client handoffs, insurance decisions can get lost unless they are handled early.

What the notice process means in practice

The Department of Labor’s COBRA guidance covers election rights, notices, and timing, and that paperwork matters as much as the premium amount. In plain terms, the plan has to tell eligible people what coverage is available and how to elect it, and the worker or family member has to respond within the required window.

That is why anyone leaving KPMG should treat the benefits packet like a priority document, not a side note. If the notice is missing, unclear, or delayed, it can create confusion at exactly the wrong time. For HR and people leaders, the obligation is just as important: explain the continuation option clearly, especially when a separation is part of a broader restructuring.

The bottom line for KPMG workers

COBRA is the bridge that keeps a family from falling into an insurance gap, but it is a costly bridge and a temporary one. For KPMG employees moving through layoffs, reduced hours, or voluntary exits, the smart move is to compare COBRA with Marketplace coverage immediately, before prescriptions, appointments, or dependent care become harder to manage.

The lesson from the latest KPMG cuts is simple: even in a profitable firm with massive global revenues, the real risk for workers is often not just losing a job, but losing the coverage that keeps daily life stable while they find the next one.