Q: I have 30 years of full-time service under CSRS and wish to reduce to a part-time permanent employee for my last year of service. When I switch to part time, I understand that I will be required to pay a larger portion of my health care insurance premium. When I retire at the end of this year, how much will I pay to continue my health insurance? Will it be the percent I have paid through my full-time years, the increased amount I will pay as a part-time employee for the last year or some other amount?
A: As a retiree, you will pay the same portion of the premiums as other retirees do, not what you had to pay while working part time. Note: The premiums of Postal Service retirees are the same as those paid by other employees and retirees, not the lower ones they paid while working. Those lower rates were a result of collective bargaining agreements with the Postal Service.
