Q. Can I carry health insurance into retirement if I defer retirement at age 54 (my minimum retirement age is 56 years) and start an annuity (to pay for the FEHB) at the time of my deferred retirement? The following are given: I will be age 54 years in May. I have 32 years of government service. I have had continuous FEHB coverage for the past five years and more.
A. No. Deferred retirees can neither continue their FEHB enrollment when they leave government nor may they re-enroll when they begin receiving their annuity. They will, however, receive a 31-day extension of coverage when they leave and have the opportunity to continuing their coverage for up to 18 months under the temporary continuation of coverage provision of law.
