Q. I am a FERS employee with USPS, and it is my understanding that as long as you meet the retirement criteria when retiring, you have the right to stay enrolled in FEHB. What are those criteria, or who would qualify to stay enrolled, and is it the same health insurance as before retirement with respect to premium co-payment, deductibles, etc., or is it subsidized less or not at all?
A. To carry your Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage into retirement, you must be enrolled for the five consecutive years before you retire. You could stay in the same plan with the same benefits, or you could change to another plan during any open season, just as you can now. The big difference will be in the premiums. After you retire, you’ll be paying the same premiums as all other federal employees and retirees, not the reduced ones enjoyed by Postal Service employees.
