Q. I have been a part-time employee of DHS since September 2008. Not until fall 2008 was I told I could enroll in FEHB as a part-time employee. My FEHB was initiated during that open enrollment period and began in January 2009. If I retire next year at 70, will I be eligible to continue the FEHB Plan into retirement since I won’t have five years of creditable service but was not offered the plan earlier due to my part-time employment?
A. The law is clear. You must be enrolled for the five consecutive years before you retire or from your first opportunity to enroll. It doesn’t sound as if you enrolled from your first opportunity, which would have been when you were first employed in a position that would have allowed you to do so. I suggest you check with your personnel office to be sure where you stand.
