Q. I am a CSRS employee and plan to retire March 29.
1. Will I be on the annuity roll for my first check on April 1 or May 1?
2. Will I incur a reduction in my annuity because of the retirement date?
3. I will turn 65 in April, so I will be eligible for Medicare. I have had Federal Employees Health Benefits for four years, and I am Tricare-eligible. I am aware that my time with Tricare will count toward my five years and that I can suspend my FEHB and go with Medicare/Tricare for Life. What type of paperwork will the Office of Personnel Management need showing my eligibility for Tricare? Should I provide this with my retirement paperwork?
A. You will be on the annuity roll in April and be entitled to your first annuity payment in May. Based on your proposed retirement date, there would be no reduction in your annuity.
Your Tricare coverage only counts if you have been, in total, covered by the FEHB program and Tricare for the five consecutive years before you retire and are enrolled in the FEHB program on the day you retire. You should visit you personnel office and ask them what confirmation they require and to be sure that you are, in fact, eligible to carry your FEHB coverage into retirement.
