Q. Do federal retirees have to elect for spousal annuity benefits for spouses to be eligible for Federal Employees Health Benefits upon retirement? If so, can the retiree elect to discontinue spousal annuity if the spouse obtains his/her own coverage after retirement? Does it vary between CSRS and FERS?
Browsing: Eligibility
Q. I enlisted in the Air Force in 1948 and served until March 1958, then went into federal service under CSRS. I retired in 1986 with 37 years and 10 months of combined service. As a result, I only acquired five quarters of Social Security payments. I am therefore not eligible for Social Security benefits or Medicare. Will I be able to keep my Federal Employees Health Benefits when the Affordable Care Act is activated?
Q. What happens to federal employees with Federal Employees Health Benefits when the Affordable Care Act takes effect? Does FEHB go away? Do federal employees have to go to exchanges and find new insurers just as every other American? What happens to retirees with FEHBP? Do their FEHBP plans go away, and do they have to go to exchanges?
Q. My husband retired from the federal government 10 years ago. He has had health insurance through my company for the past 23 years. I have lost my job through a reduction in force and now need to explore options for health care. Do we have any options through his retirement benefits? He is 64, I am 55 and we have two children living at home, 24 and 21.
Q. I am a full-time FERS employee with family health insurance coverage. I’ve been told, but can’t substantiate, that if a child was active military and was honorably discharged after his four-year service term, that this child would be eligible for coverage under my family coverage until he turns 30. Is this accurate?
Q. I live in Washington state, I’m a widower and I receive a federal annuity. I’m in a relationship with a widow. Unable to marry because my partner would lose her survivor benefit from her late husband. Does FEHB recognize opposite-sex domestic partnership as Washington state does? I know FEHB does not recognize same-sex domestic partnership.
Q. I am a widow of a retired federal government employee who was with the General Services Administration. I want to know if my current Federal Employees Health Benefits insurance plan with Blue Cross/Blue Shield will not be an option for me as my primary insurance once Obamacare takes effect?
Q. I am a 58-year-old FERS employee with 14 years of service, and I will be removed for medical inability next month. I have carried self-plus-family Federal Employees Health Benefits for the past seven years. When I am removed, I will go on my wife’s insurance policy. However, if my disability is denied by the Office of Personnel Management, do I lose forever the ability to keep my federal health insurance because I allowed it to lapse pending OPM’s disability decision?
Q. My husband retired from the federal government in 2012 under CSRS. We have been told by a retirement counselor that since he only has 14 quarters in Social Security, he is not eligible for Medicare Part B, though he is eligible for Medicare Part A. Is that true? If so, can he work to gain the additional quarters needed even if it is after he turns age 65, and then apply for Medicare Part B? I cannot find documentation anywhere to support the retirement counselor’s claim.
Q. I am 55 with 36 years of federal employment, including two one-year breaks in service. The last break was in 1985. I withdrew the funds I had paid into CSRS each time I broke service and have repaid a minimal amount of it. I thought I would be one of those people who worked forever; however, I have a progressively degenerative medical condition and likely will not be able to work more than another year at the most. I am totally ignorant about retirement and to what benefits I am entitled. For example, will my pension benefits be reduced…