Q. I am retired CSRS. I’m marrying a woman who has a minor child. Can I have the child on my Federal Employees Health Benefits and/or as a survivor under any circumstance short of outright adoption?
Browsing: FEHBP
The Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — is already affecting the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. In this column, I’ll fill you in on some of the new requirements imposed on FEHBP. Implemented in 2011 is the requirement that allows children up to age 26, regardless of their marital status, to remain on or be added to the self-and-family option of a parent’s plan. The child does not have to reside with that parent, be financially dependent on the parent, or be a student. Coverage doesn’t extend to a child’s spouse or children. With one exception, when coverage ends under a…
Q. I was on Blue Cross/Blue Shield for 15 years through my husband’s employment with a city, but the city contracted with Coventry Health Care instead, about one year and two months ago. I have also been with Tricare (formerly CHAMPUS) through my husband’s retirement from the Navy in 1993. We are divorcing after 37 years of marriage, and I would like to switch to BC/BS in FEHB through my federal employment. If I retire before I have vested five years in BC/BS, will I not be able to take it into retirement? Someone told me that if I had…
Q. I am 50, have 20 years under FERS and am thinking of retiring in six years when I reach my MRA of 56. If I do this, will I get health insurance coverage right away? Also, can I retire at 56 but delay retirement payments until 60 (or is it 62?) so I can avoid the 5 percent-per-year reduction in the payout? My main concern is keeping health insurance in place as soon as I retire at 56 — I can afford to delay the payout.
Q. I am a federal retiree and have the standard BC/BS coverage for my spouse and myself, plus Medicare Parts A and B. Our only out-of-pocket expenses with these plans are co-pays for prescriptions. Other federal retirees tell me I am over-insured and should drop Medicare Part B. If I did this, would I still have the same coverage I have now, or would I then have out-of-pocket expenses?
Q. I have a postponed retirement. When I start my annuity at age 62, must I enroll in Federal Employees Health Benefits at startup or may I enroll at a later date?
Q. Regarding carrying health insurance into retirement at age 60 when one has had a break in service: I began full time with the federal government at age 30 in 2005 but would like to change careers in my mid-40s and become a science and math teacher. I read that I need to have the last five years covered under FEHB to carry health insurance into retirement. Does this apply if I have fewer than 30 years of service? Can I become a teacher at 44, then return to federal service at 55 and expect to have health insurance at…
Q. I will have been a federal employee for five years on Aug. 31. I will be 61 years old. I would like to leave federal service effective on that date. Will I be entitled to a pension? If so, how do I determine the amount. What is the financial impact if I wait to retire until August 2014 when I am 62?
Q. I am 57 and a recent CSRS retiree. My husband is 67 and receives Social Security. He has Medicare Part A and is covered under my Federal Employees Health Benefits insurance plan. He is in the eight-month period after my retirement to enroll without penalty in Medicare Part B. Can he suspend his coverage in the FEHBP to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan? Then I could change my FEHBP enrollment to self-only, which would reduce our insurance costs. Or is suspension of FEHB only an option for annuitants? A. He can’t suspend his coverage under the FEHB program.…
Q. I am a retired federal employee with Kaiser Permanente standard health coverage. My co-pays are low, as are my prescription drugs. Kaiser offers a Medicare Plus plan I can enroll in, but I have to have Medicare Part B to qualify. My Federal Employees Health Benefits premiums would not increase and they advertise lower deductibles, I assume, because they would be able to bill Medicare for some of the costs of care. It doesn’t seem that enrolling in Medicare Part B when I turn 65 in a few months is worth the extra premium. At some point in the…