Q. I am a FERS employee who will be eligible for retirement in five years. My health insurance is covered under my husband, who works for the post office and is also a FERS employee. My husband will retire in four years. Will I be able to be covered under his Federal Employees Health Benefits after he retires, or do I need to sign up for my own FEHB? Because I am five years from retirement, do I need to have my own FEHB for five years?
Browsing: Coverage after retirement
Q. I am a retired federal employee and have been receiving my health benefits in the “self-only” designation. My spouse will be retiring from her private-sector position in June 2014. Must I change my health benefit designation to “family” this open season, or can I wait until June 2014 and change designations using the qualifying life event as a factor?
Q. I am 75 years old and retiring from the federal government under FERS. I have Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage and Medicare Part A. Is it a requirement for me to sign up for Medicare Part B if I will keep FEHB, or is it just my option to sign up for Medicare Part B?
Q. I plan to retire in June 2014 (at age 65), and I have been with a Federal Employees Health Benefits plan (self-only) during my entire working CSRS career (39 years). For the past 10 years, I have only used my wife’s health insurance plan from her private employer as she has self-and-family coverage. She is eight years younger (age 57) than I am but she thinks that her job may be eliminated (laid off) and she will need health insurance under my FEHB plan (I would need to change my FEHB plan to self and family). If she were…
Q. I’ve read on your site that during any open season, after I’ve retired, I can change my enrollment option in the Federal Employees Health Benefits. I just want to confirm that such is the case and still have Uncle Sam pick up the increased premium cost share. Will I be able to change my enrollment in FEHB from self to self and family after I’ve retired (in open season) and still have the government share of the self-and-family premium picked up by Uncle Sam? I’d plan to revert back to self-only later, once my spouse starts receiving her pension…
Q. I have heard that after retirement, I can continue my Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage (as a retiree from the Environmental Protection Agency) and defer signing up for Medicare Part B (if in the future I decide to enroll in Medicare) with no late Medicare penalty because FEHB is counted as creditable coverage. Is this correct? If so, it runs counter to the advice that I received from EPA, which was to enroll in Part B to avoid later penalties, and to retain FEHB as well.
Q. How long can you keep your federal health insurance after you retire from the federal government? Can you keep it until you die, or does it stop once you receive Medicare?
Q. I am a 53-year-old federal employee with 28 years of service. If I am downsized or affected by a reduction in force, what is the age when I can collect my annuity? As importantly, I have been told by a federal certified retirement planner that because I am over 50 and have more than 25 years of service, when I become eligible to collect my annuity, I may also rejoin the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. Can you confirm that?
Q. If a federal employee is enrolled in governmentwide Blue Cross, is over 65 and will enroll in Medicare Part B when she retires, is there an advantage to leaving Federal Employees Health Benefits on retirement and purchasing a medigap plan to supplement the coverage of Medicare Part B or even leaving FEHB before retirement and enrolling in Part B and a medigap plan? Is there much of chance that FEHB plans such as Blue Cross will experience a great increase in premiums in coming years due to Obamacare?
Q. My dad is getting ready to retire from the Transportation Security Administration with just over five years of service. He’s under FERS at age 57. Will he be able to continue his health insurance into retirement?