Q. I was recently married (March) and changed my health insurance from self-only coverage to family coverage. If I were to receive an offer to take an early retirement, will I be able to keep the family coverage? I am under CSRS and have 33 years of continuous service.
Browsing: Coverage after retirement
Q. I will be a FERS retiree with more than 30 years and my spouse will also be eligible for a deferred FERS retirement but will probably wait seven years until he’s 62. He left federal employment more than 10 years ago, and I have always carried him on my Federal Employees Health Benefits family plan. I understand he will be covered by my FEHB family plan after I retire as long as I’m living. If I don’t select a survivor annuity for him, will he be eligible to get his own FEHB plan if I die before him?
Q. I retired in 2010, and my Federal Employees Health Benefits premiums have gone up. This year, it increased almost 30 percent. The cost is about one-quarter of my monthly income. I can’t afford this. My problem is, I guess that I will have to leave FEHB for the Affordable Care Act. And I will never be able to get it back. Why do retirees on FEHB have such a high premium? Our income doesn’t go up 30 percent to cover the difference. Any suggestions?
Q. My fiance is a retired federal government employee under CSRS. We are getting married this month, and he would like to add me as his wife to his insurance. However, when we called and asked about the monthly cost of adding me (I have never worked for the federal government), we were told his premiums would jump from approximately $155 a month to $450 per month because I have never worked for the government. Is it correct that what we pay for insurance can climb by a huge amount because I never worked for the government, or would the…
Q. I am a new federal employee (start date in June) and was born in 1963. When would I be able to leave the federal government and retain federal health care benefits?
Q. My husband has a Blue Cross/Blue Shield policy that covers both of us. He is three years older than me, so when he turns 65, do I lose the BC/BS policy coverage and have to self-insure? In case of premature death, do I also lose my BC/BS policy and have to self-insure?
Q. How many years of federal employment does one need to be eligible for retiree health insurance? Do employees becomes “vested” in health insurance after a certain number of years? I thought I needed to be working for 10 years with the feds to be eligible for retiree health insurance, but now I am not so sure.
Q. I have prior CSRS service with a break in employment. I am now CSRS Offset. I did not get health insurance when I returned to service because I was covered by the Veterans Affairs Department. I picked it up during open season the following year. I can retire in two years at age 62. I will need one more year to have my five years to carry my health insurance into retirement for my disabled husband. The trouble is, I have terminal cancer. My life expectancy is two years. I hope to make it to retirement but worry beyond…
Q. I am a FERS employee with 14 years at Department of Agriculture, and will turn 60 this month. I plan to retire in January under MRA+10 but want to postpone receiving my annuity until I reach age 62 to minimize the 5 percent-per-year reduction. My wife (nonfederal) and I have been enrolled in Federal Employees Health Benefits family coverage for the past 14 years. Can I continue my existing FEHB family coverage during a postponed annuity (at my own expense, plus 2 percent, for 18 months from my retirement date) at the conclusion of which I’d begin my annuity,…
Q. When I retire, I plan to keep my Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage. Will my payment remain what my portion was, or will the government portion be added to it to increase my out of pocket expenses?