Q. Can a retired employee quit his Federal Employees Health Benefits in retirement for, say, Tricare for Life and Medicare if retired military, and later opt to switch back to FEHB?
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Q. My husband worked for a Veterans Affairs medical center for seven years, then left federal employment for eight years. He is 63 and receiving a deferred annuity. He may be returning to federal employment. When he returns, is there a certain amount of time he must be re-employed to be able to retire and carry his health benefits into retirement? A. If your husband was re-employed, he’d be able to enroll in the FEHB program during the next open season. He would then have to be enrolled for five years to continue that coverage when he once again retired.
Q. I would appreciate a clarification of eligibility for Federal Employees Health Benefits under postponed retirement. I selected a postponed retirement and have recently begun receiving benefits. I may, at some point, want to sign up for FEHB as a FERS retiree. In my situation, in my last government position (as an appointee), I had continuous coverage under my wife’s FEHB as a part of a family plan. Since I left the government position, I have continued to be covered under my wife’s FEHB family plan. As I understand it, postponed retirees who were enrolled at the time they left…
Q. I am a FERS employee. I will be drawing my reservist retirement June 27 at 60 years old. Can I drop my Federal Employees Health Benefits for Tricare? Can you give me details about this how long will it take, if this has to be done at open season and the grace period on the policy? A. You can get an FEHB suspension form by calling the Office of Personnel Management’s Retirement Information Office at 1-888-767-6738. They may be able to tell you how long it takes.
Q. My December federal retirement take-home pay was $1,609.11. My January federal retirement take-home pay was $1.645.66. My February federal retirement take-home pay was $1,511.67. My take-home pay was reduced by $133.99. In my 15 years of retirement pay, I have never seen this much taken for medical at once. For the past few years, my take-home pay has continued to reduce. Inflation is not keeping up with medical costs. What’s going on? A. All plans in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program are experience-rated. This means that the premiums in the current year are based on an analysis of…
Q. I have worked for the Veterans Affairs Department as a civilian for more than five years. My wife always handled the health care insurance under her company’s program, so I never took advantage of mine. We are now in our 18th month of divorce and I would like to go on my health care program under my benefits at VA. My human resources department says I need a divorce decree to be able to get coverage. My wife is about to lose her job, so I am worried that I may be without coverage. What should I do? A.…
Q. My husband and I are both military retirees and have had Tricare for over 38 years. When my husband turned 65, he had to sign up for Medicare and take Part B to retain Tricare for Life. He also dropped off of the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan and then retired from his civilian federal government job and I changed to single coverage on FEHB under me (I am still working as a civilian federal employee). I am considering retiring this year and want to know if I need to add him to my FEHB for him to have…
Q. I am about ready to retire and currently maintain a FEHB policy. My wife is still working and I can fall under her health plan at no extra cost, and the coverage is better. I have been told that you can “suspend” FEHB in retirement and reinstate it if need be. Is this true? A. No, it isn’t true. About the only ones who can suspend coverage are those who are covered by the military’s Tricare program. And they can only re-enroll if they lose that coverage or during an open season.
Q. I am a FERS retiree with premium deductions from my annuity for Federal Employees Health Benefits family coverage. My wife is not a federal retiree. 1. If I change to single during open season, can I change back to family coverage the next year? 2. When I die, I assume FEHB coverage will halt for her, correct? A. Yes, you can change from self-and-family coverage to self-only during any open season and change back during any open season. If you provided a survivor annuity for your wife, and you are covered by the self-and-family option when you die, she…
Q. I am a retired foreign service officer whose spouse is still an active federal employee working for an agency other than the State Department. To save money, we decided to move from one self-and-family policy under my name to separate self-only plans. I opted for a completely different carrier, while my wife chose to stay with the one we had had for six years. We had not counted, however, on the fact that this year, there would be a nearly two-week gap between the time frame for changes for retirees and for active employees. The end result has been that…