Browsing: Medicare

Q. I retired in 2011 with 35 years under CSRS. Am I automatically enrolled in Medicare? Which parts should I enroll in? Does my Blue Cross Blue Shield FEHB coverage continue on? A. Since you aren’t already receiving benefit from Social Security, three months before you turn age 65 you’ll need to go to https://www.medicare.gov/sign-up-change-plans/get-started-with-medicare and sign up. You’ll automatically be entitled to Medicare Part A at no cost because you paid for that benefit through payroll deductions. If you decide to enroll in Part B, you’ll have to pay the premiums for that benefit. Regardless, your FEHB coverage will…

Q. I will be 68 next year when I retire as a CSRS annuitant. I’m having Medicare deductions taken from my paycheck. Will I continue to have them taken from my annuity check? A. No, you won’t. Premiums for Medicare Part A are only deducted from earnings from wages or self-employment. They aren’t deducted from annuities.

Q. I turned 62 years old in December and plan to keep on working at my agency. Can I receive Medicare if I’m still working? A. With rare exception, no one is eligible for Medicare until they reach age 65. If you are still working when you reach that age, there is no bar to your receiving its benefits.

Q. I retired in 2011 from the United States Postal Service. I kept BCBS insurance. I only signed up for Medicare Part A. If I choose to sign up for Part B now and drop BCBS, will I have to pay a penalty? A. Yes, you would have to pay a penalty. And it might be a whopper. Because you didn’t sign up when you were first eligible to do so, the premium you’d have to pay would be 10 percent higher for each year you were eligible to enroll in Part B and didn’t.

Q. I’m 58 years old and will be retiring at the end of the year. I’ll be keeping my FEHB coverage. Currently, my wife – who is 52 years old – is covered under my FEHB plan. When I reach age 65, I will be covered by Medicare as my primary health provider, while my FEHB plan will be my secondary health provider. Will my wife continue to be under my FEHB plan as her primary provider? A. Since she won’t be old enough to qualify for Medicare, she’ll continue to be covered by your FEHB plan.

Q. I will soon qualify for Medicare. My husband and I are looking at enrolling in FEHB Kaiser Basic Medicare plan. We currently have FEHB Kaiser. However, as I am a Sacramento County retiree, we can also enroll in the county Kaiser Medicare silver plan, which is a better deal. If we disenroll or suspend FEHB coverage, can we go back during open enrollment? Counties are sometimes susceptible to bankruptcies. A. You can suspend your FEHB coverage. If your other plan went out of business, you could immediately re-enroll in the FEHB program. If it didn’t but you want to…

Q. My husband will be 64 years old in a couple of weeks. He is CSRS. I have health insurance under my husband’s coverage. We are concerned because we do not know what will happen to me once he goes under Medicare because of his age. Also, what will happen to my insurance coverage after he retires in a couple of years? Will I lose my coverage once Medicare takes over? Also, if I still qualify for health insurance, will it be at a more expensive price?

Q. I am turning 65 in March, and am considering joining a Medicare Advantage Plan. I would suspend my FEHB plan at that time, in case I decide to go back to it. If I decide to re-enroll in my FEHB, I know you have to wait until the next open season, which would be the fall period. But the Advantage Plans have an additional open season in the spring, could I do it then as well? And would it have to be that first open season, or could you still go back, say, the next open season the following…

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