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…
Browsing: Medicare
Q. I understand that when you retire, Medicare is your primary and federal insurance is your secondary. Will federal insurance still pay for prescription drugs even if you do not have a plan under Medicare?
Q. I retired under CSRS nine years ago and took the survivor annuity. Each year, my Notice of Annuity statement identifies the monthly survivor annuity amount payable to my wife upon my death. My wife and I are both in good health. My only child is 34, has been identified by Social Security Administration as disabled (cerebral palsy) and receives SSDI and Medicare (based on his work history before he became completely disabled). He receives about $1,000 per month. CSRS Brochure Retirement Facts 5 (October 1997) states that each child with no surviving parent receives $404 per month with COLA…
Q. I started drawing Social Security at age 69 — about $2,000 in benefits. At age 77/78/79, I have worked and made $60,000 per year. I have paid FICA and Medicare tax. Will my monthly Social Security benefit go up?
Q. I retired from CSRS with 30 years (U.S. Bureau of Mines closure). I started getting my government retirement the day after retirement because of forced retirement. I continued work in the private sector and, at age 66, started getting Social Security in October 2011. I had 26 years paid into Social Security and was hit with the windfall elimination provision. I was never told I could pay extra years into Social Security for some of the years that I was under CSRS until someone at the Social Security office in Pueblo, Colo., told me that. I do not know…
Q. I am a retired Postal Service employee but still carry my insurance as I need it for my wife. She is going on Medicare on June 1. I would like to keep single coverage for me. Is this possible, and how would I go about doing this? My group number is 40240 and my member number is 000687531.
Q. I recently retired from the Veterans Affairs Department and applied for Medicare Part B coverage. My FEHBP is still in effect. The Social Security office sent forms that appear to need agency certification. Who does this? The employing agency or OPM? I’m not getting answers. OPM’s number is constantly busy, and my former human resources office isn’t returning calls. I’m trying to get the coverage and avoid any financial disaster.
Q. I will turn 65 this month but won’t retire until mid-2014. I have had Blue Cross/Blue Shield standard option (code 104) since the 1980s. I have been (and still am) a federal employee for over 31 years. I have CSRS for retirement. I started federal service in 1981 before FERS and kept CSRS. Thus, I will not receive Social Security for my retirement. Otherwise, I do not have 40 quarters for Social Security so I would not otherwise qualify based on that to receive Medicare Part A for free. However, I pay a $62.99 “Medicare tax” each pay period…
Q. I am 65, have worked for USDA intermittently since 1965 (recurring and temporary in the early years) and have been in my present position with USDA-ARS since 1999. I plan to retire (in FERS) in two or three years. My insurance provider for more than 10 years has been Blue Cross/Blue Shield Federal Employee Program. I am signed up for Medicare Part A. My wife, several years younger than I, is a health provider in private practice. She and my two children (elementary school age) are now covered under the federal employee plan above. My understanding is they can…
Q. I will apply for Medicare Part A when I reach 65 as a FERS retiree. My wife will not be eligible for eight years after, and I will retain my federal Blue Cross/Blue Shield family policy. She also has a state BC/BS policy in which I am included. Her policy does not carry over into retirement, so I will keep mine until she is eligible for Medicare. If I wait until she no longer has me under her policy, will I be entitled to then apply for Medicare Part B without penalty under the Substantially Equal Periodic Payment exception,…