Q. I am retired and have Blue Cross/Blue Shield Basic for my health plan. I will be 65 in May and need to make a decision on whether I should get Part B when I have my current FEHB coverage. If I decide to take Part B, there will be another monthly cost. Is there any FEHB plan that would benefit me to enroll in and also keep the costs down if I decided to take Part B? This is confusing to me. A. It’s confusing to you because it’s confusing to everyone faced with that decision. Unfortunately, there isn’t…
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Q. I am a Bureau of Prisons retiree with GEHA health insurance. Should I enroll in Medicare B? I know I don’t have to enroll in Medicare B, but would like to know the pros and cons of not enrolling. It seems the only entity that would benefit from that enrollment would be GEHA, or whichever health plan I enroll in, as it would automatically be deemed secondary with Medicare Part B as the primary, thereby avoiding paying the full cost of whatever medical procedure I might receive. If I sign up for Medicare B, won’t I be paying twice…
In this column, I’ll describe changes to Medicare and survivors’ and children’s benefits for 2013. Medicare At age 65, you’ll be eligible for Medicare Part A, which provides hospital insurance at no cost to you; you already paid for it through payroll |deductions. You’ll also be eligible for Medicare Part B, which is medical insurance and isn’t free. If you decide to enroll in Medicare Part B, you’ll have to pay the monthly premiums: $104.90, up from $99.90 in 2012, if your last year’s individual taxable income was $85,000 or less ($170,000 or less if filing jointly). $146.90, up from…
Q. I am reading in a Blue Cross/Blue Shield brochure that you have to be a federal employee as of Jan. 1, 1983, to get free Medicare Part A. I joined in March 1983 and do not have Social Security eligibility. Will I get Part A for free or not? What is the significance of Jan. 1, 1983? A. Here’s the scoop from the Social Security Administration: “Federal employees are required to contribute to the Medicare Trust Fund and are therefore eligible for Medicare. This provision is referred to as the Medicare Qualified Government Employees (MQGE) provision. “All wages paid…
Q. My father was a federal employee for many years and he retired in 1983. He passed away in 2004 at the age of 80. My mother has been receiving an annuity benefit since that time. The only insurance that my father ever had was his Blue Cross/Blue Shield Federal. Why was he (and now my mother) not eligible for Medicare Part A? Shouldn’t he have been paying into the Medicare system through payroll deductions when he was employed with the Federal Communications Commission? A. Because he was a CSRS employee who retired before December 31, 1983, he didn’t have…
Q. I’m planning to retire under CSRS Offset in December. Is local, state and federal tax the only tax I will have to pay? No Social Security or Medicare? A. Social Security and Medicare taxes are only deducted from earnings from wages or self-employment, not other sources of income, such as annuities.
Q. Are my CSRS retirement annuities subject to Social Security and Medicare tax if I retire at age 58 with 37 years of service? A. No. Social Security and Medicare taxes are only taken from earnings from wages or self-employment, not annuities.
Q. I am retiring from the VA when I am 62. I hold the insurance for myself and my husband, and I am able to keep family health benefits when I retire. My husband is two years and nine months younger than I am. When I reach 65, can I still keep GEHA insurance until my husband reaches 65 and can start drawing Medicare on his own? I do not want him not having heath insurance when he is 62. I heard someone say that at 65 I could do Medicare Part A and keep my government health insurance, and…
Q. I will retire under CSRS and will maintain my FEHB insurance and Medicare Part A. What are the advantage and disadvantages of obtaining Medicare Part B? A. The disadvantage is that you have to pay the premiums for Medicare Part B. The advantage is that it works with your FEHB coverage to reduce your out-of-pocket costs for medical, clinical lab service, home health care, outpatient hospital service and blood. You’ll have to review what the two plans offer and see where they overlap, reinforce each other or fill gaps.
Q. I am a 69-year-old female FERS retiree, covered under parts A and B of Medicare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield basic for federal employees. I also have my spouse insured on this plan. My spouse is a military retiree, so we have Tricare for Life, and he also has parts A and B of Medicare. I would like to change to the less expensive BC/BS health insurance, but I want to keep the doctors we currently have. Is there a possibility I would have greater out-of-pocket expense with the standard BC/BS? I would like to take the difference in premiums…