Q. My husband is a non-fed. I’ve got 28 years in with the Defense Department. I’ve had self-and-family GEHA for all of those 28 years. My husband is three years younger than I am and will retire at 62 (in 2015). I don’t plan to retire until 2016. I know I can carry over my Federal Employees Health Benefits into retirement, which will also insure my husband (due to the annuity I will provide for him from my retirement). If I pass away before I retire in 2016, will my husband be able to maintain the FEHB I have been…
Browsing: Premiums
Q. I am a CSRS retiree who retired in 2009 at age 56. When I turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare, should I drop my Blue Cross/Blue Shield Federal Employees Health Benefits, which currently cost approximately $500 per month? Which Medicare “extras” should I take? What, if any, are the advantages of keeping my FEHB coverage?
Q. Is Blue Cross/Blue Shield considering a single-plus-one plan for retirees who just have a spouse? Seems unfair for a couple to pay for a family plan.
Q. I am going to retire in four months. I am 72. Do I need to keep my federal Blue Cross/Blue Shield, or will Medicare cover all of my health care benefits? To continue Blue Cross will cost me $400 a month. Thus, I end up with about $750 a month with 13 years of federal service.
Q. How will Obamacare affect federal retirees’ insurance coverage, premiums, etc.?
Q. I turned 65 and applied for Medicare Part A and B, which is in effect. I pay my Part B monthly premiums separately. I am still employed and noted the Medicare tax is still being deducted from my paycheck. Is this a standard deduction that should be reimbursed, or will this deduction remain in effect until I retire?
Q. My husband is a Postal Service employee who will be eligible for retirement shortly. We have been married for 3½ years. I have been covered under his health insurance plan (GHI) since we were married. If my husband retires before our five-year anniversary, am I still eligible for continued coverage under his plan (even though I will not have been covered under his plan for the full five years)?
Q. I am retired CSRS annuitant and signed up for Medicare on my 65th birthday in December. After doing more research months later, I decided to sign up for Part B. I called Medicare and was told that I would have until December 2013 to sign up without a penalty but that open season didn’t start until January 2014. I was further told that I would incur a $10-per-month penalty. I called back a week or so later for clarification and was told I could sign up prior to 2014 and not pay the penalty. What is the correct answer?
Q. My brother retired under FERS disability because he was in need of a kidney and liver transplant. He has since received both organs and is now able to work again. Can he return to work for the federal government again? If so, what benefits will he have to give up?
Q. As long as I’m employed, my Federal Employees Health Benefits premiums are taken from my pay pretax, which is more advantageous than deducting them as an itemized deduction subject to adjusted gross income limits. Does this pretax treatment continue upon retirement for a CSRS retiree, and therefore, my taxable income will be reduced by these premiums? Or will I need to start to claim them as an itemized deduction subject to income limits, which for some means we lose their deductibility after retirement?