Q. I turn 60 on Jan. 1, 2015. I am a FERS employee who will have 20 years creditable service in January of 2014. If I retire Dec. 13, 2014 (the end of a pay period) do I understand correctly that my Federal Employees Health Benefits and Federal Employees Group Life Insurance coverage will be extended for 31 days at no cost to me? I plan on postponing my annuity receipt until Jan. 1 (when I turn 60) to avoid the under-62 penalty. Also, do I understand correctly that since my postponed annuity date will be Jan. 1 that my…
Browsing: Premiums
Q. I work part time and carry self-only health insurance, using my husband’s nongovernment health insurance for the family since it’s less expensive. Upon our retirement: 1. Can we drop my husband’s health insurance, switch my self-only insurance to self-and-family insurance? Or would I have to carry family insurance for the five years, not just self-only? 2. Also, I’m carrying the least expensive health insurance. Once I retire, can I switch to a better health insurance, or am I limited in some way because I’ve been paying so little over my active federal government years?
Q. I want to retire at age 57 with 28 years federal service and receive my health benefits but defer the annuity until age 62. Is that possible? My co-workers say I should work until age 59 with 30 years federal service and begin collecting all benefits then. What would the difference in the benefits be?
Q. I am a CSRS employee with 40 years of service and am planning to retire in January. If I elect the $1-per-year annuity for my spouse, will he be covered under my health plan into retirement (he has been covered for the past seven years). If I pass away before him, will he be entitled to my annuity?
Q. I am turning 65 in January. I am trying to decide if I should sign up for Medicare Part A. Am I required to sign up for that benefit, or is it an option? I understand that if I sign up now, my federal health insurance will remain primary and Medicare part A will become secondary. But after I retire, that relationship will flip. Here’s my concern about that: My 36-year-old daughter is mentally retarded and she has been and is covered under my federal health plan (Blue Cross/Blue Shield). If Medicare Part A becomes my primary insurance after…
Q. I retired from active duty after 24½ years and immediately started as a federal employee, for 7½ years now. I’ve never elected Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage because I’m enrolled in Tricare Overseas. I’m planning to retire at MRA+10 in 2½ years at age 57½. 1. If I begin enrollment now in FEHB and retire at my minimum retirement age in 2½ years, can I count the time in Tricare toward the five-year enrollment requirement for FEHB? 2. If I don’t enroll in FEHB now, can I count my time in Tricare for the entire FEHB five-year enrollment requirement…
Q. I have over 25 years of service as a full-time employee under FERS. I plan to switch to working part time for the next year or two before I retire. I know that I’ll pay a higher Federal Employees Health Benefits premium while in part-time status because the government pays proportionally less. When I retire, will I have to continue paying the higher premium or will the government share revert to what it was when I was in full-time status?
Q. In a recent question posted on your website from a Postal Service employee turning 65 in December, you mentioned that it does not cost anything to sign up for Medicare Part A after 65, but you will have to sign up for Part B. My situation is similar. Before age 65, my Blue Cross/Blue Shield deducted payments are around $190 per month, single, standard option, CSRS. Would not these deductions from my monthly annuity be considered Part B after age 65?
Q. I am a retired civil service annuitant. I am approaching 65, and my wife is 61. We are enrolled in the family Blue Cross/Blue Shield health plan. What would happen to my wife’s coverage if I enrolled in one of the Medicare plans? Would I be better off to skip the Medicare options because she has not reached Medicare age?
Q. My husband, a federal retiree, has recently been approved for Medicaid and is in a long-term care facility. When I submitted the application on his behalf, I also submitted the information that we had Blue Cross/Blue Shield for our primary insurance. We both opted out of taking Medicare Part B at retirement, and I am covered on his BC/BS plan. Evidently, when Medicaid was approved, someone decided that he also needed Part B and Part D, too. I was horrified to discover that he had been enrolled in these plans without his knowledge or permission. We have long since…