Q. I am retired under CSRS and have chosen a survivor benefit for my wife. I have self-and-family Blue Cross/Blue Shield under Federal Employees Health Benefits. My wife and I have Medicare parts A and B. The Veterans Affairs Department has classified me 100 percent disabled, so I am also entitled to free medical benefits through the VA system and my wife is covered by CHAMPVA. I feel I’m grossly overinsured. 1. Can I suspend my FEHB coverage because of my VA coverage and have the option of re-enrolling if I lose my 100 percent disability (not very likely, but anything’s possible)? 2. If I…
Browsing: spouse benefits
Q. I am 65 and plan to retire in two years. I have Medicare now as my primary. I have federal Blue Cross as secondary and Tricare as third. (I am a retired Navy veteran.) My wife is 59. She has had four knee replacements and has a lot of issues with arthritis. Tricare says I have to have Medicare Part A and B. Once I drop Tricare, I understand I cannot get it back. I feel that my wife and I are grossly overinsured. However, it appears that I have to keep it all — Medicare A and B,…
Q. I am a retired annuitant covered under Federal Employees Health Benefits with the HMO Kaiser Permanente Family Plan. I have moved to Ohio to care for my 91-year-old mother. My wife remains in our home in California. I have no coverage in Ohio with Kaiser Permanente for personal physician/prescriptions. Can I enroll in Medicare Part B using a special enrollment period and without penalty due to the fact that I have had continuous health care coverage with FEHB/HMO and have now moved? Last enrollment period, I was informed that if I enrolled in Medicare B, my wife would have…
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 a Postal Service retiree with Federal Employees Health Benefits and will be 65 in February. My wife has good insurance through her employer but will lose that coverage when she retires in about two years. I plan on keeping FEHB to supplement Medicare. Since I will be on Medicare at the time my wife retires, is there any current issue adding her to my FEHB plan?
Q. I was a federal employee and I paid into the federal Blue Cross/Blue Shield system for more than five years. I am on my husband’s federal BCBS program. Am I eligible to sign up for my own insurance if necessary?
Q. I am a retired federal employee on CSRS Offset. Law enforcement with mandatory retirement at age 57. My wife is older than I am and is drawing on her own Social Security. Until I am 62, all of the money is CSRS. When I turn 62, I will start to draw Social Security and my CSRS annuity will be reduced. Would my wife then be able to draw the spouse one-half amount of my Social Security (or whichever is the larger amount between us), or is there any language in which she would be restricted from my Social Security…
Q. My wife is able to receive health benefits starting Dec. 1. I am a Postal Service employee retired on disability FERS. Can you tell me the procedure to remove her from my APWU health insurance effective Dec. 1? I realize when she retires from her job and loses her insurance, I can add her back on mine. But if I should die before she retires, is she able to get a FEHB health plan? She will have survivor benefits.
Q. As a CSRS employee, I was told my spouse is eligible to enroll in health insurance under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program as long as the survivor annuity we agree to is a minimum of $1. Is that information correct?
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?