Q. I am 64 with 9.5 years under FERS, but it was split up after 4.7, then a few years later I returned and now have 4.8 years. Could I retire on an immediate retirement and be able to take my Federal Employees Health Benefits along with me? I know if there was an early-out/buyout offer, I could. I was given a service computation date of Feb. 4, 2004. A. You could retire on an immediate annuity because you are at least age 62 and have at least five years of service. And you could carry your FEHB coverage into…
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Q. I’m a 53-year-old CSRS employee with 34 years of service. I may have the option of an early-out in May. I would like to carry my Federal Employees Health Benefits into retirement. I will choose no survivor benefit, but I would like to have my wife keep my insurance after my death. Can I do this? A. No, you can’t. To be eligible to continue her FEHB coverage, she would have to be covered by the self and family option when you die and be entitled to a survivor benefit. Note: You are required by law to provide a…
Q. Before retirement under FERS, I canceled my Federal Employees Health Benefits to be covered by my wife’s FEHB. Now my wife is resigning. She has no minimum retirement age with 25 years. She will not be allowed to continue FEHB. Am I allowed to re-enroll in self and family (code 2F) as a retiree with 35 years (33 self, two under wife) of FEHB? If I am, how soon can I re-enroll? A. Yes. And you can do it from 31 days before the loss of coverage through 60 days after.
Q. I was a federal employee for 26 years and, from 1987 onward, was under FERS. I left my last federal job in June 2009 at age 58, after having passed the minimum retirement age and having been enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan over the entire 26 years of my federal employment. In June 2009, I said that I intended to take a postponed retirement, some time after I reached age 60. It is my understanding that my enrollment in FEHBP was suspended at the time I left my last federal employment, in June 2009. I had…
Q. I would appreciate a clarification of eligibility for Federal Employees Health Benefits under postponed retirement. I selected a postponed retirement and have recently begun receiving benefits. I may, at some point, want to sign up for FEHB as a FERS retiree. In my situation, in my last government position (as an appointee), I had continuous coverage under my wife’s FEHB as a part of a family plan. Since I left the government position, I have continued to be covered under my wife’s FEHB family plan. As I understand it, postponed retirees who were enrolled at the time they left…
Q. I will be a CSRS retiree soon enrolled on my younger wife’s FEHB family plan. Does it make sense for me to enroll in Medicare part B being on her plan? Will her premiums be affected if I do? A. Her premiums won’t be affected one way or the other. Whether you should enroll in Medicare Part B is up to you to decide based on your current and projected health needs. Just remember this: If you don’t enroll in Part B and later decide that you want to do that, the cost of those premiums will be 10…
Q. Since the employee pays the full premium for FEHBP vision or dental benefits, is there any reason to enroll in the program if I have coverage under my spouse’s employer-covered program? For example, are you required to enroll in vision or dental five years before retiring to maintain the premium rate in retirement? Can I join the vision or dental program after retirement if I have post-retirement health care benefits? Also, will the premium rate remain constant after retirement? A. If you retire on an immediate annuity, you can enroll at any time. You don’t have to be covered…
Q. I have a couple of questions about insurance plan comparisons for single and family options in retirement. For health insurance in retirement, when or should we change to two self-only plans or stay with the self and family plan in retirement? Are there any major considerations in selecting two single plans or the family plan? My wife and I, no other dependents, are CSRS retirees. We are covered by my self and family BCBS Standard 105 plan. I have been reading the plan brochure but cannot create a logical comparison of when, or if, to go with two single…
Q. I married a woman whose ex-husband who is a retired federal employee. He had their son covered under his health plan. I am a retired federal employee also, and when I covered their son (my stepson) under my plan, I got a notice that a dependent can’t be covered by two federal health plans. If this is true, what law/policy covers this prohibition? A. Yes, it is true. See 5 U.S. Code Section 890.302(a)(1), which states, in part: “No employee, former employee, annuitant, child or former spouse may enroll or be covered as a family member if he or…
Q. I have had my wife and family on my Retirement Health Insurance plan the last three years. Recently, my wife has had a full-time job with benefits. If I change from family to self and she quits her full-time job, can my family go back to the retirement health plan? A. Yes, under Code 2G of OPM’s Table of Permissible Changes in FEHB Enrollment for Annuitants and Compensationers.