Browsing: FEHBP

Q: Does a break of 55 days of federal service constitute losing 27 years of Federal Employees Health Benefits plan coverage before retiring? In other words, someone resigns from federal service. Then, he is hired 55 days later in a TERM position, achiveing permanent status seven months later. The TERM position allowed for full benefits, such as sick leave, annual leave, and FEHB election and coverage on the first day of hire. A: If you were enrolled in an FEHB plan on the day you left government and on returning to work for the government re-enrolled at your earliest opportunity,…

Q: My wife has been a Civil Service Retirement System employee for almost 36 years; I am new to the Federal Employees Retirement System, having been employed under it for approximately 1.5 years. I have been under my wife’s Federal Employees Health Benefits plan since March 2008. I am 56 years old. If we elect to each go single coverage during the open season, will I get credit for the two years toward the five that I need for retirement purposes? A: Yes, you will.

Q: Is the provision in the new health care law for children 26 years old or younger to be on their parents’ health plan to be delayed until Jan. 1, 2011 for those in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, rather than the quoted six months after signature by the president? A: To quote the Office of Personnel Management, “The effective date of this provision is the first day of the plan year that is six months following enactment of the law. For the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, that means January 1, 2011.”

Q: I am eligible for retirement unders the Civil Service Retirement System in 2012 at age 55 after 37 years of service. I carried health insurance since I began my career in 1975, until I dropped it and enrolled in my husband’s plan (not government) in the mid-1990s.  I recently found out that my spouse’s plan will only cover me after his death for one year. This year, I enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) because of the five-year rule, and now I have to work some additional years after 2012 to account for this. My question…

Q: I have a question about minimum retirement age-plus 10. I am 55 and have 27 ½ years of service. If I retire at age 56, am I to understand that my annuity would be reduced by about 30 percent if I started collecting it right away? Also what would happen to my health benefits? Could I still use them immediately upon retiring? I have 14 years of frozen service under the old Civil Service Retirement System so how would that be affected? A: If you retire under the MRA+10 provision and begin receiving your benefits immediately, the Federal Employees…

Q: I am a federal employee covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System, and at age 49 will have just over 30 years of service with my military time that I bought back. Can I retire without penalty by postponing or deferring my annuity until my minimum retirement age of 56 years and 2 months, and reapply for the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan for my spouse, and draw on my Thrift Savings Plan, as well? Do I defer my annuity or postpone my annuity under this scenario? What is the better of the two options, or should I not…