Q. Can a widow of a retired federal worker pick up health benefits after his death? He did not have health benefits at the time of his death.
Browsing: health benefits
Q. I have 11 years total service (eight years military buyback and three years federal civilian employment) and I am 49 years old. If I leave federal employment at age 51 (with a total of 13 years service, five as a civilian employee), can I apply for deferred MRA+10 retirement and receive my pension and health care benefits when I turn 62? Or do I need to be my minimum retirement age (57 years old) when I leave federal employment? A. To retire under the MRA+10 provision, you’d have to be 57, your minimum retirement age. To avoid the 5…
Q. I am a full-time Veterans Affairs Department employee and would like to reduce my work hours. Is there a specific number of hours that is still considered full-time (such as 32 or 35, as is sometimes found in the “real” world), or is any number fewer than 40 hours considered part time? Fewer hours with full-time benefits would be nice if that option is available, as opposed to prorated benefits and increased premiums for health benefits. A. Per OPM’s rules (5 CFR part 340), a part-time work schedule is 16 to 32 hours a week. Once an employee works…
Q: Will the 2011 family plan premiums increase significantly because of the new law requiring dependent coverage until age 26, or will the Office of Personnel Management create a new plan other than “single” or “family”? A: I’m not aware of anything in the the new law, other than adding dependent children up to age 26, that would affect next year’s health benefits premiums. And I’m not aware of any plans to request a change in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Act that would permit the addition of another option.
Q: I have been retired from federal service (Civil Service Retirement System) for the past eight years after 30 years of government service. I am enrolled under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan for myself and my family. If I were to die, would my wife continue to get health benefits? A: Yes, if you elected a survivor benefit for her. If you didn’t, she wouldn’t.
Q: I am covered under the Federal Employees Retirement System and plan to retire at age 56 (my minimum retirement age) with 34 years of service. I will have met the five-year qualification for the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. I intend to keep a family FEHB plan in retirement to cover myself, my wife and my daughter. At my retirement, I will elect survivor benefits for my wife so she can continue to use my FEHB plan if I die before her. When I turn 65, my wife will be 56 and my daughter will be 19. I understand…
Q: I went to a Civil Service Retirement System seminar recently and an interesting question about retirement calculation came out during your Q-and-A: What I fail to follow was the first two options (of three) you mentioned regarding the basic life insurance choices. First, if I opted to keep my basic life insurance at its current level, would that mean that the insurance’s face value would remain the same for me as when I was employed through the rest of my retirement years? I would then assume that I will still continue to pay the same premium on basic life…
Q: I am a Postal Service employee with 25 years of service. My question is, does a civilian federal employee receive full health benefits upon retirement or do they have to purchase a plan? How about retired postal employees? A: If you were enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program for the full five years before you retire, you can carry that coverage into retirement. If you weren’t, you can’t carry that coverage into retirement, nor may you enroll in the FEHB program after you retire. Note: Because you are a Postal Service employee, your premiums would be higher…