Q. I’m a FERS employee planning to retire under the MRA+10 provision with postponed benefits. I am over my mandatory retirement age with more than 15 years of creditable service. Earlier posts on the same subject state you would have to resign in order to postpone and lose all sick leave credits. However, I also read that you should retire under immediate retirement, postpone receiving the benefits so that sick leave will be counted toward your service computation, and never resign. Can I retire under the MRA+10 provision and then postpone receiving the benefits? What paperwork needs to completed?
Browsing: HEALTH INSURANCE
Q. I am a federal employee with 26 years of service. I have been enrolled in FEHB for 5 years. I am considering taking a break in service to stay at home with my children. If I return to work before my MRA and obtain the remaining 3 1/2 years of service can I retire with full benefits including my FERS supplement and FEHB?
Q. I have been in the FEHB for 30 years, but would like to enroll for self and family, this open season. How long will I have to be enrolled in self and family in order to carry that coverage into retirement? A. As long as you are enrolled in the self and family option when you retire, you can carry that coverage with you.
Q. When I turn 65 and start medicare coverage, will I be able to drop my FEHBP to get a secondary coverage plan, and is this a good idea? A. Yes, you can drop your FEHB coverage. No, it isn’t a good idea.
Q. My dad is retired under CSRS with survivor benefits for his spouse (my mother) and maintains his FEHB insurance. My mother is covered under his FEHB also. She is 71. When she retired over a year ago, she signed up for Medicare Part A & B. Can she terminate Medicare Part B even though she has been on Part B for more than 12 months and she is over age 70? A. To discontinue her coverage under Medicare Part B, she’ll have to call the phone number on her Medicare card and talk to a Medicare representative.
Q. I am a federal retiree and my wife is a federal employee. I pay for family coverage under FEP Blue. When our only child turns 26, should we both go to individual coverage? A. That’s entirely up to you. You’ll need to compare the premium costs with the co-pays, deductibles and catastrophic limits which will apply to both enrollments.
Q. I am 48 and will be eligible to retire in two years as I will have over 20 years in federal law enforcement. I am signed up for a family plan under FEHB which covers my 42-year old wife and a three-year-old daughter. My wife just started a Federal job that will also give her access to FEHB. As I understand it, we will continue to be covered under my FEHB for life, and my wife would just decline enrollment when she starts her job. Does this make financial or prudent sense? We don’t believe she will work long…
Q. My wife will be 50 in three years and will have 30 years of federal service under FERS. Can she retire with no penalty and keep her federal health benefits. A. No, she cannot retire on an immediate annuity. The earliest she could do that would be when she reaches her minimum retirement age, which in her case would be 56 years and 6 months. The only way she could retire earlier than her MRA would be if her agency offered her an opportunity under the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and she was at least age 50.
Q. My ex-husband is retiring from the post office and right now he covers our 21-year-old daughter on his insurance plan. Will he still be able to keep himself and her covered with the same cost he is paying now, or will the cost be higher?
Q. I have been permanent part time as a TSO with the TSA for approximately 10 years and have been enrolled in FERS and Blue Cross/Blue Shield for all of my employment. Will I be allowed to carry my health insurance into retirement when I retire at 62 or do you have to be full time?