Q: I know that the FEHB rules changed regarding coverage of dependents up to the age of 26, but what about the FEDVIP rules (vision and dental)? A: As specified in law, the change in age applied only to the Federal Employees Health Benefits program.
Browsing: HEALTH INSURANCE
Q: I am a postal employee planning to retire in 2011. I have added my 22-year-old daughter back on to my health insurance as allowed by the new health care reform act. Can I still maintain her on my insurance with self and family after I retire until she is 26? A: Yes, until she reaches age 26.
Q: I began coverage under Medicare two years ago. My wife just began coverage under Medicare this month. We received statements from Social Security for our 2011 benefits. My wife’s coverage is based partly on my entitlement and partly on some part-time work she has done over the years. Her deduction for Medicare medical is $110 and mine is $96. Why is hers so much higher than mine? A: Because you were already enrolled in Medicare Part B and had those premium deductions taken from your Social Security benefit, you were protected by the “hold harmless” provision of the Social…
Q: My spouse and I are both under the Federal Employees Retirement System and our service computation dates are within weeks of each other. We would both like to retire under the minimum retirement age plus-10 provision. My spouse wants to retire in 2011 at age 58, with 26 1/2 years of continuous service, the entire time enrolled in a Federal Employees Health Benefits individual plan. The earliest I would retire is 2012 at age 57, with 27 1/2 years of continuous service, all in an FEHB individual plan. Here is our plan: During this open season, I should enroll…
Q: I am 53 years old and have 36 years of federal service. One catch: I don’t have the five years of coverage under a Federal Employees Health Benefit plan (I’m still four years short). If my office offers early out through downsizing or restructuring, approved by the Office of Personnel Management, can I retire and carry my health benefits into retirement, even though I don’t have five years of coverage? A: Yes, you would be eligible to carry your coverage into retirement because you would have been enrolled in the program at the time your agency received approval from…
Q: I am a term employee in the Labor Department covered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield. My term ends Dec. 20. I am also a surviving spouse of a federal employee who was covered under the Civil Service Retirement System. I elected to not take health insurance under the annuity about 15 years ago. I would like to continue my current coverage; can my coverage be converted to the annuity coverage? I am a career status employee with approximately 13 years of federal service, 11 years under CSRS, and I elected not to be included in the Federal Employees Retirement System…
Q: My wife and I are both federal employees. We each have had individual coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan since we began working for the government. We both plan on retiring next year. She will be 61 and have 26 years of service; I will be 58 and have 20 years of service. I will postpone my retirement until age 60 to avoid the penalty. We plan on converting to a family plan this open season (2010) so that I am covered during those two years of my postponement. Is this the correct way to guarantee that…
Q: There was an answer to a question that I would like clarification on. The writer, who was retired, said he and his wife were under his family health plan, but now they don’t need to cover their son, and he wants to switch to self-only coverage for both he and his wife (they are both retired federal employees). How is this possible? When you retire, you have to pick the self or family option, and your spouse also has to pick the self or family option. I assume the wife dropped her coverage in this case because you can’t…
Q: I have more than 30 years of employment with the federal government and plan to retire under the Civil Service Retirement System in about three years, at which point I will elect survivor benefits. For the past five years, I’ve elected a family Federal Employees Health Benefits plan to include my wife. My wife has more than three years of employment with the federal government and plans to retire under the Federal Employees Retirement System in about four years. We are both thinking about switching from family coverage to self-only coverage. If my wife retires with self-only coverage after…
Q: I intend to retire Dec. 31 from the Department of Health and Human Services. I have had a family health insurance plan (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) for 20-plus years. My wife is a federal government employee. We want to transfer coverage from my agency to her agency (Labor Department) during the open season. First, how do we make sure that the transfer of payment for coverage and the policy will assure that the five-year required continuous coverage is maintained? Second, if we are able to transfer and maintain continuous coverage, will my wife’s plan be my primary insurance after retirement,…