Browsing: self and family

Q. I am a government employee, but my husband is working in the private sector. To date, we have been using my husband’s health insurance because it provides excellent coverage. However, my husband’s company does not provide health coverage after retirement. To that end, I plan to enroll in a Federal Employees Health Benefits program in December since my retirement date is five years away. (My husband is retiring in five years, as well.) Does my husband need to be covered on my program for five years, too? Or can I add him in the last year prior to my…

Q. I’m getting married, and my husband is already 65. Can I still put him under my health insurance, or does he have to stay with Medicare? A. Yes, you can change your coverage from self only to self and family. If you are an employee, you can do that within 60 days after your change in family status under code 1C in the Table of Permissible Changes. If you are a retiree, you can do it from 31 days before through 60 days after the change under code 2B.

Q. My husband, who is retired from the Postal Service, turned 65 on Aug. 31. I am on his Blue Cross/Blue Shield and am still working full time at age 49. Now that he is 65, what does keeping the BC/BS health insurance cost per month? If he decides to go on Medicare, can I stay on this plan? A. When he enrolls in Medicare, his premiums will remain the same. However, because he is retired, Medicare will be primary and his Federal Employees Health Benefits plan secondary. You will continue to be covered by the self-and-family option of his…

Q. When I retired in 2003 from civil service with the Air Force, I didn’t get good counsel, so I didn’t do survivor benefits for my spouse. He is on my self and family Blue Cross insurance. If I precede him in death, will he still be able to continue with my Blue Cross insurance as single? A. No, he won’t. For him to be able to continue that enrollment, he would have to be receiving a survivor annuity. Note: It’s not too late for you to provide one for him. To find out what’s involved and the cost, go…

Q. My wife and I are both federal employees. I am CSRS and she is FERS. Since 2009, I have carried “family” health coverage that is deducted from my CSRS paycheck to cover our health insurance needs. Prior to 2009, she carried her own federal health insurance. She has had no break in federal service (health care coverage) between 1988 and August 2012. Should I precede my wife in death, how much spousal retirement benefit should I leave her so she can continue to receive full federal health insurance benefits? I have been told that all I have to leave…

Q. I am currently retired (CSRS) and have single coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan. My spouse is still employed by the federal government (FERS) and has single coverage under FEHB. We were both under my family plan until our youngest child became ineligible. We then went to self-only plans because the premiums were less together than the family plan. She will be eligible for retirement in three years. She is also considering simply quitting before then and taking a deferred retirement when she is eligible. I am not covering her for spousal annuity, nor will she be covering me. We…

Q. I am retiring in two months from the Bureau of Prisons with 20 years. I have always carried the health insurance for me and my wife, along with a grandchild who qualifies. My wife also works for the BOP and I am wondering if I die while carrying the insurance, will she still be able to get her own self-only insurance since she has been on mine for 20 years? A. Yes, as long as she was covered under your self-and-family option when you died and is receiving a survivor annuity.

Q. I have worked for the federal government for 26 years, and will be eligible to retire next year at age 56. I have family coverage with Blue Cross/Blue Shield for myself and my children but not my ex-husband. If I remarry, I assume I can add my new husband to my family policy. Will my new husband be eligible for health care coverage under my policy in retirement if I retire within the next two to five years? A. As long as your husband is covered by your self-and-family enrollment on the day you retire, he will remain covered as…

Q. I recently turned 65 and am retired and collecting Social Security and have Medicare Part A.  My husband works for the government and has self and family health coverage.  Am I still covered under his policy? A. Yes.

Q. I am a federal retiree, and my wife and I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan. Should I predecease her, is she still covered under the plan? If so, does the rate drop to single, or would she need to continue paying the family rate? I ask this because a recent response states, “The only way she can continue to be covered by your FEHB plan is for you to continue being enrolled in the self-and-family option.” A. What I wrote is correct. However, were you to die while she was covered under…