Q. I am a retired foreign service officer and elected to keep my health insurance (Blue Cross/Blue Shield), for which I pay about $430 monthly. When I die, will my wife be able to continue with this coverage? At the same cost? Or less, as she’ll be the only one covered, as our kids are grown.
Browsing: self only plan
Q. I am a Postal Service employee with self-only heath insurance coverage. My 24-year-old daughter has had no health insurance during the past six months after she changed jobs. She is now enrolled full time in college (her school does not offer health insurance). Now that the open season is over, can I still add her if I am agreeing to pay a “family” premium? Can the new Obama law that allows adding dependents ( up to 26 years of age) be applied even though the open season is over? A. Unfortunately, no.
Q. My husband and I are both military retirees and have had Tricare for over 38 years. When my husband turned 65, he had to sign up for Medicare and take Part B to retain Tricare for Life. He also dropped off of the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan and then retired from his civilian federal government job and I changed to single coverage on FEHB under me (I am still working as a civilian federal employee). I am considering retiring this year and want to know if I need to add him to my FEHB for him to have…
Q. I am a retired foreign service officer whose spouse is still an active federal employee working for an agency other than the State Department. To save money, we decided to move from one self-and-family policy under my name to separate self-only plans. I opted for a completely different carrier, while my wife chose to stay with the one we had had for six years. We had not counted, however, on the fact that this year, there would be a nearly two-week gap between the time frame for changes for retirees and for active employees. The end result has been that…
Q. If I change my health insurance to self-only (due to my wife having insurance through her company) and I retire next year, can I add her back to mine if she loses or changes jobs. I ask because it’s open season and I plan on retiring the end of May from the Postal Service. I have my minimum retirement age and 31 years, three of which are my military buyback. A. As a retiree, you could change from self-only to self and family under Qualifying Life Event 2G. And you could do that from 31 days before through 60…
Q. If I take the $15,000 retirement incentive being offered now, (I have 25 years under FERS, am a Postal Service employee, and am 64 years old), will my Blue Cross premiums go up? If so, by how much? I now pay $81.68 a month. Also, if I decide to get married, my family option now would be $203.61 a month. How much would these premiums be if I take the retirement incentive? I must make the decision by Dec. 3. Is the FERS pension amount taxed? If so, is it taxed by income and Federal Insurance Contributions Act? My…
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 retired from the federal government at age 55 with survivor benefits for my husband, who is eight years younger than I am. I will be eligible for Medicare on Dec. 1. If I opt for the Medicare parts A and B, can I reduce the costs of Blue Cross/Blue Shield by going from family plan, which covers both of us, to the single plan for him only? A. Not unless he is a federal employee or retiree and, as such, eligible to enroll on his own.
Q. I am an EAS employee in FERS with 23 years of service at age 63. I have been enrolled self-only in the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan for 4½ years. Should I be terminated through a reduction in force, would I still be able to carry my coverage into retirement although I am short of the five-year enrollment requirement. I understand that there are certain exemptions to the five-year rule. I did not plan to retire until I reached 65. A. You’d receive a pre-approved waiver of the five-year requirement because you would meet the criteria: You were covered under…
Q. Can I add my spouse to my insurance when I retire at 62? I am a federal employee who has had federal health insurance for five years. My spouse has not been on that plan. I was told I could add him as long as I had had the federal insurance for five years. Reading the rules now looks like he has to be enrolled for five years prior to my retirement. A. While you cannot add your spouse to your Federal Employees Health Benefits plan when you retire, you can do that during any open season by changing…