Q. I am a 59-year-old CSRS employee with 39+ years of service. OPM Form 2801 indicates my spouse needs to sign the Annuity Election section. Is this signature a requirement before I can retire, or can I just ignore it since my spouse isn’t ready for me to retire? A. I assume you are referring to the section of the SF 2801, entitled, Spouse’s Consent to Survivor Election. That only applies if you aren’t electing a full survivor annuity for your wife. If you are providing less than a full survivor annuity, or none at all, not only is she…
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Q. I am 59 years old and covered under Federal Employees Health Benefits as the spouse of a CSRS annuitant. Due to a covered disability, I have been receiving Social Security Disability Benefits for the past 18 months and was just advised that I will be eligible for Medicare Parts A and B in June. If I decline Part B and decide to take it later, will I be subject to the Medicare Premium penalty? A. Yes.
Q. I am a 51-year-old FERS employee whose minimum retirement age is 56. I will have over 30 years of service when I reach the minimum retirement age. A couple of years ago, I went under my wife’s health plan. We incorrectly assumed that she needed five years to become vested and that we could just stay under her plan when we retired (as with FERS). However, she is a Non-Appropriated Funds Defense Department employee and would need 15 years. I am picking up my Federal Employees Health Benefits insurance again so that I will have five years under the…
Q. Regarding your article on survivor benefits published Feb. 18, it was my understanding that under CSRS, an employee could designate a permanent reduction in their annuity to enable a surviving spouse to receive a portion of the annuity upon the employee’s death after retirement. Since I saw no reference to this in the article, and it would have no impact on the employee while still working, is my understanding incorrect? Outdated? A. That column included information about specific death benefits available to the survivors of federal employees who die in service. What you are asking about is the survivor benefit that…
Q. I am in CSRS. My husband has never worked for the government. I have 37 years working at the Defense Department, and I am going to retire Dec 31. Can my husband draw on my retirement rather than Social Security now? Does he have to wait until he is 65? Or do I have to die before he can draw this? A. Assuming you elect a survivor annuity for him when you retire, he will only receive that benefit if you die. P.S. You have to elect a full survivor annuity for your husband unless he agrees in a…
Q. I’ll be 65 this month. I retired from civil service in 2008. I’m working part time as a city employee and still paying into Medicare. My wife is 60 years old, and I want to keep her with my Federal Employees Health Benefits program. Since I qualify for free Part A, do I have to enroll with Medicare for this, and will my FEHB remain primary for my wife and me? A. Since you are still working, you don’t have to enroll in Medicare Part A. However, I can’t think of a good reason not to do so, even…
Q. My husband has 28 years and I have 27 years under FERS as civilians with the Defense Department (Air Force). My husband has been carrying Federal Employees Health Benefits insurance for our family for the past nine years. If he decides to retire early or prior to me, will he have to select an annuity for me so I would have health insurance coverage if he was to pass? I wouldn’t want to have to continue to work and carry insurance for five years prior to retiring if this is the case. A. He wouldn’t have to elect a…
Q. If I am 100 percent disabled due to a service-connected disability and entitled to free health care with the Veterans Affairs Department for life, does it make sense to cancel the Federal Employees Health Benefits insurance that I have had since I retired in 2004? I am also covered under my wife’s health insurance through her former employer. A. I can’t tell you if it makes sense. That’s something you’ll have to figure out. Review the benefits you receive from VA and those you and your wife receive both from her employer plan and your FEHB enrollment. Keep in mind…
Q. I am a 69-year-old female FERS retiree, covered under parts A and B of Medicare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield basic for federal employees. I also have my spouse insured on this plan. My spouse is a military retiree, so we have Tricare for Life, and he also has parts A and B of Medicare. I would like to change to the less expensive BC/BS health insurance, but I want to keep the doctors we currently have. Is there a possibility I would have greater out-of-pocket expense with the standard BC/BS? I would like to take the difference in premiums…
Q. I have been covered by my wife’s GEHA plan for the past 10 years, and I continue to be covered under her policy (as do our two kids; we are in a self and family plan). Two new variables are coming into play for my health care: 1) I will be eligible for Medicare coverage in two months; and 2) I just started receiving a federal annuity. (Note: I am eligible to receive Social Security but have not yet signed up). I have two related questions: 1) If I continue to remain under my wife’s Federal Employees Health Benefits…