Q. Can a retiree suspend his Federal Employees Health Benefits because of using the Veterans Affairs Department for care? They mention Tricare, Medicare, ChampVA and “other” programs but not VA. A. No.
Browsing: Tricare
Q. I’m 64½ years old, retired FERS with Federal Employees Health Benefits. No dependents. I am also retired military, but I have never used Tricare. I am now considering what to do in this open season and as I reach 65 years of age. This is my plan: 1) Enroll in a cheaper (I have Kaiser now), more reasonably priced FEHB during open season. 2) Suspend that new FEHB coverage using form RI 79-9 to OPM. 3) Use my Tricare Standard until I reach 65 years (five months from now). 4) Find a Physician who take Tricare Standard. 5) Enroll…
Q. I turn 65 in March and would like to suspend my FEHB, but I am concerned that I won’t have health coverage until Medicare kicks in. How should I proceed? I’ve have been told that you can suspend your FEHB, but I don’t know the process or how long the grace period is after such an action. A. There are only two ways you can suspend your FEHB enrollment. 1) If you are enrolling in Tricare, CHAMPVA or a Medicare Advantage plan or 2) If you are going to be carried under your spouse’s own FEHB enrollment.
Q. I am a federal employee with 32+ years of civil service, planning on retiring in the next five years. I have been enrolled in a Federal Employees Health Benefits plan throughout my career. My husband retired from active duty Aug. 31 with 23+ years. We had dual coverage under Tricare and FEHB since August 1995, with FEHB being primary and Tricare as secondary. Now that my husband has retired, to continue to be covered under Tricare, he had to sign up for a specific Tricare plan, for which we are now charged a monthly premium. We are trying to determine…
Q. I am a new federal employee with Tricare Prime that I am paying for since I am retired military. Is there any advantage in taking Federal Employees Health Benefits. If so, what would it be? Second, can I only sign up for the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program to take care of my co-payments and additional dental cost if I don’t sign up for FEHB? A. As to your first question, I have only anecdotal advice to give you. Some employees who are covered by Tricare have told me that they enrolled in the least expensive FEHB plan as…
Q. As a FERS civil servant, if I am covered under Tricare for the last five years before retirement, and I enroll in FEHB just before retiring, can I maintain FEHB in retirement and can my active-duty spouse be covered under FEHB if we choose to do so after I’ve retired? A. Yes.
Q. I am a 6c federal employee with a retirement 6c date of Sept. 28, 1996, and because of my 11 years of military service and buyback, I have a retirement service computation date of Aug. 26, 1985. I am four years away from 20 years of 6c time. However, I might have an opportunity to pursue a career in which I could make substantially more with the ability of working until age 65 if I desire. I should also point out that after my 11 years of military service, I continued with the reserves and will obtain a military…
Q. I am contemplating buying back 20 years’ military time (I am retired military drawing a pension) at a cost of approximately $14,500. I will receive approximately $500 a month more should I buy back the military time and retire under FERS. I understand my military retirement check will stop when I retire from the federal government. Are any of my other retirement benefits (Tricare, commissary, exchange, dental insurance, VA disability) affected? Please cite an official publication where this information is located as well. A. It’s my understanding that you will lose none of your other military benefits if you…
Q. I am totally lost in getting real answers to our approach to health insurance in the coming years. I retired from CSRS in 2008 at the GS-15 level, and my wife will retire under FERS in 2014 at the GS-14 level. We both have our own FEHB. This year, when I turn 60, we are also eligible for Tricare, since I retired from the USAR. And then, when we turn 62, we are eligible for Medicare Part A, and then at 65, Medicare Part B. We are both in great shape, but we are having trouble trying to figure…
Q. I retired from active duty in 2005. I made a service deposit to buy my academy time. When I reach minimum retirement age+10 next month, I will have 10 years and five months of creditable service (six years and six months since hired, plus three years and 11 months purchased service), more than 240 hours of annual leave and more than 600 hours of sick leave. I’ve gotten a formal Office of Personnel Management retirement estimate to verify my understanding that I can do a MRA+10 retirement this year. I initially used Tricare for my health insurance, however, to…