Q: In November 2011, I will be 65 and start Medicare Part A. I am retired military and currently have FEHB and Tricare. Tricare is telling me I will have to take Medicare Parts A and B to keep Tricare. I plan to continue to work past age 65 and would like to keep my FEHB. Is there an easy way to determine the best mix of FEHB, Medicare and Tricare, both while I’m working and when I retire? A: None that I know of. However, if any of our readers who are or have been in a similar position…
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Q. Retiring in 2012, I have FEHB and Tricare at present and will sign up for Medicare before retiring. I don’t think I will need FEHB after retirement but would like to keep my options open. I understand you can request that your FEHP be put in abeyance at the time of retirement but reinstate it at a later period. If this is correct, how do you do it? A. Yes, you can suspend your FEHB coverage rather than canceling it. To find out how to do that, go to www.opm.gov/insure/health/eligibility/tricare.asp and click on Frequently Asked Questions.
Q. I am retiring in three years from CSRS. My husband is Air Force retired, therefore, we both have Tricare for Life and Medicare part A&B. I currently am not carrying any health care through my employer, but I plan to retire with a third health care plan through my CSRS. I know there is a five-year policy to have federal health care to be able to keep your insurance through retirement. However, I was told that my Tricare for Life qualifies me for the five-year federal plan coverage, and I can get the third policy during the last open…
Q: I am retiring June 30, 2010. I am already retired from the military and have used my Tricare benefits until now. Under the new health care plan that passed in Congress, I am already receiving letters from doctors that I have been seeing for years, telling me they will no longer accept Tricare or Medicare. I want to carry the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan into retirement. Does my use of Tricare qualify for the five-year rule? A: Not unless you were enrolled in the FEHB program on the day you retired. If you were, your years of coverage…
Q: I work for the Air Force. One of our retired military members was told that if he waived his retired military pay to combine the military and the civilian service, he would lose his Tricare benefit. What exactly are people waiving when they waive retired military pay? A: He was misinformed. Waiving his military retired pay and making a deposit to the civilian retirement fund would allow him to get credit for his active-duty service in determining his eligibility to retire from his civilian job and in his annuity computation. It will have no affect on any military benefits…
Q: I retired as a Federal Employees Retirement System annuitant Feb. 1, 2006 at age 62 plus a couple of weeks. If I am rehired: Will my current FERS gross annuity before taxes be deducted from the new gross salary before taxes? I suspended my federal health insurance but now have Medicare and Tricare for Life. What is my best option if I am rehired by the government? A: Unless you are hired under one of the special authorities that would allow you to receive both your annuity and your full salary, the gross amount of your annuity would be…