Q: My father retired from the Internal Revenue Service 20 years ago. He has Medicare Part A but did not take Medicare Part B and has continued his Federal Employees Health Benefits insurance plan. Until now, all bills had been covered by his Aetna FEHB insurance. Now he needs surgery, and he was informed that this insurance is secondary and Medicare Part B, which he does not have, is primary. Is that accurate? Why is he paying $16,000 a year for in private insurance if it is only secondary? Also, I got the impression that if you don’t take Medicare…
Browsing: Coverage after retirement
Q: I have been retired from federal service (Civil Service Retirement System) for the past eight years after 30 years of government service. I am enrolled under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan for myself and my family. If I were to die, would my wife continue to get health benefits? A: Yes, if you elected a survivor benefit for her. If you didn’t, she wouldn’t.
Q: I plan to retire in 2014, at which time I will be 67. I should have approximately 26 years of service. How much income will I receive once I retire? What percentage of my sick leave will be calculated as part of my retirement package? Will I be paid for any vacation time that I have on the books upon my retirement? Can I keep the life insurance I have or will it be reduced? If there is a reduction, what would be the total dollar value of my life insurance? A: Based on your age (over 60) and…
Q: I am eligible for retirement unders the Civil Service Retirement System in 2012 at age 55 after 37 years of service. I carried health insurance since I began my career in 1975, until I dropped it and enrolled in my husband’s plan (not government) in the mid-1990s. I recently found out that my spouse’s plan will only cover me after his death for one year. This year, I enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) because of the five-year rule, and now I have to work some additional years after 2012 to account for this. My question…
Q. I am a federal employee under FERS retirement. I would like to leave federal service with 21 years of service at age 57 (MRA=56). I also have over five continuous years of enrollment in FEHB. I am considering the deferred retirement. Question One: Can I start my FERS annuity at age 60, without any penalties? Question Two: can I re-enroll in FEHB and will my agency make similar contributions as when I was federally employed? A. Under your scenario of age 57 and 21 years of service, you would have to retire under the MRA+10 provision. Your annuity would…
Q. The IRS allows payment from a Health Savings Account of both age 65 & older retiree health care premiums when provided by the employer and Medicare premiums. Is there a special form to make arrangements to individually pay my age 65+ FEHB premiums from my HSA account rather than via automatic deduction from my pension? I continue to enjoy excellent health, and with the interest rates so low on HSA accounts, I would just as soon use my HSA account to pay my premiums. A. My understanding is different from yours. As I read the IRS guidelines, an HSA-eligible…
Q. I am a career SES employee with 27 years in the civil service, seven under CSRS and the balance in FERS (I left government in 1985 and returned in 1990 and chose FERS). I will be 61 years old next month, and I am considering retiring to take a position in the private sector. If I were to retire at 61 and work in the private sector for four or five years, would it be possible for me to reinstate my federal health insurance coverage when I retire from the private sector position? What factors should I consider? Keeping…
Q. I am planning on retiring this year. I am currently covered by my wife’s FEHB, as she is also a federal employee. She has several more years to work before she will be retirement-eligible. If she were to elect to resign prior to her retirement eligibility, could I elect to begin FEHB coverage as a retiree since she would no longer be eligible to carry FEHB due to her resignation? We have been married for 14 years, and we have been covered by FEHB the entire period of our marriage. I carried the FEHB up until the open season…
Q: Is enrollment in health insurance offered by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) equivalent to enrollment in Federal Employees Health Benefit, as far as continuing FEHB coverage into retirement? Here’s the situation: One of my co-workers is in the CSRS Offset; he had been with CSRS for a long time, and then he transferred to TVA. He recently left TVA and came back as CSRS Offset, which meant that he left the TVA health insurance and signed on to FEHB. He plans to retire in two years, and wants to know if he can continue to stay enrolled in FEHB into…
Q: I will be retiring in August 2010 under CSRS. I am 55 years old. I will be keeping my FEHB coverage. Currently, my wife is covered under my FEHB plan and she is 49 years old. When I reach the age of 65, I realize that I will be covered by Medicare as my primary health provider, while my FEHB plan will be my secondary health plan. My question is, Will my wife continue to be under FEHB plan as her primary provider? Which health plan will cover my wife? A: Since she won’t be old enough to qualify…