Q. Reading some of the questions that are being answered, there is some confusion. Some say if you retire at your minimum retirement age, you will not be able to continue health care coverage, but you must wait to retire at 60 to be able to remain in program. Other answers have been you can have your health care coverage renewed when you reach 60 when you apply for your deferred annuity. Can you clear this up? If I retire at my MRA which is 56, will my health care coverage continue?
Browsing: Postponed retirement
Q. My wife and I were both career federal employees. She left federal service a few years ago with FERS MRA+10. She postponed retirement until now to avoid the penalty. Just before leaving service, I changed my Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage from self only to self and family to cover her. She then terminated her coverage (had been covered more than five years continuously prior to that). When she starts retirement, she can enroll in FEHB self-only coverage. Can I also change my coverage to self-only at that time? Is her eligibility to continue FEHB coverage a qualifying life…
Q. I have been told by the Office of Personnel Management that if I postpone my retirement until age 60, I would be penalized for every year I am under 62 and will not be eligible for the special retirement supplement. I am 59½ with more than 28 years in the Postal Service. Our facility is consolidating, and our jobs are at stake. I am a clerk and do not want a carrier position because of my health. I plan on retiring in February to reach my 60th birthday. If I don’t accept a carrier position, can I: 1. Take…
Q. When I reach age 56, I will have 20 years of federal employment. I realize I can retire at MRA + 10 with a reduced benefit of 30 percent. Can I defer or postpone my retirement to age 60, qualify under the 60/20 and not take a reduced benefit? Also, how does this affect my health benefits? Do I purchase my own health insurance and then re-enroll when I apply for my annuity?
Q. I turn 60 on Jan. 1, 2015. I am a FERS employee who will have 20 years creditable service in January of 2014. If I retire Dec. 13, 2014 (the end of a pay period) do I understand correctly that my Federal Employees Health Benefits and Federal Employees Group Life Insurance coverage will be extended for 31 days at no cost to me? I plan on postponing my annuity receipt until Jan. 1 (when I turn 60) to avoid the under-62 penalty. Also, do I understand correctly that since my postponed annuity date will be Jan. 1 that my…
Q. Our Postal Service plant is going through a transfer of function. Jobs are being offered out of the area. If I refuse a position, I want to postpone my annuity until age 60 with more than 28 years of service. I have been told by human resources that if I postpone, I will not receive the special retirement supplement. Also, I will not continue Federal Employees Health Benefits during my postponement because of cost out of pocket but restart FEHB once my annuity begins at 60. Is this all possible?
Q. My husband is planning to retire from the government under FERS at age 62 with 27 years. We have a health insurance family plan under his name. I started to work for the government almost four years ago. I am a part-time employee (about 48-50 hours per pay period). I will not be able to collect any pension for many years, and I do not plan to stay on the job after my husband retires, so no annuity for me. If my husband decides to retire earlier with a postponed retirement, it is my understanding that he will have…
Q. I am a FERS employee and may have to postpone my retirement without suffering the age penalty. I am over 59 with 28 years of service. If I postpone my retirement until age 60 and do not carry the optional insurance that I will have to pay for plus 2 percent, would I still be eligible to restart my Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage once my retirement begins. It will be almost six months that I will not have coverage. I have been enrolled in an insurance plan throughout my entire career. Also, if I am given separation papers involuntarily…
Q. I am a FERS employee with 14 years at Department of Agriculture, and will turn 60 this month. I plan to retire in January under MRA+10 but want to postpone receiving my annuity until I reach age 62 to minimize the 5 percent-per-year reduction. My wife (nonfederal) and I have been enrolled in Federal Employees Health Benefits family coverage for the past 14 years. Can I continue my existing FEHB family coverage during a postponed annuity (at my own expense, plus 2 percent, for 18 months from my retirement date) at the conclusion of which I’d begin my annuity,…
Q. Once I separate (retire) from my agency, do I have to begin receiving my pension right away, or can I delay it and begin receiving it for a couple of years? I want to leave when I’m 62 years and four months old and have 23 years of service.