Re: Retirement for dual career & health benefits

Your question is NOT morbid. I'm sure if he saw this article first, your husband would have asked it. ("If I die, will my wife continue to be covered under my retiree health plan? Or does she need to take her health plan into retirement just in case?)

There is a significant age difference between me and my spouse; I want to know that medical coverage will continue for my loved one. Thank you for asking!

Re: Retirement for dual career & health benefits

From the research I did regarding FEHB and retirement, unless you carry health insurance into retirement, you CAN NOT pick it up after you retire, for any reason. Not even a life changing situation (in this case death of a spouse). My recommendation would be to join during the next open season and just take the cheapest plan. If something should happen to your husband after retirement, you would be covered under your own policy. At that time, you can then pick up an "appropriate" policy for your individual needs.
Now, if someone out there has heard anything different than this, PLEASE let us know. Just to reiterate, no two people EVER get the same information from our HR or OPM. Amazing itsn't it???

Re: Retirement for dual career & health benefits

Oops! I forgot to mention something very important!! In order to carry FEHB into retirement , you must be enrolled for 5 years prior to your retirement.

Re: Retirement for dual career & health benefits

It's still not clear, to me. If I retire and take my health insurance with a "family" option, can my spouse remain covered after my death?

Re: Retirement for dual career & health benefits

It's my understanding that if you elect family coverage health insurance and die, the spouse gets continuing coverage AS LONG AS they continue to be eligible for a pension on the employee's record. At least CSRS....

If no survivor benefit is elected at retirement, then no health insurance either.

Re: Retirement for dual career & health benefits

As long as your husband has elected survivors benefits, you can keep the health benefits. If he did not elect survivors benefits so that you would receive a survivors annuity, then the health benefits die when he dies.

Re: Retirement for dual career & health benefits

Having just lost my spouse who carried our health insurance, I can tell you that if your spouse elected survivor benefit, your insurance will continue.

The enrollment will be changed to your name, self only (unless you also have children still covered by it) and a new insurance card will be sent to you. The enrollment code is the same, the group number and the effective date will be different.

Re: Retirement for dual career & health benefits

I think my situation may help. My wife just retired from CSRS in January. I have been carrying the family health insurance coverage as a Federal employee and I am continuing to work. By joint agreement she did not select a a survivor annunity. What we learned is that she is eligible to enroll if I pass away because she was enrolled for five years prior to our marriage decades ago.

Re: locality pay and windfall effects

I can only positively answer your first question. No. Your retirement is based on your high three. It doesn't matter where you eventually decide to reside. That's why so many feds try to work in DC or Philly for their last few years, so they'll get the higher retirement pay, then move to a lower cost area. I work in DC but commute from and live in DE and plan to retire there due to the more favorable tax treatment of retirement and other low taxes. I think the answer to your second question is yes under the offset programs but you'd be better off asking the SSA.

Re: locality pay and windfall effects

Answer to number 1: No, your pension will remain the same - it doesn't change if you change locations.

Re: Temp employment time

I found out about this one the hard way to. I asked why my SCD dates for Retirement and Leave were different. Come to find out not only was time worked from 1982 to 1984 not being considered there were no records of my earnings at all from 1984 to 1988 and I had to find my own records of old time cards and/or earnings statements to prove I worked that time. I also had to "buy back" all that time with interest. Unfortunately my entire career has been "intermittent" "not to exceed" or "part-time". In fact until 1988 I was not even a "permanent" employee so figuring out anything approaching "real" on all the retirement stuff is next to impossible.

Re: Social Security

Social Security taxes are taken out of EARNED income not pensions, or dividends, etc. You can elect to have federal taxes withheld but you should contact OPM about that.

Re: Retirement Should Knows

With all the retirement preparation, it is very important to have no less than $10,000 in a savings account to get you through the 4 months it takes OPM to come up with the actual monthly annunity. Thank God I had 350 hours of annual leave that was paid to me at the end. For 3 months, I received 1/3 of the estimated annunity. Not all of us have our homes paid off, etc.

Re: CSRS Offset

I also am CSRS Offset. Yes, your annuity will be offset when you are eligible to receive SS - you need to apply because it will be offset regardless as I understand it. That being said, at USDA we have a good retirement calcualter available to all employees In acutallity, the reduction of your CSRS pension will not be as much as your Social Security benefit once you begin receiving it,so your total pension will actually rise slightly. Hope this helps.

Re: CSRS Offset

I was told to expect about $340 to be offset by my CSRS when I am 62. I must file at 62 because CSRS will and if I want my SS I must file at that same time as CSRS will only file for their offset.