Extra Cash Gift For Government Employees 2016

welcome to your federal insurance benefitsfor annuitants and retiring employees. i'm dave johnston with opm. the first insurance benefit is the federalemployees health benefits program, fehb. fehb offers health insurance for you, yourspouse, and your children under age 26. all benefits are available the moment yourenrollment is effective; there are no waiting periods. no matter where you live, you have at least15 health plans to choose from, and some areas have even more plans. each plan provides comprehensive health coverage.

when you retire, you are eligible to continuefehb coverage if you meet both of these requirements: first, you must retire on an immediate annuityunder a retirement system for civilian federal employees. immediate annuity means an annuity that beginsno later than one month after the end of the pay period during which you separated fromservice; or a minimum retirement age + 10 annuity for which the starting date has beenpostponed. eligible retirement systems include the civilservice retirement system (csrs), the federal employees retirement system (fers), and severalothers. for a list of additional qualifying systems,visit www.opm.gov/health.

second, you must have been continuously enrolled(or covered as a family member) in an fehb plan for the 5 years of service immediatelybefore the date your annuity starts, or for the full periods of service since your firstopportunity to enroll (if that was less than 5 years ago). the time you are covered under tricare countstoward the five years as long as you were covered under an fehb enrollment at the timeof your retirement. in some cases, exceptions to the five-yearrule can be made. for more information, visit www.opm.gov/healthand click eligibility on the left side of the screen.

annuitants pay the same fehb premiums andreceive the same benefits as active employees. however, your premiums are paid on a monthlybasis rather than bi-weekly, so you may see a larger deduction per pay period than youare used to seeing. the government still pays a share of the premium,about 70%. if you worked for an agency that contributeda higher percentage towards your premium, you will not receive that extra contributionas an annuitant. you can see current fehb premiums by goingto www.opm.gov/fehbbrochures and clicking premiums on the left side of the screen. although you are not required to enroll inmedicare, having fehb and medicare at the

same time may save you money overall by reducingyour out-of-pocket costs. once you become eligible for medicare partb, consider enrolling as many plans waive or lower office visit copayments when youare also enrolled in medicare parts a and b. some plans waive or lower prescriptiondrug copayments if you have medicare parts a and b. if you are in an hmo plan, having medicarein addition to fehb can help pay the costs of seeing an out-of-network provider and itcan help pay costs for non-emergency care in the u.s. if travel is involved. consider enrolling in medicare at your firstopportunity because it avoids penalties if

you enroll later. for general information about medicare andhow it interacts with fehb, visit www.opm.gov/health and click medicare on the left side of thescreen. for information on how your health plan interactswith medicare, review section 9 of your plans brochure at www.opm.gov/fehbbrochuresif you cancel your fehb enrollment as an annuitant, you will never be able to re-enroll in fehb. however, you can suspend your fehb enrollmentto enroll in a medicare advantage plan, tricare, champva, peace corps, medicaid, or similarstate-sponsored program of medical assistance. if you lose this other coverage at some pointin the future, you can re-enroll in an fehb

plan effective the date coverage was lost. if you do not lose your other coverage butdecide you want to re-enroll in an fehb plan, you may do so during the annual federal benefitsopen season. to cancel or suspend your fehb, download formri 79-9 available at www.opm.gov/forms or do a web search for ri 79-9. return your completed form to your retirementsystem. beginning in 2016, fehb allows a self plusone enrollment which covers you and one eligible family member that you designate. fehb-eligible family members include yourspouse and children under age 26.

couples now enrolled in self and family arenot required to switch to self plus one, but you may save on your premiums if you do. for more information on self plus one andpremiums, visit www.opm.gov/health. after your death, your eligible family memberscan continue to be covered under fehb if you were enrolled in self and family at the timeof your death and at least one family member is eligible for a survivor annuity, or ifyou were enrolled in self plus one at the time of your death and the designated coveredfamily member is eligible for a survivor annuity. the coverage ends if the survivor annuityterminates. the survivor's share of the cost of the planis the same amount you are paying and will

be deducted from the survivor annuity payment. if there is only one survivor annuitant andno other family member is eligible for continued coverage, opm will change the enrollment toself only automatically. if you die and none of your family membersreceives a monthly survivor benefit, the family enrollment ends. you can find more information in the fehbhandbook by going to www.opm.gov/health and clicking reference materials on the left sideof the screen. it's important to make sure you have the righthealth plan for you and your family. you should consider each available plans benefits,premiums, and out-of-pocket costs.

you may be able to get the benefits you needat a lower cost than you pay now. you can see a complete list of plans availablein your state at www.opm.gov/fehbbrochures. for help choosing a plan, watch our do i havethe right health plan presentation at www.opm.gov/openseason. in the presentation we explain the differencesbetween the four kinds of health plan offered by fehb, describe what you should considerwhen selecting a plan, and show you several online tools you can use to easily comparethe plans available to you. as an annuitant, you have three opportunitiesto make changes to your fehb enrollment. during the annual federal benefits open season,mid-november through mid-december each year, you may change plans; change plan optionssuch as high option, standard option, or basic

option; or change your type of enrollmentsuch as self only, self plus one, or self and family. you may also make a change when you experiencea qualifying life event such as marriage. the life event determines what type of enrollmentchange is permitted. the enrollment change must be consistent withthe life event. please note that the event of retiring isnot a qualifying life event. as an annuitant, you can cancel or decreaseyour enrollment at any time. for more information about life events, cancelling,and changing to self only, review form opm 2809 if your retirement program is csrs orfers, or form sf 2809 if you belong to another

retirement program. remember, if you cancel your fehb enrollmentas an annuitant, this is permanent; you will never be able to re-enroll in fehb. for annuitants, an open season enrollmentchange is effective on january 1st. an enrollment change based on a life eventis generally effective the first day of the month after the month your request for a changeis received. the second insurance benefit available toannuitants is fedvip dental and vision insurance. fehb plans provide comprehensive health coverage,but most of them offer little or no dental and vision coverage.

this is where the federal employees dentaland vision insurance program, fedvip, comes in. fedvip offers comprehensive dental or visionor both for you, your spouse, and your unmarried dependent children under age 22. children are not eligible for fedvip up toage 26 like they are with fehb; changes in dependent eligibility under the affordablecare act do not affect eligibility for children under fedvip. you are eligible for fedvip as an annuitantas long as you retire on an immediate annuity under a retirement system for civilian federalemployees.

there is no requirement to have coverage forany years of service before retirement to continue fedvip into retirement. you can even enroll in a fedvip dental planor vision plan or both for the very first time after you have retired, during the annualopen season. annuitants enjoy the same benefits as employeesand pay the same premiums as employees, only annuitant premiums are paid monthly insteadof biweekly. you can enroll as self only, as self plusone specified eligible family member, or as self and family, which covers you and alleligible family members listed on your plan. there are 10 dental plans to choose from.

six of these are available nationwide. there is no government contribution with fedvip;you pay the entire premium. with dental insurance, some areas premiumsare higher than others, so check your rating region to find out how much your premiumswill be. routine basic services like exams and cleaningstwice a year are covered 100% when you use an in-network dentist. in addition to routine cleanings and exams,fedvip dental plans also cover a wide range of dental services including x-rays, fillings,crowns, root canals, dentures, and orthodontia for eligible children as well as adults inmost plans.

waiting periods and other restrictions mayapply to orthodontia benefits. to see the dental plans available in yourarea and each plan s complete coverage information, visit www.opm.gov/fedvipbrochures. like its dental insurance, fedvip's visioninsurance has three enrollment types: self only, self plus one, and self and family. vision premiums are the same nationwide; thereare no rating regions. vision premiums are competitive, startingaround $6 monthly for self only. your vision plan will provide benefits forglasses or contact lenses your choice. there are 4 vision plans to choose from, allof them nationwide.

fedvip vision plans cover a wide range ofeye care products and services including routine eye exams; eyeglass lenses and frames; lensoptions such as polycarbonate, coatings that protect against scratching, reflecting, anduv rays, and tinted and progressive lenses; contact lenses in lieu of glasses; and discountson corrective eye surgery. to see each vision plan s complete coverageinformation, visit www.opm.gov/fedvipbrochures. as an annuitant, you have two opportunitiesto make changes to your fedvip enrollment. you may enroll in a dental plan, a visionplan, or both; change plans; change plan options; or change type of enrollment such as selfonly, self plus one, or self and family. you may also make a change when you experiencea fedvip-specific qualifying life event such

as marriage. an open season enrollment change is effectiveon january 1st. to make any fedvip changes, logon to www.benefeds.comor call 1-877-888-3337. fedvip eligibility for children ends at age22, which is earlier than it ends for fehb at age 26. you can continue covering your child withfedvip during and after age 22 if they are certified as incapable of self-support dueto a mental or physical disability which existed before age 22. similarly, you can continue covering yourchild with fehb during and after age 26 if

they are certified as incapable of self-supportdue to a mental or physical disability which existed before age 26. for annuitants, this certification is doneby your retirement office, which in most cases is opm. it's important to get your child certifiedearly. for fedvip, if your child loses coverage becausethey turn 22 and if certification takes more than 60 days, you will need to wait untilthe next open season to enroll them. for more information about certifying yourchild as incapable of self-support, contact your retirement office.

opm's retirement office can be reached at1-888-767-6738 or retire@opm.gov. the third insurance benefit available to annuitantsis fegli life insurance. the federal employees group life insuranceprogram, fegli, offers life insurance you can use to protect your family from the unexpected. burdensome funeral costs and the loss of yourincome could be devastating to your family's financial security. with fegli, you can have life insurance coveragestarting at one year's salary to as much as six times your salary and many options inbetween. you can even bring your fegli coverage intoretirement if you meet certain requirements.

when you retire, you are eligible to continuefegli life insurance if you meet all four of these requirements:first, you must retire on an immediate annuity pay period during which you separated fromservice, or a minimum retirement age + 10 second, you must have been insured by feglifor the 5 years of service immediately before the date your annuity starts, or for the fullperiod or periods of service during which you were eligible to be insured (if less than5 years). this requirement applies to every type andevery multiple of fegli coverage you wish to bring into retirement. third, you must be enrolled in fegli on thedate you retire.

fourth, you must not have converted your feglicoverage to an individual policy. fegli is term life insurance, which meansit does not accrue cash value. you cannot cash out your life insurance orborrow against it. if you cancel fegli, you are not entitledto any money back. in addition to covering your life, fegli canalso cover the lives of your spouse and unmarried you can continue covering the life of yourchild beyond age 22 if they are certified as incapable of self-support due to a physicalor mental disability that existed before age 22. to see the current fegli premiums, visit www.opm.gov/lifeand click annuitant on the right side of the

screen. there are two categories of fegli coverage:basic and optional. basic covers the life of the employee or annuitant. for an annuitant, basic coverage is basedon your annual salary on the date of your separation for retirement or the date youcomplete 12 months in nonpay status. take your salary on that date, round it upto the nearest whole thousand dollars, then add two thousand dollars. this is your amount of basic coverage as anannuitant before reduction. so if you retired when you had an annual salaryof 57,100 dollars, your basic coverage would

be 60,000 dollars before reduction. if you are eligible to continue basic intoretirement, before you retire, you will submit standard form 2818 to your human resourcesoffice in which you will elect a reduction choice for your basic coverage. the reduction begins the second month afteryou turn 65, or the second month after you retire, whichever is later. your choices are 75% reduction, 50% reduction,or no reduction. if you elect 75% reduction, your basic coveragereduces 2% each month until it reaches 25% of its pre-reduction amount.

your basic coverage is free (no premium) oncethe reduction begins and remains free until your death. if you elect 50% reduction, your basic coveragereduces 1% each month until it reaches 50% there is an extra premium for this choicethat you will continue to pay until you die, switch to 75% reduction, or cancel basic. if you elect no reduction, your basic coveragedoes not reduce. you maintain the same amount of basic coverageyou had when you stopped being enrolled as an employee. there is a larger extra premium for this choicethat you will continue to pay until you die,

switch to 75% reduction, or cancel basic. if you do not submit standard form 2818 toyour human resources office before you retire, you will be defaulted to 75% reduction. the other kind of fegli coverage is optionalcoverage. you must have basic to be eligible for anytype of optional coverage. there are three types of optional coverage. the first type is option a. option a coversthe life of the employee or annuitant. option a provides $10,000 of coverage. option a has an automatic 75% reduction.

you do not have a reduction choice with optiona. beginning the second month after you turn 65 or the second month after you retire, whicheveris later, option a coverage reduces 2% each month until it reaches $2,500. your option a coverage is free (no premium)once the reductions begin and remains free until your death. the second type of optional coverage is optionb. option b covers the life of the employee or annuitant. take your annual salary on the date of separationfor retirement or the completion of 12 months in nonpay status.

round it up to the nearest whole thousanddollars. this is the amount of coverage you would haveas an annuitant with one multiple of option b before reduction. you may be eligible to bring up to five multiplesof option b into retirement. if you are eligible to continue option b intoretirement, before you retire, you will submit standard form 2818 to your human resourcesoffice where you will elect a reduction choice for your option b coverage. your choices are full reduction and no reduction. if you elect full reduction, your option bcoverage reduces 2% each month until the amount

has been reduced to zero at 50 months. your option b coverage is free (no premium)once the reductions begin and remains free until the coverage has reduced completely. if you elect no reduction, your option b coveragedoes not reduce. you maintain the same amount of option b coverageyou had when you stopped being enrolled as switch to full reduction, or cancel optionb. the extra premium increases with age in five-year age brackets through age 80. note that if you are eligible to bring morethan one multiple of option b into retirement, you are allowed to elect full reduction forsome multiples and no reduction for others.

you will be defaulted to full reduction forall multiples you are eligible to bring into retirement. the third type of optional coverage is optionc. option c does not cover the life of the employee or annuitant; it covers the livesof your spouse and unmarried dependent children under age 22. one multiple of option c covers the life ofyour spouse for 5,000 dollars and the lives of each eligible child for 2,500 dollars. you may be eligible to bring up to five multiplesof option c into retirement. if you are eligible to continue option c intoretirement, before you retire, you will submit

for your option c coverage. if you elect full reduction, your option ccoverage reduces 2% each month until the amount your option c coverage is free (no premium)once the reductions begin and remains free if you elect no reduction, your option c coveragedoes not reduce. you maintain the same amount of option c coverageyou had when you stopped being enrolled as switch to full reduction, or cancel optionc. the extra premium increases with age in note that if you are eligible to bring morethan one multiple of option c into retirement, if you don't remember how much fegli coverageyou brought into retirement, or what reduction choices you selected, you can find this informationby logging on to www.servicesonline.opm.gov.

there you can download a verification of lifeinsurance statement. if you can't log on, you can contact opm'sretirement office at 1-888-767-6738 or email retire@opm.govphone lines are open monday through friday, 7:40am to 5:00pm eastern time. have your retirement claim number (csa orcsf) handy when you call or email. as an annuitant, you can cancel or reducecoverage at any time. this includes cancelling all life insurance,cancelling just some types or multiples of coverage, or switching to a greater reductionchoice. before you turn 65, you can change from fullreduction to no reduction on option b as long

as you haven't assigned your coverage. before you turn 65 you can also change fromfull reduction to no reduction on option c. to make any of these changes, mail a signedletter specifically describing the change you want to make to the office of personnelmanagement, post-retirement section, retirement operations center, p.o. box 45, boyers, pa 16017-0045. be sure to include your retirement claim number(csa or csf) and your phone number on the letter. please note that annuitants can never increasetheir fegli coverage after retirement.

annuitants cannot participate in the lifeinsurance open season in september 2016. for the fegli coverage on your life, you canname any beneficiary or beneficiaries you want, including a trust. you can also change beneficiaries at any time. to change beneficiaries as an annuitant, submitstandard form 2823 to opm's retirement office at the address on the form. the form is available at www.opm.gov/formsor you can do a web search for sf 2823. remember to keep your designation current. if your family experiences any major lifeevent like marriage, divorce, birth, or death,

consider whether you need to update your feglidesignation. if one of your beneficiaries has a changeof address, submitting an updated designation that shows the new address will help feglicontact them after your death. if you can't remember who you designated,or if you want to verify your designation, as an annuitant you must contact opm's retirementoffice. beneficiary records are not available online. your paper retirement file will need to beretrieved from archives to send you a copy of the designation opm has on file for you. this can take time.

many annuitants find it faster and easierto submit a new designation instead. your new designation will supersede any feglidesignation form on file as long as you sign it, have two witnesses sign, and completethe rest of the form properly. your valid designation must be received byyour agency, which for annuitants is opm's retirement office, before your death. the fourth insurance benefit available toannuitants is long term care insurance with the federal long term care insurance program,fltcip. when you can no longer perform everyday tasksfor yourself like eating, dressing, and bathing because of a chronic illness, injury, disability,or aging, long term care insurance can help

you pay for the help you need. it's not something we want to think about,but most people will need this kind of care at some point in their lives, and health insuranceand medicare usually provide little or no coverage. long term care is needed by people young andold for a variety of reasons. car accident, sports accident, disabling injury,alzheimer's, stroke, multiple sclerosis, parkinson's, some other disabling condition, or simplyaging. without insurance, long term care costs anaverage of 30,000 to 83,000 dollars a year depending on whether the care is receivedat your home, at an assisted living facility,

or at a nursing home. some parts of the country pay more for longterm care than others. and as the name implies, most people who needthis kind of care need it long-term, for several months or years. when you have limited income, this kind ofexpense can be overwhelming. but long term care insurance can help youpay these expenses. as an annuitant, you can apply for fltciplong term care insurance regardless of whether you are eligible for fehb. your spouse, adult children, and same-sexor opposite-sex domestic partner are also

eligible to apply. they can apply even if you don't. this is different from opm's other benefitprograms. each applicant applies on his/her own andmust answer health questions and be approved before they can enroll. your fltcip long term care insurance premiumswill be based on several factors, including the amount of coverage you elect, the benefitperiod you elect, your age when you apply, and the inflation protection option you chooseto protect you from inflation and the rising costs of long term care.

older applicants pay higher premiums thanyounger applicants, so we encourage you to consider fltcip as early as possible. premiums are not guaranteed and may changein the future. for assistance, use the premium calculatortool at www.ltcfeds.com fltcip long term care insurance has no annualopen season. but you and your eligible family members canapply at any time with full underwriting. visit www.ltcfeds.com for information on thebasics, including what long term care insurance is, how to know when you may need it, andthe specifics of the ftlcip program. there you can find educational videos thatexplain different aspects of long term care

insurance. you can see the cost of care in your areaand even project costs to a future date when you might need the care. you can read the real-life stories of peoplewho've used long term care. you can even create a personalized rate quoteand submit an online application. all of this is at ltcfeds.com. some people prefer to talk one-on-one ratherthan using a computer to find answers to their questions. you can call long term care partners at 1-800-582-3337to speak to a certified long term care consultant

about the program. these consultants do not work on commissionand are there to help guide decision-making. they can review benefit options in detail;compare plans, including inflation protection options; give a personalized rate quote; andassist in completing an application. for more information about all of these federalannuitant insurance benefits, visit www.opm.gov/insure.