Q. My husband and I both work for the Postal Service. He is retiring March 1 under CSRS. I have 25 years in working for the Postal Service and have at least eight years left to retire (FERS). We elected not to take the survivor benefits because I’m still working at the Postal Service and I will have him on my medical plan. We have two insurance policies on both of us in case of death. But I’m not sure if I understand the point of survivor benefits. Do you have any numbers on the pros and cons of survivor…
Browsing: health insurance
Q. My husband is retiring from the Postal Service on Nov. 1. We have $850,000 in tax-free municipal funds (all AAA rated and paying over 5 percent), and another $200,000 in natural gas and oil limited partnerships and some preferred stocks in energy companies that I recently inherited. I would like to live on the interest from these investments, leaving the principal alone. My husband is 62 and we want to wait until he is 66 to receive his Social Security payments. (Waiting until 70 is out of the question as both parents were stricken with Alzheimer’s disease at an early age.…
Q. If the lump-sum payment is considered earned income for tax purposes but is not eligible to Thrift Savings Plan deferral nor does it serve as the base for automatic agency contributions, wouldn’t it make better sense not to cash in the leave? Rather, wouldn’t it be more lucrative to continue working, take the earned vacation over the year, collect matching funds for TSP, matching funds for health insurance, and on top of that, continue to accrue more annual leave, more sick leave, and enjoy the vacation time off? I understand no supervisor/manager would approve a single vacation of 5+…
Q. I am about to divorce my husband, who works for the Federal Aviation Administration. 1. Can I keep his health insurance as an individual? Does this cost anything to him? How much will it cost me? 2. How can I be eligible for his life insurance after divorce? 3. Which is more beneficial: Getting a survivor benefit or getting a higher pension? 4. When can he start taking money from his Thrift Savings Plan? A. You can’t withdraw money from his TSP account. Your divorce settlement will govern how the TSP is divided and distributed and you’ll likely wind…
Q. I am a letter carrier, age 52, started in 1985 and have 28 years of creditable service. If I understand what I’ve gleaned from the posts here and the Postal Service were to offer me a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority this year, 1. Would I begin my annuity immediately? 2. Would I have no reductions in calculations of my annuity? (average high-3 x 1 percent x 28) 3. Would I receive credit for half of my sick leave and all of my annual leave? (How are these applied?) 4. Would I receive the special retirement supplement beginning at age…
Q: If I buy a battery pack for a CPAP machine, will it be covered under my flexible spending account? A: CPAP devices and supplies (which would include batteries) are eligible for reimbursement from an FSA.
Q: How can I find out the difference between the two health insurance plans? I understand the basic plan is cheaper than the standard for which I am paying $400.97/month for the family plan as a retired DoD employee. A: Use the plan comparison tool available through www.opm.gov. This is the direct link to the plan comparison wizard: http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/search/plansearch.aspx