FEHB Handbook

Annuitants and Compensationers
Page 5 of 6

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REEMPLOYED ANNUITANTS

• If You Aren't Enrolled
• Annuity Terminated by Reemployment
• Annuity Continued during Reemployment
• Can Reemployed Annuitants Participate in Premium Conversion?
• Annuity Suspended during Reemployment
• Open Season Opportunities for Reemployed Annuitants

If You Aren't Enrolled

If you are an annuitant not enrolled under the FEHB Program and you become reemployed in a position that doesn't exclude you from coverage, you must make an election the same as any other new employee. You can continue your enrollment after separation from reemployment if you meet all the requirements that any other retiring employee must meet. (The immediate annuity requirement is met if you receive a supplemental annuity when you separate from the reemployment.)

Exception: If you are reemployed under the authority of section 108 of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act (FEPCA) of 1990 to meet emergency hiring needs or because of severe recruiting difficulties, you aren't considered an employee for retirement purposes. Although you may enroll in FEHB with your employing office if you don't have coverage as an annuitant, you don't earn eligibility toward continuing coverage as an annuitant during your reemployment under FEPCA.

Annuity Terminated by Reemployment

If you are enrolled under the FEHB Program as an annuitant and are reemployed under conditions that terminate your annuity, your employing office must notify your retirement system that you are reemployed and transfer in your enrollment. Your employing office must then determine whether you are eligible to continue your enrollment during reemployment using the same criteria as for other employees that transfer from one payroll office to another, and must either allow your enrollment to continue or terminate it, as appropriate.

When you separate from service, your employing office will follow the procedures that apply to other employees being separated or retired. It will either terminate your enrollment or transfer the enrollment back to your retirement system.

Annuity Continued during Reemployment

If you are enrolled under the FEHB Program as an annuitant and are reemployed under conditions that do not terminate your annuity, your employing office needs to transfer your enrollment from your retirement system to your employing agency. Your FEHB premiums will be deducted from your pay as an employee, not from your annuity. (This applies only if you want to participate in premium conversion; see below.)

Can Reemployed Annuitants Participate in Premium Conversion?

Yes, effective with the first pay period beginning on or after October 1, 2000, you will be covered automatically by premium conversion, provided you are employed:

• In a position that conveys FEHB eligibility; and
• By an agency covered by premium conversion.

Your employing office will contribute the employer share of the FEHB premium in the same manner as that for other employees.

You may waive participation in premium conversion within 60 calendar days from the date you become eligible for premium conversion. The waiver will be effective on the first day of the first pay period after the date your employing office receives it. In this case, you will keep your FEHB coverage as an annuitant and your premiums will be deducted on an after-tax basis.

Your participation in premium conversion ends on the last day of the last pay period as an employee. When you separate from active service, your FEHB enrollment must be transferred back from your employing agency to your retirement system.

Your right to continue FEHB as an annuitant following your period of reemployment is unaffected.

Annuity Suspended during Reemployment

If you are a disability annuitant under age 60 who:

• has been found to be recovered or restored to earning capacity; and
• become reemployed in a position not subject to the retirement system before being dropped from the annuity roll,

your employing office must notify your retirement system that you are reemployed (so your annuity can be suspended). Your employing office must then transfer in your enrollment. When you separate from service, your retirement system must then transfer in your enrollment.

Open Season Opportunities for Reemployed Annuitants

If you are a reemployed annuitant not enrolled for health benefits, you may enroll during an open season the same as any eligible employee. If you are enrolled, during an open season you may change enrollment regardless of the type of your appointment. You will submit your open season change to your employing office, if that office is administering your enrollment. If your retirement system administers your enrollment, follow the directions provided by the retirement system.

SURVIVOR ANNUITANTS

• Continued Enrollment for Your Family Members
• Benefits and Cost
• Action by Survivor
• Requirements for Continuing Enrollment
• Employing Office Procedures
• If Your Survivors Appear Eligible to Continue the Enrollment
• If No Survivors are Eligible to Continue the Enrollment
• If No Surviving Spouse Annuity is Payable because of a Former Spouse Benefit
• If You Were Not Enrolled
• When You are Eligible Both as an Employee and a Survivor Annuitant
• Deferred Annuity
• If You Die before Receipt of MRA+10 Annuity

Continued Enrollment for Your Family Members

If you die while enrolled for Self and Family, and all the requirements are met, your enrollment will continue for your eligible family members who become survivor annuitants under a qualifying retirement system.

Benefits and Cost

If the enrollment continues, your eligible survivors are entitled to the same benefits and Government contribution as active and retired employees enrolled in the same plan. The survivor annuitant's share of the premiums normally is deducted from his/her annuity payments.

Action by Survivor

Your survivors don't need to take any action to continue your enrollment if they meet all the requirements.

If they don't want to continue your enrollment, they must send to the retirement system a letter or a Health Benefits Election form (SF 2809) canceling the enrollment. Your survivors must take this action; your employing office will not terminate your enrollment when you die unless it appears that you have no survivors eligible to continue it.

Requirements for Continuing Enrollment

For your surviving family members to continue your health benefits enrollment after your death, all of the following requirements must be met:

• You must have been enrolled for Self and Family at the time of your death; and
• At least one family member must be entitled to an annuity as your survivor.

All of your survivors who meet the definition of "family member" can continue their health benefits coverage under your enrollment as long as any one of them is entitled to a survivor annuity. If the survivor annuitant is the only eligible family member, the retirement system will automatically change the enrollment to Self Only.

Under FERS, your surviving spouse who is entitled to a basic employee death benefit, or your surviving children whose benefits are offset by Social Security, may continue your health benefits enrollment by paying premiums directly to OPM.

If the survivor annuity is not large enough to cover the enrollee share of the premiums for your plan, your survivors may either change to a lower-cost plan or option (one in which the enrollee share of the premium is low enough to be withheld from the annuity) or choose to pay the premiums directly to the retirement system. Even if your employing office thinks that the survivor annuity will not cover the enrollee share of the premiums, your retirement system will transfer in the enrollment. The retirement system will notify your survivors of their options and take whatever actions they request.

When your surviving spouse will not receive any survivor benefits because your former spouse has a court-ordered entitlement to a survivor annuity, your surviving spouse can continue FEHB coverage if you had a Self and Family enrollment. The retirement system will notify your surviving spouse of his/her options and take whatever actions are requested.

Employing Office Procedures

At your death, your employing office will tentatively determine your survivors' eligibility for continued health benefits enrollment. The retirement system will make the final determination of their eligibility after it reviews all of your retirement and health benefits records. Your employing office will take one of the following actions, as appropriate:

If Your Survivors Appear Eligible to Continue the Enrollment

If your survivors appear eligible to continue your enrollment, your employing office will note your plan's enrollment code in the Remarks section of the Individual Retirement Record.

It will send the following to the retirement system along with the Individual Retirement Record, the retirement death claim (if any) and any other retirement papers:

• all Notice of Change in Health Benefits Enrollment forms (SF 2810),
• all Health Benefits Election forms (SF 2809) or other appropriate requests, with any attached medical certificates or other documentation, filed in your Official Personnel Folder (including any on which you elected not to enroll or to cancel, or that are marked VOID), and
• a memorandum giving any information regarding your health benefits that is not evident from the other documents.

If No Survivors are Eligible to Continue the Enrollment

If you have no survivors eligible to continue your enrollment (e.g., you had a Self Only enrollment), your employing office will note in the Remarks section of the Individual Retirement Record: "No survivor eligible to continue health benefits." It will terminate your enrollment on the Notice of Change in Health Benefits Enrollment (SF 2810), note in the Remarks section: "Enrollee died (date)," and leave all health benefits documents in your Official Personnel Folder.

Your employing office will send the enrollee copy of the SF 2810 to your nearest living relative or to the representative of your estate. However, if it appears that a survivor who has been covered as a family member may be eligible for conversion, it will send the SF 2810 to him/her.

If No Surviving Spouse Annuity is Payable because of a Former Spouse Benefit

When your surviving spouse will not receive any survivor benefits because your former spouse has a court-ordered entitlement to a survivor annuity, your surviving spouse can continue FEHB coverage if you had a Self and Family enrollment. Your employing office should follow the procedures in "If Your Survivors Appear Eligible to Continue the Enrollment."

If You Were Not Enrolled

If you weren't enrolled for health benefits at your death, your employing office will note in the Remarks section of the Individual Retirement Record: "Not enrolled for health benefits." It will leave all health benefits documents in your Official Personnel Folder and take no further action on your health benefits.

When You are Eligible Both as an Employee and a Survivor Annuitant

If you are an employee eligible for health benefits who is covered as a family member under your spouse's Self and Family enrollment, and:

• your spouse dies, and
• you are eligible to continue the enrollment as a survivor annuitant,

you may cancel your enrollment as an annuitant and enroll as an employee because you had a change in family status (death of spouse). Or, you may continue the enrollment as a survivor annuitant. However, if you want to participate in premium conversion, you must be enrolled as an employee.

If you enroll as an employee on this basis, and you later separate under conditions not entitling you to continued enrollment, your employing office must terminate your enrollment. If you are still a survivor annuitant, you may apply to the retirement system for reinstatement of your enrollment as a survivor annuitant, and for health benefits deductions to be made from your annuity.

If the retirement system receives your application within 60 days after your separation from employment, it will reinstate your enrollment retroactive to the day after it was terminated by your employing office. If it receives your application more than 60 days after your separation, it will reinstate your enrollment effective on the first day of the month after the month that it received the application.

If you are enrolled as an employee with a Self and Family enrollment and you become a survivor annuitant upon your spouse's death (or, if both you and your spouse were enrolled in Self Only enrollments) and you later separate but cannot continue your enrollment as a retiree, you can enroll as a survivor annuitant. You must make the change from coverage as an employee to coverage as a survivor annuitant within 30 days of separation from service.

If you decided to continue the survivor annuitant enrollment and later lose entitlement to a survivor annuity, you may enroll as an employee.

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Handbook Contents

• Introduction
• Cost of Insurance
• Health Plans
• Eligibility for Health Benefits
• Enrollment
• Leave Without Pay Status and Insufficient Pay
• Termination, Conversion, and Temporary Continuation of Coverage
• Annuitants and Compensationers
• Military Service
• Family Members
• Former Spouses

Appendices

• Forms and Brochures
• Glossary
• Table of Permissible Changes
• Chapter 89 of title 5, United States Code
• Part 890 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations

Other

• Search the Handbook
• Handbook Changes