Benefits Frequently Asked Questions
Benefits FAQs
Below are a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on benefit topics: health insurance, life insurance, dental and vision program, long-term care insurance, Flexible Spending Account (FSA), retirement, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The answers to these FAQs reside on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), FSA Fed, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) web sites. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) follows this guidance for our NIH employees.
Federal Employees' Health Benefits (FEHB) Program
- Benefits
- Changing Health Plans
- Continuing FEHB Coverage into Retirement
- Coverage for Annuitants
- Coverage for Family Members
- Coverage for Survivor Annuitants
- Dental Coverage
- Divorce
- FEHB for Federal Civilian Employees who Perform Active Military Duty
- FEHB for Federal Civilian Employees who Return from Active Military Duty
- FEHB Premiums
- Medicare and FEHB
- myPay
- Open Season
- Plan Information
- Premium Conversion
- Prescription Drugs
- Privacy of Medical Information
- Service Standards
- Temporary Continuation of Coverage
- TRICARE, CHAMPVA, and TRICARE-For-Life
Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance Program (FEGLI)
- Assignments and Viatical Settlements
- Break in Service and LWOP (Leave Without Pay)
- Claims - How to file
- Conversion (How to convert to a private policy)
- Court Orders
- Increasing or Decreasing Coverage
- Designations of Beneficiary
- Family Members
- General Information (Basic and Optional Coverage)
- Living Benefits
- Military and FEGLI
- Miscellaneous
- Payment (Who receives the benefits when you die)
- Portability
- Retirement and FEGLI
- Workers' Compensation and FEGLI
Federal Employees' Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP)
Long Term Care Insurance Frequently Asked Questions
- Active Duty in the Uniformed Services
- Applying for Coverage Under the Federal Program
- Increasing and Decreasing Coverage
- Basics
- Benefits
- Consumer Protections
- The Contract
- Cost / Paying for Coverage
- Eligibility
- Miscellaneous
- Tax Benefits
- Transferring with Credit
Flexible Spending Accounts
- Introduction: A Valuable Benefit
- Eligibility and Status
- Open Season and Enrollment
- BENEFEDS
- Financial Facts
- The Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA)
- Limited Expense Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts (LEX HCFSA)
- The Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA)
- Filing Claims and Reimbursement
- Paperless Reimbursement
- FSAFEDS Grace Period
- HIPAA and FSAFEDS
Retirement (Civil Service Retirement System and Federal Employees' Retirement System)
- Leaving Government Service before Retirement
- Pre-Retirement
- Post-Retirement
- Health Benefits
- Life Insurance
Thrift Saving Plan
- Participating in the TSP
- Tax Advantages of the TSP
- Understanding Agency Contributions
- Understanding Your TSP Account
- Projecting Your Account Balance
- Your Investment Options: General Principles
- Life Cycle Funds
- Interfund Transfers
- TSP Loan Program
- In-Service Withdrawals
- Getting Your Money Out After You Separate
- TSP Annuities
- Spouses' Rights
- Questions and Answers on the Effect of Lifting Percentage Limits on Employee Contributions to the TSP
- Other TSP Information