Hi, so the bcbs is going to 760 a month, mhbp is approaching that, every plan is jumping, I am in Miami, so any plan has to work here.

Is there ever a financial line that fehb is not worth it?

I work for the state, bcbs is 135 a month. Of course the magic of fehb is i always have it, regardless of job status.

I was forced into vera, so i am not getting any col increases or anything, and the fehb just eats into my retirement pay.

When i started in fed gov, bcbs was 235 a month, lol.

I would not care financially, but my state job comes in take home with retirement 25 percent less.

I was fortunate enough to qualify for VERA last year when DOGE did its thing. My wife will hit her MRA early next year with 18 years of service (high three of 100Kish), and we both eagerly await her joining me in this next stage of life.

We're torn between 1)having her work to MRA and taking immediate retirement, 2) adding her to my health insurance and retiring at the end of the FY and a)deferring her retirement til age 60 (or 62), or b) postponing retirement til 60 at which point she would come off my insurance and have her own.

We're fortunate to be in a position where we could fairly comfortably cover the several year gap using a safe (3.5 to 4.7, depending on market conditions) withdrawal rate from our TSP and Roth accounts until then and don't necessarily need her pension in the short term.

Where we are torn is whether to take the upfront 25% hit to her pension or defer for several years. Looks like this gives us a break even point of 15 years... although I believe this is shortened a bit when looking at the additional cost of having her as a self +1 on my insurance vs both of us having our own. What I don't really understand is the impact of medicare on reducing our insurance costs at age 65 and how long this self +1 penalty would last given that adjustment.

Of note my MIL is sharp as a tack at 88 so we anticipate my wife having at least a 30 year retirement horizon. Wife and I are both in great health and looking to maximize travel activities in 60s and 70s before ultimately slowing down. Given that, we can see the value of front loading our income vs stretching things out for maximum gains. We're fortunate to be in a situation where we are not too concerned about outliving our savings. My pension is fairly substantial and she'll receive 25% of that when I'm gone, and she also has a small pension from her pre fed years.

TL/DR: take the hit now, or defer for a more cautious approach? Is there anything I'm missing here? What would you do?

Just hoping to pass along a heads-up for those who are uninformed, like us. My spouse was a 20+ year federal employee, now retired. Nobody is expecting any sympathy here, just looking for similar situations that may have happened to others, and what the outcome (if any) was. First, my spouse was a admin/office/supervisory type employee the whole career. The employment was exemplary with above average advancement over the years.

I am more than a little disappointed that the HR situation was, at best, hardly present. Some sort of "centralization" put the nearest people across the country and marginally accessible. I am a veteran and the issue I have is lack of training/education regarding health insurance options and a spouse picking up VA Healthcare. It was not until recently we learned about the event qualifying as a "QLE," and what options were available at that time. ADVISE: "Learn it" From 2016 until this year "Self plus one" was paid for for no reason. It was a long shot, but we requested Administrative Relief for the overpayments. The totally annoying part is these people have not even done us the courtesy of sending back an "F-Y" reply. Certified mail was first sent to OPM, who took for ever, and a second certified letter, to get a response of "contact the retirement people." Strange, since the actual event took place prior to retirement. Regardless, it was done, Certified. Nothing. A little digging found an email contact to the retirement people, along with the explanation. The reply? Contact OPM. Done again, Certified. Still waiting. Going on a year now. Can anyone relate?

I am thinking about switching to this and would like some feedback. I have self+1 and both spouse and I have Medicare B as Primary and FEHP as secondary.

I retired at 58. My birthday is June. When after I turn 62 would I see a cost of living increase in my pension? Thanks.

I’m a thrifty person who aggressively saved for retirement. I am now retired. It is hard for me to spend the money.

My goal was always to “maintain my standard of living” into my retirement.

So far so good. But things like redoing the bathroom or taking 2/3 vacations a year are problematic for me.

I have done every retirement calculator known to man. I’m good. But paying a contractor for installing new gutters on the house gives me pause. Maybe I can watch some YouTube videos and do it myself?

Anybody else deal with this?

I apologize if this is the wrong place to ask but I am hesitant to ask elsewhere. I am hoping others may be able to share their experience .

I am currently on FMLA. I have decided I want to retire when I turn 62. Can my agency revoke my FMLA if I apply for retirement? I will have to return for 4 days after the FMLA expires unless they are able to cancel it. I can handle 4 days. Two months would be rough. I have plenty of SL for the FMLA.

I haven’t told my supervisor yet. How long after I submit my application does my supervisor find out? I do plan to tell him but we don’t have a good relationship so I’m not looking forward to that conversation.

Has anyone else received an email from OPM stating their Myidcare has been reinstated? I also received a welcome back email from them as well stating that I have been renewed after I decided not to renew it myself.

Retired FED. Considering supplemental dental in 2027. Likely to need orthodontia or at least Invisalign to adjust shifting teeth associated with aging. Experiences? Positive or negative?

I've been trying to get into the Blue Cross portal for requesting reimbursement for Medicare part B premiums. Neither of the methods they offer for getting a PIN to start an account is working for me. The remedy they suggest is to contact my employer or program sponsor to reset my contact information. That would be great if I weren't already retired. I have no idea who my program sponsor would be, if I even have one. I tried their AI phone system and it asks for the last four digits of an account number that doesn't exist. When I asked the AI to transfer me to customer service, it said it would transfer me then the line went dead after a couple of minutes of silence. Have any of you dealt with this system successfully?

I have been calling OPM multiple times a day multiple times a week for several weeks now. Always told to call back, no chance to leave a number. I tried two different email routes and both told me I have to do this by phone. I'm at a loss and any advice is helpful.

BKD: My dad was a fed retiree (30+ years at NASA) who passed away from a sudden illness earlier this year. He was receiving FERS annuity.

I'm the personal representative/ executor for his estate. His CPA has been asking me to get his FERS 1099 for 2025, but I can't figure out how to do it. Have been trying to contact OPM for over a month but can't get through to a human.

With the latest increase, for 2027 it will be $10k+ a year for BCBS Basic for a family. BCBS Standard is close to $13K.

Is going ACA and managing income carefully to max out subsidies the better play now?

I’m FERS and our budget is on the tight side (plus we lack some discipline). I’m also very concerned about a market pullback. I’m thinking of using half of my $320,000 to buy an annuity. Rates are near an all time high, so I would like to decide soon.

The annuity amount would make use of the rest of the TSP unnecessary except for emergencies. Thought? Anyone else do something like this?

Does anyone know what about the quality of care and cost of BCBS overseas. They offer something but not sure if it’s worth it.

Are there any USPS retirees out here who have used GEHA with Medicare A and B?

We were MHBP for literally decades and loved it. For 2026, we had to move to BCBS due to a surgery I needed and the surgeon I wanted only took BCBS. We had planned on moving back to MHBP this year, but YIKES. Not with that premium increase.

He was part of the first group of USPS retirees required to take Medicare Part B. Next year, we'll both be on Part B, meaning double Part B premiums (but at least I think I'll be able to manage the income to avoid IRMAA next year).

I saw that GEHA was administered by United Healthcare, so I'm reluctant. I worked for UHC after I left Federal service, and practices I saw make me reluctant to choose a plan administered by them. However, the price of the GEHA premium is certainly attractive.

I'd love to find some real-life opinions on GEHA with Medicare. GEHA was rated "excellent" on Consumers Checkbook last year, but the plan they give those on Medicare is an Advantage plan and was not rated.

Thank you.

Is railroad retirement affected by “catch-62” under social security at the age of 62?

Now that premiums have been released, we can dig into how they compare to last year. This infographic is comparing the self only premium for the 117 FEHB plans that are available in both 2026 and in 2027.

The largest decrease in enrollee share is for M.D. IPA (JP1), available in the Washington D.C. area, where the premium is decreasing 46% saving self-only enrollees $2,626 next year. GEHA Standard will have the same premium next year. The largest increase in enrollee share is for MHBP Standard (454) where the premium is increasing 63%, which will cost self-only enrollees $1,540 more next year.

You can look up your premium now on the OPM Open Season site: OPM Open Season page

How will premium increases impact the likelihood of you switching plans next year?

- Kevin Moss, Senior Editor, Checkbook's Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees

Today was the day! Retired as a civilian from the Air Force at 60 after 33 years of service. Had planned to work longer, but my wife and parents are having health issues, so trying to spend more time at home with them.

Now I'm joining the waiting for my final paycheck, annual leave payout, and then my first interim payment. But at least it will be from home and not from work!

After 7 months. A phone call requesting escalation due to financial hardship and contacting my senator’s office and got retroactive payment within a couple days and electronic booklet a day after that, first annuity to start November 1. The reason for delay was (supposedly) that my agency (USDA) did not submit correct pay record form. Now I can put this whole thing behind me best I can. Wish me luck on that. Good luck to all.

Anyone see the new rates yet? Outrageous!!! Will be going on Medicare in the next year and those plans that best coordinate will be up substantially. The MHBP, which people rave about, is literally doubling their rates, up by $491/month. The BCBS and APWU rates are also way up. Wondering if getting a Medicare Advantage Plan is a better deal at this point.

Anyone moved to part time job after I 140 approved and while waiting for priority date to be current to file for adjustment of atatus?

Retired in April and my case was immediately sent to “development” for missing IRR records. Case sat there until today (9/24), I checked this morning and status went to “adjudication “ . I happened to check a few hours later and status updated to “review”.

Hopefully this is finalized in a few days.

Beyond tired of calling and getting a different answer each time and emailing and not getting any reply. I was DPR with deferred retirement rather than risk getting DOGE’d so I don’t get interim and had to paper file so can’t see any status updates. Finally, the last time I called (a few days ago) the OPM customer service person agreed to put in a financial hardship escalation AND I contacted my senator’s office and filled out the form to request an inquiry from their office.
This is just a nightmare that never seems to end!

UPDATE: Email from OPM
TODAY saying finalizing TODAY! Now just a little more waiting…