What you’ll learn
Some federal benefits get explained at every retirement seminar. These do not. This track covers the programs that sit outside FEHB and FEGLI, including dental and vision coverage, long-term care, flexible spending and health savings accounts, the service credit you can buy back, how your annuity keeps pace with inflation, and what your family receives if you die in service.
Lessons
9 lessons · 9 available- 01FEDVIP dental and vision in retirementWhy federal dental and vision coverage has no five-year rule, and how that makes it different from FEHB and FEGLI.7 min read
- 02How FERS COLAs work: the diet-COLA ruleWhy a FERS annuity rises more slowly than inflation, and why most retirees get no COLA at all before age 62.6 min read
- 03Deposits and redeposits for civilian serviceHow to pay for federal service that had no retirement deductions, or buy back time you took a refund on.8 min read
- 04What your family gets if you die in serviceThe Basic Employee Death Benefit, the spousal survivor annuity, and the children’s survivor benefit.8 min read
- 05FSAs, HSAs, and what happens when you retireWhy your flexible spending account ends the day you separate while your health savings account is yours for life.6 min read
- 06Long-term care and the FLTCIP suspensionWhy FEHB and Medicare do not cover long-term care, and what federal employees can do while FLTCIP is closed.6 min read
- 07Will your spending stay flat in retirement?Research on real retirees says spending falls in real terms as you age, and what that means beside the FERS diet COLA.7 min read
- 08Going back to work for the governmentHow the salary offset works when a retiree is reemployed, and why contractor work is treated differently.6 min read
- 09The Alternative Form of AnnuityThe lump-sum option for retirees with a life-threatening medical condition, and what it costs in monthly income.7 min read
Common questions
- Who is the benefits and insurance track for?
This track is for federal employees at any career stage, and for retirees. It covers the benefits that rarely come up at a retirement seminar: dental and vision coverage through FEDVIP, long-term care, flexible spending and health savings accounts, service credit deposits, and how cost-of-living adjustments work on a FERS annuity. It also explains what your family receives if you die in service.
- Where are FEHB and FEGLI covered?
In the Taxes, Insurance and Special Cases track. Its lessons cover keeping FEHB into retirement, how Medicare fits with FEHB, and what happens to FEGLI life insurance when you retire. This track picks up the programs that sit outside those two, so each rule has one home and the answers never disagree. If you are deciding what coverage to carry into retirement, read both tracks.
- Which benefits lesson should I read first?
It depends on where you are. If you are within a few years of retiring, start with how FERS COLAs work, because the diet-COLA rule decides how much buying power your annuity keeps. If you have federal service with no retirement deductions, or took a refund, read the lesson on deposits and redeposits. If you have a flexible spending account, read the lesson on FSAs and HSAs before you separate, since the FSA ends the day you leave.
Put this track to work
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