Preparing for Your Early Retirement

Transcription

1 Preparing fr Yur Early Retirement Imprtant Infrmatin fr Railrad Emplyees Eligible fr GA Eligibility fr Railrad Annuity Railrad Retirement Bard Call yur lcal Railrad Retirement Bard Retirement Cverage Optins yurtrackthealth.cm Talk t a Retirement Specialist When am I Eligible fr Early Retirement? Preparing fr early retirement can be verwhelming, but if yu understand the transitin prcess as yu mve frm actively wrking t early retirement, it will be that much easier! The first thing yu must d is determine if yu may be eligible t retire early frm the Railrad. If yu are age 60 and yu have at least 30 years f service, and yu are either an Age Annuitant r a Disabled Annuitant, as explained belw, yu may be eligible fr the early retirement plan under GA If yu are unsure f yur eligibility fr a Railrad annuity, please call yur lcal Railrad Retirement Bard (RRB) r visit their website at Page 1 f 5

2 Am I an Age Annuitant? Yu are an Age Annuitant if yu satisfy the fllwing requirements: Yu have 30 years f service and apply fr yur retirement annuity n r after yu reach age 60, r during the three mnths prir t yur 60 th birthday if yu cntinue t wrk (r take vacatin) int the mnth prir t the mnth yu turn age 60, and Yu are cvered fr emplyee/dependent health benefits under The Railrad Emplyees Natinal Health and Welfare Plan r the Natinal Railway Carriers and United Transprtatin Unin Health and Welfare Plan ( Natinal Railrad Plan ) ther than by reasn f COBRA n the day immediately befre the date yu applied fr yur annuity. Am I a Disabled Annuitant? Yu are a Disabled Annuitant if yu satisfy the fllwing requirements: Yu are eligible fr a disability annuity frm the RRB, and Yu are cvered under the Natinal Railrad Plan when yu reach age 60 and have 30 years f service. If yu becme disabled and stp wrking at age 58 r 59, yu may qualify fr GA if: Yur disability cverage under the Natinal Railrad Plan extends beynd yur 60 th birthday, and yu have 30 years f service. Nte that vacatin pay received in a year subsequent t the year in which yur disability began will extend cverage fr yu and yur cvered dependents under the Natinal Railrad Plan. What Other Imprtant Criteria Shuld I Knw Regarding Eligibility fr GA-46000? The mst imprtant thing t knw regarding yur eligibility fr GA is: Yu must be cvered under the Natinal Railrad Plan at the time yu apply fr yur annuity thrugh the RRB. The best way t ensure this is t apply while yu are still emplyed. If yu are in a management psitin when yu apply fr yur annuity thrugh the RRB, yu are nt eligible fr GA because yu must be cvered under the Natinal Railrad Plan. In rder t be eligible fr GA-46000, yu wuld need t return t a nn-management psitin and be cvered under the Natinal Railrad Plan befre yu apply fr yur annuity. If yu wrk in the mnth yu retire r take vacatin, yu will have cverage under the Natinal Railrad Plan fr the fllwing mnth. Fr example, if yu wrk in Octber and retire in Octber, yu are still cvered under the Natinal Railrad Plan thrugh Nvember. Yur cverage under GA wuld nt begin until December 1. Yur spuse des nt need t be age 60 t be eligible fr cverage under GA-46000; eligibility f yur dependents is based n yu as an emplyee. Page 2 f 5

3 What D I Need t D? If yu meet the requirements t be either an Age Annuitant r a Disabled Annuitant, fllw these imprtant steps as yu prepare fr yur early retirement: 1. Cntact yur lcal RRB ffice apprximately 90 days prir t yur retirement date t prepare fr yur applicatin fr retirement benefits. 2. Next, cntact UnitedHealthcare at and ask t speak t a Retirement Specialist t request a Railrad Retirement Kit. The retirement kit cntains all f the necessary infrmatin and UnitedHealthcare frms yu need t enrll fr cverage under GA and GA Plan E. 3. Plan t mail all f the infrmatin listed in item 4 belw t UnitedHealthcare n mre than 30 days prir t yur actual retirement date t the fllwing address: UnitedHealthcare, P.O. Bx 30791, Salt Lake City, UT Mail the fllwing cmpleted frms t UnitedHealthcare and remember t include the Scial Security Numbers fr all applicants n every frm that requests this infrmatin: a) The Grup Health Plan GA Applicatin fr Cverage frm b) The Enrllment Frm fr Cverage under Grup Plicy GA-23111, if enrlling in Plan E c) The Ntice f Qualifying Event COBRA electin frm if yu wish t cntinue yur visin/dental cverage d) The Electrnic Funds Transfer (EFT) frm if yu wuld like yur GA Plan E payment deducted frm yur checking r savings accunt e) The BA-6 frm yu receive frm the RRB f) The Receipt fr Claim frm yu receive frm the RRB 5. Payment fr the first mnth f GA Plan E shuld be included with the materials nted in number 4 abve, even if yu plan t have the EFT autmatic withdrawal prcess set up. 6. Once yur GA and GA Plan E enrllment have been prcessed, yu will receive new ID cards frm UnitedHealthcare and Express Scripts. What Are the Benefits f GA-46000? The GA early retirement plan is available t yu at n cst and prvides a Majr Medical Benefit and a Managed Pharmacy Services Benefit. The Majr Medical Benefit is administered by UnitedHealthcare and prvides fr the fllwing: The plan pays 80% f cvered expenses after a $100 calendar year deductible. A lifetime maximum that generally increases annually at the beginning f each calendar year. N requirement t use in-netwrk prviders, but if yu chse t d s, there is a cst savings t yu. N preventive benefits under GA-46000, hwever, sme are prvided fr under Plan E. N visin benefit r dental benefit, hwever, yu can extend cverage fr these benefits, up t 18 mnths, thrugh COBRA which is administered by UnitedHealthcare: Page 3 f 5

4 Yur applicatin fr COBRA needs t be dne within 60 days after yur retirement date. UnitedHealthcare can mail yu a COBRA frm r yu may btain ne frm the Yur Track t Health website ( The Managed Pharmacy Services Benefit (Rx) is administered by Express Scripts and prvides fr the fllwing: N deductible; Rx benefits are nt subject t the lifetime maximum under the medical plan. In-netwrk benefit - Rx cpayments are $2 and $6 retail, up t a 21-day supply; $5 mail rder, up t a 90-day supply. Out-f-netwrk benefit If yu g t an ut-f-netwrk pharmacy, yu pay the entire retail cst at the time yu have the Rx filled. The Rx benefit will reimburse yu fr 75% f the cst yu paid, up t a 21-day supply if yu submit a claim. If yu purchase an Rx at an in-netwrk r ut-f-netwrk pharmacy in excess f a 21-day supply, yu will receive n benefits under the Rx benefit. What is GA Plan E? GA Plan E is a supplemental plan t GA and is available fr a mnthly premium paid by yu. Plan E pays 70% f eligible expenses f the 20% nt cvered under GA Yur Plan E enrllment must be dne within a 4-mnth perid which begins in the same mnth yur cverage under the Natinal Railrad Plan ends. If yu miss this enrllment perid, yu must wait until the next pen enrllment perid which is held each Nvember/December f every even year. The GA Plan E Majr Medical Benefit is administered by UnitedHealthcare and prvides fr the fllwing: $100 calendar year deductible and a lifetime maximum f $500,000 fr each enrlled member. The $500,000 lifetime maximum under Plan E is imprtant because the lifetime maximum under GA is limited, and in the event yu, r yur dependent, have a serius illness, it may nt be sufficient t help cver yur medical bills. There is sme, but limited, cverage fr rutine and/r preventive benefits. Fr example: Pap smears and mammgrams services are cvered at 100%, and nt subject t the deductible. Hwever, an ffice visit charge fr the preventive service is nt payable under Plan E. Page 4 f 5

5 When Des Cverage End? Yur cverage, including the cverage f yur dependents, ends under GA and GA Plan E when yu, the early retiree, becme eligible fr Medicare. All cverage fr yur dependents wuld als end under GA and GA Plan E when yu becme eligible fr Medicare. If yur dependents are nt yet eligible fr Medicare when yu becme eligible, there are tw ptins available t btain dependent health care benefits: 1. Cntinuatin f their cverage under GA is available fr up t 36 mnths thrugh COBRA until they becme Medicare eligible, r 2. If the COBRA cst is prhibitive, yu can purchase cverage under GA Plans A, B, r C, which are medical plans spnsred by all f the unins and administered by UnitedHealthcare. Fr mre infrmatin n Plans A, B, r C visit and click n Plan yur Retirement. Summary Althugh planning fr yur retirement can be stressful, yu have many resurces available t help make the prcess easier fr yu and yur family. Begin by calling UnitedHealthcare at and ask t speak t a Retirement Specialist. They will be happy t assist yu with any questins yu may have and ensure that a Retirement Made Easy Kit is mailed t yu. And remember, yu can als visit and click n Plan yur Retirement fr additinal infrmatin regarding yur medical cverage ptins as yu plan t make the retirement decisins that are best fr yu and yur family. Page 5 f 5

6 Ntes United HealthCare Services, Inc. Ver. 02/2014 D1