MEDICARE-ELIGIBLE RETIREE AND/OR SPOUSE Considerations Before Attending Your Retirement Meeting Retiree or Spouse - Effective January 1, 2015, benefits plans (which include medical, dental and vision) for Medicare-eligible retirees and their Medicare-eligible spouses will be provided through the Florida School Retiree Benefits Consortium* (FSRBC). This consortium was developed by The Florida Independent Benefits Council in order to provide a full suite of benefits products just for Medicare-eligible retirees or spouse. Note: If the retiree is Medicare Eligible, his/her elected dental and/or vision coverage will apply to his/her covered Non-Medicare-Eligible dependents. That is, when you gain Medicare and continue vision and/or dental coverage for you and your dependents, everyone will move to this coverage from FRSBC. Medical will be maintained for non-medicare eligible dependents by BPS as long as the Medicare-Eligible retiree is enrolled through FSRBC. Medicare Parts A&B - Either you or your spouse, as appropriate, should apply for this coverage six weeks prior to your retirement. If you or your spouse will become Medicare Eligible after retirement, two months prior to the 65 th birthday, FBMC + will mail a packet which will include election options and directions for continuing coverages. (To identify this mailing, the return address will be FSRBC/FBMC with Brevard s logo printed on the envelope.) If you or your spouse will be Medicare Eligible when you retire (or shortly thereafter), an FSRBC packet will be provided prior to or during your retirement meeting. After this meeting, a file is sent to FBMC with your information. To allow time for files to be updated, please wait about a week before you call your chosen medical carrier. Getting Ready for Retirement Insurance benefits end on the last day of active employment or on the paid through date if retiring mid-pay period. Retiree or Spouse Once you ve attended a retirement meeting, your information will be sent to FBMC. They will then send the information to the insurance carriers to set up your eligibility which will allow you to select available medical coverage. You should allow one week after you ve attended a retirement meeting before contacting the carriers. If electing medical, dental, or vision, new cards will be issued from the carriers. If the spouse is Medicare Eligible the dental and vision will remain with the under Non-Medicare Eligible retiree, through BPS. In this case new cards would not be issued. Health Insurance Subsidy (HIS) Retiree Whether you are in the pension or investment plan, you are eligible for the HIS which is an additional amount either added to your pension check or paid directly if you are in the investment plan; it is to help offset the cost of your health insurance. The HIS form will be provided at your retirement meeting. Since you will have Medicare, there is no need to send the form to anyone for verification of coverage. Please fill out the top of the form as noted below and forward to FRS with a copy of your Medicare card to the address at the bottom of the form. If you re in the pension plan, check the D box If you re in the investment plan, check the C box
NON MEDICARE-ELIGIBLE RETIREE AND/OR SPOUSE Considerations Before Attending Your Retirement Meeting Retiree or Spouse - Select the benefits you plan to continue by reviewing the materials provided. This will alleviate having to make these important decisions during the short span of the retirement meeting. Important Note: Coverages may not be added at the time of retirement; benefits must have been in place prior to retirement in order to be continued. Getting Ready for Retirement Insurance benefits end on the last day of active employment or on the paid through date if retiring mid-pay period. Retiree or Spouse - Retiree coverage cannot be activated until payment has been received by TASC. If you send your first payment directly to TASC, please allow up to 10 days for processing. To reduce this initial processing time to about five days, then, prior to your retirement date, send your first payment, made payable to TASC, to the attention of Debbie Lucas, Employee Benefits Office. While you await your coverage to be activated, it s recommended that you reschedule non-emergency medical appointments and fill prescriptions prior to your retirement date. Otherwise, you can pay out-of-pocket for services and then request reimbursement from the carrier once coverage has been activated. Important Note: Retiree premiums are to be paid one month in advance. Example: For retirement coverage that would begin in June, you d receive coupons for June, July and August. Each month s coupon should accompany your payment for that month. You must pay for June immediately, pay for July in July and, for August, pay early so that TASC receives this payment by August 5. This will enable TASC to set up your future payments as automatic deductions from your retirement checks. The first automatic deduction taken from your August retirement check would pay the September premium. TASC takes about two weeks to process new coverage for retirees. (Processing can take even longer depending on when payment is made.) To shorten the processing delay, you may bring your first month s payment, made payable to TASC, to the Office of Employee Benefits. If you choose this option, then you can disregard the first coupon you receive from TASC. If your retirement check is not sufficient to cover the cost of insurance deductions or, if you re in the investment plan and elected medical coverage, additional coupons will be mailed to you for the remainder of the calendar year. Changing Coverage Retiree - BPS coverage will be cancelled when a retiree or covered spouse becomes Medicare eligible. If there are under-65 dependents, you may continue coverage for them if you are enrolled with coverage through the FSRBC. You may also change coverage when moving out of area, if your current plan is not available in your new location. Canceling Coverage Retiree or Spouse - A retiree may cancel coverage up until the end of any month, for the following month. However, it is best to give six weeks notice prior to cancellation which will allow time to change the deduction amount from your retirement check. If a cancellation notice is received after the first day of the month, coverage will be cancelled the following month. Important Note: Once a retiree cancels coverage,
NON MEDICARE-ELIGIBLE RETIREE AND/OR SPOUSE (cont.) it cannot be reinstated at a later date. A dropped dependent may only be added back to existing coverage with proof of a qualifying event which must be provided within 30 days of the event. Health Insurance Subsidy (HIS) Retiree - An HIS is an additional amount added to your pension to help offset the cost of your health insurance. Eligible candidates will receive $5 for each year of creditable service. If enrolled in the investment plan, you will not be eligible for these funds until you ve taken a withdrawal from your account. Also, years in DROP do not count toward the total years of creditable service. To apply for the HIS, you will receive a set of three forms at your retirement meeting: a tax form, a direct deposit form and the HIS form. Do not use forms given to you by any outside organization. Use only the forms given to you at your retirement meeting or forms downloaded directly from the FRS website to ensure you have the most updated versions. If you retain coverage with Brevard Public Schools, please fill out the top of the form, check the B box, then forward to Debbie Lucas in the Office of Employee Benefits for completion. Please make a copy of your completed form prior to submission; a copy will not be returned. Dental ID Cards - Dental cards will not change unless a different dental plan is selected at the time of retirement. ALL RETIREES An active employee may add a retiring spouse and dependent(s) through an Employee Benefits Change form at the time of retirement. If the retiree and spouse are both retired from the School Board, the primary insurer may be exchanged at the time of enrollment or during Open Enrollment, meaning one may cover the other. Each employee/retiree will need to change his/her coverage and complete new enrollment forms. Important Note: If you are not enrolled in a benefit at the time you retire, you may not add it at a later date, under any circumstance. If you continue existing medical, dental or vision coverage, you may only add a dependent with proof of a qualifying event which must be provided within 30 days of the event. Non-24-Pay Employees - If you are on a schedule other than 24-pay, be aware that benefits may not be covered for the entire summer. If you are not on a 24-pay cycle, your premium payments are divided into a pre- and a post-summer deduction, which means a larger premium deduction is taken per pay and only covers the first month of the summer premium. However, if you are retiring in July, all or part of that premium will not be covered by the Board. You may need to pay both the Board and employee portion of the premium if you elect a July retirement date. AFLAC Coverage is available only if already enrolled and you ll be billed by AFLAC. To continue, change, or cancel coverage, please contact AFLAC directly within 30 days of your retirement. To obtain the correct telephone number for your area, please call 1-800-992-3522, select #1, then #3. Long-Term Care (LTC) Is available as a direct pay for retirees and spouses, if already enrolled. Call 1-800-266-2904 for information. Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) No conversion privilege is available for this benefit. Benefits cease on the date of retirement, unless retiring with a disability which would need to be approved as part of the Waiver of Premium under Securian/Minnesota Life. Short & Long-Term Disability No conversion privilege is available for this benefit. Retirement will not affect covered STD and/or LTD claims that began prior to your retirement. However, the LTD benefit
ALL RETIREES (cont.) will be offset by the amount received from any pension, social security, or any other income. If you only had LTD as an active employee and retire while on a medical leave, you will still be eligible to file an LTD claim once the elimination period has been met. Please contact Debbie Lucas at (321) 633-1000 extension 648, once 120 days of your 180-day elimination period has elapsed to request the LTD claim forms and instructions on submitting your claim. Flexible Spending Accounts o Retiring employees can elect to continue their Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) as a post-tax benefit for the remainder of the calendar year in which they retire. This will provide continued access to your full annual election amount after retirement. o If the HCFSA is not continued, claims made on the account must be for services received prior to your retirement date and the amount available to pay claims will be limited to the amount credited to your HCFSA as of the date of retirement. o If a claim is submitted prior to retirement, your entire annual election amount may be accessed for claims incurred prior to your retirement date. Per IRS rules, you will not need to repay any amount not deducted from your pay upon retirement, however, that amount may be taxable. Life Insurance Options. Upon retirement, you many continue basic or dependent life insurance only if you had the coverage in place prior to retirement. Then, at any later date, coverage may only be decreased, and a dependent can be added if proof of a qualifying event is provided within 30 days of the event. Since the life insurance carrier will only pay one claim per individual, a retiree may not have dual coverage under life insurance. That is, a retiree cannot have life coverage for him/herself and be covered as a dependent by an active employee or another retiree. Additionally, you cannot have two types of life insurance coverage in place. For example, if you ve elected the Term Life and then decide to elect the Portability option, you will be denied. If you are interested in the Portability option, please contact the carrier, Securian/Minnesota Life. Portability: You can purchase Group Life Portability Insurance for yourself when employment terminates if you: 1. Are under age 65. 2. Have been insured under your employer s group policy for at least 12 consecutive months, and 3. Are able to perform with reasonable continuity the material duties of at least one gainful occupation for which you are reasonably fitted by education, training and experience, subject to a minimum amount of $25,000 and do not elect the Term Life coverage. Term Life: Reminder: Term Life rates are subject to change with each annual renewal. Please Note: Neither the Portability Insurance nor the Term Life Policies have a cash value.
Important Contact Information FBMC Benefits Management/Direct Bill TASC P.O. Box 10789 1-800-720-4460 Tallahassee, Florida 32302-2789 P.O. Box 7484 Fax: 1-850-514-5803 Madison, WI 53707-7484 Customer Services: 1-855-443-7722 Monday-Friday, 7a.m.- 7p.m. ET AFLAC Website: http://www.myfsrbc.org 1-800-992-3522, option 1, then 3 Long-Term Care (LTC) Securian/Minnesota Life Billing 1-800-266-2904 1-866-293-6047 (Claims are processed through BPS) United HealthCare Under 65 with Medicare 1-877-755-5341 Over 65 with Medicare 1-877-776-1466, 8 a.m. 8 p.m. EST, 7 days a week Health First Health Plans Medicare Advantage Plans Local 321-434-5665 or toll-free 1-866-266-8917 If more questions on retiree benefits, please contact: Debbie Lucas Coordinator Employee Benefits (321) 633-1000 x648 Brevard Public Schools Employee Benefits Office 2700 Judge Fran Jamieson Way Viera, FL 32940-6601 Retiree insurance plan details may also be found on the District Website, on the Benefits page http://tinyurl.com/bpsbenefitsinfo * Florida School Retiree Benefit Consortium (FSRBC), an organization that assists School Districts with benefit and retirement-related initiatives. FSRBC negotiates premium rates and their goal is to help Medicare-eligible members get access to high-quality, medical, dental, vision, identity theft and IT technical support benefit plans and more. Be sure to review the packet for more detailed information. + Fringe Benefits Management Company, Inc. (FBMC) partners with the FSRBC to manage and administer the retiree benefits program.