FEHB in retirement.
The 5-year rule, Open Season moves, the PSHB transition, the one-way cancellation door, and dental & vision.
Every guide in this cluster
Spouse Has Employer Coverage: Drop FEHB or Keep Self Only?
Your spouse’s employer plan does not count toward the FEHB five-year rule. Why keeping Self Only protects retiree health coverage.
Why FEHB Costs More After You Retire
Your FEHB premium stays the same in retirement, but premium conversion ends, so you pay it with after-tax money.
FSAFEDS in Your Final Working Year
Your health care FSA ends on your retirement date and retirees cannot re-enroll. How to size the election and avoid forfeiting money.
Moving in Retirement: When You Must Change FEHB Plans
Moving out of an HMO’s service area lets you change FEHB plans outside Open Season. The window and the right plan for snowbirds.
Survivor FEHB: What Your Spouse Actually Keeps When You Die
FEHB does not pass automatically. It rides on two elections — a survivor annuity and a family-tier enrollment — and getting either wrong ends coverage 31 days after your death, permanently.
FEHB After Divorce: Spouse Equity, TCC, and the 60-Day Deadline
Coverage ends at midnight on the day the divorce is final. Two routes continue it — 36 months or a lifetime — and both require an application within 60 days.
Self Only vs. Self Plus One vs. Self+Family: The FEHB Tier Most Retirees Overpay On
Benefits are identical across tiers, so it’s pure cost — and the trap cuts both ways. Empty-nesters overpay on Self+Family, and 39 plans in 2026 price Self Plus One higher.
The FEHB 5-Year Rule for Retirement: What Federal Employees Need to Know
5 U.S.C. § 8905(b), the rule’s mechanics, the TRICARE strategy that keeps the backdoor open, the OPM “skip-over” example, and the lifetime value of $500,000+ in government premium support.
Medicare Open Season Decisions for Federal Retirees
FEHB plan review, Medicare Part D EGWP, suspending FEHB, and the cancel-vs-suspend rule that matters more than people realize. The 2026 numbers: +12.3% FEHB premiums, $2,100 Part D cap, and Form RI 79-9.
2026 FEHB Changes and the PSHB Transition
Postal workers moved out of FEHB into PSHB — bringing a Medicare Part B requirement that’s catching retirees off guard. Who’s affected, who’s exempt, the 12.3% premium jump, and an interactive Part B requirement checker.
Cancelling FEHB in Retirement: The One-Way Door
Cancelling is permanent — you can never re-enroll. The cancel-vs-suspend distinction, what suspension allows, and how to cut costs without losing coverage.
FEDVIP Dental & Vision Insurance, Explained
Why there's no government contribution, the no-5-year-rule retiree advantage, standard vs. high plans, and the pre-tax quirk — with a cost estimator.
Back to the full pillar
This is one cluster of the FEHB & Medicare pillar. Explore the Part B decision, FEHB in retirement, coordinating Medicare & FEHB, and coverage gaps in the full pillar.
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