More Leeway in Retiree FEHB Coverage Proposed

OPM has proposed to give itself more leeway in allowing retiring employees to keep their FEHB coverage when they don’t meet the basic requirement of having been enrolled for the five years before retirement, or from the first opportunity to enroll, if later, in order to continue FEHB as an annuitant. Current rules list specific situations where a waiver will not be granted by OPM such as when an individual’s retirement is based on a disability or an involuntary separation, or when an individual was misadvised by the employing office. The proposed regulation in the August 7 Federal Register would eliminate those specific situations although the requirement that waivers would be granted only in “exceptional circumstances” would remain. Under the proposed regs, individuals requesting waivers would have to provide OPM with evidence that they intended to have FEHB coverage as an annuitant, the circumstances that prevented them from meeting the enrollment requirements were beyond their control, and they acted reasonably to protect their rights to continue coverage into retirement.