Benefits Newsletter: February, 2023

Based on FEHB Carrier Letter 2022-01 issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on coverage for countermeasures against COVID-19, Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Carriers must follow Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Part 51 issued by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury in providing coverage of over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 tests thr

When was the last time you checked the tax withholdings on your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) for accuracy? Confirming that state taxes are being withheld for the correct state is extremely important. If you fail to make a state tax withholding election, the withholdings automatically default to the state of Maryland. An address change from one state to another completed in myPay does not automatically change your state tax withholding.

Your eligibility to retire depends upon your age, years of creditable service, and the retirement system under which you are covered. For information on the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS and CSRS-Offset), go here. For information on the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS, FERS-RAE and FERS-FRAE), go here.

If you have social security questions and want the convenience of viewing a presentation at your leisure, view a recorded social security overview presentation, which was conducted by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

If you have questions, refer them to the SSA at 800-772-1213, during 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

If you are getting married or divorced, or you are having or adopting a child, those are qualifying life events (QLE) that will allow you to make certain changes to your benefits outside of the annual Benefits Open Season. For information on the timelines and the process, go here.

Family members eligible for coverage under your “Self Plus One” or “Self and Family” enrollment are your spouse and children under age 26*, including legally adopted children, recognized natural children, and stepchildren.  (*A child age 26 or over is also an eligible family member if he/she is incapable of self-support because of a mental or physical disability that existed before age 26.)

You may owe money to the retirement fund if one of the following applies to you:

Employees who performed active duty military service after December 31, 1956 (after June 30, 1960, in the PHS Commissioned Corps), may need to pay a military deposit (including interest) to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) prior to retirement in order to receive retirement credit for their military service. The requirements are different for different retirement systems.