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A while back I made a post about insurance and wanted to give an update on what I found out because it might apply to some people on the forum.

Here are the details:

Background
-I am turning 26 in may of 2018. Been employed since July of 2015.
-Currently on parents health care plan even though I am federally employed.
-I pay my parents $25 a month for health, dental, and vision under their plan.
- Would like to wait as long as possible before switching to the more expensive federal plan which will likely cost me around $130 a month for health and vision for something cheap.

Problem:
-Do i need to switch in open season in november-december this year or can I wait until May of next year?

Solution
- I can wait until may of next year.
-Talked to Benefits line rep. Qualify under Event Code 1m per (SF2809) (https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf2809.pdf)

In summary: If your parents plan is cheaper to stay on you can wait until you the month you turn 26 to swith to the FEHB plan. Will have saved around $2100 (since 2015 to may of 2018) not switching to the FEHB early.

Hopefully this is applicable to someone.

how much will your parents plan go down when you drop off? (or will it go down at all?).

floridabre wrote:how much will your parents plan go down when you drop off? (or will it go down at all?).

It will just go down the extra $25 I was paying them.

Good to know. Thanks.

ajareds92 wrote:A while back I made a post about insurance and wanted to give an update on what I found out because it might apply to some people on the forum.

Here are the details:

Background
-I am turning 26 in may of 2018. Been employed since July of 2015.
-Currently on parents health care plan even though I am federally employed.
-I pay my parents $25 a month for health, dental, and vision under their plan.
- Would like to wait as long as possible before switching to the more expensive federal plan which will likely cost me around $130 a month for health and vision for something cheap.

Problem:
-Do i need to switch in open season in november-december this year or can I wait until May of next year?

Solution
- I can wait until may of next year.
-Talked to Benefits line rep. Qualify under Event Code 1m per (SF2809) (https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf2809.pdf)

In summary: If your parents plan is cheaper to stay on you can wait until you the month you turn 26 to swith to the FEHB plan. Will have saved around $2100 not switching to the FEHB early.

Hopefully this is applicable to someone.

Grab a hdhp with an hsa. You're young and can afford the years.

Best

Me

Works out pretty nice. Most things in life are not this easy. Been on my own since 17 so it must be nice to have responsible parents.

cswift01 wrote:

ajareds92 wrote:A while back I made a post about insurance and wanted to give an update on what I found out because it might apply to some people on the forum.

Here are the details:

Background
-I am turning 26 in may of 2018. Been employed since July of 2015.
-Currently on parents health care plan even though I am federally employed.
-I pay my parents $25 a month for health, dental, and vision under their plan.
- Would like to wait as long as possible before switching to the more expensive federal plan which will likely cost me around $130 a month for health and vision for something cheap.

Problem:
-Do i need to switch in open season in november-december this year or can I wait until May of next year?

Solution
- I can wait until may of next year.
-Talked to Benefits line rep. Qualify under Event Code 1m per (SF2809) (https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf2809.pdf)

In summary: If your parents plan is cheaper to stay on you can wait until you the month you turn 26 to swith to the FEHB plan. Will have saved around $2100 not switching to the FEHB early.

Hopefully this is applicable to someone.

Grab a hdhp with an hsa. You're young and can afford the years.

Best

Me

Im thinking about it. Im just having a hard time wrapping my head around it. My wife has higher medical costs than me due to prescriptions and such and will stop working in the next 5ish years. At that point I will need to change my insurance to a family plan. Would it be worth doing for just 5 years if i then need to switch to a conventional method?

ajareds92 wrote:

cswift01 wrote:

ajareds92 wrote:A while back I made a post about insurance and wanted to give an update on what I found out because it might apply to some people on the forum.

Here are the details:

Background
-I am turning 26 in may of 2018. Been employed since July of 2015.
-Currently on parents health care plan even though I am federally employed.
-I pay my parents $25 a month for health, dental, and vision under their plan.
- Would like to wait as long as possible before switching to the more expensive federal plan which will likely cost me around $130 a month for health and vision for something cheap.

Problem:
-Do i need to switch in open season in november-december this year or can I wait until May of next year?

Solution
- I can wait until may of next year.
-Talked to Benefits line rep. Qualify under Event Code 1m per (SF2809) (https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf2809.pdf)

In summary: If your parents plan is cheaper to stay on you can wait until you the month you turn 26 to swith to the FEHB plan. Will have saved around $2100 not switching to the FEHB early.

Hopefully this is applicable to someone.

Grab a hdhp with an hsa. You're young and can afford the years.

Best

Me

Im thinking about it. Im just having a hard time wrapping my head around it. My wife has higher medical costs than me due to prescriptions and such and will stop working in the next 5ish years. At that point I will need to change my insurance to a family plan. Would it be worth doing for just 5 years if i then need to switch to a conventional method?

I'm not sure if 5 years would be that great. Would your wife be able to get her own insurance after 5 years?

Me

No. She will be raising a family at that point so I will be providing insurance for everyone.

How is it that you are looking at a self-only plan, yet 5 months of inaurance would set you back $2100?

I have self + 1 with GEHA and we pay about $300/month.

You really should look at what she is currently paying for her health care policy and see if it would make sense to go with the family or Self +1 plan. You can also contribute higher amount under a HDHP family plan and part of the insurance premium goes toward HSA which can be used to pay half of your deductible. Anything accumulated in HSA can be used to pay medical bills at any time in the future and it could be that you may want to stick with it once she stops working--you can evaluate your situation each year to determine best option during open season.

mjedlin66 wrote:How is it that you are looking at a self-only plan, yet 5 months of inaurance would set you back $2100?

I have self + 1 with GEHA and we pay about $300/month.

I was calculating if I had signed up for insurance when i first started in 2015 versus waiting until next may.

Is your wife paying for her own insurance right now?

Okay, gotcha. Over a couple of years you could easily save 2 grand.

Thank you for posting this information. This may help new young feds.

ajareds92 wrote:No. She will be raising a family at that point so I will be providing insurance for everyone.

This one is tough. I see the point that you could save up to 6750x5 (assuming you go for the family option for 5 years) which would get you close to 34k (including interest and growth or more), however, then you have to assume that you will pay for your own account afterwards.

If you are good with not spending too much (i.e. you're frugal) then it could be a consideration. Consider that you would have to pay quite a bit for the years that your wife gives birth. You actually might not save that much.

It's a tough one...

Maybe wait until after the kids are born and until they've grown up a little?

Best,

Me