Pay and Benefits Watch: Extending health coverage

The Office of Personnel Management has released updated guidance on when children who are dependents of employees enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan can qualify for temporary coverage.

Previous guidance stated that, upon the death of a parent, a child who does not qualify for a survivor annuity (those who are over age 18, unless they are full-time students) would not be eligible for temporary continuation of health coverage.

OPM has changed its interpretation of the rules to extend coverage to dependent children of deceased employees even if they do not qualify for a survivor annuity. The new interpretation does not apply to spouses of the deceased, but OPM is requesting legislation to make that change.

The change in guidance about dependent children came about after OPM reviewed a case in which a 21-year-old child of a deceased federal employee was unable to continue his father's FEHBP enrollment because he no longer qualified for a survivor annuity. The child was not eligible for a survivor annuity because he was over 18 and not a full-time student.

Transit Cash

Jack Bowles of the White House Task Force on Livable Communities, reports that his office has heard back from all federal agencies required to boost their employees' transit subsidy to $65 per month by October 1. The requirement was set down by President Clinton in an executive order issued in April.

"We're hearing from the majority of the agencies and most are on track," to meet the Oct. 1 deadline, Bowles said.

For those that aren't, the Department of Transportation's Administrative Services Center can implement the transit subsidy program soup-to-nuts under contract. The center already is handling the subsidy for all of the Defense Department. More information is available online at http://www.tasc.dot.gov/ .

Nuclear Benefits

Nuclear materials couriers at the Department of Energy will have early retirement options available by the end of September under a final rule published in the Federal Register Tuesday.

The rule makes final enhancements added in the fiscal 1999 Defense Authorization Act that provided for early retirement and increased retirement benefits for DOE couriers enrolled in either the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees' Retirement System. The rule establishes a mandatory retirement age of 57, but authorizes retirement at age 50 for couriers with 20 years of federal service and immediate retirement at any age for those with 25 years of service as a courier.

A bill that is pending in Congress, H.R. 1769, would also allow couriers who are forced to retire due to a disability before reaching age 50 to receive an enhanced annuity.