Answering Your Questions From the Benefits Survey

As an initial wave of Benefits Surveys is completed, questions and comments are being made in the survey as well. Juliette Houseman, Benefits Specialist, continues to address some of the questions being submitted in the survey.  

Q: Offer health insurance to retirees younger than age 65. 
Q: I guess I need to understand HRA vs. HSA. I had no idea HRA could be used towards health premiums in retirement. 
Q: Health insurance premiums paid during retirement prior to age 65/Medicare. 
Q: Paying health premiums from retirement to age 65/Medicare. Since Heartland AEA recently ended this benefit when I am close to retirement, I have not had the opportunity to build up an HRA account to cover premiums during retirement years or have another investment strategy to cover healthcare premiums in retirement. I would have invested differently over the past 20 years had I known the payment of health premiums during retirement would be ended and no longer available. 

A: 509A is a state law that states state employees who take a bona fide retirement (draw IPERS) are eligible to continue under their employer’s health insurance coverage only at 100% their cost until the month prior to the month in which they turn 65. (They go on Medicare at the beginning of the month in which they turn 65.) Although Heartland AEA employees are not state employees, our agency is state-funded so this benefit is passed along to you, too.