On Friday, the email began “Dear Pending Retiree” and it made my day. Today, I received the official email notification to enroll in “pending retiree” health insurance benefits once our current benefits under COBRA expire at the end of February. You bet I completed enrollment shortly after receiving the email! I now have confirmation in writing that our existing health insurance will continue with no break in coverage. This is exactly what we needed to happen. Now, I’m just waiting on my letter with the new login details so I can set up the new account to pay premiums electronically.
Once my active employee – COBRA – state extended coverage – retiree journey is complete, I’ll write a detailed post to share with my fellow teacher friends on how to navigate the process. Once friends learned I was able to take my insurance with me to fill in the gap until retirement, two other teacher friends did the same thing. This option is available to any GA teacher/state employee who meets certain criteria and you can keep the insurance in place as long as you are willing to pay for it. Yes it’s expensive, but it was the only option for our particular situation unless I wanted to continue working full-time (nope). I was able to leave two years early and meet the requirement to keep my health insurance coverage active from last date of employment to my official retirement date. At that point, premiums will drop back to reasonable retiree rates. This has been the goal all along. I’m so thankful this option was available so I could join hubby in early retirement. We’ve had a blast!
Come Stitch With Me 