While planning for every aspect of a fulfilling retirement can be complicated and stressful, it is important to digest your options piece by piece. As an employee or retiree from AT&T, important things to consider are the coverage and reimbursements that are part of your health care.
If you have registered to participate in the Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) through the AON Retiree Health Exchange (ARHE), you must also enroll in the Medigap, Part C (Advantage) or Part D (Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan) to prevent the forfeiture of your participation in AT&T Healthcare as well as your HRA, which will terminate coverage for your dependent under AT&T’s Healthcare. At this point you may be asking, “What is an HRA?”. An HRA is a tax advantaged account that can only be funded by your employer and can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses under your plan.
Enrollment in Advantage, Medigap, and/or Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Coverage purchased through the ARHE will not only provide a wider breadth of health coverage but it will also provide eligible former AT&T employees an HRA Crediting Amount of $2,700. Additionally, an eligible dependent enrolled in one of the three options may be qualified to receive an HRA Crediting Amount of $1,500. Keep in mind that if the dependent is only enrolled in either Dental or Vision coverage through ARHE then they would only be eligible to receive $200 of HRA credit. If you qualify to receive HRA Credit Dollars for a partial year they will be prorated on a monthly basis $225 per month for an AT&T Retiree and $125 per month for a qualified dependent.
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If you already qualified for the $2,700 HRA credit and you add Dental and/or Vision coverage, be sure that the ARHE does not change you from the $2,700 HRA credit to the $300 credit which ARHE has been known to do from time to time.
If you are married to another AT&T retiree, you each retain your own ARHE account. You will both be eligible for the $2,700 HRA credit. If one person is listed as a dependent of the other, the ARHE database may only designate a $1,500 HRA credit. In this case, you need to contact the ABC to correct the HRA amount, which should be $2,700 for each person.
If you have any unused HRA Credit Dollars at the end of a prior year, they will carry over into the current year. You are permitted to use your previous Carryover HRA Credit Dollars to reimburse last year’s eligible expenses. To do this, you must submit a Reimbursement Claim to the Claims Administrator that must arrive before March 31 of the current year. You can also use the prior year’s Carryover HRA Credit Dollars for eligible expenses incurred during the current year. This eligibility starts April 1 of the current year when the previous year’s Carryover HRA Credit Dollars merge with the current year’s Carryover HRA Credit Dollars. You cannot use the current year’s HRA Credit Dollars for last year’s eligible expenses.
AT&T retirees who are married to another AT&T retiree are both eligible to have their own personal ARHE account if they both enroll. When two AT&T retirees are married to one another, and each are on the ARHE, they will both be eligible for the $2,700 HRA. On occasion, the electronic file sent by the AT&T Benefits Center to the AON Retiree Health Exchange for the ARHE database has listed one of the “Married To One Another AT&T Retirees” as a dependent. When this mistake is made, the ARHE will credit only the HRA with $1,500 for a dependent, rather than the $2,700 for which they are actually eligible. If the “dependent” is really an AT&T retiree, one should contact the ABC to set up a new and correct electronic file to be sent to the ARHE. If you and your spouse are AT&T retirees, please be on the look out for this confusion when you transition to the ARHE.
HRA Health Reimbursement Account Reminder For AT&T Retirees Who Are Participating In The AON Retiree Health Exchange
As long as you remain a participant in the program, any unused HRA Credit Dollars at the end of the year will carry over to the following year. One is permitted to utilize Carryover HRA Credit Dollars for reimbursement of the previous year's eligible expenses. To do this, you are required to submit a Reimbursement Claim for the previous year’s eligible expenses to the claims administrator before March 31. You are not able to use this year’s regular HRA Credit Dollars to collect reimbursement for the previous years eligible expenses. HRA Credit Dollars became available on January 1.
The HRA, ARHE And AT&T Retirees
Effective January 1, 2015 the HRA Health Reimbursement Account with the healthcare coverage on the AON Retiree Health Exchange ARHE for selected AT&T Retirees and their dependents began for the inaugural time.
Effective January 1, 2017 AT&T retirees and their dependents who are under 65 Years of Age and are on Medicare due to disability will transition to the ARHE and HRA at the completion of 24 months of disability.
For more information, check out the AT&T Benefits Center website and on the home page go to the right and click on SPD/SMM/SBC/Legal Notices. All the SPD and SMM documentation that is relevant to AT&T will be listed, which you can view and/or download to your communication device. You may also call and order hardcopies of the SPD and SMM documentation and the 8 by 11 sized booklets will be mailed on us to your home address.
While this may seem very confusing, sitting down with a retirement specialist and going through your retirement from AT&T is a good way to reduce stress during these perplexing times. Remember, you are not alone and we are here to help.
Although not a priority of your list, but very important, consider creating a cash flow analysis and budget before you resign or retire from AT&T to understand how to take severance (if offered), how to take the pension (if available), and whether you should relocate for one to two years to reach your Rule of 75.
If you would like more information on your AT&T Health Benefits, you can reach out to The Retirement Group for more details.
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