r/FedRetirees

Can anybody give me a reason to enroll in Medicare Part B if the IRMAA premium (tier 3] is greater than the out of pocket maximum in my FEHB plan (GEHA - HIGH)?

Does any one know of any private federal benefit consultants who specialize in FEHB Medicare and IRMAA issues?

My loved one took DRP 2.0 from the IRS end of 9/25. She fell and broke her hip in January 2026, leading to a series of notable medical costs. Due to a failure of OPM’s systems to reflect her actual employment status in early 2026, they incorrectly considered her still an employee in certain respects, causing OPM to misinform her and her healthcare providers that FEHB (BCBS in this case) was the primary insurance. Months later they reversed the instruction, backdating it, to reflect Medicare as primary. And now, of course, both providers have refused to pay, indicating that the other is primary. The Medicare protest deadline is in October—we’ll protest. And if necessary we’ll sue both at once.

Anyone in a similar position had any success?

Received a deposit today from "OPM1 Treas 310 XXCIV SERV" (dated 7/1). Not sure if I received an interim payment or not. If so, where can I find out the breakdown of this payment (how it was calculated and how much for medical insurance was deducted). When I logged onto Servicesonline.opm.gov, it shows no transactions. Maybe it takes some time for the transaction to show up on servicesonline? My breakdown is?

5/31-Retired IRS.

6/5 - Last paycheck received

6/22 - Received vacation paid out

6/29 - Email from OPM that retirement application from agency payroll received. Created account on servicesonline.opm.gov.

My application is stuck in intake stage. I have BCBS and Medicare. BCBS is my primary now because I am still employed based on OPM. So I called OPM to see if they can change my status with BCBS, they said that they will send an email to the area handling my case. Will this help or just BS?

Over the past couple of months a "Case Stage" view has been showing up in Services Online. There are five stages I've been able to confirm so far: Intake, Development, Adjudication, Review, and Retirement Finalized. Figured I'd put OPM's exact wording for each one here, since it actually tells you a lot about what's happening behind the scenes.

Here's what each stage says, word for word:

1. Intake

"We received your retirement application from your payroll provider and are reviewing the basic information needed. Your case is officially opened and added to the queue for adjudication."

2. Development

"We are gathering and verifying the details needed to process your claim, namely service history, salary information, and benefits elections. If anything is missing, we request it so your case can move ahead."

3. Adjudication

"An OPM adjudicator is reviewing all confirmed information and making the official decision on your retirement benefits. Your case is actively being worked during this step."

4. Review

"We are reviewing the adjudicator's work to ensure accuracy and that all rules and requirements were met. This quality check helps protect your benefits and keeps your case on track. Once the review is completed, your case is put into final pay and finalized."

5. Retirement Finalized

"Congratulations, your retirement is finalized! You can now download your annuity booklet. We are completing remaining tasks like coordinating out-of-cycle payment, issuing notices, and populating your information in our systems. OPM retains your information for ongoing customer service."

A few things I've noticed that are worth knowing:

If your application is a smooth one it should move through those 5 stages in order.

However, the stage can move backward. If you're sitting in Review and it bounces back to Adjudication, that usually isn't a problem with your case. It means they caught something small and are fixing it.

OPM's been reshuffling these status screens lately, so what you see may not match the next person. That's actually part of why I'm asking.

Two things I'm actually trying to figure out, and I'd love your input:

1. Has anyone seen any stage OTHER than these five in Services Online? I want to know if the list is actually longer than what I've been able to confirm.

2. Do you see this Case Stage view at all? If you DON'T see it, were you a paper submission? And if you DO see it, were you a digital (ORA) submission? I'm trying to work out whether the stage view only shows up for digital filers, which would explain why some people have it and some don't.

So really, two questions: how did you file, paper or digital? And what stage are you seeing in Services Online if you're still in the process?

I took the DRP, retired 9/30. DoD. Here’s my OPM timeline so far:
1/15 - notification of retirement received
1/19 - retirement application received
1/15 - interim pay issued
6/29 - assigned to a specialist

My back interim pay came on 1/16, then monthlies began 2/1.

Recent retiree with court orders entitling my ex to a percentage of my annuity.

My retirement was finalized at the end of May. I received my first full annuity payment just before June 1 and I have received my second one as well. I received the balance I was owed from underlayments in June as well.

My ex has not received anything and is bugging me about why and when she will get her money. Does anyone know how long it takes for an ex to receive their portion of the annuity? Who calls OPM about this and what information do they need? Do I call? Or does she need to call?

I took VERA in 2025 and am continuing to work part time in the private sector. I will reach my MRA in October of 2026, and plan to continue working a little while longer, but keep my earnings below the annual earnings test amount after hitting the MRA. I had received information from OPM's retirement services online help desk that, since earnings are cross referenced with the Social Security Administration, that I should submit a letter when returning the survey next year providing details of my first year receiving the FERS supplement - stating that I began receiving the supplement in October 2026 and specifying the $ amount that would count towards the earnings test from that date forward. However, I saw a FERS supplement post recently that seemed to show that a hard copy survey isn't sent any longer, and that the process has moved to an online one. From the screenshots posted it didn't appear that there was anywhere to state that $X was the amount made after reaching MRA, so that I could specifically separate that from the total amount earned in the whole calendar year. Does anyone who received the survey this year have any insight?

I took normal voluntary retirement after 30 years' service on 12-31-2025. I am in interim payment status and OPM says "they have the packet" from my agency. I have no specialist assigned and cannot receive explanation as to why. Is it unusual to not have a specialist assigned 6 months into retirement?

I just wanted to share if you recently retired you have up to eight months from the date of separation to sign up for Medicare part B. This is not going to be a discussion of whether you want it or don’t want it. I’ve had a couple people send me a chat because I mentioned to them I appealed my part B IRMAA calculation and they wanted a copy of the letter. So bear with me because this is a little lengthy of a post. Below is the letter …feel free to tailor it to your fact pattern.

Date
Social Security Administration
Medicare Premiums-Appeal Request forReconsideration
Address
Re: Letter dated x/xx/26BNC#: ###X###X#####-X

To Whom it May Concern

Please note, I recently visited the SS office referenced above and spoke with one of your representatives regarding the IRMAA surcharge being assessed on my Medicare Part B premium. I understand that the IRMAA determination is based on information reported on my 2024 federal income tax return. During my visit, I explained that I retired in Oct 2025 and that my current income is nowhere near the level that would trigger an IRMAA** surcharge.** Your representative advised me to submit documentation supporting my change in financial circumstances, along with Form SSA-561(Request for Reconsideration) and Form SSA-44 (Medicare Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount-Life ChangingEvent.

As reflected on my Form SSA-44, my estimated 2026 MAGI is well below the current $109,000 IRMAA threshold.  My estimated 2026 MAGI is shown below:
2026 Social Security      $48,000 (4,000 gross * 12) per your letter dated 11/17/26
2026 OPM Pension       $39,600 (3,300gross* 12) see OPM finalization statement
Interest & Dividends      $10,000 (see 1040's; never exceeds $7,000)
2026 MAGI                     $97,600

The Social Security Act §1839(i) andFederal Regulation 42CFR §§408.20-408.28 spell out how income isdetermined. I am attaching Form SSA-44, to memorialize I have stopped working  in 2025 and had a qualifying life-changing event (retirement as of 10/1/25).While initially SSA uses the 2024 taxreturn to determine IRMAA, it no longer reflects reality. SSA must use updated2026 information as I am filing an appeal/request for redetermination of mypremium. This life event is memorialized inthe OPM retirement statementattached. Should the IRMAA of $##initially calculated be deducted before thisis addressed, please provide details ofany future adjustments to the monthlypayments.

Sincerely,

Enclosures:
Form  SSA-561 Request for Reconsideration
Form SSA-44 IRMAA-** **Life Changing Event 
OPM Final Retirement Benefit Summary 

3#s:

Age
Years of service
Tsp amount

Hello all. I did regular retirement 7/31/25 with MRA + 34 years. My paperwork has been at OPM since 11/8/25 per the email update that I received, but they didn’t log it in as received until 11/17/25. I finally made it to adjudication on 4/18/26 and have moved to review on today 6/24/26. How long did it take to get finalized once you made it to review. I am so ready for this to be over. Almost at a year in retirement.

I was planning to have my first withdrawal sent to my bank account, but ran into the mandatory 20% tax withholding issue. I do estimated quarterly taxes and want to keep things as simple as I can.
I did more reading and it seems I can avoid the withholding by rolling the TSP money over to an IRA and then withdrawing the money directly from the IRA

so 2 steps instead of 1.

Just wondering if anyone here does this and how it all works out for them.

Hi, recent Fed retiree here. I applied for Medicare A&B on the last day before my initial enrollment period ended (or would have to pay the penalty for not signing up). A month later I received a phone call from SSA telling me to go to the local office to show my birth cert. I did that and also brought completed form SSA-44 (for IRMAA due to work stoppage). What was weird was the SSA clerk acted like he'd never seen the form before. Scary but I told myself not to be so cynical. Then today, I get a letter in the mail from OPM & after withholding the Medicare amount (using 2 years ago tax return) & "collecting the past due premiums" for Medicare, my annuity is half of what it was before I started this nightmare. I found that I have the right to appeal this decision by using "Request for Reconsideration" form SSA-561-U2.

My questions are: Should I also fill in another SSA-44? Is it possible to dump Medicare Part B? I'm in ok health right now but that can change in the blink of an eye. I currently have BCBS Standard option so I guess I'm just weighing my options. The SSA office is in a bad area of another city so I'd like to avoid another trip there if possible. Any advice, links, etc. would be appreciated. I could kick my own butt for not being up to speed on this before signing up!

Hi, my dad passed away, leaving his TSP to my mom. She is over 73z My understanding is that if we accept the survivor TSP, when she passes, the children will have to immediately withdraw, creating a 1 time big taxable event at our personal income tax level.

However, if we open her up a traditional IRA and she rolls it over, then we would have 10 years to withdraw. She would also have to start taking required minimum distributions.

In any event, her income tax level is going to be much much less than ours. So I am leaning towards converting to IRA and start withdrawal in g at her lower tax bracket.

Can anyone else confirm/correct my interpretation?