For those wondering about the missing $9K if you haven't received it yet, I called yesterday to inquire about it. The rep I spoke to said they are backed up. Anyone who was ISP'd should have gotten it at the end of July. VSP/ERP should get their's by the end of August.
Hope this helps.
Where will the $6.1k SERMA adder for ERP show up, if not in the SERMA account? My SERMA account is funded with the $1.5K * years of service, but not the additional $6.1k (individual) yet. TIA.
@otf or whatever tag your latest post has. This is great info. I will certainly look into whether it makes sense to just walk away from the bonus ERP SERMA when the time comes. Funnily, Intel's own IRMP brochure says IRMP is probably not the best option, especially since ACA. It is odd that the ERP would mandate we need to use it for that. And yes, I'm at the Medicare age too so I might just walk away from the bonus SERMA and take a Medicare Advantage when the time comes. End of COBRA is consider a change event for Medicare so you can sign up outside of Open Enrollment. And I have heard of Mr. Moustache... wish I'd known earlier! Though it is likely I wouldn't have been able to implement his advice given my crazy life circumstances.
Correcting myself (and giving kudo's to @ for having the correct info about Hewitt being the one to ask your medical Q's of).
I have a typo. It's not Ayco. It's Aon Hewitt.
Also, I found some more good notes that might benefit some people (if no to low income):
For those retiring during the year, you will have 31 days from the date of your retirement to notify the Intel Health Benefits Center, Your Spending Account that you want to “Opt Out” of SERMA so that you may qualify for the Federal premium tax credits. If you take no action, the default is to opt in to SERMA. Your “Opt Out” election will carry over from year to year unless you “Opt In” again during the next Annual Enrollment
The above is very important if you want the Federal premium tax credits. You CANNOT have SERMA opted in (which is automatic unless you opt out). It's one or the other. Also note that you can change this every year at open enrollment time if your circumstances change.
~otf
I meant to post a good site that helps people retire early. BKMs galore on how to swing it! They are actually helping people in their 30s and 40s retire early. Wow! I thought I was doing well by doing it in my late 50s. That's how I realized I could basically get free, or very cheap medical. Obviously this won't work for a lot of individuals. I realize I'm not your average person. lol (and that's an understatement. chuckle)
Here's the link: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/
And his motto? Mr. Money Mustache — Early Retirement through Badassity
LOL!
~otf
@spn... good post and questions (this is otf again). I actually didn't read your entire post before answering about the $6/$12K given to ERPers (can only be used for IRMP).
Thanks for the info on how your Medicare monthly premiums work. I didn't know that (I'm a long way off now to care. lol) But others might not be that far out so good info to share. :)
So a comment on this: I'll revisit this in 18 months when the COBRA runs out. IRMP is a very expensive option
So basically, if we want to use that $6/$12K 'SERMA Adder', we'll have to choose IRMP for the entire year of 2018 since our 18 months of COBRA ends on 12/31/17. Why the entire year? Well, if you don't have a "qualifying something or other" you can't change your insurance midyear. TYhings like marriage, divorce, kids, and moving out of the plan area (I'm sure there are others) all are "qualifying". Otherwise you're stuck for the year. So I need to figure out if I'd be better off paying for it myself in 2018... or paying very high IRMP rates July-Dec (once the last 6 months paid insurance is done).
I might be better off throwing away that SERMA Adder bucket and going it alone. Why you ask? I've purposely planned on not having much income in 2017 and until I hit age 70 (over a decade from now). I'm sure you're asking 'Why?!?' again. lol For starters, I don't need much. Anyone in the 10%-15% fed tax range pays ZERO long term capital gains. My plan is to cash out some stock and pay zero taxes on it. Also, if you don't have much income (which I purposely won't) you can either get paid for Medicaid (which I don't want the stigma of doing that since I can afford to pay), OR you can get federal premium tax credits BUT YOU CAN'T be using SERMA!!!
here are my notes on that:
SERMA and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Federal Premium Tax Credit
Non-Medicare retirees with access to SERMA will not qualify to receive federal premium tax credits. If you are considering using Federal premium tax credits to reduce the cost of health insurance purchased through an eligible exchange, you should seek advice from a tax advisor.
If you are not Medicare eligible and you determine that you are eligible for the premium tax credit, you may choose to “Opt Out” of SERMA for the remainder of the current calendar year in order to qualify. When you “opt out,” your SERMA balance is frozen and you will not be able to use SERMA to pay for Intel or non-Intel sponsored healthcare premiums mentioned above for you or your dependents. Your “Opt Out” election will carry over from year to year unless you “Opt In” again during the next Annual Enrollment following the same process.
There are online tools that help you identify if your income levels are such to qualify for federal premium tax credits, and the Benefits Advisors at the Aon Retiree Health Exchange can guide you through that process, if needed. If you want to learn more now, these sites are helpful: https://www.healthcare.gov and http://kff.org/health-reform.
~otf
I found the post. https://www.thelayoff.com/t/IryG7HA
I'm @dfn in the post. If you want to start from the beginning you'll need to hit the 'Older Post's link to get to the first page, or I suppose you could use this link instead. lol https://www.thelayoff.com/t/IryG7HA?page=2 :)
~otf
Regarding: can we use SERMA ERP adder for non-IRMP or not--has been going around for a while and I get contradictory answers from both Hewitt and HR.
No, @spn. I explained all this in a previous post and I am correct about it. How can you trust that I'm correct? Well, you can't. lol But only because I don't have the means to email you the proof. When I called asking why it was it's own line item (the $6,102), that's when I was told it was only for IRMP. Once I got off the phone I immediately looked for any notes I had from an Ayco presentation. HR isn't going to know (they know about as much as TAC does when it comes to your computer issues. Nuff said? lol), and neither is Hewitt. Not even sure what Hewitt is for. Ayco is the one that came in and did the Medical presentation.
Anyway, so I checked my notes because I did't want it to be true, but there it was, staring me in the face (a screenshot I captured from the presentation). I'm not thrilled about it but it is what it is, unfortunately. But, at least it will still be like "free" to me, even though it's costlier. I was just hoping to stretch that $6K a little longer than 6 months. LOL
Let me see if I can find my post talking about that and I'll post a link here.
~otf
No, @qwj... ERPers get 2 years of medical. 18 months is paid for COBRA by Intel. the remaining 6 months is put in a separate bucket as I said earlier, and ONLY can be spend on IRMP, not on 'going out in the market insurance'.
And I'm not picking on you, but it would be nice if people didn't assume they know something about a package they didn't receive. What it's doing is causing confusion for some when some people make untrue comments (guessing all packages are the same).
~otf
@IG4Cdq6-jae. This question--can we use SERMA ERP adder for non-IRMP or not--has been going around for a while and I get contradictory answers from both Hewitt and HR. I've called a few times, just to see what I get this time around. I suggest we all revisit this in 18 months when the COBRA runs out. IRMP is a very expensive option and I'd rather use SERMA on Medicare Advantage premiums. Here's another thing I found out about Medicare: Your monthly premium is based on what your taxes show as your income--from two years ago! So, this year's Medicare premium is based on my 2014 income. My 2017 premium will be based on my 2015 income. My 2018 premium will be based on my 2016 income, which, due to the lump sum ERP payout and stock acceleration, will be artificially inflated. But I will have to pay inflated premiums in 2018 even if I have no income at all. That's when I could really use the SERMA funds.
@otf: Sorry about that, I thought ERP 'ers had the same option of 6 months of COBRA + $9k in cash.
In any case, end of August is the message I received for those who still have not received it yet.
You don't have to use SERMA adder on IRMP, you can use it on other plans in the market as well. The HR person who told you this was misinformed. I looked at the documents and confirmed with Hewitt that this is the case.
OMG how hard is this distribution, if HR can't do this imagine what it says about their competence, and how they came to the ACT, LOL
ERP here, and yes I do not get the $9K for cobra. Since my family is on my wife's insurance the $9K would be preferred. Any way I can sell this POS? lol
This doesn't make sense, OP: VSP/ERP should get their's by the end of August.
ERP'ers don't get $9K. We either get $6.102 if single, or $12,098 if a family, added to a bucket separate from our SERMA. When I asked why it was in a separate bucket I was reminded (I had forgotten) that the $6/$12K can ONLY be spent on IRMP once the ERPers reach the end of the 18 months of paid COBRA. I'm not very happy about that because IRMP is much more expensive than purchasing insurance on the outside but it is what it is and I shouldn't be ungrateful about it. :)
Thanks for the tip, was wondering why some folks received it and some didn't
This is very helpful. Thanks for sharing the info!