Are you planning to retire in 2025?
If you plan to retire in 2025 and take a monthly retirement benefit, are eligible for retiree health insurance and expect to enroll in Medicare during the year, think carefully about the UC medical plan you choose during Open Enrollment. The choice you make will affect which Medicare plan you’re transferred into when you turn 65. Consider whether the Medicare version of your current medical plan offers the benefits you may want and whether your primary care physician (PCP) or primary medical group (PMG) accepts Medicare. If not, Open Enrollment is the time to change plans.
Unless you are enrolled in UC Health Savings Plan (which doesn’t have a corresponding Medicare plan), you can’t change plans mid-year simply because you have become eligible for Medicare or have elected to retire.
For California retirees, below are non-Medicare plans and the corresponding partner Medicare plans.
| If you’re enrolled in | You’ll transfer to this Medicare plan when eligible |
|---|---|
| CORE PPO or UC Care PPO | UC Medicare PPO (Anthem Blue Cross) |
| UC Blue & Gold HMO | UC Medicare Choice PPO (UnitedHealthcare) |
| Kaiser HMO | Kaiser Permanente Senior Advantage |
| UC Health Savings Plan | No partner plan; period of Initial Eligibility (PIE) to enroll in UC-sponsored Medicare plans in your service area |
*If you are enrolled in the UC Health Savings plan as an employee and you or a covered family member will be Medicare-eligible upon your retirement while other covered family members are not Medicare-eligible, you may not stay on the UC Health Savings Plan after retirement, as it does not have a Medicare partner plan. You will have a 31-day Period of Initial Eligibility (PIE) to transition and enroll in a UC-sponsored Medicare plan and the corresponding non-Medicare partner plan. UC Medicare PPO without Prescription Drugs and UC High Option Supplement to Medicare plans are not available to split-Medicare families.
- Kaiser Permanente California Senior Advantage
- UC Medicare Choice
- UC Medicare PPO
- UC High Option Supplement to Medicare — This plan is only available during Open Enrollment when all covered family members are enrolled in Medicare.
- UC Medicare PPO without Prescription Drugs — You are eligible to enroll in this plan if you have a creditable prescription drug plan outside of UC and can provide proof of enrollment, and all covered family members are enrolled in Medicare.
You must be enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B to enroll in a UC Medicare plan. If you did not pay into Social Security or have less than 40 quarters (less than 10 years of full-time employment), you may be ineligible for premium-free Medicare Part A. Contact Social Security to check if you may be eligible under a spouse, former spouse or deceased spouse. If you are ineligible for Medicare, you must provide a copy of the Medicare denial letter with a UBEN 100 to RASC so you can remain in your UC non-Medicare plan and avoid the UC Medicare offset penalties (currently $419.60/month) and termination of your medical coverage.
Read the Medicare Factsheet (PDF) for more information.