Generally, your transition to retiree group health coverage begins without a break in coverage, provided your retirement date immediately follows your date of termination of active employment. For example, if your last day of work is June 30 and the first day of retirement is July 1, then your UNC-provided health coverage would end on July 31, and the NC State Retirement System, which handles retiree health insurance, would pick you up on August 1. Contact the North Carolina State Health Plan for questions pertaining to retiree healthcare coverage once retired.

To assure no gap in coverage as you retire, it is essential to meet with the UNC Benefits Office 120 to 90 days before your retirement date to complete the required paperwork.

Important note: You forfeit your eligibility for the State’s retiree group health plan coverage if you withdraw your entire account from TSERS or ORP, or if you transfer or roll over the entire account to an individual retirement account (IRA) or another employer’s retirement plan.

Retiring members who are eligible for Medicare and begin the retirement process 120 days (if enrolled in TSERS) or 90 days (if enrolled in ORP) prior to the benefit effective date, and their dependents, will be auto-enrolled into the Group
Medicare Advantage Base Plan.

Enrollment in the State Retiree Medicare Advantage Base Plan is contingent on your Medicare Part B coverage’s being in effect on the retirement date. Enrollment into Medicare Part B must occur at least 60 days prior to the retirement date but be in effect on the retirement date. If there is a delay in Medicare Part B enrollment, the retiree may default to the 70/30 health plan. The State Health Plan pays claims based on the assumption that the Medicare-Part B-eligible retiree is enrolled in Medicare Part B, regardless of whether the retiree has actually enrolled.

Retirees may select the State’s 70/30 Plan, an option that may be preferable for retirees with dependents who also wish to enroll in a Medicare Supplement program. This option is not available to participants in Medicare Advantage plans. The Medicare Advantage Base Plan or the State 70/30 Plan may be premium-free for retiree-only coverage if the retiree was hired prior to October 1, 2006. Otherwise, there may be premiums paid.

Changes to plan elections can be made during the next Open Enrollment period. For all retirees, including those enrolled in ORP, open enrollment is done through the State Retirement System in their ORBIT website. All retirees need to create an ORBIT account at some point.

If retirees have dependents that are not eligible for Medicare, the dependents will be enrolled into the same health plan they had the year prior to retirement. Medicare-eligible dependents can be added to the Medicare Advantage Plan at the retiree’s expense.

Retiring members who are under 65, along with any covered dependents, will be enrolled in the health plan they had as active employees. New health ID cards will have a group number starting with SR-.

See the Planning for Retirement section of the North Carolina State Health Plan website.

Retirees who are not vested in a UNC retirement system or who have a spouse or other dependents with other options or needs can find extensive information about Medicare, Medicare Supplements and Long-Term Care Insurance from the Medicare and Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP).

with NCFlex
If enrolled at time of retirement, you may continue current coverage as a retiree and move to an individual policy.

• 1-877-464-5111

with NCFlex
May convert to an individual policy within 31 days of retirement; otherwise, it terminates.

with NCFlex
If enrolled at time of retirement, you may continue current coverage as a retiree and move to an individual policy.

with NCFlex
If enrolled at time of retirement, you may continue current coverage as a retiree and move to an individual policy.

with TSERS

Those retiring with TSERS can enroll in the Retirement Systems dental plans.

with ORP
If enrolled at retirement, you may continue coverage under COBRA for up to 18 months. You can also look to external groups like AARP for group dental plans.

with NCFlex
Enrollment in this plan is conditional.

You may submit claims for healthcare expenses up to the last day worked and dependent care claims up to the last day of the plan year. May continue the healthcare flex spending coverage through COBRA on an after-tax basis.

with NCFlex
You may convert to an individual life policy within 30 days of retirement; otherwise, it terminates. Rates will be higher.

with UNC Benefits
You have the option to enroll in voluntary retiree life coverage offered to all retirees.

The UNC System vendor will reach out to you directly about this plan option.

• At age 62: You should review your Social Security benefit options at ssa.gov or 1-888-759-3908. Consider using the table at go.unc.edu/DRCTable to decide whether delaying the onset of Social Security benefits until or beyond your “full” retirement age could be advisable for your personal situation.
• At age 65-67: You can start taking full or partial Social Security benefits according to your birth year.
• If not initiated earlier, by age 70 you should initiate payment of Social Security benefits since no additional scheduled payout adjustment occurs as you age further.

• At age 64 and 8 months, you can apply for Medicare online at ssa.gov or contact your local Social Security Office. If actively working and on the State Health Plan through UNC, you only need Medicare Part A and can delay Part B until your retirement.
• During the retirement process with the UNC Benefits Office, those over age 65 will be provided an Employer Medicare Form that states you were covered under a group health plan to provide information as to why you delayed Part B enrollment.

By age 72, you must begin taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from IRAs and other pre-tax investments. However, if you are still actively employed at UNC and contributing to TSERS or ORP, you can delay taking RMDs from the UNC accounts until you retire.

Once someone retires, TSERS and ORP are covered under the RMD rules. Rolling over funds from the ORP to the supplemental plans can be done but is tricky to navigate. Sufficient funds must be left in the original ORP or an annuity payment must be set up to meet the requirements for retiree health insurance eligibility.

Leaving your funds in UNC’s supplemental retirement account(s) after retirement offers a continuing benefit because of reduced institutional account fees compared with fees for identical investments in an individual plan. Immediate or later rollover of these UNC supplemental funds is possible, perhaps to simplify the oversight and management with your other individual external funds.

If you encounter difficulty with such a rollover, identify the issue and contact the UNC Benefits Office for help at 919-962-3071 or benefits@unc.edu.