United States 

Office of 

Personnel Management 

The Federal Government’s Human Resources Agency

Benefits Administration Letter 

 

Number: 05-411 Date: December 30, 2005 

Subject: Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: Delayed Reinstatement 

of FEHB for Employees and Annuitants with TRICARE Reserve Select 

PURPOSE 

TRICARE Reserve Select (TRS) is a new premium-based TRICARE health plan offered for 

purchase by certain members and former members of the military Reserve Component (RC) and 

their families. TRS coverage is available for purchase by eligible RC members who were called 

or ordered to active duty, under Title 10, in support of a contingency operation on or after 

September 11, 2001. The Reserve Components include the Army National Guard, the Army 

Reserve, the Navy Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, the Air National Guard, the Air Force 

Reserve, and the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. RC members and their Reserve Component unit 

will normally agree for the member to stay in the Select Reserve for one or more whole years to 

qualify. Members can get one year of TRS coverage for each 90 days of additional service. 

As a result of this new program, returning employees or annuitants may ask you to postpone 

reinstating their FEHB enrollment until their TRS coverage expires. This Benefits 

Administration Letter explains how to honor those requests. See BAL # 05-402 for a discussion 

of postponing reinstatement or enrollment under Transitional TRICARE. The waiver form 

included with this BAL has been designed so it can be used to postpone reinstatement under 

Transitional TRICARE or TRS. Only one waiver form is necessary if the individual postpones 

reinstatement of enrollment under Transitional TRICARE and subsequently enrolls in TRS. The 

same waiver and reenrollment procedures apply under both programs. 

Employees may ask their agencies to postpone reinstatement of their FEHB enrollment from the 

date they are restored to their civilian positions until the day after their Transitional TRICARE or 

TRS coverage ends, or any date within this timeframe. 

Annuitants may ask their retirement offices to postpone reinstatement of their FEHB coverage 

from the date they are separated from the uniformed services until the day after their Transitional 

TRICARE or TRS coverage ends, or any date within this timeframe. 
PROCESSING REQUESTS 

In order to process a request to postpone reinstatement of an FEHB enrollment, you must obtain 

a waiver of FEHB coverage from the employee or annuitant. Attached is a Waiver of Immediate 

Reinstatement of FEHB that you may use for this purpose. The waiver should be completed at 

the earliest opportunity following the employee’s return to their civilian position, or following 

the annuitant’s separation from the uniformed services. 

An employee or annuitant may revoke the waiver and return to FEHB coverage at any time 

before the Transitional TRICARE or TRS coverage ends. If revoking the waiver, he/she must 

sign and date the revocation request at the bottom of the waiver form, and FEHB coverage 

becomes effective immediately. 

The waiver automatically terminates upon death of the employee or annuitant if he/she dies 

before Transitional TRICARE or TRS coverage ends. If the employee or annuitant postponed 

reinstatement of a Self and Family FEHB enrollment and his/her survivors would otherwise meet 

all requirements to continue FEHB as survivors annuitants, the FEHB entitlement for the 

survivor annuitants is immediate. 

Postponement of automatic reinstatement in FEHB because of Transitional TRICARE or TRS 

will not affect eligibility to continue FEHB enrollment into retirement. While the time an 

employee is covered under Transitional TRICARE or TRS counts toward meeting the 

5-year/initial opportunity requirement to continue FEHB into retirement, the employee must be 

covered under FEHB on the day he/she retires. If the employee plans to retire during the 

Transitional TRICARE or TRS period, he/she must reinstate FEHB coverage before the 

retirement date. 

Please assist your employees or annuitants who return from military service to avoid any 

breaks in health insurance coverage between the end of their Transitional TRICARE or 

TRS coverage and the reinstatement of their FEHB. 

If you have further questions regarding this letter, please contact Michael Kaszynski at 

202.606.0004. As we develop questions and answers about this topic, we will add them to the 

Frequently Asked Questions section on our FEHB webpage at www.opm.gov/insure/health. 

 Sincerely, 

 Robert F. Danbeck 

 Associate Director 

 for Human Resources Products and Services 

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