Navigating AT&T Retiree Health Benefits: HRA & AON Health Exchange Solutions

Although planning for every aspect of a satisfying retirement can be difficult and stressful, it is important to digest your options in chunks. As an AT&T employee or retiree, you should carefully consider your health care coverage and reimbursements.

If you have registered to participate in the Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) through the AON Retiree Health Exchange (ARHE), you must also enroll in the Medigap, Part C (Advantage), or Part D (Prescription Drug Plan, Dental Plan, Vision Plan) to avoid forfeiture of your participation in AT&T Healthcare and your HRA, which will result in the termination of coverage for your dependent under AT&T's Healthcare. Currently, you may be wondering, "What is an HRA?" An HRA is a tax-advantaged account that is funded solely by your employer and can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses covered by your plan.

Enrollment in Advantage, Medigap, and/or Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Coverage purchased through the ARHE not only provides a broader scope of health coverage, but also provides eligible former employees with a $2,700 HRA Crediting Amount. In addition, an eligible dependent enrolled in one of the three options may be eligible for a $1,500 HRA Crediting Amount. Consider that if a dependent is only enrolled in Dental or Vision coverage through ARHE, they are only eligible for a $200 HRA credit. If you are eligible for HRA Credit Dollars for a partial year, they will be prorated monthly as follows: $225 per month for an AT&T retiree and $125 per month for a qualified dependent.

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If you already qualify for the $2,700 HRA credit and you add Dental and/or Vision coverage, you must ensure that the ARHE does not reduce your credit to $300, as it has been known to do on occasion.

You each maintain your own ARHE account if you are married to another AT&T retiree. Both of you qualify for the $2,700 HRA credit. If a person is listed as a dependent of another, the ARHE database can only assign a maximum HRA credit of $1,500. In this instance, you must contact ATT to correct the HRA amount, which should be $2,700 per individual.

If you have leftover HRA Credit Dollars from the previous year, they will carry over into the current year. You may use your previous Carryover HRA Credit Dollars to reimburse eligible expenses from the prior year. To accomplish this, you must submit a Reimbursement Claim to the Claims Administrator by March 31st of the current year. You may also use HRA Credit Dollars from the previous year for eligible expenses incurred in the current year. This eligibility begins on April 1 of the current year, when the Carryover HRA Credit Dollars from the previous year are combined with the Carryover HRA Credit Dollars from the current year. You cannot use HRA Credit Dollars from the current year to pay for eligible expenses from the previous year.

AT&T retirees who are married to another AT&T retiree are eligible for separate ARHE accounts if both retirees enroll. When two AT&T retirees who are married and on the ARHE are eligible for the $2,700 HRA, both retirees are eligible. On occasion, one of the "Married To One Another AT&T Retirees" was listed as a Dependent in the electronic file sent by the AT&T Benefits Center to the Aon Retiree Health Exchange for the ARHE database. When this error is made, the ARHE will only credit the HRA with $1,500 for a dependent, as opposed to the $2,700 for which they are eligible. If the "Dependent" is in fact an AT&T retiree, ATT should be contacted to set up a new and accurate electronic file to be sent to the ARHE. Please be aware of this confusion if you and your spouse are AT&T retirees when you transition to the ARHE. If you have additional questions you should consider speaking to your HR Department as The Retirement Group is not affiliated with ATT or ARHE.

Reminder Regarding HRA Health Reimbursement Accounts for AT&T Retirees Participating in the Aon Retiree Health Exchange

As long as you remain a program participant, any unused HRA Credit Dollars at the end of the year will roll over into the following year. One may use Carryover HRA Credit Dollars for reimbursement of eligible expenses from the previous year. You must submit a Reimbursement Claim for eligible expenses incurred in the previous year to the claims administrator by March 31. You cannot use this year's regular HRA Credit Dollars to collect reimbursement for eligible expenses from the previous year. On January 1st, HRA Credit Dollars became available.

The HRA, ARHE And AT&T Retirees

The HRA Health Reimbursement Account with healthcare coverage on the Aon Retiree Health Exchange ARHE for certain AT&T Retirees and their Dependents began on January 1, 2015 for the first time.

AT&T retirees and their dependents who are under 65 and on Medicare due to disability will transition to the ARHE and HRA on January 1, 2017, after 24 months of disability coverage.

Visit the AT&T Benefits Center website and, on the homepage, click on SPD/SMM/SBC/Legal Notices for additional information. The relevant SPD and SMM documentation will be displayed. On your communication device, you can View and/or Download. You may call and request hard copies of the SPD and SMM documentation, and we will mail the 8-by-11-inch booklets to your home.

Sitting down with a Retirement Advisor to discuss your situation is a great way to alleviate stress during these perplexing times, despite the fact that everything may still appear to be quite confusing. Remember that you are not alone and that we are here to assist you.

Consider creating a cash flow analysis and budget before you resign or retire in order to determine how to take severance (if offered), how to take the pension (if available), and whether you should relocate for one to two years to reach the Rule of 75.

The Retirement Group can provide additional information about your AT&T Health Benefits if you would like to learn more.