Five-Year Rule Flexibility – When Can It Be Waived?

Flexibility of the Five-Year Rule

The five-year rule for transporting your FEHB into retirement is not necessarily a hard and fast rule.  There are circumstances under which OPM will grant a pre-approved waiver of the FEHB five-year rule to federal employees.  Some of the circumstances are outlined below:

• When a federal employee has been under the FEHB program continuously since the initial date of the agency’s most recent statutory buyout authority or an OPM
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  approved buyout or early retirement authorization and the employee retires during the buyout or OPM-authorized buyout or early out period.
• When an employee receives a buyout or takes an early optional retirement or discontinued service retirement based on an involuntary separation because of a Reduction in Force (RIF) a directed reassignment, a reclassification to a lower grade or when a position is abolished.

OPM will also consider other waivers (in addition to the five-year rule) on an individual or limited basis.

Postal employess can access their FEHB benefits through PostalEase and LiteBlue

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