Retiree Healthcare and Benefits

As you plan for retirement there is a lot of information to consider, from medical benefits to retirement plan distributions. If you’re considering retiring from Swarthmore, this site offers an overview of key policies and benefits to help guide your planning. 

Eligibility for Retiree Benefits 

To be eligible for retiree benefits, an employee must be at least 60 years old and have 10 years of consecutive benefit eligible service immediately preceding the retirement date. The term Retirees refers only to employees who meet these eligibility requirements. 

College Retiree Health Insurance

Retirees have the ability to continue to participate in group health plans through the College which subsidizes a portion of the monthly healthcare premium.  Retiree contribution amounts may change based upon the cost of healthcare insurance premiums. 

Retirees have the ability to select from several health plan options with varying premiums which are described in the Pre-65 Early Retiree Benefits Guidebook and the Post-65 Retiree Benefits Guidebook.

Our benefits team is available to answer individual questions regarding the Retiree Benefit Program. We suggest that you schedule an in person meeting at least four months prior to your retirement date with the Director of Benefits & Wellness to discuss the available benefits and the benefits process as each employee’s path to retirement varies slightly.  

Employees eligible to participate in the Swarthmore College Retiree Benefit Program must enroll at the time of initial eligibility.  Employees who decline to participate in the program at the time of retirement will not be eligible to participate in the plan at a later date.

Pre-65 Early Retiree Healthcare Benefit (Pre-Medicare Eligible)

Employees retiring between age 60 and age 64 are eligible to enroll in the early retiree healthcare plan. These benefits are outlined in the  Swarthmore College Pre-65 Early Retiree Benefits Guidebook.  Through this program, retiring employee’s current health, dental, and vision benefits continue, but are subsidized by the College at the retiree subsidy rate.  Please refer to the  Pre-65 Early Retiree Benefits Guidebook for premium information. Disability and Life insurance benefits cease when an employee retires.  Please see Conclusion of Active Employee Benefits for more information.

Retiring employees enrolling in a College retiree healthcare plan, will be billed for  monthly premiums by the College’s third party retiree direct billing vendor. At the time of retirement, the retiree will need to complete and return the Early Retiree Direct Billing form to  benefits@swarthmore.edu

At least three (3) months prior to a retiree’s 65th birthday, the retiree will need to begin the transition to “medicare eligible” retiree benefits.  To begin this transition the retiree will want to contact benefits@swarthmore.edu to discuss the transition process.

Post-65 Retiree Healthcare Benefit (Medicare Eligible)

The College offers three medicare eligible retiree plans for retirees 65 or older: Medigap Freedom Security C (with or without PDP Select Rx plan), HMO65 and PPO65. The coverage provided by each of these plans is  detailed in the Swarthmore College Post-65 Retiree Benefits Guidebook..

Below are important milestones in this process. 

  • Employees planning to retire close to or after age 65 should enroll in Medicare Parts A & B at least three months prior to the effective date of retiree coverage.  
  • Employees retiring after age 65 should request a completed CMS L564, Request for Employment Information form  by emailing benefits@swarthmore.edu.  This form is used by the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to verify that individuals retiring after age 65 were enrolled in active employee health coverage.  
  • Please note: Enrollment in Medicare Parts A & Part B must be completed and the retiree’s Medicare ID card issued prior to retirees being eligible to enroll in one of the College’s retiree medical plans.  Please visit Medicare.gov or make an appointment at the local Social Security Office to start this process.
  • Review the Post-65 Retiree Benefits Guidebook.to consider the options and the costs involved for each benefit.  Employees considering retiree health plan options can contact HTA Client Services Team or SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Programs - PA Medi) for assistance in identifying alternatives to the plans offered by the college.
  • To enroll in one of the plans offered by the College: 
    • Complete of the Retiree Direct Billing Change form
    • Complete the application for the retiree plan of your choice
    • Submit the completed application form and a copy of your Medicare card with both Parts A and Part B effective dates to the Benefits team at least 15 days prior to the effective date of retiree coverage.

Conclusion of Active Employee Benefits

Basic and voluntary life and disability benefits end on the last day of active employment for all retirees.  Information related to converting life insurance to non-group status will be sent by the life insurance carrier directly to the retiring employee. 

Participation in health, limited purpose health, dependent care, transit and parking flexible spending accounts ends on the last day of the month in which an employee retires.  If you have a  debit card for these programs, it  will be deactivated on the last day of your employment. Claims for services incurred through the conclusion of the month may be submitted to the FSA Administrator for reimbursement.  Any unused funds remaining in the account will be forfeited.  Retiring employees with questions regarding the claims process may contact the FSA Administrator, Inspira, directly at 888-678-8242.

Retirees will continue to have access to funds in their College HSA account. The HSA administrator, Wealthcare, will send information regarding the migration of the HSA account to an individual/retail HSA account. A packet containing a new HSA card and online portal access will be mailed to the retiring employee’s home address. The packet should arrive within three weeks from the retirement date. Retiring employees with questions regarding the conversion process should contact  the Wealthcare Concierge Team at 866-287-2520.

The Septa Key Advantage UPass ends on the last day of the month in which an employee retires.

MetLife Legal Plan benefits end on the last day of the month in which an employee retires.   Retiring employees may enroll in or learn more about an individual legal plan by visiting  MetLife.com/individual-legal-plans for more information.

Coverage for the Davis Vision and Delta Dental plans, end on the last day of the month in which Retirees turn 65. Retirees will have the option to continue these benefits through COBRA.

  • Retirees will receive a COBRA election notice from Inspira Financial with the information on how to enroll in COBRA for these benefits.
  • Retirees will complete the enrollment form and remit payment directly to Inspira to continue these coverages.
  • The retiree can also ask the HTA Client Services Team to assist with obtaining other Vision and/or Dental coverage as alternative to the current coverages under COBRA.
  • Or the retiree can contact our NFP benefits brokerage office to speak to our Medicare Advisor, Riitta Schoenfeld at 516-331-4833 or email Riitta directly at riitta.schoenfeld@nfp.com to discuss Vision and/or Dental options.

Final retirement plan contributions to the Swarthmore College Retirement Plan are made following the last salary payment.  Plan participants may elect to begin to access funds at the time of retirement or plan participants may elect to defer receiving funds from their account.  Retiring plan participants who plan to access funds at the time of retirement  are encouraged to contact TIAA to make arrangements regarding their account one month prior to retirement.

TIAA provides a variety of resources for plan participants planning for retirement including webinars related to social security and planning for retirement and retirement calculators.  These resources are available from the plan participants account home page.  TIAA also makes available counselors who can assist plan participants in investment and retirement planning. These appointments can be in-person, virtual or via telephone.  Access to scheduling an appointment with a TIAA counselor is available on the plan participant’s account home page.  For plan participant’s convenience TIAA investment counselors come to the Swarthmore campus several times monthly.  The Human Resources Office notifies the campus community of the upcoming schedule with appointment scheduling instructions.

AllOne

AllOne is the College’s employee assistance program.  AllOne provides a variety of resources for retirement planning including financial planning, budgeting, estate planning as well as life coaching support for this important transition. Employees considering retirement are encouraged to visit the AllOne website to review the available resources.

Additional Retiree Benefits:

We are pleased to offer Retirees continued access to the following benefits:

Use of Facilities 

Retirees and their spouse or domestic partner will continue to be eligible to use the College athletic and recreational facilities: the Field House, Mullan Tennis and Fitness Center, Tarble Pavilion, the Ware Pool, squash courts, outdoor track and tennis courts (in accordance with current operating schedules).  Retirees must get a retiree ID card from the One Card Office. Please call the One Card Office at 610-328-7362 to make an appointment to come and get the card(s) to be certain they will be available to take the photo ID.

Use of Libraries

Retirees also continue to have access to the College’s libraries and it’s resources.

Taking Courses at Swarthmore

All retired employees are eligible to take one course per semester for audit or credit.  The retiree must receive permission from the instructor of the course.

Tuition Grant Program

Child eligibility for a dependent child when an employee who at the time of retirement had satisfied the employment requirement stated in the Tuition Grant Program guidelines will continue, provided the child was in the 9th grade or beyond at the time of retirement and the maximum number of semesters is not exhausted.  The maximum eligibility period is four (4) years or eight (8) semesters.  Invoices must be submitted in accordance with the Tuition Grant Program.  

Please reach out to benefits@swarthmore.edu with any questions related to retiree benefits.