If you retire before age 65:
If you retire before turning 65, you can choose to stay on your current plan or select one of four options for medical coverage through MIT: the MIT Traditional Health Plan, the MIT Choice Plan, the MIT High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) or Blue Care Elect Preferred. You can continue using one of these plans until the month before you turn 65. If you have a spouse under age 65, and/or eligible dependent children, they are all eligible to be covered as well.
When you retire, MIT may subsidize the monthly cost of your insurance premium. The amount of the subsidy depends on how long you have worked at MIT. To learn more about your monthly cost for health insurance coverage, visit the HR Retiree Health Plans page.
If you retire after age 65:
Primary and supplemental insurance:
If you retire after age 65, your primary healthcare insurance will be through Medicare Parts A (hospital) and B (medical). Medicare payments may be deducted from your social security benefit, or you may be billed directly.
MIT offers a Medicare supplemental plan to bridge the gap between what Medicare pays for covered services—80 percent of costs after your Part B deductible is met—and the remaining 20 percent you would otherwise owe. MIT also offers a Medicare HMO plan. But remember, MIT plans cover only services covered by Medicare.
The monthly cost for MIT’s Medicare supplemental health plan or Medicare HMO may be subsidized by MIT. The amount of this subsidy depends on how long you have worked at MIT. To learn more about your monthly cost for health insurance coverage, visit the HR Retiree Health Plans page.
Prescription Drug Coverage (Medicare Part D):
MIT retirees who enroll in one of MIT’s Medicare supplemental plans are automatically enrolled in the MIT-sponsored Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan. The cost for covered prescription drugs can be found on the MIT Benefits page. The MIT-sponsored prescription drug plan does not have “donut hole” gaps (times when a Medicare Part D plan stops paying benefits and participants become responsible for the full cost of their prescriptions).
Dental Insurance
All retirees, regardless of age, can sign up for Delta Dental coverage through MIT. Dental coverage is not subsidized by MIT; you will pay the full cost of this coverage. Before enrolling in the Retiree Dental Plan, compare its cost with the cost of COBRA coverage, which will allow you to continue receiving the same dental coverage you had as an employee for the first 18 months of your retirement. In most cases, it will be less expensive to receive your dental benefit through COBRA. To learn about the Retiree Dental Plan and its cost, visit the MIT Retiree Dental Plan page.
