Highlights of the SRNS New HRA Platform Transition from HealthEquity to Gallagher HealthInvest – A Positive for Retirees

• Claims processing procedures, account access, and payments with HealthInvest are structured to be more efficient than with the current vendor HealthEquity.
• No change to the existing HRA stipend allocation amounts by age bracket for 2026.
• You are not required to change any of your benefit plans.
• No restrictions to filing prior year HRA claims incurred before the new platform change, such as SRMC restricted with the VIA transition.
• HRA claims which have already been approved by HE before the beginning of the blackout period, but not yet paid, will be paid as future stipend amounts become available.
• Automatic Premium Reimbursements (APRs) will be transferred automatically to HealthInvest.

MEDICARE.GOV

• NEW MEDICARE ENROLLEES:
  • You will now need to be able to receive a confirmation text and put that number onto the Medicare website to get to your Medicare account.
  • This means you’ll have to provide Medicare with your telephone number, so you must have a telephone able to accept text notices, or your email address which you must then be able to access, usually within ten minutes.
• PRIOR YEAR ENROLLEES:
  • Medicare has not released a date when the TFA will be required for already enrolled retirees.
  • If you don’t have an email, or a smartphone which is able to accept a texted PIN number, the fastest way to get in your account could be to check with a family member, neighbor, or friend to help you secure an email address.
  • You can call the SRS Retiree Resource Center or make an appointment for assistance.

Very positively received, these three-hour sessions review important considerations and requirements for successful transition from the Site’s medical benefit plan to the post-65 Medicare-based Retiree plan.  This training describes how your medical benefits will change, your options within Medicare, and the timing and process to enroll in Medicare and Medicare supplements using LIG Solutions (SRNS) and Via Benefits (SRMC), the contractors hired  to assist retirees, and how to initiate the SRS stipend. The training includes a discussion of LIG Solutions (SRNS) and Via Benefits (SRMC) enrollment procedures and options, benefit coordination issues with Tricare, PEBA and other medical plans, and how to use Health Equity (WageWorks) and VIA to be reimbursed for out-of-pocket medical expenses. The sessions provide the sequence of events and the actions the Retiree must take to successfully transition into the post-65 Retiree Medical Plan. The Resource Center can also provide support and information for considering dental, vision, and other medical insurance.

We recommend scheduling your training 3-4 months before you (or your spouse) turn 65.  Certain decisions you will make will be irrevocable, or at best, very difficult to change, and you will need the time to make decisions that fit your specific situation. You can enroll in the monthly session by calling or emailing the Resource Center.

Retirees are encouraged to bring spouses or friends along, and the facility is handicapped accessible. Your family is always welcome.

Enrollment in a Medicare supplement or Medicare Advantage plan must be completed through Gallagher (SRNS), or VIA Benefits (SRMC) in order to qualify for the SRS stipend.  The enrollment selection process can be lengthy especially if you are considering a Medicare Advantage plan as it involves many decisions and legally-required procedures.  There are also benefit coordination issues to discuss. There is not just “one right plan” for everyone.

Some people feel more comfortable working with a Resource Center volunteer counselor to review options for their decision. They then call Gallagher (SRNS), VIA Benefits (SRMC) with any final questions and to complete the enrollment process. Since our volunteer counselors have been through this process many times, they can be helpful in explaining your options and helping you understand the decisions and questions which the Gallagher (SRNS), VIA Benefits (SRMC) agent must work through in order to successfully complete the enrollment.

Enrolling into a Medicare supplement plan will require enrollment in a Medicare Part D drug plan (Note: Medicare Advantage plans often include drug plans).  Gallagher can enroll you into a Drug plan, but you are only required to go through them for your medical plan in order to qualify for your stipend. If you choose, we can help you evaluate your options and complete the enrollment in our office.  This approach can, possibly, provide a larger selection of plans than the selection offered by Gallagher (SRNS), or VIA Benefits (SRMC), and can be much faster and easier especially if you take a larger number of prescriptions.

You can set up an appointment for a one-on-one session (you are welcome to bring a spouse, family member or friend) at the end of a training session, or by calling or emailing our office.  We recommend you complete the enrollment process into a plan through Gallagher (SRNS), or VIA Benefits (SRMC) at least one or two months before turning 65 to be sure all is in place for the right effective starting date. You do not want a gap in coverage.

Volunteer counselors will help you understand benefit coordination issues with plans like Tricare and PEBA, and how your choices can affect your SRS stipend. They can also direct you to the appropriate resources for pension and employee insurance questions.

SRS Retiree HRA Annual Stipend Allocations
2026

The age brackets are based on your age at the end of the calendar year.

After you transition to your retiree Plan/s, you will need to learn how to be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses through HealthInvest.  The Resource Center can work with you to submit claims, or assist you in setting up systems where claims are filed automatically or annually, greatly reducing the burden of filing frequent small claims.  Reimbursement claims are filed much more efficiently through electronic means rather than mail. We can help you through the process.  We can assist in helping to resolve  claims issues.

Prescription drug copays are the largest out-of-pocket expense for most retirees so it is critical that each retiree closely examine the many options for Medicare Part D drug plans, both at initial age-65 enrollment and annually thereafter.  Unlike the Medicare Supplement Plans, the Medicare Part D Rx plans can be easily changed each year. These plans have an open enrollment period every year (October 15^th to December 7^th) and it is very important that every retiree review their options EACH and EVERY year.  Even if your drugs haven’t changed, the terms of the plans change every year – premium and deductible amounts, which drugs are covered at which level of coverage (formulary), and even what drug stores are in network or “preferred” for lower co-pays.  The Resource Center offers these important Medicare prescription plan drug reviews every year during the open enrollment period.

Over 70% of the Resource Center drug reviews in the past nine years have resulted in a total of out-of-pocket savings of $3.7 million to retirees.  The Resource Center process uses the medicare.gov website, which includes all licensed plans for comparative purposes.  You can also use the medicare.gov website yourself.

Note: 

Pay attention to your Rx drug expenses. If you purchase your drugs outside of the Medicare Part D Plan in which you are enrolled (e.g., from Good Rx, Publix, etc.,) you may find cheaper costs for that medication. You should know that that cost will not be considered when Medicare calculates catastrophic drug limit for 2025 and that will extend the time required to meet the $2000 threshold Medicare defines for free medications.

These Health Reimbursement Accounts are “notional” accounts which means an employer-owned account where funds are not physically deposited or held. Rather, the employer keeps track of the allocated amounts to reimburse retirees only for medical expenses considered as allowable by the IRS.  Then, the payments are not taxable to you.

Unlike a Health Savings Account (HSA), or your bank account, the amount shown as your Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) account balance does not belong to you and is not a “savings account.” The Employer has reserved the right to amend or terminate the Plan and any retiree health plan at any time for any reason. No employee, retiree, spouse, dependent or terminated employee has a vested right to receive retiree health coverage or an HRA.

Following your death there is a six-month window for HRA claims to be filed on your behalf. After that, any remaining balance is forfeited and reverts to the company of issue. If you are married and your surviving spouse is under 65 at the time of your death, a new HRA account will be established when the surviving spouse reaches age 65, provided he/she meets the eligibility requirements.

If you are married and your spouse has been eligible for, and receiving allocations into the HRA, all remaining HRA funds remain in the HRA account and the annual stipend allocation continues for the surviving spouse until his/her death. Upon the surviving spouse’s death, the same six-month window is open for filing claims on their behalf. After that any remaining balance reverts back to the company of issue.