Retired from UNI

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UNI retirees may change their plans as well as remove their spouse due to any life event or open enrollment which happens each fall.

Examples of life events may be:

• Retiree becomes Medicare-eligible
• Spouse gains coverage
• Marriage
• Divorce
• Death

University of Northern Iowa determines self-insured health and dental premiums for retirees based on the overall claims experience of the retiree population. Retiree health and dental coverage is not guaranteed and may be modified or discontinued at any time, in accordance with the UNI self-insured plan provisions, Program F, the PDP plan, or at the employer’s discretion. 

In the event of a retiree’s death, if the spouse of a UNI retiree is covered under the plan at the time of the retiree’s death, the spouse may request continuation of coverage. Any continuation of coverage is not guaranteed and is subject to applicable plan provisions and the employer’s discretion. Coverage may be denied or discontinued, including if the spouse becomes eligible for another employer-sponsored group health plan.

Premiums, plan design, and plan options are subject to change annually on January 1.

UNI Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans ★

Monthly Premiums ★

★ UNI sets the premiums based on claims costs. 

★★ Wellmark sets the premiums. The benefit design of Group Program F is identical to an individual Medicare Supplement Plan F.

UNI retirees may be enrolled in one of two UNI sponsored dental plans:

• UNI Dental Plan 1 (Grandfathered plan, no new enrollments accepted)
• UNI Dental Plan 2

UNI Sponsored Dental Insurance:

• Automatic withdrawal is available for monthly premiums.
• A list of participating providers may be found at deltadentalia.com. You may also ask providers whether they have a participating agreement with Delta Dental, or contact Delta Dental at 800-544-0718 to inquire about the status of specific providers.
• Retirees enrolled in Delta Dental of Iowa are automatically eligible for the vision discount program through DeltaVision at no extra cost.
• Retirees may also take advantage of hearing care discounts through Amplifon.
• This benefit booklet describes your rights and responsibilities under your group dental plan.
• This benefit handout provides a simplified Summary of Benefits offered by the plan.

Administrators, Faculty and P&S employees who have a minimum of 20 years of creditable full-time or part-time service in higher education including a minimum accumulation of 10 years of service at the University of Northern Iowa may apply for Emeritus Status. Faculty must have at least 10 years of meritorious service at UNI.

Interested Faculty and Staff should complete the form once eligible and when a retirement date has been established. Status completion is subject to all levels of approval and may require several months to complete.

Ideally, this request should be completed several months before your retirement. Faculty requests will be approved during a Faculty Senate meeting.

Note: UNI email accounts for Emeritus are intended for university-related communication. For additional information, please review the Acceptable Use of uni.edu Google Email guidelines.

Consult with your tax advisor regarding regulatory changes to retirement plan savings and distributions. Iowa House File 2317 provides tax relief for certain retirement incomes as well as other income tax bracket adjustments. Now is a great time to meet with your financial advisor, or an IPERS or TIAA consultant, to see how the changes may impact your income and savings plans. An online request for tax guidance is also available through the Iowa Department of Revenue.

If a retiree returns and is eligible for benefits, they can either:

1. Select the active employee benefits and waive retiree coverage
   or
2. Waive the active employee benefits and continue with the retiree benefits.

An employee can only retire from UNI once. Once the retiree coverage has been waived, the retiree cannot re-enroll in retirement coverage.

1Q: If I'm not currently covering a spouse on a UNI comprehensive retiree health insurance plan, can I add them to the Group Program F medical plan?

1A: No, you must be covering a spouse under a UNI comprehensive health insurance plan.

2Q: If I am age 65 or older, but my spouse is younger than 65 can we still enroll in the Group Program F medical plan?

2A: No, both the retiree and their spouse must be Medicare eligible in order for each to be covered under the Group Program F. If the spouse is not Medicare eligible, then the retiree may move to the Group Program F but the spouse would need to enroll in their own coverage outside of UNI.

3Q: If I am in the process of getting enrolled in Medicare Part A and/or B can I enroll in Program F?

3A: No, you must be enrolled in Medicare Part A and B prior to enrolling in Program F.

4Q: Are prescriptions included in the new Group Program F medical plan?

4A: No, Group Program F is only a supplemental medical plan. There is a separate group prescription drug plan available for an additional cost. Please see enclosed materials.

5Q: If I enroll in Group Program F now, but not the group prescription drug plan, when can I enroll in the group prescription drug plan if I decide I want it?

5A: If you do not choose the group prescription drug plan during Open Enrollment, the next time you can enroll is the next Open Enrollment period.

6Q: What happens if I waive UNI PPO (Alliance Select), UNI Blue Advantage (HMO), Group Program F medical plan, and the group prescription drug plan?

6A: You will not be able to enroll in a UNI comprehensive health insurance plan, the Group Program F medical plan, or the group prescription drug plan in the future. The waiver is indefinite.

7Q: What happens if I enroll in the Group Program F medical plan and/or the group prescription drug plan, can I reenroll in UNI PPO or UNI Blue Advantage at a future date?

7A: You will not be able to re-enroll into a UNI comprehensive health insurance plan in the future, the waiver is indefinite.

8Q: What happens if I didn't retain a UNI comprehensive health insurance plan at the time of retirement, can I now enroll in the Group Program F medical plan?

8A: No, you must currently be covered under a UNI comprehensive health insurance plan.

9Q: Can I keep the UNI comprehensive health insurance plan and enroll in the Group Program F medical plan at the same time?

9A: No, once you enroll in the Group Program F medical plan, you will need to waive the UNI comprehensive health insurance plan.

10Q: Can I enroll in the Group Program F and the group prescription drug plan and still keep the UNI dental insurance?

10A: Yes, you can stay in the UNI dental regardless of what decision you make about your health insurance options.

11Q: If I enroll in the Program F and the group prescription drug plan, who will I receive bills from?

11A: Wellmark will bill you for the Program F, and Group Medicare BlueRx will bill you for the group prescription drug plan.