Congratulations on your upcoming retirement! Let’s address your questions one by one:

1. Are healthcare premiums taken out pre-tax in retirement? No. All deductions from your MOSERS pension benefit are POST tax.
2. As an employee, my premiums are taken out pre-tax to lower my taxable income. Does this happen with a retiree's pension payment? No. All deductions from your MOSERS pension benefit are POST tax.  
3. If healthcare premiums are deducted prior to federal tax deductions (while in retirement) than the prepayment of healthcare premiums (at year-end) would be the same, is that correct? No. Healthcare premiums in retirement are NOT deducted prior to federal taxes. So, there may be tax advantage to you to pre-pay your retiree healthcare premiums for the remainder of the calendar year from pay you receive as an active employee. See the information below from the MCHCP website:

Employees whose premiums are collected pre-tax through the cafeteria plan have the opportunity to pre-pay premiums pre-tax as a retiree. Prepaid premiums may only be paid within the same calendar year*. To prepay retirees must submit their enrollment request at least 31 days prior to their retirement date. The first month’s premium for retiree coverage will be divided between the last two active paychecks. Additional prepaid premiums may be collected from the retiree’s last two active paychecks and/or lump sum vacation/compensatory time payroll. Verify this payroll amount with the HR/Payroll personnel to determine how many months of retiree premiums can be prepaid.

*Employees with a retirement date of Dec.1 cannot prepay premiums, since future premiums would be for a different plan year. Employees with a retirement date of Jan.1 can only prepay premiums using funds from their final active payroll (usually Jan.15) and/or their vacation and compensatory time payroll.

Since your question relates to medical insurance, please contact your medical insurance provider. For most state employees, that is Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan (MCHCP). If you are employed at a college, university, or the Department of Conservation, contact your human resources/employee benefits office. As a reminder, at MOSERS, we administer retirement, life insurance, and long-term disability benefits, but not medical insurance. We cannot respond to questions about benefits we don’t administer. 

There is an option to pre-pay health insurance premiums in retirement with a payout of unused annual leave. However, this is outside of the scope of benefits that MOSERS administers. You can find the following information on MCHCP’s website:

• “Employees whose premiums are collected pre-tax through the cafeteria plan have the opportunity to pre-pay premiums pre-tax as a retiree. Prepaid premiums may only be paid within the same calendar year*. To prepay, retirees must submit their enrollment request at least 31 days prior to their retirement date. The first month’s premium for retiree coverage will be divided between the last two active paychecks. Additional prepaid premiums may be collected from the retiree’s last two active paychecks and/or lump sum vacation/compensatory time payroll. Verify this payroll amount with the HR/Payroll personnel to determine how many months of retiree premiums can be prepaid.
• If a retiring employee transfers coverage under a retired spouse, the prepaid premium will include the premium for both the retiree and spouse. MCHCP suspends deductions from the spouse’s retirement benefit during the prepaid months.
• Retirees who cancel or fail to elect coverage may not enroll at a later date. Retirees who return to state employment and become eligible for benefits through MCHCP will be treated as a new employee.
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• *Employees with a retirement date of Dec. 1 cannot prepay premiums, since future premiums would be for a different plan year. Employees with a retirement date of Jan. 1 can only prepay premiums using funds from their final active payroll (usually Jan. 15) and/or their vacation and compensatory time payroll.”  Source: Enrollment (mchcp.org)

Please note that the amount of your unused annual leave has no impact on your MOSERS retirement benefits.

Please contact your HR office, MCHCP, and ASI Flex for details on the forms you need to complete and associated deadlines. Additionally, we encourage you to check with your human resources office about policies on annual and sick leave accrual and usage before retirement. 

You will need to contact your medical insurance provider for help with health insurance-related inquires. For most state employees, that is Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan (MCHCP).

If you are employed at a college, university, or the Department of Conservation, contact your human resources/employee benefits office.

If you are unsure, see our Benefits Providers Table to determine who administers your benefits. 

If applicable, all of the following deductions may be withheld from your MOSERS monthly pension benefit payment but they are all post-tax:

• Missouri income tax as specified on your W-4P (tax withholding form)

• Federal income tax as specified on your W-4P (Without this form, we are required to withhold federal taxes as if you are married claiming three allowances.)

• MOSERS optional life insurance premium

• Aflac insurance premium

• Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan (MCHCP) premium

• Department of Conservation’s health and life insurance premium(s)

• Miscellaneous deductions such as vision and dental insurance and Missouri State Employees Charitable Campaign (MSECC) contributions

However, information from ASI/MO Café indicates that in the year that you retire, you are entitled to pre-pay for health, dental, and vision coverage through the end of that calendar year. If you can afford to have money deducted from your paycheck before you retire or from any payout for unused annual leave, you can authorize a pre-tax lump-sum insurance deduction. There is also some information about it on MCHCP’s Retirement – State Members page.