When Coverage Ends
Your coverage in the Plans ends on the last day of the month in which:
- Your required contributions are not paid.
- The Plan ends.
- You are no longer eligible.
- You elect to enroll in a Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program other than the AEP-sponsored Part D Plan (which would disqualify you from the Medical and Prescription Drug Plan only).
- You die.
- You don’t elect or you drop Medicare Parts A and B at any time.
- You elect to enroll in a Medicare Supplement Plan other than AEP’s Aetna Group Medicare Advantage Plans.
Coverage for your dependents ends on the last day of the month in which:
- Your coverage ends.
- Your dependent enrolls in a Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program other than the AEP-sponsored Part D Plan (which would disqualify your dependent from the Medical and Prescription Drug Plan only).
- Your dependents are otherwise no longer eligible.
- Your dependent doesn’t elect or he or she drops Medicare Parts A and B at any time.
- Your dependent elects to enroll in a Medicare Supplement Plan other than AEP’s Aetna Group Medicare Advantage Plans.
If your coverage under the Medical, Dental or Vision Plan ends, you and your dependents may, under certain circumstances, be eligible to continue coverage under COBRA.
After the Annual Enrollment period for your 2023 benefits, you may not elect to change or cancel your coverage until the next Annual Enrollment period unless you experience a qualifying life event. A qualifying life event may include:
- Change in your legal marital status, including marriage, divorce or annulment.
- Change in the number of your dependents—including birth or the placement of a child through adoption or legal guardianship.
- Death of your spouse/domestic partner or a covered dependent child.
- Gain or loss of legal custody of a dependent.
- Dependent satisfies (or ceases to satisfy) dependent eligibility requirements, including attainment of limiting age.
- A significant change in your health coverage or the coverage provided through your spouse/domestic partner’s employment.
- A change in the employment status of you, your spouse/domestic partner, or your dependent (part-time to full-time, commencement or termination of employment, etc.).
- Taking or returning from an unpaid leave of absence for your spouse/domestic partner.
- A court order requiring a change in coverage.
- A change in residence affects your eligibility for coverage.
- You or your covered dependent becomes eligible for Medicare.
- The termination of a domestic partnership.
To process a qualifying life event and change your coverage, you may:
- Log on to aepbenefits.com.
- Call the AEP Benefits Center at 1-888-237-2363 (1-888-AEP-BENE), option 1, Monday – Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. EST.
Coverage changes due to a qualified life event become effective the day the change in status occurred, as long as you processed the event within 31 days.
Your Eligibility For AEP Retiree Benefits
You are eligible to participate in the retiree benefits if you were an active, full-time or permanent part-time employee who was last hired or rehired by a participating AEP company on or before December 31, 2013, or if you retired from a participating AEP company and you were at least age 55 with 10 or more years of service on your retirement date. In addition, if you were rehired by a participating AEP company on or after January 1, 2014, you may remain eligible to elect Medical coverage for yourself and your eligible dependents upon your later retirement if you were eligible to elect retiree Medical benefits upon your pre-2014 termination of employment with AEP. If you were disabled when you elected to take a distribution from the company-provided qualified defined benefit Pension Plan, you may be eligible for benefit coverage.
Refer to the AEP Comprehensive Medical Plan Summary Plan Description for Active Employees, Retirees and Surviving Dependents Under Age 65, issued in 2016, found at aepbenefits.com.
You are not eligible for retiree benefits if you were subject to a collective bargaining agreement that does not provide specifically for coverage under a particular Plan.
Important Note: Failure to make required contributions will result in the termination of coverage and may prohibit your future enrollment in AEP benefit Plans.
Has your personal information changed?
To ensure that you continue to receive important communications from AEP, contact the AEP Benefits Center at 1-888-237-2363 (1-888-AEP-BENE), option 1, if any of your personal contact information has changed. You can also update your personal information at aepbenefits.com. After logging in go to Change My Benefits in the Quick Links box. Expand Basic Info and select Update Personal Information.