How to get the most out of your retirement health insurance plan

Now that you’ve selected RTOERO health insurance for your retirement insurance plan, we want to make sure you make the most of it!

Not a plan member yet?

If you’re shopping for insurance plans for retirement, you might find our checklist of what to compare when looking at insurance options for retirement helpful. If you work or worked in any role within the education sector in Canada, you can join our group insurance plan for retirement. If you’re not ready to retire just yet, you can become an RTOERO member now, and membership is free until you retire or join our Entente Group Insurance Program. If you’re already retired, membership is free until year-end.

Seven ways to make the most of your retirement insurance plan

1) Set up direct deposit

You can choose to have claim payments deposited into your bank account. To set up direct deposit, submit a VOID cheque to our insurance service administrator. Contact the service administrator at 1-877-406-9007 or pbclaimsontario@johnson.ca for more information.

Use the same bank account for direct deposit as you use for premium deduction. If you don’t choose direct deposit for your claim payments, you’ll receive a claim payment cheque by mail.

2) Set up your account for online claims

Pharmacies and some practitioners will submit your claims on your behalf. For those that don’t, you have the option to submit by mail or to submit online. Online submission is easy and convenient. Your first step is to set up your online claims account. Complete the ‘New to this’ section on the online claims login page. Once registered, bookmark the online claims login page or find it anytime on the ‘Claims’ page in the ‘Insurance’ section of the RTOERO website.

3) Submit claims right away and file your receipts

Develop a habit of submitting claims right away so you don’t forget. All claims must be submitted no later than six months from the date on which the expenses were incurred.

Set up a place to store your receipts after you’ve submitted the claims. Photocopies of receipts are acceptable. Like other financial documents, it’s best to keep receipts for seven years.

4) Explore your retirement health coverage

Health insurance can help you stay healthy. It provides peace of mind that your health needs will be taken care of and gives you access to services to help you maintain and optimize your health and well-being. Familiarize yourself with what’s covered so you can decide how to use your insurance to best support your health needs.

Here are some highlights to note:

• All prescription drugs are eligible for coverage, including sexual or erectile dysfunction drugs (Viagra, Cialis), diabetic supplies and vaccines.
• You have $1,300 per year per person for paramedical coverage. The plan covers 17 practitioners, including social work, psychologists, naturopath and massage. You don’t need a doctor’s referral, and there’s no per-visit maximum.
• You and your family members, including your children, parents and parents-in-law, have access to Teledoc, a confidential expert medical advice service founded by Harvard Medical School professors. You can tap into the best medical minds in the world.
• The travel plan covers emergency medical expenses during out-of-province and out-of-country trips, and trip cancellation and interruption costs. You can easily extend your coverage for longer trips with supplemental coverage.

Summaries of the extended health care plan, dental plan and hospital and convalescent care plan, are available on our website. The insurance plan booklet provides all of the details. We’ll let you know about any plan updates annually through our publication called Communique.

5) Call the claims team before major aids and appliances purchases

Your plan covers a large variety of aids and appliances, including wigs, hearing aids, CPAP units, orthotics and more. We suggest contacting the claims team before your purchase to review the eligibility and maximums and help you get the best value. Reach the claims team at 416-920-7248 or 1-877-406-9007 or pbclaimsontario@johnson.ca.

6) Carry your RTOERO benefits card with you

You’ll need your benefits card at pharmacies and especially when travelling. It’s a good idea to keep it in your wallet at all times, so you have our contact information close at hand.

7) Make sure you have proof of travel dates

You don’t need to let us know when you’re travelling, but you do need to make sure you have proof of your departure and return dates. That could be plane tickets and boarding passes, passport stamp, transaction receipts like gas, hotel or purchase that show travel leaving and returning to your province of residence.

More things to know about your insurance coverage

You have coverage options

You can change your level of coverage between family, single and couple. If you remarry or become common-law, you can change your plan to couple coverage. Learn more about coverage options.

You’re part of a unique retirement insurance plan

Our health insurance plan for retirement is owned and operated by our members. Our Benefits Committee and Board of Directors work together to set and manage the premiums on a not-for-profit basis. We self-insure most of our plans. Our insurance for retirees is group insurance.

We work with other organizations to run the plans:

• Johnson Insurance is our administrator and consultant. This means they do the claims and service administration.
• Sunlife is our underwriter, and they work in the background to make sure we’re following all regulations.
• Global Excel handles our travel claims.
• And Best Doctors provides expert medical advice to plan members at no additional charge.

Choosing insurance is one part of planning for retirement

If you’re in the process of planning for retirement, you might be interested in our article all about planning for retirement in Canada. Keep in mind that insurance is just one part of planning for retirement. As a member of RTOERO, you’ll also benefit from our other programs and services. Remember, your membership is free until you retire or join our Entente Group Insurance Program – so no need to wait to join us!