Military retirees have TRICARE coverage for life, but the plan you use depends on your age, where you live, and how you served. Under 65, the TRICARE plans for retirees are Prime (managed care with an assigned primary care manager) and Select (a preferred-provider setup you can use without referrals). At 65, coverage shifts to TRICARE For Life, which pays after Medicare. Guard and Reserve retirees who haven’t yet turned 60 can buy TRICARE Retired Reserve to cover the gap until standard retiree coverage kicks in.
Every retiree’s eligibility flows through DEERS, the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System.1milConnect. FAQ – About DEERS Retired service members are registered automatically, but your record needs to show your retired status, current address, and family members before any plan will run cleanly.
Group A or Group B Determines Your Costs
Before comparing plans, figure out which cost group you’re in. If you or your sponsor entered military service before January 1, 2018, you’re Group A. If service began on or after that date, you’re Group B.2TRICARE. How Do I Know Which Beneficiary Group I’m In? Group A generally pays lower enrollment fees and deductibles. Group B pays more but uses the same plan structures.
One exception matters: retirees enrolled in TRICARE Retired Reserve, TRICARE Young Adult, or the Continued Health Care Benefit Program follow Group B cost-sharing regardless of when service began.2TRICARE. How Do I Know Which Beneficiary Group I’m In?
TRICARE Prime for Retirees Under 65
Prime is the managed-care option. You’re assigned a primary care manager who coordinates your treatment, and you need a referral to see a specialist. Skipping the referral triggers point-of-service charges. Referrals aren’t required for urgent care, preventive services, or most outpatient mental health visits. Prime works best if you live near a military treatment facility or a Prime network provider, since access depends on the network where you are.
Office visit copays in 2026 are the same for both cost groups: $26 for primary care and $39 for specialty care.3TRICARE Newsroom. Learn Your 2026 TRICARE Health Plan Costs Annual enrollment fees differ:
- Group A: $381.96 per individual or $765 per family
- Group B: $462.96 per individual or $927 per family
The annual catastrophic cap for Group A retirees in Prime is $3,000 per family, which is the most you’ll spend on covered care in a calendar year. Enrollment fees count toward the cap; premiums don’t.5TRICARE. Catastrophic Cap
TRICARE Select for Retirees Under 65
Select works like a traditional preferred-provider plan. You can see any TRICARE-authorized provider without a referral, and you pay less by staying in the network. Select is available everywhere in the United States, so it’s the practical choice if you live far from military installations or want more freedom in picking doctors.
Instead of Prime’s flat copays, Select uses deductibles plus cost-sharing. For 2026, the annual deductibles are:4TRICARE. TRICARE 2026 Costs and Fees Sheet
- Group A: $150 per individual or $300 per family
- Group B in-network: $198 per individual or $397 per family
- Group B out-of-network: $397 per individual or $794 per family
Annual enrollment fees run lower than Prime for Group A and higher for Group B:
- Group A: $186.96 per individual or $375 per family
- Group B: $594.96 per individual or $1,191 per family
The Group B catastrophic cap for retirees in Select is $4,381 per family for 2026.5TRICARE. Catastrophic Cap
TRICARE For Life at Age 65
When you turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare, your coverage shifts to TRICARE For Life. It wraps around Medicare, picking up most of what Medicare leaves behind. You must be enrolled in both Medicare Part A and Part B under 10 U.S.C. ยง 1086. Drop Part B and you lose TRICARE For Life entirely.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1086 – Contracts for Health Benefits for Certain Members, Former Members, and Their Dependents
TRICARE For Life has no enrollment fee and no separate premium. The only required payment is your Medicare Part B premium, which is $202.90 per month in 2026.7CMS. 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles For services covered by both Medicare and TRICARE at a Medicare-participating provider, you typically owe nothing. Medicare pays first, TRICARE covers the remainder.8TRICARE Newsroom. What Are My 2026 TRICARE For Life Costs?
If a service is covered by TRICARE but not by Medicare, TRICARE For Life pays first and you’ll owe the standard TRICARE deductible and cost-share. The catastrophic cap is $3,000 per year.8TRICARE Newsroom. What Are My 2026 TRICARE For Life Costs?
Don’t Delay Medicare Part B
This is where retirees sometimes make a costly mistake. If you delay signing up for Part B when first eligible, Medicare charges a permanent premium surcharge of 10% for every full 12-month period you could have been enrolled.9Medicare.gov. Avoid Late Enrollment Penalties A two-year delay means paying 20% more on your Part B premium for life. During that gap, you’d have no TRICARE For Life coverage. Sign up during the Initial Enrollment Period around your 65th birthday.
TRICARE Retired Reserve for Guard and Reserve Gray-Area Retirees
If you retired from the Guard or Reserve with 20 qualifying years but haven’t turned 60 yet, you’ve earned a non-regular retirement but aren’t yet drawing retired pay. The standard retiree plans aren’t available to you until age 60.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1074 – Medical and Dental Care for Members and Certain Former Members
TRICARE Retired Reserve bridges that gap. To qualify, you must be a member of the Retired Reserve under age 60 and not eligible for or enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.11TRICARE. TRICARE Retired Reserve Eligible family members can enroll too. The plan follows Group B cost-sharing regardless of your entry date.2TRICARE. How Do I Know Which Beneficiary Group I’m In? At 60, when you start receiving retired pay, you transition to Prime or Select at whichever Group rate your entry date sets.
Retirees Living Overseas
If you retire abroad, your only option is TRICARE Select Overseas. Prime is not available to retirees overseas.12TRICARE. TRICARE Select Overseas You see civilian providers in your country of residence, with care coordinated through an international claims processor. Fees and cost-sharing mirror domestic Select based on your Group.
Retirees 65 and older living overseas have a wrinkle. Medicare doesn’t pay for care outside the United States, so TRICARE becomes the primary payer abroad. You still have to maintain Part B to keep TRICARE eligibility, even though Medicare isn’t usable where you live.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 1086 – Contracts for Health Benefits for Certain Members, Former Members, and Their Dependents Claims for overseas care use DD Form 2642 and must be submitted within three years of service.13TRICARE. Filing Claims
Pharmacy Coverage
All retiree plans include the same pharmacy benefit, with four tiers: generic formulary, brand-name formulary, non-formulary, and non-covered drugs (which TRICARE won’t pay for at all).14TRICARE. TRICARE Pharmacy Program Overview Home delivery gives you a 90-day supply, usually at lower cost. Retail pharmacies give you up to 30 days. For 2026:15TRICARE Newsroom. Preview Your 2026 TRICARE Pharmacy Costs
- Generic formulary: $14 home delivery, $16 retail
- Brand-name formulary: $44 home delivery, $48 retail
- Non-formulary: $85 either way
Non-formulary drugs may require prior authorization or a medical necessity determination. If you take a maintenance medication for a chronic condition, home delivery saves both money and trips to the pharmacy.
Dental and Vision Aren’t Included
TRICARE medical plans do not cover routine dental or vision care for retirees. That coverage runs through the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP), which offers retirees and eligible family members the same plans available to federal civilian employees. Vision plan eligibility requires that you’re also enrolled in a TRICARE health plan.16BENEFEDS.com. Dental and Vision Eligibility – Uniformed Services
You enroll through BENEFEDS.com, not through MyPay or Employee Express. If you don’t have internet access, call 1-877-888-3337.17U.S. Office of Personnel Management. How Do I Enroll or Change My Federal Dental or Vision (FEDVIP) Enrollment? FEDVIP enrollment happens during Federal Benefits Open Season, typically November and December for the following plan year.
How to Enroll or Switch Plans
Enroll online through the Beneficiary Web Enrollment portal, by calling your regional TRICARE contractor, or by mailing a completed DD Form 2876. Timing matters: if TRICARE receives your enrollment and any required fee by the 20th of the month, coverage begins the first of the next month. If it arrives after the 20th, coverage starts the first of the month after that. A request received April 15 means May 1 coverage; April 22 pushes it to June 1.
Open Season and Qualifying Life Events
Outside of a qualifying life event, you can only switch between Prime and Select during the annual TRICARE Open Season. For 2026 coverage, Open Season ran from November 10 through December 9, 2025, with changes effective January 1, 2026.18TRICARE Newsroom. TRICARE Open Season Ends Dec. 9 – Last Chance To Change Your Health Plan for 2026
Certain life changes open a 90-day window to enroll or switch outside Open Season. The common ones for retirees:
- Retiring from active duty
- Moving to a new location where a different plan works better
- Marriage, divorce, or a new child
- Turning 60 as a Reserve retiree
- Turning 65 and moving to TRICARE For Life
- Gaining or losing other health insurance, including employer coverage or Medicare
Miss the 90-day window and you’ll usually wait until the next Open Season. A retroactive exception applies to a few events, including retiring from active duty and turning 60 as a Reserve retiree, allowing enrollment up to 12 months after the event if it occurred on or after January 1, 2018.
Family Coverage: Young Adults and Survivors
Retirees with adult children between 21 and 25 can keep them covered through TRICARE Young Adult. The child must be unmarried and not eligible for employer-sponsored insurance through their own job.19TRICARE. Who Qualifies for TRICARE Young Adult? Full-time students whose sponsor provides at least half their financial support may not become eligible until age 23 or graduation, whichever comes first.20Department of Defense Common Access Card. TRICARE Young Adult Eligibility The plan carries a separate monthly premium and Group B cost-sharing. Coverage ends the day before the child turns 26.
When a retiree dies, eligible family members keep TRICARE. A surviving spouse remains eligible unless they remarry. Children stay eligible until they age out under the normal rules.21TRICARE. Survivors of Retired Service Members Social Security eventually reports the death to the Defense Manpower Data Center, but that process can lag. Surviving spouses should send a copy of the death certificate to DMDC or bring it to a local ID card office, and update the sponsor’s status with the regional TRICARE contractor to keep claim processing on track.