Tricare Retired Reserve Overview

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The Tricare Retired Reserve program is a health insurance program for retired reservists and guard members and their families. The program is a premium-based insurance policy with deductibles and coverage limits.

Retirees are eligible for the program until they reach age 60, when they will be disenrolled and will be eligible for other premium-free Tricare programs such as Tricare Prime or Tricare Select as a retiree.

Once a retired reserve/guard member reaches age 65 and becomes eligible for Medicare, they are eligible for Tricare for Life. Tricare for Life is basically the Tricare plan you already have (prime or select) that works in conjunction with Medicare to cover all your payments.

Tricare Retired Reserve Eligibility

You may be eligible for Tricare Retired Reserve if you are a:

  • Retired Reserve member who is:
    • A member of the retired Reserve who is qualified for non-regular retirement under 10 U.S.C., Chapter 1223
    • Under age 60
    • Not eligible for, or enrolled in, the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program 
  • Family member of a qualified Retired Reserve member             
  • Survivor of a retired Reserve member if:
    • They were covered by Tricare Retired Reserve when they died.
    • They are immediate family members of the deceased sponsor (spouses cannot have remarried).
    • Tricare Retired Reserve coverage would begin before the date the deceased sponsor would have turned 60 years old.

Note: Survivor coverage is not affected by FEHB eligibility.

How to Enroll—Online Only

You can only enroll online because DMDC must verify your eligibility with your Common Access Card (CAC), you must also have a MyPay account and DoD Self-Service logon (DS Logon)

Once you enroll in the program you can choose from any Tricare participating doctor you wish, but choosing one that is in-network is less expensive. If you choose a non-network provider it may cost you much more and you will have to pay the doctor at time of treatment, then file a claim with Tricare to get reimbursed.

For more information about Tricare Retired Reserve, including covered services and costs please visit our Tricare Retired Reserve Coverage page.

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