Pre-2003 Retiree Medical Program. HP/HPE Alumni

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(Dec 4, 2023) Question? Email: info@hpalumni.org

Which retiree program? Pre-2003, Current, or Digital?

HPAA's summary: Depending on age, years of service, and other factors, you may qualify for the "Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program" -- as opposed to the current "HP Retiree Medical Program." ("2003" refers to the year when HP implemented the program, not necessarily your year of retirement.)

Official HP Inc explanation:

"What's my medical coverage"

"Your medical coverage is determined by your HP retiree medical program.

Most recent HP retirees qualify for the HP Retiree Medical Program under which retirees pay the full cost of coverage with potential HP funding to the Retirement Medical Savings Account. [HPAA comment: This is the current retiree program.]

You might qualify for one of the legacy Retiree Medical Programs as follows:

- Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program: "May apply if you retired from HP before 2003, or if you were with HP on December 31, 2002, and retired at a later date with eligibility for the program (this typically meant retiring at age 55 or later with at least 15 years of qualifying service, having at least 62 age-plus-service “points” as of December 31, 2005, and being within five years of qualifying as of June 30, 2007). This program generally does not apply if you joined HP through the Compaq or EDS acquisitions."

- Digital Retiree Health Program: "May apply if you retired from Digital Equipment Corporation before the Compaq acquisition, or if you were paid on the former Digital payroll as of February 28, 1999, were at least age 50 with five years of qualifying service at that time and retired from Compaq or HP at age 55 or later with at least 10 years of qualifying service."

If you’re still not sure, refer to the cover of the printed enrollment guide mailed to your home, or contact the HP Benefits Center."

[This is from the HP document "What's my medical coverage" at https://www.hpcontinuum.com [Created by HP in 2022. Verified on HP Continuum Oct 19, 2023.]

More detail from HPAA members: https://www.hpalumni.org/Pre2003

Some HPE retirees are covered by the HP "Pre-2003 Retiree Medical Program" -- instead of an HPE program. ("2003" refers to the year when HP implemented the program, not necessarily your year of retirement.) Legally retirees of HPE. However, HPE has paid HPInc to administer health benefits for those HPE retirees. (All other responsibilities for HPE retirees are handled by HPE.)

See below for the official rules.

Agilent and Keysight. If you left the Hewlett-Packard Company before the Agilent spinoff and had worked in the HP businesses that became Agilent -- instrument, medical, analytical, component, etc. -- you are classified as a former employee or retiree of Agilent and sent a notice at that time. Includes employment verification and any retiree health coverage, pension, 401(k), etc. (Likewise, after the Keysight spinoff from Agilent, those who had worked in the HP or Agilent instrument business became retirees of Keysight.)

Service at predecessor companies. Of the many predecessor companies, only HP, DEC, and EDS ever had U.S. pension plans. Only HP and DEC ever had U.S. retiree healthcare plans. Over the years, the companies set aside money in a dedicated trust fund for each plan. The benefits originally promised assumed continued high profit levels. Each plan was eventually closed to new participants.

Employees of other acquisitions did not have those expectations and there were no plans -- with associated trust funds -- to pass on to an acquiring company.

As employees were added to the retirement plans in effect at the time of acquisition, they did not get credit for service at the predecessor. However, they generally did get service credit for other benefits, such as vacation/FTO.

Which HP-related companies have me classified as a retiree or former employee? Due to acquisitions and spinoffs, this may not be obvious. Check here: Which Company

This info is for U.S. only. For countries other than the U.S., How to contact HR for a specific country: Worldwide HP and HPE Country Contacts

The key document for a US employee retirement or health plan is the legal Summary Plan Description (SPD). It includes plan details and an address at the employer for appeals. The current SPD takes precedence over any other written, online, or verbal information you may have been given -- but is still subject to change. The employer's plan administrator is required by law to provide the SPD upon request. How to obtain and decode: https://www.hpalumni.org/SPD-decode

How to determine which program you are on:

1. Look at your paperwork. Examine one of the personalized letters that describes your coverage, such the one included with your last Annual Enrollment Guide or the letter that came later confirming your choice. If not indicated in the main heading, look at the tiny type in the bottom left corner.

2. The Benefits Center can look up your program. HP and HPE Benefits Centers

If you retired in 2003 or later, you may qualify for the "Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program" -- as opposed to the current "HP Retiree Medical Program." ("2003" refers to the year when HP implemented the program, not necessarily your year of retirement.) Below is a copy of HP's official table (received from HP on June 19, 2014. Verified with HPInc as still valid in 2020. Boldface added by HPAA.)

Use Adobe Reader's search feature to find specific words or phrases (Ctrl-F; Command-F on a Mac.) Search the table for specific terms like "EDS" "Compaq" or "Digital."

You qualify for only one program.

3. If you are qualified for one of these programs, see advice and reference info from members: U.S. Health Insurance

Classification as "retired" has a different set of criteria. If an employee left at 55 or older with at least 10 years of service, or left after 2010 with age-plus-years-of-service of at least 80, or left under an early retirement program -- HP and HPE generally classify the employee as "retired" -- regardless of how they left and whether or not they have any retiree benefits. (HPE also mentions "...or age 55 or older with at least 70 age-plus-service 'points' for equity grants.") This is reported to outside payroll and employment verification services, but doesn't seem to have any negative consequences. Inquiries from state Unemployment Dept. claims examiners go to a specific group in HR, which replies via letter. Over the years, members have reported that HP did not block their UI claims.

Future of retiree healthcare: HP never made any explicit commitment to provide retiree healthcare in the entire history of the company. Of HPInc's many predecessor companies, only DEC had retiree healthcare. Prices paid by retirees will continue to rise due to the cap put in place in 2010. Details

	Eligibility requirements*
Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program	The Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program applies if you satisfy all of the following criteria: - You have been employed by HP continuously since December 31, 2002; - You had 62 or more age-plus-service “points” as of December 31, 2005; - You were within five years of satisfying the program’s eligibility requirements as of June 30, 2007 (meaning you were age 50 or older with at least 10 years of qualifying HP service); and - You retire from a benefits-eligible status at age 55 or later with at least 15 years of qualifying HP service. If you're leaving HP on or after January 1, 2011, you can also qualify if you satisfy all of the above criteria and retire from a benefits-eligible status with at least 80 age-plus-service “points”. For purposes of determining qualifying HP service under this program, service for pre-merger Compaq* employees is counted starting January 1, 2003 and does not include pre-merger service. You may also be eligible for this program if you were part of an acquisition or other transaction where eligibility was agreed to as part of that transaction. If this is the case, you would have been notified separately of your eligibility to participate.
HP Retiree Medical Program["Post-2002"]	The HP Retiree Medical Program can apply if you meet any one or more of the following criteria: - You were newly hired or rehired by HP on or after January 1, 2003—this includes most HP Enterprise Services employees; - You were age 45 or older and paid on the former Compaq payroll as of December 31, 2002; - You had fewer than 62 age-plus-service “points” as of December 31, 2005; or - You were more than five years from satisfying eligibility criteria under the Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program as of June 30, 2007, meaning you had not reached age 50 or did not yet have 10 years of qualifying HP service at that time (note that this includes most other pre-merger Compaq* employees, since service for pre-merger Compaq employees under the Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program was counted starting January 1, 2003 and did not include pre-merger Compaq service). To qualify, you must retire from a benefits-eligible status after satisfying at least one of the following age-service combinations: - At age 55 or later with at least 10 years of qualifying service; or - If you're leaving HP on or after January 1, 2011, with at least 80 age-plus-service “points”. For this purpose, service for former EDS employees generally includes prior EDS service if you were employed by EDS on August 26, 2008. Service for pre-merger Compaq employees also includes pre-merger service if you were employed by Compaq on May 3, 2002. Additional eligibility notes Pre-merger Compaq employees who were age 45 or older on December 31, 2002, and were within five years of qualifying for the Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program on June 30, 2007, can qualify for the HP Retiree Medical Program or the Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program, but not both. You are not eligible for this program if you previously retired under the Pre-2003 HP Retiree Medical Program or the former Digital** Retiree Health Program and you are subsequently rehired by HP (see “If you are rehired by HP following your retirement” later in this section).
Former Digital Retiree Health Program	The former Digital Retiree Health Program applies if you are a pre-merger Compaq* employee and you met all of the following criteria as of February 28,1999: - You were an active Compaq US employee eligible for health benefits; - You were being paid from the payroll systems of the former Digital Equipment Corporation; and - You were at least age 50 with at least five years of vesting service under the Compaq** Computer Corporation Cash Account Pension Plan (CAPP). To qualify, you must leave HP in a benefits-eligible status at age 55 or later with at least 10 years of vesting service under CAPP (or at age 65 or later, regardless of service, if your most recent hire date is before January 1, 1994).

* You may also be considered eligible for retiree medical benefits if you are subject to an HP workforce reduction program and terminate employment within one year of satisfying the age and service requirements outlined in this chart.

** For this purpose, your age and service were determined as of June 30, 2007 without any rounding. For example, you were considered to be age 50 only if you were born on or before June 30, 1957.

*** With respect to retiree medical coverage, the term “pre-merger Compaq employee” refers only to an individual who was employed by Compaq as of May 3, 2002, the date of the merger with HP. Individuals who were previously employed by Compaq, Tandem, or Digital, but who were not employed by Compaq as of May 3, 2002, are not considered “pre-merger Compaq employees,” nor is their service with Compaq (or Tandem or Digital) considered qualifying service under the retiree medical programs.

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