By Jim Absher

Military retirees and their families as well as military dependents can now see what options they will have available to them for vision and dental insurance in 2022.

The Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) has released its selection of vision and dental insurance plans as well as pricing information for the upcoming year.

While the FEDVIP 2022 plans and rates have been made public, open enrollment season, which allows you to pick a new plan or make changes to your existing coverage, won't begin until Nov. 8.

Open season (also known as open enrollment) is the time each year when you can make changes to your FEDVIP coverage for the following year. The rest of the year, you can make changes only if you have a Qualifying Life Event such as moving to a new area or changing your number of dependents.

This year's open season will run from Nov. 8 through Dec.13, 2021.

The average FEDVIP dental insurance premiums will increase by 0.81%, and the average vision plan premiums will increase by 0.95% for 2022. 

Like last year, this year there will be at least 12 dental and five vision insurance options available, depending on your location.

Check out the 2022 rates here.

The FEDVIP website contains pricing information as well as details of covered procedures and a comparison tool which allows you to research the costs and coverage of all the different plans. You can also see the different levels of coverage available for your location and choose what fits your situation.

Most plans have different reimbursement levels as well as coverage options available for single, married with one dependent or family coverage levels available.

If you're currently enrolled in a FEDVIP plan and don't want to make any changes to your coverage, there is nothing you need to do to remain in your current plan. Your coverage will remain the same in the upcoming year.

However, it's still a good idea to check out all the available options you have in case the plan or your personal situation has changed over the past year, or you are anticipating any changes to your coverage in the upcoming year.