The legislature’s Appropriations Committee is deciding the future of your retiree health care benefits. The committee is meeting to decide whether to continue the state’s funding to the Retired Teachers’ Health Insurance Fund.
If the legislature decides to eliminate the state’s contribution to the fund as the governor has proposed, you will likely be paying more for your health insurance in retirement.
Watch the short video below to hear from your colleagues about why it’s so important to contact your lawmakers on this vital issue.
Call your legislators today
Call your state representative and state senator and ask them to ensure that the budget continues the state’s funding to the Retired Teachers’ Health Insurance Fund. You can look up your legislators here.
- House Democrats: 1-800-842-1902
- House Republicans: 1-800-842-1423
- Senate Democrats: 1-800-842-1420
- Senate Republicans: 1-800-842-1421
Additional details:
- All teachers—both active and retired—need to call their legislators and tell them to continue the state’s contribution to the fund.
- The Retired Teachers’ Health Insurance Fund provides a subsidy to retired teachers that covers a portion of their health insurance costs.
- Active teachers contribute 1.25% of their salary annually into the Retired Teachers’ Health Insurance Fund—this represents the largest contribution to the fund—over $45 million in 2012-2013.
- Retired teachers also contribute to the fund—nearly $38 million in 2012-2013.
- The law requires the state to pay a portion of the medical costs for retirees. The governor’s budget proposal overrides this law and eliminates the state’s contribution to the health fund for two years, short-changing the fund by over $70 million.
- The elimination of the state’s contribution to the health fund would negatively affect its long-term solvency. Active and retired teachers have been paying into the health fund with the understanding that it will be there for them when they retire.
I paid into the health insurance fund on good faith. I expect that it will be there when I need it. The money was not meant to fund other special interests. Maybe we should take the money from the Governor’s health insurance fund.