Commissioners come to agreement regarding retiree medical insurance

Gonzales County commissioners finally came to consensus Tuesday, Sept. 3, on a policy that will provide medical insurance to retired personnel before they reach Medicare eligibility. The new policy will officially go into effect Oct. 1.

The new policy allows for non-elected employees who are at least 58 years of age and who have had a minimum of 20 years working for the county to retire and receive full medical insurance coverage for themselves until they are eligible for Medicare at age 65.

Meanwhile, elected officials would have to serve at least 12 years (three full terms) in order to be able to participate in retiree health insurance and also must have reached an age of attainment of 58 years.

Like non-elected officials, they, too, would be eligible to remain on county health insurance with the county picking up 100 percent of the monthly premium until they become eligible for Medicare. Elected officials can combine previous service as an employee with their elected service to come up with the necessary number of years of service, according to the policy.

According to the policy, eligible employees “must file for a bona fide retirement (receive a monthly retirement check) through TCDRS (Texas County and District Retirement System) to be eligible for this benefit.”

“If you take a lump sum distribution, you will not be allowed to participate in this coverage,” the policy states. “If retirement is applied for at age fifty-eight (58) with 20 years as a full time employee the retiree shall remain on the County’s health insurance policy and the County would pay 100% of the monthly premium until the retiree is eligible for Medicare.”

Currently, the county pays for 100 percent of an employee’s health insurance coverage and the projected cost for 2024-25 is $875 per month per employee. That comes out to $10,500 per employee per year. If an employee meeting these qualifications were to retire effective Oct. 1, he or she would receive full health insurance coverage for the next seven years at no personal cost, but it would cost the county a minimum of $73,500 per person — and inevitably more as medical costs go up each year.

If the employee seeking to retire has any dependents who receive coverage and are not eligible for Medicare, they can continue to be covered on the plan at the employee or retiree’s expense.

Once a retiree reaches the age of 65 and eligibility for Medicare, he or she will be converted to a Medicare supplement plan and the county will pay $300 per month per qualified retiree to the retiree up until their death — or $3,600 per year per retiree. There are currently 24 retirees who are eligible for this benefit, which means it will cost the county about $84,600 this first year.

“The retiree must be enrolled in Medicare A and B to qualify for this coverage and proof must be provided to the county,” the policy states. “The Silver Choice Plan through TAC is available and completely optional to the retiree. The retiree will be responsible to pay for any supplemental plan.”

However, if a retiree accepts employment elsewhere that provides medical insurance coverage, the retiree and their dependents will be dropped from the Gonzales County health insurance plan — including the Silver Choice plan, if applicable.

The county’s prior policy allowed non-elected employees to retire with benefits, including health insurance, at age 59 if they had at least 18 years of employment with the county. Elected officials could retire with benefits at age 55 if they had served at least 12 years (or three terms) in office.

Previously, county officials had discussed the potential of adopting a “Rule of 70” in which county employees could retire at age 50 if they had at least 20 years of service. At that time, the county would have paid 50 percent of the health coverage for the retiree up to the age of 60, at which time the county would pay 100 percent of coverage until Medicare age at 65.

The matter was brought to the table by Precinct 3 Commissioner Kevin La Fleur, who said he wanted to offer a benefit that would help the county attract and retain good employees while also getting rid of past practices where the county would pass a COLA (cost of living adjustment) that could tie up county funds for 15 years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

However, County Judge Pat Davis had questioned the logic of paying for insurance for a former employee for a total of 35 years (20 years employment and 15 years retirement until age 65) despite only getting 20 years of service from the individual.

At the Aug. 26 regular meeting, a draft policy was presented for discussion with changes, but it contained language that would have set the age of attainment at 57 and the minimum required service at 20, yet also offered an option of a Rule of 75, which would have been contradictory. The matter was tabled until the Sept. 3 meeting.