(a) Payment for Coverage. The Township will provide health care coverage as provided for the non-represented employees of the Township, excluding maternity coverage, to district judges after leaving elective office and being at least fifty-five years of age, or older, based upon the following payment provisions:
(1) If a judge has completed six years as a 41-B District Judge, then he or she shall pay sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the cost, with the Township paying thirty-three and one-third percent of the cost.
(2) If a judge completes twelve years as a 41-B District Judge, then he or she shall pay thirty-three and one-third percent of the cost, with the Township paying sixty-six and two-thirds percent of the cost.
(3) Each 41-B District Judge who serves eighteen years as a 41-B District Judge shall be entitled to the benefits fully paid by the Township until he or she reaches the age of sixty-five.
(4) These hospital and medical benefits shall be equal to the benefits that the nonrepresented employees of the Township are receiving.
(b) Options Available at Age Fifty-Five if Not Serving as a 41-B District Judge. If a judge reaches the age of fifty-five and he or she is no longer a 41-B District Judge, nor is he or she an employee of the Township or the State of Michigan, then and in that event, at his or her option, he or she may decline to receive any further health care coverage, and in lieu thereof, he or she shall receive a cash payment or, at the direction of the judge, the money shall be deposited into an annuity plan as directed by him or her.
By electing the cash disbursement or annuity payment, the judge will receive a portion or all of the amount paid by the Township for his or her benefit based on a two-person plan instead of the family plan. The portion of the amount (percentage) to be received by the judge will be based on the percentage of cost the Township paid toward his or her insurance premiums based on the number of years completed, as set forth in paragraphs (a)(1) through (3) hereof.
By the use of this option, each 41-B District Judge shall receive his or her distribution annualized for a year on his or her fifty-fifth birthday and each birthday thereafter until age sixty-five.
(c) Medicare Supplement or Equivalent. Once a judge has reached the age of sixty-five, is no longer employed, and has at least six years of service completed, then he or she shall be entitled to part or all of the cost of the supplemental benefits to Medicare available to present employees to maintain benefits. Said judges and their dependents, upon reaching age sixty-five, must enroll in Medicare Part B in order to qualify for this benefit.
A judge's portion of any payment will be predicated upon his or her percentage of insurance cost as formulated in paragraphs (a)(1) through (3) hereof. Any payment owed by said judge to the Township shall be paid by the judge thirty days prior to the Township's contribution. Failure to timely pay will cause this benefit to be forfeited.
If a judge so desires, he or she shall be entitled to the annualized cost to the Township of the supplemental coverage on his or her birthday at age sixty-five and each year thereafter while he or she is alive. By electing this option, the judge relieves the Township of providing supplemental benefits.
(Ord. 335. Passed 7-24-00.)