(a) Elimination of Retiree Benefits for New Employees. City employees hired on or after January 1, 2012, will no longer be offered retiree benefits. Retirees enrolled in the City’s health/dental/vision benefit plan prior to January 1, 2012 will continue to receive the benefits provided herein.
(b) Sick Leave Conversion. The City shall pay, based upon a retired employee’s accumulated sick leave on the date of retirement after at least twenty years of full-time employment, unless earlier retirement is mandated as a result of a disability and the person is receiving disability retirement from the City, premium payment for City health insurance based upon the following ratio: one month premium for each five days of accumulated sick leave at the time of retirement. There shall be no proration for accumulations of less than five days and the maximum number of accumulated sick days which may be converted is 180 for a maximum benefit of three years.
(c) Retirees’ Eligibility for Co-Premium Payments. Co-premium payments by conversion of accumulated sick days shall only be available to retired employees who have not acquired other insurance coverage for substantially equivalent medical benefits or for those employees who have Medicare benefits. Conversion of sick days shall be available to the employee upon retirement at any age.
(d) Retiree Health Insurance Payments. Following the period of sick leave conversion, the retiree shall, if the retiree desires to retain City health insurance, pay a portion of the cost of such insurance as established by ordinance of Council upon recommendation of the Insurance Trust Review Board.
(e) Surviving Spouse Coverage. When an employee becomes eligible for retirement from the City, he or she shall be eligible to have his or her spouse covered as surviving spouse by the City’s insurance plan at the employee’s death. For purposes of this article, a surviving spouse is the individual to whom a retired employee, or an employee who is eligible to retire from the City, is legally married at the date of that employee’s death. To qualify as a surviving spouse, the spouse must previously have been covered under family coverage by the employee’s City health insurance. Surviving spouse coverage for retired employees shall be limited to the retired employee’s spouse as of the date of retirement.
(f) Surviving Spouse Eligibility. The surviving spouse shall remain eligible to retain City health insurance until he or she remarries, or until he or she acquires other insurance coverage for substantially equivalent medical benefits or becomes eligible for Medicare, whichever may occur first.
(g) Premium Amounts for Retirees and Surviving Spouses. The co-payment amount of the retired employee shall in no case be greater than that of the active employee with the same coverage (family or single). The co-payment amount of the surviving spouse shall be the same as that of the active employee with single coverage, except that if the City is paying the retiree’s insurance co-premium at the time of the retiree’s death, the City shall continue to pay the surviving spouse’s insurance premium for the duration of the retiree’s eligibility for co- premium payments.
(h) Retiree Co-Payment Amount. Beginning the first month after passage of this section, each City retiree, whether civil service or non-civil service, who elects to be covered by the City health insurance plan and whose premiums are not being paid by the City under the sick day conversion plan shall pay the following:
$600.00 per year for employee only.
$1,200.00 per year for employee plus one or more dependents.
These amounts shall remain in effect until such time as changed by ordinance of Council with the advice of the Insurance Trust Review Board.
(i) Tobacco Surcharge. Beginning July 1, 2012, a monthly surcharge will be added for tobacco users. The surcharge will be fifty dollars ($50.00) per individual with a limit of one hundred dollars ($100.00). The surcharge is renewable yearly during open enrollment.
(j) Application of Section. This section shall apply to all retirees enrolled in the City’s health/dental/vision benefit plan prior to January 1, 2012, whether civil service or non- civil service, eliminating any previous distinctions.
(k) Reporting Requirements. All department heads are charged with keeping accurate records of each employee’s accumulated sick leave and must submit a monthly report of each employee’s accumulated sick leave to the City Treasurer.
(Ord. 2163. Passed 12-15-11.)