Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed $145 billion budget is full of bad choices and misguided priorities that hurt New York’s people, including their retirement security.
Two proposals in the budget specifically target state retiree health costs, jeopardizing people’s ability to sustain themselves and their families and have a dignified, secure retirement.
“The state budget proposal puts aside plenty of money to supposedly move the state forward through infrastructure development and other pet projects, but it doesn’t provide the services and resources that people truly need,” CSEA President Danny Donohue said. “It’s not retirement security if our people are struggling to get by after working for years and thinking they are earning a secure retirement, only to cruelly discover that they are not.”
Capping reimbursements
The budget includes a proposal to freeze Medicare Part B reimbursements to New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP)-enrolled retirees at $104.90 and end any reimbursement of the increased costs of Part B for high-income retirees.
Despite this reimbursement, Medicare places a surcharge on retirees who earn $85,000 or more. New York state reimburses these higher-income retirees between $584 and $3,216 per year, with the amount depending on the retirees’ income. The state wants to end these reimbursements.
Retirees in NYSHIP are shifted over to Medicare when they turn 65, which saves NYSHIP billions of dollars.
Raising health costs violates Taylor Law
Another ill-advised budget proposal is a plan to raise health insurance premium costs for anyone who retires on or after Oct. 1, 2016.
The state is proposing that retirees with fewer than 30 years of service pay proportionally more for their health premiums, in some cases up to 65 percent of the premium. This proposal does not affect police, fire and state corrections officers.
While current retirees are not affected by this proposal, this plan is a violation of the Taylor Law.
“The governor is attempting to change the terms of our collective bargaining agreement for active state employees through the budget process and we are not going to let him get away with it,” Donohue said.
