Page 14 - FOP September 2016

BELLA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13
will pay 2 percent of your annuity for your retiree health- care. We receive a lot of questions about what happens after the current contract expires on June 30, 2017. Any member is entitled to the 2-precent cost of retiree healthcare until the date a successor agreement is ratified.
Retiree Healthcare
The situation going forward is that there are four classes involved in the Underwood case:
• Class 1: All retirees hired before Aug. 23, 1989 and re- tired before Aug. 23, 1989.
• Class 2: All widows whose spouse was hired before Aug. 23, 1989 and retired before Aug. 23, 1989.
• Class 3: All officers hired before Aug. 23, 1989 and re- tired after Aug. 23, 1989.
• Class 4: All officers hired after August 23, 1989.
Judge Cohen ruled Classes 1 and 2 are entitled to con- tinued health insurance (55 percent) at the city’s price, ac- cording their projected costs. The judge believes the funds have to continue the subsidy at the 1983/1985 levels. It is not certain if the funds will continue the subsidy. Rates are expected to increase and those affected should be notified by the end of September as to the cost. These two classes have health insurance for life.
Judge Cohen ruled that Class 3 is entitled to health insur- ance at the 1983/1985 levels: 55/21 for Police and Fire; $25 per month for municipal and laborers. It is not certain that the pension funds are going to fulfill this obligation. Krislov is writing the office to ascertain what it intends to do.
For Class 4, the city intends to cut off retiree coverage en- tirely and the funds will not provide a plan or subsidy.
There will be an appeal on all four classes, including a request for an injunction to either restore the healthcare coverage and rates to the 2013 status quo at the original fil- ing of the Underwood case, or at least enjoin the city from terminating coverage and the funds from terminating their subsidy payments at the end of the year.
The Underwood (Korshak) case does not apply to mem- bers who retired with the 55 to Medicare benefit or the 60 to Medicare benefit. The Lodge has been working on this problem since the day we took office. We have a plan in place to offer health insurance for anyone affected by this ruling, and the big sticking point was the HELPS legislation. There is a lot of confusion because of some bad informa- tion out there, especially a post on the police Facebook page, is telling retirees to call a broker for health insurance.
When you get insurance on your own, you make the monthly payment instead of the pension fund, and you lose the $3,000 per year HELPS tax deduction. The Lodge met with the Pension Fund and the insurance company that will provide retiree healthcare. The insurance company will provide the fund with the codes to make the monthly deduction from your pension annuity and that will insure that you get the $3,000 HELPS tax deduction. The insurance company will have a longer open enrollment because of the delay by the court, and we hope to have a mailing and email blast out by the end of September. I know everyone is on edge about this city-created disaster, but please bear with us. Help is on the way. d
Where Cops Live: NORTHWEST SIDE
14 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2016