2016 CT.gov | Connecticut's Official State Website, regular Questions regarding the information provided herein may be sent to the Retirement Services Division by email, at osc.rsd@ct.gov. Arms crossed, Rep. Michael D'Agostino, D-Hamden, listens to a question by Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard, about the SEBAC deal. Each year includes a 2.5% general wage increase, as well as a step hike for all but the most senior workers. you or a covered family member takes a maintenance medication, you can only receive one 30-day fill at a But Lamont says the public is getting to keep state services that are under extreme pressure. This means It could be because it is not supported, or that JavaScript is intentionally disabled. In exchange for doing so, HEP participants qualify for lower monthly premiums, reduced copays and don't pay an in-network deductible. While you can still see any in-network primary care provider (PCP) or specialist and pay only a $15 copay, if you see a Preferred in-network provider, the copay will be waived - you'll pay nothing! Thats when more stringent limits on state retirement benefits, negotiated as part of a 2017 concessions deal with unions, take effect. Depending on the members date of retirement, therefore, a member must wait between nine and fourteen months to receive his or her first COLA. Medicalchain (MTN) Medicalchain uses blockchain technology to securely manage health records. The 3,416 retirements and planned retirements combined is up 10% from just one month ago. The CT Mirror first reported on March 8 that Lamont had negotiated new wage agreements with roughly 43,000 unionized state employees covering the bulk of the states workforce. Each bargaining unit received a three-year deal, retroactive to last July 1, that includes a 2.5% general wage increase, a step hike for all employees except the most experienced, and a two-stage bonus. We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. The $3 billion in budget reserves and $4 billion in projected surplus pales in comparison with the $95.4 billion in long-term unfunded obligations Connecticut has, ODea said, referring to the combined pension, retirement health care and bonded debt the Lamont administration listed last November in its annual Fiscal Accountability Report. Health care costs can vary from place to place in Connecticut, as they do in other states. The vote was almost entirely along party lines, with all Democrats casting ballots for the deal and only one Republican, Thomas Delnicki of South Windsor, supporting it. The agreement would cost the state nearly $1.9 billion over four fiscal years, according to nonpartisan fiscal analysts. The Democrat-controlled House voted 96-52 to approve the contracts, following a four-hour debate during which Republicans insisted thecompensation far outstrips what private-sector workers are receiving, or what taxpayers can afford. Benefit Service Date Calculation and Reports. Get CT Mirror briefings with enterprise reporting, investigations and more in your inbox daily. switch to a 90-day fill, available through: Starting October 1, all physical and occupational therapy services are subject to medical necessity review - a determination indicating if your care is reasonable, necessary and/or appropriate based on your needs and condition. Gov. Ned Lamont says are essential to help stem a surge in state employee retirements, are expected to be ratified Friday by the Senate, where Democrats also hold a majority. they will apply to all Connecticut employees whose date of retirement is on or later than August He has been the state finances reporter at CT Mirror since it launched in 2010. BETWEEN THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT AND THE STATE EMPLOYEES BARGAINING AGENT COALITION (SEBAC). Preferred in-network specialists are currently available for ten medical specialties: Your Doctor Might Already Be Preferred. Connecticut Gov. Very truly yours, Madison Republican Bob Stefanowski, who lost the 2018 gubernatorial race to Lamont and is seeking a rematch this year, has called the agreements politics, pure and simple, when they were first reported last month. The amount of a given employees premium, and the percentage for which the employee is responsible, will depend on (i) the type of benefit plan the member has selected, (ii) the number of members of the employees household who are covered, and (iii) their retirement status. 3 Please note that in order to qualify for an annual SERS COLA, a member must complete at least 10 years of actual state service or transition directly into retirement. Gov. the future benefits accruing to . Effective July 1, 2023, State regular and contractual employees will receive a 2% COLA. He pointed out that under the 2017 deal, state employees gave up a number of concessions and accepted zero raises and zero step increases in six of the last 12 years given the state's financial state. For example, an enrollees adjusted gross income for 2019 was used to determine if the employee had to pay an IRMAA in 2021. Mandatory 90-day Supply for Maintenance Drugs. The exception is for members of Tier II and IIA who purchased grandfathering rights (as explained below). Effective July 1, 2022, retirees will continue to be reimbursed fully for the standard premium for Part B. While the average employee salary at Channel 8 is ,973, there is a big variation in pay depending on the role. All three concession packages also increased health care costs for workers, while two of the three tightened pension and retirement health care benefits. Because those who retire on or after August 1, 2022, will be reimbursed for only 50% of their IRMAAs, any such enrollee who reported income over the 2022 threshold for the relevant tax year would not be reimbursed for payments ranging from $35.85 to $216.75 per month under current rates. There will be no guaranteed minimum for those who. Republicans also said they appreciate the hard work of state employees, particularly during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, but the issue isnt as simple as some believe. The hourly base pay of a Step 1 GS-11 employee is $26.72 per hour1 . Some of the features on CT.gov will not function properly with out javascript enabled. "Thank you to my colleagues for finishing this in a timely manner," Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, said in a statement. Although members who retire after the Effective Date must wait longer to receive a first COLA, the impact of this change is potentially softened by another rule. Changes to state employee retirement benefits will go into effect in July of 2022 Joseph Horvath, the state's chief negotiator, wrote to the union this week, saying its proposals would have cost $2 billion over three years and were "simply are out of touch with the reality of. The 2022 Changes will increase the amount deducted from the retirement benefits of certain employees to pay for state-provided retiree health insurance. Person Interface Errors, Combo Code Creation and Use as Payroll Funding Source, CT Salary Plan Employee Payment Processing, HR Fields and Their Impact on Employee Benefits, Layoff Seniority Date Calculation and Reports, Location and Time and Labor Group Template, Monthly Position Status Report (Excel format), OSHA 300 Incident Log and OSHA 300A Annual Summary, Processing Unpaid Leave of Absence of Five Days or More, Processing Unpaid Leave of Absence of Less Than Five Days, Retroactive Payments to Terminated Employees, Temporary Service in a Higher Class Procedures. 01. For the Leave Donation form please click here. This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Publics Members In other words, the effect of this change to current retirement rules will generally last for only a limited amount of time. According to state employee union documents, Lamont is proposing to award all unionized state employees three annual base salary increases of 2.5 percent and, for about two-thirds of. You can view a PDF of the 1199 State Employees Contract by clicking HERE. Add/Update an Employee's Driver's License. 4 See Retirement Services Division Memoranda 2013-10 (Jan. 8, 2013) and 2013-02A (March 20, 2013). They should not affect the retirement planning of most SERS members, including: members who reach Normal Retirement Age before July 1, 2022; and. Effective July 1, 2022, State regular and contractual employees will receive a 3% COLA. Increase top step bonus by $250 - 32,000 32,000 32,000 . Use the information below as a starting point for determining the best place to go for your health care needs. When does our new contract take effect? Tier 3 (Non-Preferred brand name): $12.50 copay. CT 40 Hour 10 month Pay Plan Effective July 1, 2022. Checklist for Terminating an Employee. Check Schedule View the mailing dates for retiree payroll checks for the current year. Negotiators . After the retiree provides proof of enrollment in Medicare for themselves and/or their enrolled dependent(s) the applicable Medicare premiums have been verified, the state will reimburse the retiree for the entire amount he or she pays in premiums to Medicareboth the standard premium for Part B and any IRMAA for Parts B and D. If the retirees spouse is enrolled in Medicare, the state will also reimburse the spouses Medicare premiums. Currently, the first COLA that a member may receive after his or her retirement is subject to two special rules. The user is on notice that . To help keep your prescription copays low, we're introducing the CVS/Caremark Standard Formulary or the "Covered Drug List." Ned Lamont's administration. Retirement Services Division. It also describes steps the state is taking to . Please note, however, that only employees whose income is above a certain threshold amount must pay the IRMAA. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). The House of Representatives approved a four-year package of raises Thursday that includes $3,500 in bonuses later this spring and summer for about 46,000 unionized state employees. In 2021, individuals who reported an adjusted gross income for 2019 of $88,000 or more, and couples who reported income of $176,000 or more, were required to pay the IRMAA. But the Democratic governor also confirmed that workers could accept $2,500 of the $3,500 in bonuses offered under a tentative contract deal and still retire before more stringent pension benefits take effect on July 1. It is possible to consider them in purely monetary terms: At the end of my retirement, will I have received more money from the state if I choose to retire before the changes go into effect? But even that question requires a different answer for each employee, and some of the information that is needed for each answersuch as the amount of future changes to the cost of living, or how long the members retirement will lastis beyond anyones knowledge. If youre going to get a bonus, youve got to stick around with us for a while, said Rep. Jay Case, R-Winsted. When that expires in 2024, the states fiscal position could turn, some lawmakers argue, particularly if the national inflation rate which topped 7% last year and exceeds 8% early in 2022 remains high. The amount of the IRMAA varies, based on an enrollees income over the threshold amount. Retired state employees now get annual cost-of-living adjustments: a minimum of 2 percent and a maximum of 7 percent, depending on inflation. The agreement would. This agreement provides a clear message to our state employees that we value their contributions to our residents while also providing a solid platform from which to recruit the next generation of public servants to our rank, Lamont said. In other words, SERS retirees will no longer be guaranteed an annual COLA of at least two percent in years for which inflation is low. This memorandum will help you explain the 2022 Changes to employees who are planning their retirement by clarifying the following key facts: Taken together, what these facts show is that only a very limited number of employees who were planning to retire after the Effective Date may gain a clear advantage by changing their retirement strategy. These changes (which this document It seems that JavaScript is not working in your browser. The bonuses, the GOP argued, are hardly the key to retaining workers, as Lamont has claimed. Doctors 40 Hour MD Pay Plan with 3 Additional Steps Effective July 1, 2022. CT.gov: For State Employees Government For State Employees For State Employees Work from Home Technology Resources Find information on working from home including security, M365 set up, and using Teams State Employee Directory Search for state employees by name or agency. Learn More Large Group Plans It could be because it is not supported, or that JavaScript is intentionally disabled. Senate expected to approve deal on Friday, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). The 35 labor contracts, which were ratified by the various unions last month, include 2.5% general wage increases and step increases retroactive to July 1, 2021. Connecticut Governor Lamont has proposed to award state employees significant wage increases and bonuses over three years. Keynesian economics (/ k e n z i n / KAYN-zee-n; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output and inflation. While Connecticut does not charge Medicare members for the MAPD, the federal government charges a premium for Medicare Part B. community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years. Governor Lamont justified these bonuses as a means to retain workers, House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, said. Deserves got nothing to do with it, Rep. Thomas ODea, R-Ledyard, said, citing the famous dialogue Clint Eastwoods Western outlaw uttered in Unforgiven, the 1992 Academy Award-winning film. All Rights Reserved. It could be because it is not supported, or that JavaScript is intentionally disabled. To understand the 2022 Changes, it is necessary to understand both the processes created by the SEBAC agreements and certain basic structures of the states benefits for retirees. The agreement announced Friday also includes special lump sum payments of $2,500 for active employees. Its nothing more than a handout.. A database of class specifications used in the State of Connecticuts Executive Branch. The State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) called the agreement a vital step in resolving the current staffing crisis facing state government. font size, Human Resources Business Rules and Regulations. Tier 2 (Preferred brand name): $5 copay When any Connecticut retiree becomes eligible for coverage under Medicare (either because the retiree has reached age 65, or because he or she has become eligible for Medicare due to SSDI), the enrollee is required to enroll in Medicare Parts A (hospital coverage) and B (doctor and outpatient services). The contracts, which Gov. It seems that JavaScript is not working in your browser. Each employee should also give consideration to how long he or she wants to continue working; how he or she wants to spend the next few years; where the employee wants to live; what other obligations he or she has; and whether he or she will have additional sources of income in retirement. Beginning Jan. 1, 2021, everyone in Connecticut will see more money coming out of their paychecks due to a new state law called the Paid Family Leave Act. * Closed to new enrollment. A new contract granting state police raises and a paid lunch break tops a list of six new labor deals that would cost $58 million collectively by 2022 and also could throw a last-minute. The second rule states that a member does not become eligible to receive a COLA until at least nine months have elapsed after the members retirement date. It is different from the federal program w Action Reason Codes. listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information. Your co-pay will remain the same as it is today. Departments and Agencies Using high-value Anthem and United Healthcare/Oxford providers and facilities - those that offer higher quality care at lower costs - saves money for you and the State. Rob Baril, the president of SEIU 1199, in July 2021 arguing that state employees deserve raises. Part-timers would be eligible for prorated bonuses. More than 40,000 unionized state employees would receive $3,500 each in special bonuses by mid-July under tentative contract agreements reached this week with Gov. This report (1) explains why state officials are anticipating a wave of state employee retirements before July 1, 2022, the date when changes to state employee retirement benefits take effect, and (2) uses historical data to provide an estimate of how many employees may retire before July 1, 2022. I want a salary structure that allows me to recruit the best and brightest, Lamont said during a late afternoon, online press conference. Lamont inherited an Executive Branch workforce in 2019 that already was down 10% from 2010 levels. Copyright 2002 - 2017 Office of the State Comptroller, Available in Anthem's and United Healthcare/Oxford's Network, Select list of in-network specialists in one of ten medical specialties, Have a non-life-threatening medical concern or long term condition, or need a routine checkup, $0 copay for Preferred in-network providers; $15 copay for Non-Preferred in-network providers, Need medical guidance or information related to a symptom, treatment or surgery, Have a non-life-threatening minor ailment such as a cold, ear infections or sore throat, Have a condition that is more than minor but not life-threatening (e.g., cuts or other superficial wounds, moderate burns sprains), Have a life-threatening concern such as shortness of breath, severe chest pain, severe wound or broken bone, $250 copay; In certain circumstances, including actual emergencies or if you're admitted to the hospital, your copay will be waived. 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