I investigated the cost of my health care in retirement as a part-timer and was unpleasantly surprised to find that it is now $350/ month for one person (and this does not include dental or vision care). I also inquired what the COBRA cost would be for the identical coverage, and it would be $427. Since the company charges its full costs for the COBRA coverage, what the employee now must pay for the UPS health benefit is getting close to the full cost of COBRA.
benefit in retirement for part-timer
- Thread starter tardus
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Are you talking about this Plan (below), or another one? . . .
ARTICLE 34. HEALTH & WELFARE AND PENSION
Section 1. Health & Welfare and Pension Provisions
(k) Part-time Retiree Coverage
(1) Effective August 1, 2002 the Employer will provide health insurance coverage to all part-time employees, not covered by a Union plan, who retire on or after that date.
(2) To be eligible for the coverage, the part-time employee must (i) not be eligible for Medicare; (ii) meet the same age and service requirements as that of a full-time employee in the same Supplement, Rider or Addendum and at a minimum, be at least fifty-five (55) years of age with a minimum of twenty-five (25) years of part-time service as defined in the UPS Pension Plan; (iii) be covered as an active employee by a UPS-administered health care plan for part-time employees at the time of retirement and; (iv) not a part-time employee because of a voluntary bid to part-time status in the five (5) years prior to retirement.
(3) A retiree’s legal spouse is also eligible for coverage if he or she is not eligible for Medicare and is under age sixty-five (65).
(4) Coverage and benefit levels shall be as specified in the Summary Plan Description.
(5) Eligibility for coverage for retiree and spouse begins on the first (1st) day after the employee’s active coverage ends.
(6) The retired part-time employee will be required to make a contribution equal to the amount required by a retired full-time employee in the same Local Union. If there is no established rate the contribution will be two hundred dollars ($200.00) per month.
ARTICLE 34. HEALTH & WELFARE AND PENSION
Section 1. Health & Welfare and Pension Provisions
(k) Part-time Retiree Coverage
(1) Effective August 1, 2002 the Employer will provide health insurance coverage to all part-time employees, not covered by a Union plan, who retire on or after that date.
(2) To be eligible for the coverage, the part-time employee must (i) not be eligible for Medicare; (ii) meet the same age and service requirements as that of a full-time employee in the same Supplement, Rider or Addendum and at a minimum, be at least fifty-five (55) years of age with a minimum of twenty-five (25) years of part-time service as defined in the UPS Pension Plan; (iii) be covered as an active employee by a UPS-administered health care plan for part-time employees at the time of retirement and; (iv) not a part-time employee because of a voluntary bid to part-time status in the five (5) years prior to retirement.
(3) A retiree’s legal spouse is also eligible for coverage if he or she is not eligible for Medicare and is under age sixty-five (65).
(4) Coverage and benefit levels shall be as specified in the Summary Plan Description.
(5) Eligibility for coverage for retiree and spouse begins on the first (1st) day after the employee’s active coverage ends.
(6) The retired part-time employee will be required to make a contribution equal to the amount required by a retired full-time employee in the same Local Union. If there is no established rate the contribution will be two hundred dollars ($200.00) per month.
Yes, that is the applicable contract wording. I checked with the local union and the fees are the same. It is an indication of how the retiree benefit has eroded that the COBRA payment -- which reimburses the full cost of the benefit -- is only $77 more than the retirement benefit.
Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention.
Many clauses in our Union Contract are deliberately worded to encourage a "Yes" vote at ratification time by uninformed members. In this case, I can just imagine that a voter sees the $200 figure, thinks that retirement is a long way away, and besides, he probably isn't a part-timer anyway, so he is inclined to vote "Yes" without actually knowing what he is agreeing to.
Only someone who performed "due dilligence" would know the whole story, and even then, the retiree rates would probably be increased again after the Contract was ratified. In my Local our dues was recently increased by $3 a month to $93 for full-timers. But the announcement was delayed until all the votes were cast in the IBT election. I'm guessing if the members were hit with a dues increase just as they were opening their ballot envelope, Hoffa & Hall would have gotten even fewer votes.
Many clauses in our Union Contract are deliberately worded to encourage a "Yes" vote at ratification time by uninformed members. In this case, I can just imagine that a voter sees the $200 figure, thinks that retirement is a long way away, and besides, he probably isn't a part-timer anyway, so he is inclined to vote "Yes" without actually knowing what he is agreeing to.
Only someone who performed "due dilligence" would know the whole story, and even then, the retiree rates would probably be increased again after the Contract was ratified. In my Local our dues was recently increased by $3 a month to $93 for full-timers. But the announcement was delayed until all the votes were cast in the IBT election. I'm guessing if the members were hit with a dues increase just as they were opening their ballot envelope, Hoffa & Hall would have gotten even fewer votes.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Jon, our mulitplier for dues here is 3. Are you sure the $3/month increase was not a result of our most recent split raise?
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Jon, I thought union dues were based upon a multiplier--are you sure the increase was not due to our most recent split raise?
To illustrate how our retirement benefits are being eroded, I inquired about the cost of health care three years ago and was told it was only $50 per month. I again inquired last February and was told that it was $300 per month. And again it has gone up another $50 per month since February. If it continues to increase at this rate, it is conceivable that we could be charged more than the COBRA cost for the health care benefit, in which case the company would be turning a profit.
My Local uses the higher "3-times" multiple as well. (Although some people who make less pay more than three times their hourly rate.)
But like I said, the announcement was delayed until after the ballots were cast.
What is the formal name of your H&W plan? UPS runs several of them, and the name isn't even mentioned in the Contract!!!
Have you read about Local 705's similar problems? They pay $50 per month, but UPS tried unsuccessfully to raise it much higher. 705 sued UPS and won.
Are you in the same plan as 705?
Here's a link . . .
Advocate for UPSers-NABER
Thank you for the link for the interesting article concerning Local 705. The company completely controls the UPS Pension Plan for part-timers, but there are differences in the plans in different areas of the country. Our plan in the mid-Atlantic region is coded with the identifying Plan Number 022 -- found in the summary plan description. The health care benefit for retiring part-timers over age 55 with at least 25 years of service was a new benefit won in recent contracts. I think that any part-time employees counting on this benefit to substantially defray the cost of health insurance in retirement will be seriously disappointed. Are any UPSers nearing retirement aware of a better deal in health care through AARP, etc.?
InsideUPS
Well-Known Member
The best way of reducing your retirement health care co-payment is to encourage your Local Union to negotiate with different health care organizations in your area. Each Local Union has this capability which mainly depends on how good your local business agent is at "shopping" different health care plans.
