Livingston City Council eliminating a policy that allowed city employees who retire under the age of 65 to keep their health plan until they turn 65.
Alderman Bill Linder said insurance costs are rising significantly and the city should not be offering the additional coverage. Linder said the city can continue to offer the federally-required COBRA program that gives retirees under sixty-five eighteen months of insurance but anything beyond that is unnecessary.
“I get it, everybody struggles for insurance,” Linder said. “But if they choose to leave or retire, they should be thinking ahead. I mean, I don’t think the city or any facility were to carry that burden. I don’t know.”
Mayor Lori Elder Burnett said retiring employees who opted into the plan would cost the city as much as any other worker’s insurance bill. Burnett said no one had been enrolled in the program, but it could create a large monthly bill if multiple employees retired at once.
“If we get four people, that’s going to be two thousand dollars a month for retirees,” Burnett said. “Because as health insurance is getting more and more expensive, it’ll be a large burden.”
Vice Mayor Rex Dale voting against getting rid of the policy and Alderman Arno Proctor abstained. Dale said he thinks the city should reward the loyalty of those who work long enough to retire with insurance benefits.
“I don’t see us taking anything away from our employees,” Proctor said. “Even if they do retire, if that’s what we are currently doing, then why would we want to take it away?”
