Federal, military, social security retirees inching toward 2020 COLA

Snippet of Article: "...For most retirees, the COLA is a big deal. For some it is financially critical. Health insurance premiums paid by most federal, postal and military retirees are almost certain to go up next year. The new premiums will be made public in November and retirees will have the option to switch to less expensive, but in many cases equally good, plans. But the fact is most don’t. Only a small percentage of workers or retirees change plans each open season. Even though experts say 30% or more should. For retirees the picture is grim. While many should be in less expensive HMOs or the standard option of a plan with multiple choices, most avoid HMOs. Many, if not most, are still in the high option of the plan they were in when they retired, even though its premiums — because it is top-heavy with older, sicker customers — have gone through the roof..."

Source: federalnewsnetwork.com

2020 COLA, FERS, CSRS, federal health insurance,

Health law’s heavy impact

Article Title: Health law’s heavy impact

Snippet of Article: "...Requires single people earning $200,000 or more and couples earning $250,000 or more to pay an additional 0.9 percent in Medicare taxes.
Tax on Home Sales. Imposes a 3.8 percent tax on home sales and other real estate transactions. Middle-income people must pay the full tax..."

Source: www.spokesman.com

APWU, Other Federal Unions Assail Senate Bill’s Excise Tax on Healthcare

Article Title: APWU, Other Federal Unions Assail Senate Bill’s Excise Tax on Healthcare
Snippet of Article: "...“This tax would result in huge benefit cuts, and increased co-pays and deductibles for federal and postal employees,” Burrus said. “It is absolutely the wrong way to pay for this legislation. Health insurance reform simply should not be financed by burdening workers and the middle class with an excise tax.”

The two reports conclude that the “average” plans would try to avoid the excise tax, and would shift costs to employees.

One report [PDF] found that Blue Cross/Blue Shield Standard plans, which cover nearly half of all federal employees, will result in an excise tax on family plans of more than $20,000 per worker over the first 10 years, or about $2,000 a year. For individual plans, it would be about $1,600 additional each year...."

Source: www.apwu.org

[tag]Federal,Government,Military,Retiree, [/tag]