A message from PEF Retirees President Jim Carr Unprecedented attack on health benefits
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has done
what no other New York governor has ever done. Effective October 1, he unilaterally raised the NYS Health Insurance Program premium- contribution rates 2 percent for people who retired as early as January 1, 1983, from state services. If it’s not stopped, we will be fair
game for more cost shifts, rate hikes and benefit cuts. I agree with the Retired Public
Employees Association (RPEA) which contends, “there is significant legal and historical precedent which negates the authority to impose such premium cost shifts for NYSHIP health insurance on current retirees and this administrative action is contrary to law.” The governor claims the cost shift
was authorized by language in the CSEA pay bill that passed and was signed by him. If true, it’s abandoning a long-standing legislative policy to protect public employees who are
CARR
already retired from drastic cost increases or reductions in benefits. Contact your state
legislators and tell them how you feel about their passing the legislation with this language in it. Tell them the vast
majority of retirees remain in New York and we spend our pension incomes in our
communities. Retirees and beneficiaries are responsible for $9.5 billion in economic activity in New York state and some 55,000 jobs. We pay $194 million in sales tax to local governments and $1.3 billion in real property taxes. Your PEF Retirees leaders have
taken the following actions in response to the cost shifts announced in August: • September 1, 2011– Sent a letter of protest to the governor, with copies
to the acting president of the state Civil Service Commission and the state director of employee relations; • September 23, 2011– Sent letters
to all NYS senators and Assembly members asking them for their support; and • PEF Retirees chapter presidents
are directly contacting the state legislators in their regions. We’re told these changes are part of
a collective-bargaining agreement that’s being extended to retirees and vestees of NYS government and their enrolled dependents. We aren’t part of the collective-
bargaining process and if the state can raise our rates 2 percent, what stops it from raising them 100 percent? Call your legislators. Do it today.
Retiring? Join PEF Retirees now! Membership equals benefits. Contact PEF Retirees at 800-342-4306 x 289
PEFRetirees@pef.org
Page 8—The Communicator November 2011 PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445
RETIREES IN ACTION
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