Rules You Should Know

Deferred retired employees
If you are eligible to receive a pension within five years after you terminate employment, you are a deferred retired employee. Deferred retired employees may keep their medical and dental coverage for themselves and their covered family members. You may keep life insurance for yourself. You will pay the same premiums that retirees pay. If you don’t pay your premiums, you will not be allowed to reinstate coverage when you begin receiving a pension.

Long term disability
If you were hired after September 1985 and are an active municipal employee or classified firefighter, you are covered under the Compensable Sick Leave Plan. After two years of employment, you are usually covered under the Long Term Disability Plan. If you become disabled, you must apply for your disability benefit within 12 months after the disability caused you to stop working. You may qualify to receive the benefit until age 65.

Life insurance
Review your life insurance beneficiary NOW. If you have had a “life event” like marriage, divorce, birth, adoption, or death, you may want to change your beneficiary. If your minor child is the beneficiary of your life insurance, the life-insurance company will keep that money until your child reaches age 18, or until the insurance company receives legal documentation showing a financial guardian for your child.

An employee is the beneficiary of his/her dependents’ life insurance.
If your spouse and you work for the city, both of you have employee basic life insurance of one times your annual base salary. You may not be your spouse’s dependent under the life insurance plan. Check your benefits file to ensure your city-employee spouse is not a dependent for the basic or voluntary coverage. Only one of you may cover dependent children.

You may buy life insurance up to four times your base salary. If your spouse does not work for the city, the maximum coverage is $50,000. A child’s maximum coverage is $10,000.

Medical/Dental coverage
If you die while you are an active employee, your covered surviving spouse and covered dependent children may keep medical and/or dental coverage until your spouse remarries or becomes covered under another group medical or dental plan. The children may be covered until age 25. Your spouse will pay premiums based on “employee rates.”

COBRA
If you are covered under the benefits plans when you terminate employment, you may keep your medical and dental coverage for 18 months through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. You will pay the total premium. If you become disabled during that period, you may keep COBRA benefits for 29 months, when you should qualify for Medicare.

No paycheck? Keep your benefits
If you are an active employee and you do not receive a paycheck from the city but want to retain your benefits, you must pay your premiums directly to the benefits division at 611 Walker, 4th floor. Premiums are not deducted for your benefits from the check that you receive from the workers’ compensation carrier.

What’s in your benefits file?
You may review your benefits file at 611 Walker, 4th floor, weekdays, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Because your records are confidential and protected, a written request, a written release with your notarized signature, or your physical presence is required. Present your city ID card. Information will not be released over the telephone.

Change of address
When you change your mailing address, you need to also update your address with the city’s central payroll division or your pension office, and complete a benefits change form for the medical/dental plans. To receive important information about your medical and dental plans, your address must be current at all times.

Small pension check? Pay your premiums by check or money order
If you are a retiree and find that you need to pay your health-care premiums by cashier check or money order, you may do so. Contact the Benefits Division at (713) 837-9400 or (888) 205-9266.