Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Retirees and government workers in the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System will shoulder higher costs for health care beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
OPERS trustees voted 9-2 on Wednesday to make changes to the health care offerings as a means of shoring up the health care fund into the future. Without the changes, OPERS projected that its $11.3 billion health care fund would run out of money by 2030.
OPERS, which represents most of the city, county and state workers, has provided health care coverage to retirees since 1974.
The first priority is solvency of the pension fund to make sure benefits required by law are provided.
OPERS is still looking for a state lawmaker willing to sponsor a bill that would eliminate the cost of living allowance given to retirees in 2022 and 2023 and delay the COLA for two years for all new retirees. Those changes, which require a law change, would help bolster the pension side of the system.
Under the health care changes approved Wednesday, nearly everyone in OPERS will be impacted.
For retirees who are Medicare-eligible — ages 65 and older — the monthly allowance provided by OPERS to offset health care costs will be reduced. The allowance currently ranges from $225 to $405, depending on age, years of service and retirement date. The lower allowances will range from $178 to $315.
