Retiree insurance: Access Category B

Access Category B refers to benefit-eligible faculty and staff members who, before January 1, 2018:

• Have a combined age plus years of service that equal 80 or more (e.g., age 55 + 25 years of service = 80), but …
• Are either not yet age 60 or do not yet have at least 20 years of service.

Because the board of curators approved recommendations for changing retiree insurance benefits, effective January 1, 2018, you must reach age 60+ and 20+ years of service by your retirement date. If you do, you will:

1. Become eligible for retiree insurance coverage.
2. Receive the same percentage subsidy for premiums as current retirees, as well as the subsidy for spouses and other dependents.

Access Category B was created in keeping with UM’s efforts to honor long service and recognize that employees nearing retirement have the least time/ability to make alternate arrangements to accommodate proposed changes. You have the ability to obtain retiree insurance coverage, just as current retirees do, with the same percentage subsidy as current retirees.

The abovementioned age and years of service criteria may affect your existing retirement plans. You have over a year to determine what is right for your retirement plans. UM is committed to supporting you with resources and information over the coming months, including personalized retirement summaries, as you evaluate your options.

Questions?

• Go to the Frequently Asked Questions.
• Go to the Retiree insurance: Summary of changes webpage.
• Contact the HR Service Center: 573-882-2146, 800-488-5288 (toll free), or hrservicecenter@umsystem.edu.

Footnote:

"Years of service" includes the number of creditable years worked for the UM System; for the purposes of eligibility, partial years are not counted (e.g., 19.9 years of service = 19). If you are unsure of your service credit, the best way to obtain an estimate is by completing the UM Retirement Calculator. Log in to myHR. Find the Retirement Calculator under the myTotal Rewards menu option on the left-hand side of your screen. Get step-by-step help at umurl.us/retcalc.