Horry County administration committee considers changes to retiree health plan [The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.]

March 29--The Horry County Administration Committee is considering three new options to the county's retiree health insurance plan, all of which would significantly reduce the $6.2 million the county is currently required to contribute annually.

So far, those options are being discussed in the committee, and haven't gone before County Council for consideration, said Lisa Bourcier, Horry County spokeswoman. The three choices could lead to a reduction in the county's annual contribution amount ranging from about $2 million to $2.9 million a year.

In December 2010, the council approved a resolution that discontinues Horry County's payments toward retiree health insurance premiums for those employees hired July 1, 2011 and thereafter. The resolution cited current and projected budget constraints as the reason for the change.

"Future liability amounts are projected to increase if no other adjustments are made to the existing plan," Bourcier said via e-mail.

In 1994, Horry County began paying for health insurance for retiring employees, according to information from Bourcier. Regular retirees with 28 years of service or more get 100 percent of their premium paid by the county. Those with 23 to 27 years get 75 percent of the premium taken care of, while those with 15 to 22 years have half of the premium paid.

County police with 25 years or more of service had 100 percent of their premium paid, 75 percent was paid for those with 22 to 24 years on the job and 50 percent of the premium was paid for those with 15 to 21 years of service.

After the March 2, 2012 administration committee meeting, the recommendation was to discontinue funding retiree coverage on the county's health plan after Medicare becomes the retiree's primary insurance.

At the committee's March 16 meeting, Assistant County Administrator Anne Wright presented three options for the committee to consider. The first's changes would include a $400 monthly subsidy from the county for Medicare-eligible retirees. That subsidy is prorated according to service and will increase by 3 percent per year.

Also, the option would grandfather existing plan provisions, except as amended with the Medicare change, for all employees who are either 62 years old or have 23 years of county service as of Dec. 31. Of the 1,971 active employees, an estimated 271 will be grandfathered, Wright said.

The other 1,700 non-grandfathered employees would have a minimum retirement age of 62 and the 75 percent of premium paid by the county for 23 to 27 years of service would be taken away. Wright said that could help with retaining county employees.

Another part of that first option is deleting the opt-back provision. Wright explained the opt-back plan by using the example that if a person worked for the county for 28 years and then went to another job, they could come back to the county and request to be put on the retirement health insurance plan because of their previous service.

The changes called for in the second option are the same as the first option, except the $400 monthly subsidy would be changed to a $150 monthly subsidy. Also, non-grandfathered employees retiring before the age of 62 will receive their service-based subsidy at age 62 if they pay the full premium to remain on the plan until age 62, Wright said.

For option three, the changes would be the same as the second option, and it would state that non-grandfathered county police officers with 25 years of county service can receive a 50 percent subsidy if retiring between the ages of 55 and 62.

The county's annual required contribution of $6.2 million would reduce that to $3.3 million under the first optiont. Options two and three would mean reductions of $1.98 million and $2.03 million respectively, Wright said.</p>

Committee chairman Harold Worley said the committee would like to consider all the options before making any type of recommendation to take before the full council.

"We don't know what may come of all this," Wright said.

Contact BRAD DICKERSON at 626-0301.

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