Employee Matters

This column is prepared by staff of the Employee Compensation and Benefits Services office. E-mail the office at employee@bussvc.wisc.edu, or call 263-7556 or 262-5650. For more information, visit the EC&BS Web site, http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/ecbs.html, or e-mail employee@bussvc.wisc.edu.

This is the second in a series of three articles on retirement. This article will focus on health insurance and how sick- leave credits and Medicare come into play.

Health insurance

Health insurance is the greatest cost for most retirees. When employees retire, the university no longer contributes toward their health insurance premium. Paying for health insurance can be a deciding factor when selecting a retirement date.

How do accumulated sick-leave credits work?

University employees have the ability to use accumulated sick-leave credits to pay for health insurance premiums in retirement. With rare exception, accumulated sick-leave credits will be valued at the highest rate of pay while in state or UW employment.

How do supplemental health insurance conversion credits work?

With 15 or more years of adjusted continuous seniority in state or UW employment, employees are eligible for supplemental health insurance conversion credits. Craft workers are not eligible for the credits.

Supplemental credits are granted at the rate of 52 hours per year for the first through the 24th year of service and at the rate of 104 hours per year for all years over 24. (Protective employees’ accumulated sick leave is supplemented at 78 hours per year for the first through the 24th year of service and 104 hours per year for all years over 24.) Like accumulated sick-leave credits, supplemental health insurance conversion credits, with rare exception, will be valued at the employee’s highest rate of pay while in state or UW employment.

Supplemental sick-leave hours cannot exceed accumulated sick-leave hours.

Sick-leave credits are not lost at death if employees carry family health insurance coverage. Spouses and/or eligible dependent children can continue using sick-leave credits until depleted or until they are no longer eligible for coverage.

How do Medicare and health insurance coverage in retirement work?

Although employees are eligible to receive Social Security at age 62, Medicare does not begin until age 65. Active employees do not need to enroll in Medicare Part B until retirement. At that time, the state group plan becomes a supplement to Medicare, and the monthly premium reduces. When applying for Medicare, employees do not need to enroll in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program. The Navitus prescription drug plan, included as part of the state group health plan, provides better prescription drug coverage.

For information on sick leave, visit http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/lev-aslcc-shicc-information-chart-uw1048. html.

For more information on Medicare, visit http://www.ssa.gov and in the box “Questions About” Type in “Medicare” and hit “Go.” If you have questions, e-mail employee@bussvc.wisc.edu.