Welcome to the Retirement Resources page!

 

 

Are you considering retirement and/or are ready to retire? Congratulations! Below you will find information and resources on the steps you must take in order to initiate retirement, and information to help you make sure that the transition into retirement is as smooth as possible.

Health Insurance

No person hired on or after January 1, 2021, shall be
entitled to remain on the City’s health insurance program upon retirement.

Employees hired on or before December 31, 2020, who retire
under the provisions of the Wisconsin Retirement System may remain in the
City’s health plan post-retirement, subject to the follow eligibility
requirements:

1. Rule of 75. An employee hired on or before December 31,
2020, who has attained the age of 55 years and has the combination of age and
full years of service totaling 75 at time of retirement and who retires on or
before June 30, 2021, may remain in the City’s health plan post-retirement.

2. Rule of 77. An employee hired on or before December 31,
2020, who has attained the age of 55 years and has the combination of age and
full years of service totaling 77 at time of retirement and who retires between
July 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021, inclusive, may remain in the City’s health
plan post-retirement.

3. Rule of 79. An employee hired on or before December 31,
2020, who has attained the age of 55 years and has the combination of age and
full years of service totaling 79 at time of retirement and who retires between
January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, inclusive, may remain in the City’s
health plan post-retirement.

4. Rule of 81. An employee hired on or before December 31,
2020, who has attained the age of 55 years and has the combination of age and
full years of service totaling 81 at time of retirement and who retires between
January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, inclusive, may remain in the City’s
health plan post-retirement.

5. Rule of 83. An employee hired on or before December 31,
2020, who has attained the age of 55 years and has the combination of age and
full years of service totaling 83 at time of retirement and who retires between
January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, inclusive, may remain in the City’s
health plan post-retirement.

6. Rule of 85. An employee hired on or before December 31,
2020, who has attained the age of 55 years and has the combination of age and
full years of service totaling 81 at time of retirement and who retires on or
after January 1, 2025, may remain in the City’s health plan post-retirement.

An employee retiring from the Water or Wastewater Utility and is at least fifty-five
(55) years of age, and has the combination of age and full years of service
totaling eighty (80), except that employees with a combination of sixty (60) by
January 1, 2011 the threshold of benefit shall be a combination of seventy-five
(75), may remain in the City’s health plan prior to reaching the age of
Medicare eligibility and is required to pay the current premium contribution in
effect. Retired employees will receive the same insurance benefits as active employees and will be subject to the same plan changes as active employees. Employees hired on or after January 1, 2007 will not be allowed to remain in the health plan upon reaching the age of Medicare Eligibility. An employee hired into the Police Union on or after January 1, 2010 will not be allowed to remain in the health plan upon reaching the age of Medicare eligibility. An employee hired into the Water or Wastewater Utility on or after May 1, 2007 will not be allowed to remain in the health plan upon reaching the age of Medicare Eligibility.

Retirees are required to enroll in Medicare Part B and the City will continue to provide insurance and pay for Medicare Part B. Employees hired on or after January 1, 2007 are not eligible for Medicare Part B payments. Employees hired into the Police Union on or after January 1, 2010 are not eligible for Medicare Part B payments. Employees hire into the Water Utility or Wastewater Utility on or after May 1, 2007 are not eligible for Medicare Part B payments. For employees retiring on or after January 1, 2021, the City will not reimburse any
portion of the Medicare B premium for a retired employee’s spouse.

If an employee retires with a single health insurance policy, this retiree will not be allowed to add any spouse or children after retirement. An employee who retires with a family policy will be allowed to add a new spouse or children after retirement.

To view the benefits for Pre-Medicare eligible retirees, visit the following website;
Pre-Medicare Eligible Retirees Health Insurance Information

The prescription coverage is through CVS Caremark, and all prescription costs that you pay will go towards the deductible. A quarterly invoice is mailed to retirees. If you are retiring from the Police or Fire Union, you may use your deferred compensation account to pay for your health insurance premiums throughout retirement. Please contact your deferred compensation provider to speak with them about this process.

Sworn Public Safety Employees

Sworn Public Safety employees who retire under the
provisions of the Wisconsin Retirement System may remain in the City’s health
plan post-retirement, subject to the following eligibility requirements:

• Sworn Fire Department Employees

Sworn Fire Department Employees Hired Prior to
1/1/2007:

A sworn Fire
Department employee hired prior to January 1, 2007 who retires under the
provisions of the Wisconsin Retirement System at age 52 or over with 20 years
or more of continuous service immediately preceding retirement may remain in
the City’s health plan post-retirement.

For retired sworn
Fire Department employees hired prior to January 1, 2007, the Employer will
continue to pay Medicare B and provide City health insurance and retirees will
be required to enroll in Medicare B.

Sworn Fire Department Employees Hired On or After
1/1/2007:

A sworn Fire
Department employee hired on or after January 1, 2007 who retires under the
provisions of the Wisconsin Retirement System at age 53 or over and has the
combination of age and full years of continuous service totaling 78 may remain
in the City’s health plan post-retirement.

Any retired sworn
Fire Department employees hired on or after January 1, 2007, and their spouses,
are not eligible to remain in the City’s health plan upon reaching the age of
Medicare eligibility.

 

• Sworn Police Department Employees

Sworn Police Department Employees Hired Prior to
1/1/2010:

A sworn Police
Department employee hired prior to January 1, 2010 who retires under the
provisions of the Wisconsin Retirement System at age 50 or over with 20 years
or more of continuous service immediately preceding retirement may remain in
the City’s health plan post-retirement.

For retired sworn
Police Department employees hired prior to January 1, 2010, the Employer will
continue to pay Medicare B and provide City health insurance and retirees will
be required to enroll in Medicare B.

Sworn Police Department Employees Hired On or After
1/1/2010:

A sworn Police
Department employee hired on or after January 1, 2010 who retires under the
provisions of the Wisconsin Retirement System at age 53 or over and has the
combination of age and full years of continuous service totaling 78 may remain
in the City’s health plan post-retirement.

Any retired sworn
Police Department employees hired on or after January 1, 2010, and their
spouses, are not eligible to remain in the City’s health plan upon reaching the
age of Medicare eligibility.

• All Sworn Public Safety Employees

Any sworn Public Safety employee who is forced to
retire by virtue of duty incurred injury or disease may remain in the City’s
health plan post-retirement upon the City’s receipt of a disability approval
notice from the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds.

Any sworn Public Safety employee who is forced to
retire by virtue of non-duty related injury or disease and has at least 15
years of continuous service with the Department may remain in the City’s health
plan post-retirement upon the City’s receipt of a disability approval notice
from Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds.  This provision shall not apply if the
disability is incurred due to performing services while working for another
employer.

In the event that a sworn Public Safety employee or
retiree who is enrolled in family health insurance benefits dies leaving a
surviving spouse and/or dependents, the surviving spouse and/or dependents may
remain in the City’s health plan under the conditions set forth herein.  This privilege will terminate if the surviving
spouse of the deceased remarries, obtains other health insurance coverage, or
becomes eligible for Medicaid or Medicare, whichever event occurs first.  This privilege shall also terminate for the
dependent survivors when they no longer meet the age and eligibility
requirements for coverage under the policy.

Any sworn Public Safety employee who has met the
eligibility requirements to continue on the City’s health insurance upon
retirement shall be subject to placement within the insurance program
established for active bargaining unit employees or, if the retiree is eligible
for continued coverage upon reaching the age of Medicare eligibility, the
retiree will be placed in the Medicare Advantage plan selected by the City.  This does not apply to retired sworn Public
Safety employees who are on the Base Major Medical or 4A plans.

Retired sworn Public Safety employees and surviving
spouses/dependents shall pay the same premium-equivalent percentage as may from
time-to-time be determined by resolution of the common council for active
employees.  The actual dollar amount for
retired sworn Public Safety employees and surviving spouses/dependents may
differ from the dollar amount paid by active employees based upon differing
actuarial calculations.

All retired sworn Public Safety employees, their
spouses, and surviving spouses of deceased sworn Public Safety employees must
enroll in Medicare upon their earliest eligibility under the law.

If a sworn Public Safety employee retires with a
single health insurance policy, this retiree will not be allowed to add a
spouse or children after retirement.  A sworn
Public Safety employee who retires with a
family policy will be allowed to add a new spouse or children after retirement.

Notwithstanding anything else contained herein,
retired sworn Public Safety employees and surviving spouses/dependents are not eligible
to remain in the City’s health plan during any period as they are eligible for
health insurance coverage under their own then-current employment.  Retired employees and surviving
spouses/dependents annually shall be required to certify to the City’s Human
Resources Department whether they are eligible for health insurance coverage
under their own then-current employment.
Eligible retired employees and surviving spouses/dependents shall be
reinstated under the City’s plan upon the City’s receipt of notice that their subsequent
employment, and any associated health insurance coverage, have been terminated.  Any such notice should be directed to the
City’s Human Resources Department.

To the extent
that this policy conflicts with other subjects addressed in the Employee
Handbook, this policy controls.  This
policy does not grant any additional benefits over and above or in addition to
any employment contract.

Violations of this policy may result in the
termination of health insurance coverage as would otherwise be provided under
this policy.

This policy shall take effect for all retired sworn
Public Safety employees and surviving spouses/dependents upon passage by common
council.  This policy shall take effect
for sworn Public Safety active employees on July 1, 2023.

Dental & Vision Insurance

Dental and Vision Insurance end at the end of the month you retire. If you are enrolled in the dental and vision insurance coverage upon retirement, you will be offered dental and vision insurance coverage through COBRA. The City will mail you a COBRA notice.

Life Insurance

The Life Insurance Policy is through Employee Trust Funds. The Basic Unit and each Additional Unit of life insurance is equal to your highest annual earnings throughout your employment at the City of Racine. The Unit amount stays the same starting at retirement, until the age of 65. The Basic Unit and Additional Unit premiums will be deducted out of your pension check. The City will reimburse you on a quarterly basis for the Basic Unit premium. Once you turn 65, the Additional Units of Life Insurance (if applicable) will automatically be dropped from your policy, so you will be left with the Basic Unit of Life Insurance. At age 65, 66, and 67 the worth of that Basic Unit of Life Insurance will decrease by 25% each year. For example; If you have $83,000 in coverage at retirement at age 62, this will stay the same until you turn age 65, where the coverage will be worth $62,250 (decreasing by 25%). At age 66, the policy will be worth $41,500 (50% of original value, dropping an additional 25%). At age 67, the policy will be worth $20,750 (25% of original value, dropping an additional 25%). The original value of the Basic Unit of Life Insurance will drop 75% total by the age of 67. You will keep the remaining amount for the rest of life. Spouse and Dependent Units of Life Insurance will end at retirement unless you convert it to a whole life policy within 31 days.

AFLAC Policies

You may be able to continue certain policies after retirement. Call AFLAC at (800) 992-3522 for more information.

You will need to place a call to the Wisconsin Retirement System, (877) 533-5020 to request a retirement packet. It often takes up to two months to receive this packet, which contains all of the necessary forms and estimated amounts for the various retirement annuity options. When you request this packet from WRS, you will need to provide them a projected date of retirement that is less than one year in the future. This is not a date that you will be held to – it is merely a date used for the computations.

Retirement paperwork must be returned to the Wisconsin Retirement System a minimum of 60 days prior to your effective retirement date in order to get the first check in a timely fashion. You cannot return the retirement pack to WRS any earlier than 90 days before the effective retirement date.

The Wisconsin Retirement System uses two methods of computing your retirement benefits. The first method is a formula calculation that takes your highest three calendar years of pay times a factor times the number of years you have made contributions to WRS. The WRS uses one factor for service before 2000 and another factor for service in 2000 and later. The second method is a money purchase benefit calculation, which uses the total funds (contributions and earnings) that have been accumulated into your WRS account and your current age. You receive the larger of the two calculations. WRS has booklets available that describe the two calculations in detail. You can also visit the Employee Trust Funds website (http://etf.wi.gov/) and use calculators that compute estimated retirement payments.

You have the ability to purchase prior service that you may have forfeited earlier. You also have the opportunity to purchase certain governmental service. Contact the Wisconsin Retirement System for a booklet and details.

If you have military service, you will need to provide the Wisconsin Retirement System with a copy of your DD214 at any time. WRS will keep it on file for the calculation when you retire. This service will not show up on any year-end statements showing years of service. It is only used when you retire and your retirement benefit is being calculated.

At the above ETF website, you can click on the “Retirement” tab and the “Applying for Retirement” section, and you will find a Retirement Planning Checklist and a WRS Retirement Benefits Calculator that you can use to help calculate what your benefits would look like today.

What happens with my Health Savings Account (H.S.A.) when I retire?

If you are still covered by a High Deductible Health Plan, you are eligible to continue funding your HSA account. Most people begin Medicare at age 65 and are no longer eligible to fund their HSA account at that point; however, your HSA account can continue to be used for qualified medical expenses during retirement.

Will I receive an invoice for my health insurance premium?

Yes, you will receive an invoice in the mail each quarter for your health insurance premium. The address to send the payment to will be listed on the invoice.

Can I pay for the health insurance premium for the full year?

Yes, you can pay for the full year all at once. You will need to contact the Benefits Manager at (262) 636-9475 in order to do this.

 

Listed below are resources that are beneficial to look at if you are considering retiring from the City of Racine.

• Calculate your potential retirement benefits here;

https://etf.wi.gov/resource/calculating-your-retirement-benefits

• Apply for retirement through the Wisconsin Retirement System;

https://etf.wi.gov/resource/applying-your-retirement-benefit

• Update your Beneficiary Form directly through Employee Trust Funds;

https://etf.wi.gov/resource/beneficiary-designation-alternate

• You can still access Employee Self Service throughout your retirement! Visit;

https://selfservice.racinenet.org/MSS

* If you need your login information, please contact Human Resources at 262-636-9175.

• Social Security Administration

www.ssa.gov

• Medicare Website

www.medicare.gov

• City of Racine Health Insurance Information

/HR/HCChanges/Retiree/