Beaufort County retirees can't pay to keep health insurance plans

While some current and former Beaufort County employees may want to shell out more money to stay on their health insurance plans, they won't be allowed to, county officials say.

The county had already researched that and other options before Beaufort County Council voted March 23 to eliminate health coverage to 95 retirees and 590 current workers eligible to receive it upon their retirement, deputy county administrator Josh Gruber said.

Another 10 Bluffton Township Fire District retirees lost coverage, and about 95 other current employees were entitled to it, Gruber said. The district referred questions to county administrator Gary Kubic, who could not be reached for comment Friday.

Gruber said the county and fire district will not allow retirees to pick up the full tab of their premiums because they can obtain the same or similar coverage through the federal Affordable Care Act.

Those affected by the cost-cutting measure include about 30 retired deputies from the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff P.J. Tanner said.

While he asked county officials to consider alternatives, Tanner said he believes the financial strain was still too great.

"You have to be realistic and you have to step back," he said. "You might wish it was different, but in reality, it's a heck of a financial burden on the county."

The benefit, which ends July 1, 2016, allowed employees who retire after more than 10 years of service or more than 25 years with the Bluffton Township Fire District, to continue health and dental coverage for themselves and any dependents.

The county currently pays about $380,000 each year in contributions to health care premiums for about 95 retirees. Those retirees pick up the rest of the $323,000 cost, according to Gruber.

Extending the benefit to the 590 other workers eligible to draw it would be far too costly, Gruber said.

"The numbers are what the numbers are," he said. "The cost to continue providing this benefit has reached a tipping point that is no longer sustainable."

AN UPHILL BATTLE

Some of those affected by the vote said they're exploring options to sue for those benefits.

One expert, however, said they may face an uphill battle.

Dallas Salisbury, president of the nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute, said court decisions have weighed heavily on the wording of policies, and Beaufort County's contains some of the magic words: "Beaufort County Council reserves the right to amend this policy at any time."

"That gives them a pass," Salisbury said.

It's not clear whether the policy in place before 2003 includes that clause or any other stipulations.

Gruber said the county doesn't have a copy of past personnel policies.

Regardless of its legality, the decision was still immoral, said Joe Schaffer, who retired from Beaufort County EMS in February but works part-time under the state's Teacher and Employee Retention Incentive program.

After working two jobs throughout his career, Schaffer planned to fully retire in June to travel the country in an RV with his wife, parking in campgrounds and volunteering in parks along the way.

Just recently, the 56-year-old Ridgeland man finished sorting out doctors' visits along the route for his wife, who is disabled with fibromyalgia, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Schaffer says he now worries about affording a new health insurance plan since the TERI program restricts him from earning more than $10,000 a year in the public sector.

"It's just crazy to think this can be allowed," Schaffer said.

WHAT OTHER COUNTIES DO

Hampton County realized in 2012 it was facing a financial crunch of its own if it didn't change its plan, fiscal coordinator Audrey Sauls said.

Officials decided to put a cap on the maximum dollar amount the county would contribute to premiums -- $306 per month for a single retiree, Sauls said.

Since then, premiums have risen to $445, she said.

While the county's share also depends on the number of years an employee served, none of the 21 retirees currently on Hampton's plan gets less than the maximum amount, Sauls said.

Interim county administrator Rose Dobson-Elliott said there are no plans to eliminate the benefit, but all options would be on the table if the county experienced serious financial problems.

"I'm praying they do not do that," said Sauls, who has served 21 years. "I'm hoping they'll be able to manage it this way."

Other local governments said they plan to continue offering health insurance to retirees, though like Hampton, with some limitations.

Jasper County pays 100 percent of the premium for eligible retirees, who must serve 28 years with the county, according to Ronnie Malphrus, director of administrative services.

Only 52 people are on the plan, and they were all grandfathered in under an older policy that required only 10 years of service, Malphrus said.

In Charleston County, employees who retired before 2008 split their health premium evenly with the county and pay their own dental premium, according to Marcella Clark of the human resources department. The county now bases its contribution on years served, paying nothing for those who worked fewer than 15 years.

Colleton County also contributes half of the cost, as long as employees meet a few requirements: Retiring from the county after 20 consecutive years of service, at age 62 or older, human resources director Deadgrea Sadler said.

The number of people covered in Colleton and Charleston counties was unavailable Friday.

'A SLAP IN THE FACE'

In 2011, only 2 percent of local governments said they'd recently cut health care coverage or planned to cut coverage to early retirees over the next two years, according to a 2012 report by Salisbury's EBRI.

About 78 percent of local-government employers with 10,000 or more workers cover early retirees, compared to 18 percent in the private sector, according to EBRI.

That was down from about 29 percent at private companies in 1997, the report said.

The private sector is still attractive due to better pay, several Beaufort County employees said.

It was the prospect of better benefits in retirement that kept many people from changing jobs, said Dee Ann Sanders, who retired from Beaufort County EMS in 2012 after 27 years.

"I could have left the county years ago," she said.

Sanders, 50, works part-time at Beaufort Memorial Hospital, though she says she will need a full-time job to afford new insurance. Others without degrees are in store for greater hardships, she said.

"I've already planned my life around my retirement," Sanders said. "That is such a slap in the face to us."

Follow reporter Rebecca Lurye at twitter.com/IPBG_Rebecca.

Related content:

• Update: 590 current, former Beaufort County employees will lose retirement benefit under new cut, March 23, 2015

This story was originally published March 29, 2015 at 7:46 PM with the headline "Beaufort County retirees can't pay to keep health insurance plans ."