December 27, 2007 - According to the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, employers are still allowed to
take into account the structure of
Medicare
when putting together the health benefits of
their retired workers.
One of the biggest factors that this fact implicates is the ability
of employers to shift some of the financial
responsibility onto the government when
certain retired employees qualify for
Medicare.
Employers will have the option of providing retiree health benefits
“only to those retirees who are not yet
eligible for Medicare.” Furthermore, when a
retired worker reaches an age where they
qualify for Medicare, their former employer
is no longer obligated to continuing
providing health benefits.
Furthermore, former employers will be able to reduce or even
eliminate the health benefits provided to
the spouse or dependents of a retired
worker.
"Implementation of this rule is welcome news for America's
retirees, whether young or old," Commission
Chairwoman Naomi C. Earp said in a statement
posted Wednesday on the commission's
Internet site. "By this action, the EEOC
seeks to preserve and protect
employer-provided retiree health benefits
which are increasingly less available and
less generous. Millions of retirees rely on
their former employer to provide health
benefits, and this rule will help employers
continue to voluntarily provide and maintain
these critically important benefits in
accordance with the law."
Currently in the United States, more than 10 million retired
workers rely on health benefits from their
employers.
In a preamble to the new regulation, published Wednesday in the
Federal Register, the commission said, “The
final rule is not intended to encourage
employers to eliminate any retiree health
benefits they may currently provide."
