MTA Today - Fall 2017

bind of a former colleague named Mary, who retired in 1992 at age 63 after 40 years of teaching. (She asked that her last name not be used.)

“Economically, the best day for retired public employees is the day they retire,” Ruane said.

Because Mary’s pension hasn’t
kept pace with inflation, she lives
on $2,108 a month after taxes. She
is not eligible for Social Security or
Medicare. Out of that modest income,
she has to pay 50 percent of the
premium for the same kind of health
insurance plan that is provided to
active employees.

Giving retirees like Mary an extra

$90 a year by modestly improving the
COLA “is hardly too much to ask,”
Ruane said. Freezing their out-of-
pocket costs is also essential.

Retired Winchester teacher Stephen Gorrie, a former MTA president, described what happened to retirees in Winchester in 2012 when the town unilaterally decided to change the health insurance premium split to 50/50.

Some saw their health insurance
premium costs increase sharply. In the
worst-case scenario, Gorrie explained,
“Those who retired before July 1,
2004, but were not Medicare-eligible
who were on a family plan had their
annual premium costs increased from
$6,410 to $11,050, or nearly $5,000.”

“At some point,” Gorrie continued, “these retirees would have to decide whether they maintain their health insurance, keep their homes, or eat.”

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Today’s Lesson: IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION

No one can prevent all identity theft.

† LifeLock does not monitor all transactions at all businesses.

Credit card required at enrollment. At the end of the no-cost 30-day trial period, if you do not cancel, your card will be billed automatically on a monthly or annual basis depending on what you elect at the time of enrollment. Offer is for new LifeLock members only. Offer is available for LifeLock Standard™, LifeLock Advantage™ and LifeLock Ultimate Plus™ memberships only. Not combinable with other offers.

With so much personal information being shared in the world these days, it’s nice to know that someone is looking out for you. The MTA wants you to know that LifeLock will do more than free credit monitoring to help protect your identity. LifeLock alerts† you to suspicious uses of your identity – and if there’s a problem, a U.S.-based team of specialists will work to fix it.

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