Retirement Health Care Benefits Dwindling



Ken Allen, a union official in Portland, Ore.,

says workers sacrificed to keep fully paid health care.



Although elderly citizens have bought their way into health insurance throught payments over the years, the rising debt is bigger than just one generation. If we are to stay afloat among the billions of dollars of debt, then there must be radical change. One alternative that states have created is to extend the age requirement to receive full benefits. One of the biggest surprises that I found interesting was,



Richard O’Gara, Omaha’s director of human resources, put the numbers in perspective. “We’re going to reach a point where in five years, retiree health care will cost us more than employee health care,” he said, adding that was partly because the city was shrinking its work force and partly because retirees used far more medical services than active workers.

The expensive payments are becoming 'astronomical' and without a cap or restriction laws, new generations will suffer from the debt and retirement plans will be cut altogether.

Richard Johnson, national public sector health practice director at the Segal consulting firm, said cutting retirees’ health coverage raised moral and legal issues. “It’s a tough group to deal with,” he said. “You have to remember that state and local governments have routinely catered to them and often promised them being able to retire with full benefits. Those are huge promises.”

On a personal level, I want my parents to retire as soon as they can, but as a statistical value, it would not be practical. The current longevity of senior citizens will only increase, and at this rate, so will the debt.