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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC RES 08-002RESOLUTION NO. 08-2 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, RESCINDING RESOLUTION NO. 99-65 AND ADOPTING REVISED GUIDELINES FOR THE RETIREE SERVICE STIPEND PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYEES AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL. WHEREAS, The City's Labor Negotiator has met and conferred with the Palm Desert Employees Organization on the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding; WHEREAS, the parties reached agreement in the matter of revising the retiree health stipend program established in Resolution 99-65; and WHEREAS, this agreement changes the terms of the program adopted by Resolution 99-65 for employees and Members of the City Council who begin their service after January 1, 2008, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, as follows: SECTION I: Statement of Purpose The purpose of the City offering a retiree service stipend is to reimburse eligible retired Palm Desert City employees a portion of their benefit premiums. This stipend is not meant to fully cover the cost of benefits. This program rewards long term employees, via the reimbursement stipend, who have given diligent employment service to the City of Palm Desert. In response to concerns over the rising costs of post retirement health benefits and the implementation of accounting standard GASB 45 the City has set up a two-tier program with different benefit levels based upon employment start date. SECTION II: Elictibility All full-time or part-time employees of the City of Palm Desert are eligible to participate in the "Retiree Service Stipend Program" based upon the criteria outlined below: Employees and Members of the City Council who began their service prior to December 31, 2007: 1. The employee must have at least ten (10) continuous years of service with the City of Palm Desert; 2. The employee must retire from the City of Palm Desert and from the California Public Employees Retirement System, simultaneously; 3. The employee must be at least 50 years of age at the time of retirement; RESOLUTION NO. 08- 02 4. The employee and/or retiree must conform to the rules, regulations and requirements of the CaIPERS Health Benefits Service Division to receive the retiree service stipend; 5. Retirees of the City of Palm Desert may be eligible for CaIPERS Health Benefits but may not be eligible for the Retiree Service Stipend Program; 6. The retiree service stipend shall cover all retirees previously qualified under Resolution No. 92-96 (rescinded by Resolution 99-65); and 7. Retirees must be covered by CaIPERS Health Benefit Services at the time of retirement and must elect to participate in the retiree service stipend within thirty (30) days of their retirement date. Employees and Members of the City Council who began their service after January 1. 2008: 1. The employee or Councilmember must have at least fifteen (15) continuous years of service with the City of Palm Desert; 2. The employee must retire from the City of Palm Desert and from the California Public Employees Retirement System, simultaneously; 3. The employee must be at least 50 years of age at the time of retirement; 4. The employee and/or retiree must conform to the rules, regulations and requirements of the CalPERS Health Benefits Service Division to receive the retiree service stipend; 5. Retirees of the City of Palm Desert may be eligible for CaIPERS Health Benefits but may not be eligible for the Retiree Service Stipend Program; 6. Retirees must be covered by CalPERS Health Benefit Services at the time of retirement and must elect to participate in the retiree service stipend within thirty (30) days of their retirement date. Page 2 of 6 RESOLUTION NO. 08- 02 SECTION III: General Provisions The following provisions apply to all employees and Members of City Council, regardless of the date on which they began City service: 1. The City's Retiree Service Stipend Program will reimburse the employee for the premium contribution outlined in Section IV of this Resolution. CaIPERS will reduce the retirement contribution of the retired employee by the amount of the premium minus the amount set by CaIPERS in accordance with Government Code Section 22825 as the minimum employer contribution. The City will send the retiree a service stipend based upon the provisions of Section IV of this Resolution once per month. The service stipend will only be paid by the City to the City's retirees; however, CaIPERS Health Benefits may be available to the retiree's survivors without a service stipend reimbursement. 2. All retirees are required by CaIPERS and the City to enroll in Medicare when they become eligible. 3. If, for any reason, the City elects to change from CaIPERS Health Benefits to another form of health coverage in the future, retirees will also be placed under the new health plan. This will insure that there is no disparity in coverage between active and retired employees; and 4. Should a State of national health care program be established, the City and the Palm Desert Employee's Organization will, at that time, meet and confer as to the impacts on the retiree service stipend and make recommendations for amendments or adjustments as deemed necessary. The City reserves the right to change the benefits under the program and the payments of the benefits if this was to occur. SECTION IV: Citv Service Stipend Contributions The City has a two-tier system of calculating Service Stipend contributions based upon the date which an employee or Member of City Council begins their service with the City. Employees and Members of the City Council who began their service prior to December 31, 2007: Page 3of6 RESOLUTION NO. 08- 02 1. If the eligibility criteria outlined in Section II are met, an employee is eligible to receive a stipend as reimbursement for benefit premiums based on the following table: Years Served: Percentage of Premium 10 50% 11 55% 12 60% 13 65% 14 70% 15 75% a. All service must be continuous. Retired employees qualifying for the service stipend program are able to receive a maximum of Seventy-five (75%) percent of the benefit premium reimbursed by the City, regardless of the number of years of continuous service over fifteen (15) years. 2. The City may elect to add benefits for its retirees. If the City were to add benefits, over and above the currently contracted health benefits, the reimbursement percentage may not follow the aforementioned schedule. (10-15 plus years of service has a reimbursement between 50% and 75% of the premium.) A separate reimbursement schedule may be developed; and 3. The retiree service stipend may be modified in an amount proportionate to any change in the amount of benefit contributions to its active employees. Current retirees are subject to any and all modifications of the retiree service stipend and related benefits. Employees and Members of the City Council who began their service after January 1, 2008: Employees who retire from City service and who meet the eligibility criteria outlined in Section II are eligible for a reimbursement of retiree health premiums of up to fifty percent (50%) of the cost of the lowest cost plan available through the City's health benefits contract. Percentages available at specific age/years of service combinations are outlined in the following table: Page4of6 RESOLUTION NO. 08- 02 Years of Service at Retirement Age: 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25+ 50 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 51 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 50% 52 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 50% 53 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 50% 54 40% 45% 50% 50% 55+ 50% 50% The following terms and conditions also apply to calculation of the service stipend: a) The employee must retire from City service and be receiving a CaIPERS pension. b) Reimbursements will be based on premiums for Retiree only or Retiree + spouse or domestic partner, not family coverage. c) Reimbursements will be calculated based on premiums for the lowest cost plan offered by CaIPERS (currently Kaiser HMO). If a retiree obtains another plan outside of the CaIPERS system, and provides documentation of that plan and its costs, they may be reimbursed for a percentage of that premium provided it is not greater than the lowest cost plan offered by CaIPERS. d) Retirees, who voluntarily drop their insurance coverage, and therefore the Stipend, will not be allowed to re -enroll in the stipend program. e) The Stipend will be discontinued when the retiree reaches Medicare age (typically 65 years of age) or is enrolled in Medicare, (whichever comes first). SECTION V: Annual Recertification Update 1. All retirees who avail themselves of this benefit may be required to provide the City with annual recertification information in December of each year. CaIPERS will provide the City with a list of retirees enrolled in CaIPERS Health Benefits and the type of coverage, the premium amount and the minimum required employer contribution. This information will be compared to the City's records. The City will have the following authority: Page 5 of 6 RESOLUTION NO. 08- 02 2. The City will have the sole authority to determine the relevant information needed to administer this program. Such information shall include, but not be limited to: a. Retired employee's current mailing address and phone number; b. Current dependant coverage status and their relation to the insured; c. Type of health insurance selected by retire from CaIPERS options; and d. Medicare application and status of Medicare enrollment. 3. At the time of retirement, the retired employee must sign a statement that failure to supply this information or providing false information will result in the termination of the service stipend. SECTION VI: Effective Date The retire service stipend program contained in this resolution is effective January 1, 2008, for all employees and Members of the City Council. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 14th day of February, 2008, by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: FERGUSON, FINERTY, KELLY, SPIEGEL, and BENSON NOES: NONE ABSENT: NONE ABSTAIN: NONE ATTEST: J fiIM.BENSO ,MAYOR RACHLLE D. KLASSEN, CITY CiRK CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA Page 6of6