| 1 | Representative(s) Williams offered the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Amendment |
| 4 | Remove line(s) 378-522 and insert: |
| 5 |
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| 6 | Section 15. Retirement health insurance benefits.-- |
| 7 | (1) It shall be and is hereby made the duty of the Sheriff |
| 8 | of Lee County to provide annually in his or her budget, a |
| 9 | sufficient sum of money to enable the board to properly carry |
| 10 | out the purposes of this act. |
| 11 | (2) Effective October 1, 1986, and thereafter, it is the |
| 12 | duty of the Sheriff of Lee County to provide annually in his or |
| 13 | her budget a sufficient sum of money to pay a percentage of the |
| 14 | cost of the health insurance of members of the Lee County |
| 15 | Sheriff's Office who retire from active service after having |
| 16 | accumulated at least 15 years of creditable service under the |
| 17 | Florida Retirement System. The health insurance costs payable |
| 18 | pursuant to this section include premiums for major medical and |
| 19 | hospitalization insurance, but do not include premiums for |
| 20 | dental insurance. When a retiree receiving this health insurance |
| 21 | benefit becomes eligible for Medicare, his or her health |
| 22 | coverage will convert to the Medicare Supplement health |
| 23 | insurance. |
| 24 | (a) In order to receive this benefit, the retiree must |
| 25 | have served with the Lee County Sheriff's Office for the 10 |
| 26 | years immediately preceding his or her retirement. The retiree |
| 27 | may claim up to 5 years of creditable service earned while in |
| 28 | the employ of another member agency within the Florida |
| 29 | Retirement System. The Lee County Sheriff's Office shall verify |
| 30 | all years of creditable service claimed through the Division of |
| 31 | Retirement of the Department of Administration. |
| 32 | (b) If an employee retires from the Lee County Sheriff's |
| 33 | Office after at least 10 years of service with the department, |
| 34 | but before reaching retirement age, and has participated in the |
| 35 | Florida Retirement System for at least 15 years, he or she may |
| 36 | pay his and her or his and her dependent's health insurance |
| 37 | costs until he or she begins to receive retirement benefits |
| 38 | under the Florida Retirement System. The Lee County Sheriff's |
| 39 | Office shall begin to pay a percentage of the employee's health |
| 40 | insurance costs when he or she begins to receive such retirement |
| 41 | benefits. The retiree shall give the sheriff's office written |
| 42 | notice of the date of payment of his or her initial retirement |
| 43 | benefit. The Lee County Sheriff's Office shall verify this date |
| 44 | through the Division of Retirement of the Department of |
| 45 | Administration. |
| 46 | (c) The Lee County Sheriff's Office shall base the |
| 47 | percentage of a retiree's health insurance costs it will pay |
| 48 | upon the number of years of creditable service that the retiree |
| 49 | has accumulated in the Florida Retirement System. Fifteen years |
| 50 | of creditable service entitles the retiree to have 75 percent of |
| 51 | his or her health insurance premiums paid by the sheriff's |
| 52 | office. The sheriff's office shall pay an additional 5 percent |
| 53 | of the insurance premiums for each year of service in excess of |
| 54 | 15 years until reaching a maximum of 100 percent of the premium |
| 55 | at 20 years of service. The Lee County Sheriff's Office shall |
| 56 | pay an additional one-twelfth of 1 percent of the premium for |
| 57 | each month served until the full 100 percent is paid. |
| 58 | (d) If an employee has health insurance coverage through a |
| 59 | previous employer, the Lee County Sheriff's Office will be the |
| 60 | secondary payor. |
| 61 | (e) If an employee receives a retiree health insurance |
| 62 | subsidy from the state, the Lee County Sheriff's Office shall |
| 63 | reduce the amount it pays of the employee's health insurance |
| 64 | premiums by the amount of the subsidy. |
| 65 | (f) The Lee County Sheriff's Office shall pay for the |
| 66 | health insurance coverage of the retiree and 50 percent of his |
| 67 | or her dependents' health insurance coverage only if the |
| 68 | retiree's health insurance is paid at 100 percent of the premium |
| 69 | at 20 years of service. A retiree who obtains benefits without |
| 70 | attaining 20 years of service may pay for the health insurance |
| 71 | of his or her dependents. Upon a retiree's death, his or her |
| 72 | spouse may continue the health insurance coverage previously |
| 73 | provided by the retiree. Premiums must be paid to the Lee County |
| 74 | Sheriff's Office. |
| 75 | (g) This retiree health insurance benefit is only |
| 76 | available to an employee when he or she retires. If the employee |
| 77 | does not elect to receive the insurance benefit upon retiring, |
| 78 | he or she does not have the option of receiving the benefit at a |
| 79 | later date. |