The standard Part B premium for 2011 is $115.40.

However, there is no Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2011. So, most people with Medicare already enrolled in Part B in 2010, with income below $85,000 for an individual or $170,000 for married couples, will pay the same premiums in 2011 they are paying in 2010.

To clarify how it impacts LEOFF 1, you should contact your local disability board.

by Don Jacobson

As you may remember, last year there was an attempt to begin a second dental plan for Retired Firefighters and Law Officers. As you know, it did not get started.

This dental plan is now available and will have a start date of 1/1/11. It is available to any retired City or County employee and/or their respective spouse regardless of when the employee retired.

The dental plan is also available to the widow/widower.

WAITING PERIOD:

You must hve enrolled by December 11, 2010 to eliminate the twelve month waiting period for Class III benefits. Sorry if you missed this but we did post it in plenty of time. 

For information and enrollment material, contact Don Jacobson
(253) 862-2122.

(Note: This plan was generated through the RFFOW and LEOFF1.Net is not familiar with its provisions.  However, if you need dental coverage it makes sense to give Don Jacobson a call.)

This article was written for the October issue of the RFFOW newsletter.

BY J.E. FISCHNALLER
I think that we would all agree that Plan 1 of the Washington Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters Benefit Act (LEOFF I) is a great benefit system. It provides LEOFF I members with a whole host of specific benefits which are unequaled, either in the private sector, or in other public employment.

As a part of calculating the medical benefit liabilities for the LEOFF 1 plan, the State Actuary has produce this table showing the project payments year by year. Remember, these payments are made by the employer, not from the LEOFF 1 pension trust.

This article shows those projections and discusses the funding options available to the cities and counties.

The LEOFF 1 Medical Benefits Study Group met on August 25, 2009.

This meeting was the third meeting in Phase 2 of the study. Phase 1 consisted of developing a “fact book” that could generally be accepted by all committee members as an accurate representation of the LEOFF 1 pension plan. The group spent slightly over a year developing that information and the book was finished and released on July 3rd.

The Task Force Study - Phase One - Medical Benefits Fact Book has been completed.  This is the result of the efforts of numerous stakeholders to arrive at some definitions of the LEOFF 1 plan on which we can all agree.  The committed has not begun efforts to address solutions to the problems.  The first such meeting was on June 30th.  It was basically an orgaizational meeting and the committee hopes to begin work in earnest in August.

Click here to download a copy of the study.

In the last legislative session allocated $40,000 to DRS for the conduct a study of LEOFF 1 medical benefits.  So far, the study group has had four meetings.  The ultimate purpose of this group is to produce recomendations to the legislature that will assist the cities, counties and fire districts in meeting their LEOFF 1 medical benefit obligations.

We are in the middle of a review of the LEOFF 1 Medical Benefits issue.  Currently a Study Group is being conducted under the auspices of DRS to study the liabilities of the cities, counties and fire districts for LEOFF 1 medical costs.  This is not a new issue.  The same thing was done in 1994.  The issues have not changed, but the solutions presented there were ignored.  Not the problem and challege is even greater.  To bad the employers did not heed the Actuary's advice back in 1994.

This article is a report written by Charlie Marsh on July 3, 1995.  It is an interesting read.