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Retiree Medical Cutbacks Result in Courtroom Challenges
Growing numbers of retirees across the country are losing health plan benefits they thought were guaranteed to them under long term retirement plans.
Workers retired from Metaldyne Corporation in Plymouth, MI were shocked to learn in April 2005 that the company was terminating retiree health and life benefits. Metaldyne, like many employers, maintains that it "has always had the right to modify, suspend or terminate its benefits plans at any time."
"Employers are being squeezed by the double-digit annual growth rates in the cost of retiree health coverage," says ERISA expert Mark Johnson, Ph.D., J.D. "Plan sponsors will continue to look for ways to protect their bottom line by increasing retiree cost sharing, restricting benefit eligibility, capping the annual cost of retiree health care expenditures, and revising prescription drug benefits."
Retiree benefit reductions are resulting in litigation, pitting companies needing to protect their financial exposure against retirees who depend on promised health care coverage to sustain their retirement lifestyle.
Dr. Johnson serves as an expert in retiree medical disputes. As a former Fortune 500 ERISA Plan Managing Director and plan fiduciary, he has practical knowledge of plan documents as well as an in-depth understanding of obligations imposed by ERISA. Learn more about Dr. Johnson here.
Contact Dr. Johnson at 817-909-0778 or mark@erisa-benefits.com to discuss your retiree medical case.
