Legal Question in Business Law in Tennessee

Insurance for retirees

My husband, an engineer, is about to retire at age 63 from the world's largest aluminum company, which up until now has treated us well. However, until my husband did his formal retirement notice, 3 months before his retirement date (which is Mar. 30, 2007, we were ''in the dark'' concerning our medical insurance after retirement. Yesterday we opened a piece of mail which indicated that we'll be eligible to continue our present medical insurance for the two of us at a cost of over $1,000 per month! We're floored! Human Resources knows nothing, since all of our details are handled by a private firm, contracted by thecompany, and finding out anything is very time-consuming. It seems that we have to wait a couple of months for an answer to a question. And then, we're subject to ''snail mail''. It's so frustrating. We cannot meet with anyone personally, who can answer questions that we have. We're going to be asking other retirees about their experiences, since we're not sure if these terms are perhaps ''negotiable'', or arbitrary, and if they may await a reaction from the soon- to- be retiree before finalizing their decision. We're confused, shocked and angry! Is it legal? What are our rights? --name removed--


Asked on 2/02/07, 11:25 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
James R. Becker, Jr. Becker Law Firm

Re: Insurance for retirees

What you describe sounds like a COBRA notice and COBRA insurance premium. Most likely, a better alternative is some type of retirement health insurance. However, in order to understand the details of that, you would need to see your retirement plan, or at a minimum a document called a 'Summary Plan Description.'

Retirement plans are known in the law as ERISA plans. This means that you have certain rights under the terms of those plans. One of the rights is the right to know what you are entitled to receive. If you are not getting this, you need to consult with an attorney to see about help in getting the information.

If you would like to discuss this matter further, you can contact me at [email protected].

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Answered on 2/02/07, 12:52 pm


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