21.427 Group hospital and medical insurance for recipients of benefits -- Premium reimbursement plan -- Coordination with all state-administered retirement systems or plans.
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systems or plans. (1) (a) The board of trustees of the Judicial Form Retirement System shall arrange by appropriate contract or on a self-insured basis for a group hospital and medical
insurance plan for recipients of a retirement allowance from the Judicial
Retirement Plan, and their dependents. For recipients, or dependents, eligible
for Medicare coverage, the board shall provide Medicare supplement hospital
and medical insurance coverage. For recipients, or dependents, not eligible for
Medicare coverage, the board shall provide hospital and medical insurance
coverage comparable to that provided under the major state employees' group
insurance, and the board may arrange for the recipients to be included in the
major state employees group. For recipients of a retirement allowance who are
not eligible for the same level of hospital and medical benefits as recipients
living in Kentucky, the board shall provide a medical insurance premium
reimbursement plan as described in subsection (3) of this section. (b) For the purpose of this section, the "dependent" of a recipient means the spouse or minor children, or both, of a recipient who is a living former
member of the Judicial Retirement Plan, or the minor children of a deceased
former member whose surviving spouse is the recipient. (2) (a) Depending upon the number of months of service credit upon which the retirement allowance was based, and upon there having been at least forty-
eight (48) months of judicial service, all or a portion of the premium required
to provide hospital and medical benefits under this section shall be paid from
the judicial retirement fund, as follows: Months of Judicial Service Percentage of Premium 240 or more 100% 180 to 239, inclusive 75% 120 to 179, inclusive 50% 48 to 119, inclusive 25% The foregoing payments shall be made by the fund only if the recipient agrees
to pay the remaining, if any, percentage of the premium by deduction from his
retirement allowance or by another method equally insuring the payment by
him. (b) Notwithstanding any other statute to the contrary, any member with at least forty-eight (48) months of judicial service who is also eligible for benefits, or
who is receiving benefits from any retirement plan or system administered by
the Commonwealth shall be entitled to hospital and medical benefits as
described in paragraph (a) of this subsection except that the number of months
of service credit used in calculating the level of benefits shall be the sum of
service credited to the member in all the state-administered retirement systems
or plans.
1. Upon request of the member, the Judicial Retirement System shall
compute the member's combined service in all the state-administered Page 2 of 2 retirement systems or plans and calculate the portion of the member's
premium to be paid by the Judicial Retirement Plan, according to the
criteria established in paragraph (a) of this subsection. The state-
administered retirement systems or plans shall pay to the Judicial
Retirement Plan the applicable percentage of the plan's cost of the
retiree's hospital and medical premium which shall be equal to the
percentage of the member's number of months of service in the
applicable state-administered retirement systems or plans divided by his
total combined service. The amounts paid by all the state-administered
retirement systems or plans shall not be more than one hundred percent
(100%) of the premium amount adopted by the respective boards of
trustees. 2. A member who elects hospital and medical benefits under this
subsection shall lose any claim to insurance benefits under any of the
other state-administered retirement systems or plans. (3) The board shall establish a medical insurance premium reimbursement plan for recipients of a retirement allowance who are not eligible for the same level of
hospital and medical benefits as recipients living in Kentucky having the same
Medicare hospital and medical insurance eligibility status. An eligible recipient
shall file proof of payment for hospital and medical insurance premiums at the
retirement office. Reimbursement to eligible recipients shall be made on a quarterly
basis. The recipient shall be eligible for reimbursement of substantiated medical
insurance premiums for an amount not to exceed the total monthly contribution
determined by the board of trustees. The plan shall not be made available if all
recipients are eligible for the same level of coverage as recipients living in
Kentucky. (4) Premiums paid for hospital and medical insurance procured under this section shall be exempt from any premium tax which might otherwise be required under KRS
Chapter 136. The payment of premiums by the judicial retirement fund shall not
constitute income to the recipient. No commission shall be paid for hospital and
medical insurance procured under this section. Effective: July 14, 2000
History: Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 448, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 389, sec. 3, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts
ch. 167, sec. 30, effective July 15, 1996. -- Created 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 299, sec. 6,
effective July 1, 1988.