RALEIGH — Sen. Tom McInnis is co-sponsoring legislation that would allow school system retirees to return to work temporarily without losing their existing state health plan benefits.
Sen. Jerry Tillman and Sen. Chad Barefoot are primary sponsors of Senate Bill 6.
Currently, retirees who return to work are unable to access their benefits if they work over 30 hours per week. These returning retirees are instead limited to a “Bronze Level” high-deductible plan offered by the state during their time of temporary employment.
Allowing retirees to keep their existing health benefits would encourage retirees to help North Carolina school systems meet their short-term staffing needs, McInnis said in a news release.
The bill, if approved, would “give relief to the retired teachers of our state who desire to fill in for maternity leaves, sickness and other extended absences of a current classroom teacher,” McInnis said. “I hope that we can move this matter through the General Assembly as quickly as possible in order to keep a quality certified teacher in the classroom in the absence of the regular teacher.”
Discussion