Worcester County still grappling with benefits

Despite continued assertions that the savings would be small and would take years to realize if county government were to drop health insurance coverage for the spouses and dependents of its retirees, Worcester County Commissioner Joe Mitrecic thinks it’s still worth considering.

At Tuesday’s county commissioner meeting, Mitrecic said he would wait two weeks until the county’s actuarial study is presented before taking up the issue again.

“I still believe we need to look at spouses and dependents,” Mitrecic said. “I don’t know how the numbers are so small when we have 900 spouses. Retirement benefits have been the downfall of municipalities.”

By removing all benefits to spouses and dependents of retirees, the savings would amount to about $260,000 in 2030, County Human Resources Director Stacey Norton said. In 2040, she continued, the savings would nearly double to more than $700,000. This assumes, however, that health care costs and other variables remain predictable in the interim.

“That could be one claim,” Norton said.

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