Medical insurance costs after retirement may be especially daunting; if you’re planning to retire from CSU, once you do, the university may be able to help you cover some of your medical premium with a refund.

Faculty and administrative professionals who retire from CSU and who have a defined contribution retirement plan through the university may receive a refund for part of their monthly health insurance premium costs.

Retirees enrolled in PERA receive a subsidy directly from PERA, not from the university; this information pertains only to faculty and administrative professionals who are not on PERA.

“For years, the university has provided retirees with a refund to cover part of the cost of medical coverage, from $50 up to $200 a month,” said Teri Suhr, chief total rewards officer. “But the university benefits committee wanted to find a way to increase that refund, given the costs of inflation and climbing costs of health care.”

With the new refund amount, faculty and administrative professional retirees may receive up to $648 a month directly into their bank accounts. The amount of refund retirees are eligible for depends upon their age when they retire and the number of years they worked at CSU.

There is some fine print to who can receive the refund and how much of a refund is provided:

• The refund covers some of or the total the cost of medical insurance premiums for the former employee.
• Refunds are not available to cover the cost of insurance for dependents.
• The total refund amount cannot be more than the retiree’s monthly premium.
• The refund is non-taxable income.
• Retirees who are pre-Medicare age can be refunded for expenses that include any medical insurance premium for the retiree’s portion of coverage if their coverage is not through a current CSU employee’s medical plan.
• Retirees who are on Medicare can be refunded for their Medicare coverage and supplement or advantage plans or their portion of medical coverage purchased through any outside provider.

Once retired, employees do need to work with Human Resources to provide information and authorize the refund with a member of the CSU benefits team. This is generally part of an employee’s conversations with Human Resources about their retirement.

The refund is paid with university funds that must be used for retiree benefits. The university created the refund program when the defined contribution plan was created in 1993.