BARTLETT, Tenn. — As Shelby County Schools looked to cut back on the $1.5 billion it pays to provide retiree benefits, spouses of deceased SCS employees might be the first to face a change.
“She passed away. What do you do? You’ve got to have insurance,” said Richard Cox, 73.
Cox’s wife passed away two years ago.
She was a secretary with SCS for 22 years.
Since her death, he has been able to stay on her health insurance and pays the required $54 per month.
Earlier this month, he received a letter from SCS that will change that.
“My insurance with them will be dropped. If I want to continue keeping this insurance, it will cost me, like, $344 a month,” Cox said.
The letter said that in order for SCS to fund health benefits to all eligible retirees, surviving spouses must pay 100% of their premium as of September 1 to stay on the district’s plan.
“You don’t cut back on people, like myself, who are senior citizens, who can’t hardly afford to live on Social Security. You don’t do that to these people,” Cox said.
Cox moved into an apartment after his wife’s death.
He said the change to his healthcare costs means he might have to move out.
In an effort to ease the transition, SCS sent out a second letter.
It pushed back the cut-off to December 1 to give surviving spouses time to look at insurance options.
WREG asked Superintendent Dorsey Hopson about the change.
“A lot of it stems from the harmonization process related to the school merger,” Hopson said.
SCS said about 50 people are affected, and that Memphis City Schools always had this system for surviving spouses.
It said Board Policy requires surviving spouses pay 100% of the premium.
Cox said this is the wrong place to make the cuts.
“It’s going to be a burden on me,” Cox said.
SCS and the Aging Commission of the Mid-South are holding an informational meeting about this on Wednesday, September 16th from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Board of Education.
