Health Insurance
The 2027 Open Enrollment period will be October 19, 2026 through October 30, 2026. Packets will be mailed out starting early-October to all City of Milwaukee retirees presently enrolled in a City health insurance plan. This excludes MATC, MMSD, MPS, United Water Services, and Veolia. If you do not receive your packet by October 26, 2026, call the ERS Open Enrollment Hotline at (414) 286-3689 and request that one be sent to you. If you are not currently enrolled in a City health insurance plan and wish to receive a City Open Enrollment packet, or want to request an enrollment form, call the ERS Open Enrollment Hotline at (414) 286-3689 and request that one be sent to you.
Please note that the premium rates will increase for retirees under the age of 65 years (non-Medicare) by 8.2%. For Medicare retirees, premium rates will increase by 20.9%.
You can find the answers to your questions in your Retiree Benefits Guide or on the ERS website – www.cmers.com. Click on “Read More” under Open Enrollment to find links to frequently asked questions, 2027 rate charts and an online copy of the 2027 Benefits Guide. Please read your Benefits Guide carefully. Rate information and the Retiree Benefits Guide will be available around the beginning of October.
When submitting a new health enrollment form, please keep a copy for your records. ERS does not send out confirmation letters. However, if you want confirmation of receipt of this form, please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope for this purpose.
Due to the high volume of forms received each year, we cannot confirm by phone if we have received your health enrollment form.
Life Insurance
There are no changes to the life insurance benefit design for current retirees. No action is required on your part if you currently participate in the City’s Life Insurance plan as a retiree. If you currently do not participate in the City’s plan as a retiree, you are not eligible to enroll in the plan. You can reduce or cancel your coverage at any time, but please note you cannot then increase or reenroll in the future.
As of July 31, 2026, the Fund value was $6.69 billion, and the YTD return was 5.9%, net of fees.
You are a member of the ERS, and membership has its privileges. One of those privileges is access to the portion of our website that is all about you. We call it ERS Member Self Service. Click here for more details.
Other recent news can be found on the most recent newsletter.
Other important information can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Last Update: 9/28/2026