2019 Open Enrollment-City Retirees Only
Health Insurance
The 2019 Open Enrollment period will be October 29, 2018 through November 16, 2018. Packets will be mailed out starting the week of October 15, 2018 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, 2018 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.
You should be able to find the answers to your questions in your Retiree Benefits Guide or on the ERS website – www.cmers.com. You can find links to frequently asked questions, 2019 rate charts and an online copy of the 2019 guide on the Retirees’ Health & Dental Insurance Page. Please read your Benefits Guide carefully. Rate information and the Retiree Benefits Guide will be available at the end of September or 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 and MetLife remains as the carrier for this benefit. This excludes MATC, MMSD, MPS, United Water Services, and Veolia. 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.
PLEASE REVIEW YOUR OPEN ENROLLMENT PACKET FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Open Enrollment Fairs
The City will be holding five (5) Open Enrollment Fairs that are open to all City employees and retirees. The schedule is listed below:
Tuesday, October 30th – 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. – Wilson Park Senior Center, 2601 West Howard Avenue
Thursday, November 1st – 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. – Fire and Police Academy, 6680 North TeutoniaAvenue
Tuesday, November 6th –1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – DPW Field Headquarters, 3850 North 35th Street
Tuesday, November 13th – 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. – DNS Lake Tower, 4001 S 6th Street
Thursday, November 15th – 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. – City Hall Rotunda, 200 East Wells Street
Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision
On July 6, 2018, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued its decision in a case brought by the Milwaukee Police Association and joined by the Milwaukee Professional Fire Fighters Association, Local #215, against the City of Milwaukee. The Court overturned a 2013 amendment to the City Charter which provided for the addition of three Annuity & Pension Board Trustees appointed by the Mayor and changed the manner of election of three employee-elected Trustees.
As a result of the Court’s decision, the three Trustee seats occupied by mayoral appointees were removed from the Board effective immediately as of the Court’s decision on July 6, 2018, and the three employee-elected Trustee seats are vacated until such time as a new election can be held among actively-employed Members of the Employes’ Retirement System voting for candidates for all three Trustee seats, running at-large.
Until the vacant employee-elected trustee seats are filled, the Annuity & Pension Board will consist of five Trustees, convene with a quorum of four Trustees and act on matters brought before the Board upon the affirmative vote of four Trustees.
The Trustee seats which comprise the current five-member Board are: 1) three Trustees appointed by the President of the Common Council; 2) the Trustee elected by the ERS retirees; and 3) the City Comptroller as an ex-officio Trustee.
New Medicare Cards in 2018
CMS, the authority that manages Medicare, has begun issuing replacement Medicare cards and is anticipating the replacement of all cards over the next year. This new card will replace the existing Medicare cards you have, and will include a new identity number called the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI). The MBI will replace the HICN that is currently used (that looks a lot like your social security number). More information about this can be found on CMS's website. To learn more about when your card will arrive, go to Medicare.gov/NewCard. Your benefits will not be impacted with this change.