Retirees check to be reduced

I’m posting this message in hopes that retirees and those who are contemplating retiring read the post in this forum. If you have not already been informed this last Thursday on 4/1/10 the Florida Legislature in the House voted for House Bill 5701 to eliminate the Health Insurance Subsidy ( H.I.S.) from all retirees pay checks. This will mean a significant reduction for all retirees take home pay and that will be reduced even further when the recently passed National mandatory health plan goes into effect and all insurance cost goes to the ceiling.

The voting record of the local Representatives revealed that District 2 Representative Clay Ford and District 3 Representative Dave Murzin both voted to eliminate H.I.S.. District 1 Representative Greg Evers voted to maintain H.I.S.

I encourage you to send a messages of displeasure to both Representative Ford and Murzin as well as soliciting your family and friends and other retirees and any other actively employed relatives and friends to whom you have a way to contact to also send Representatives Ford and Peaden their disappointment in their lack of support for retiree benefits. If you are not presently retired but have plans to someday, this reduction in retirement benefits will have an impact on you in the future.

House District 2 Rep. Clay Ford and District 3 Rep. Murzin voted to ELEMINATE the subsidy
House District 1 Rep. Greg Evers voted AGAINST ending the subsidy

Representative Ford is up for re-election this year and unfortunately he doesn’t have any announced challengers yet.

Representative Murzin and Representative Evers have both “termed out” and were unable to run again for the House. However both of them have qualified to be candidates for the Senate District 2 seat being vacated by Senator Peaden who is retiring. One clear way to send a message of our displeasure to Representative Murzin will be in not supporting his election bid to the Florida Senate District 2 seat. I for one intend of sending Mr. Evers a campaign contribution and if you are financially capable I encourage you to do the same noting it is partially because of his support of the H.I.S. subsidy.

Contact with each of them can be made at:

[greg.evers@myfloridahouse.gov][/url]greg.evers@myfloridahouse.gov --House Dist. 1

[clay.ford@myfloridahouse.gov][/url]clay.ford@myfloridahouse.gov ----House District 2

[dave.murzin@myfloridahouse.gov][/url]dave.murzin@myfloridahouse.gov ---House Dist 3

It is not too late to defeat the action of the House. The Senate has not approved the budget yet and until they do and pass a comparable version of the house bill it cannot become law. Senator Don Goetz represents Senate District 1 and Senator Durell Peaden represents Senate District 2. As a retired Doctor, Senator Peaden for sure knows that health cost is sure to increase now that the National Health bill has passed. Please contact both Senators and solicit their support in working to defeat this measure in the Senate. The area serviced by Senator Peaden includes the northern and central parts of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton and Bay Counties. Senator Goetz covers all the area in the southern parts of those five counties

Senator Goetz’s e mail address is: [url][/gaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov ]gaetz.don.web@flsenate.gov

Senator Peaden’s e mail address is: [url][peaden.durell.web@flsenate.gov]peaden.durell.web@flsenate.gov

Please pass on the information about Representative Murzin and Ford voting to eliminate the H.I.S. benefit for retirees and Representative Evers voting to maintain the benefit and at the same time solicit your contacts to make contact with Senator Goetz and Peaden for their support to uphold H.I.S.. This information needs to reach as many of the retirees throughout the Sate as possible so also pass on the information to any other contacts you have in other areas so they can contact their Senators.

Retirement has been great!
Russ Swinney

are they pushing to OBAMACARE, cause i am not going,

Thanks, Russ. As always, you're staying on top things. Please keep us informed.

I agree - don't reduce the retirees' benefits but raise taxes and force working public employees to contribute. Anything so that I can keep my benefits, regardless of what happens to others, and you have my vote.

I agree - don't reduce the retirees' benefits but raise taxes and force working public employees to contribute. Anything so that I can keep my benefits, regardless of what happens to others, and you have my vote.

When you are retired and no longer can work for whatever the reason you will be singing a different tune. Same old same old....if I don't benefit screw it, but low and behold when I'm in that position I'll be screaming like a little beeyotch saying don't take mine. So typical of the losers they are hiring now.

Well it looks like the part where people are going to have to pay into the State Retirement Fund is dead for the moment. What about the health subsidy in the monthly checks? Any more word on that.

Well it looks like the part where people are going to have to pay into the State Retirement Fund is dead for the moment. What about the health subsidy in the monthly checks? Any more word on that.

The house recinded their action on the health subsidy bill and the Senate never had a bill on it so at least for this year that's a dead issue but will probably come up again in the future if the economy dosn't improve. The upcoming election in November will help determine if a different approach can be drafted to help change the economy if the right Congress gets elected.