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MIT Employee Benefits

Eligibility

MIT retirees, age 55 or older, who have completed 10 years of MIT retirement-plan-eligible service after age 45 can participate. Learn more about eligibility.

Next steps

1. Confirm your eligibility.
2. Understand your options.
3. Review the cost.
4. Complete the forms you will receive from the Benefits Office.

Details

You are eligible for MIT retiree medical benefits if:

• You have retired from the Institute, are at least age 55, and you have 10 or more years of retirement-plan-eligible service after age 45. Because the Institute adheres to an academic schedule, the standard of 10 years of service is met after 9 years and 8 months.
• You have less than 10 years of MIT retirement-plan-eligible service but are eligible to receive credit for up to 5 years of equivalent service at another nonprofit organization after the age of 45. Such service will not count for purposes of increasing MIT's share of the cost coverage. For example, for a retiree with 5 years of service at another nonprofit entity after the age of 45 and 10 years of retirement-plan-eligible service at MIT after the age of 45, MIT's share would be 50% not 60%.
• You qualify for grandfathered eligibility if you were eligible for retiree health insurance benefits on July 1, 1995. You must have been at least age 65 on that date — or age 55 with at least 10 years of service. If you qualify for grandfathered eligibility, MIT pays the full cost of Blue Cross and Blue Shield's MEDEX Supplement and subsidizes the other Medicare Supplement Plans up to the cost of MEDEX.

Understand your options

If you retire before age 65

If you retire before age 65, you will continue to be covered by one of the health plans available to active MIT employees. Any dependent children will continue to be covered under a family plan until either you or your spouse or partner reaches age 65 and becomes eligible for Medicare.

Three months before you reach the age of 65, the MIT Benefits Office will send a packet of materials to your address on record describing the Medicare Supplement Plans and the forms needed to enroll as of the first day of the month in which you reach age 65. If you do not receive a packet, contact the Benefits Office.

If you retire at or after age 65

If you retire at or after age 65, Medicare Parts A and B will become your primary insurance. You may add to that coverage one of the Medicare Supplement Plans offered by MIT.

If you are age 65 or over and your spouse or partner is under age 65 when you retire

A spouse or partner under the age of 65 at the time of your retirement will be eligible to remain in an active MIT health plan — an individual plan if you are only covering a spouse, and a family plan if you are covering both a spouse and dependent children. If you are over age 65, you will be covered by Medicare. You may supplement that coverage with one of MIT's Medicare Supplement Plans. Generally, three months before the month in which your spouse/partner reaches age 65, he or she will receive a reminder from the MIT Benefits Office to enroll in Medicare Parts A and B. He or she will also receive a packet of materials describing MIT Medicare Supplement Plan options, including the forms needed to enroll as of the first day of the month in which he or she reaches age 65.

If your spouse is at least age 65 when you retire

If your spouse/partner is age 65 or older when you retire, his or her primary coverage must be Medicare. He or she is also eligible to apply for additional coverage under one of MIT's Medicare Supplement Plans. Your spouse or partner is not obligated to have the same supplemental coverage that you have.

Review the cost of health insurance

How much does MIT contribute?

MIT pays this percentage of your retiree medical plan:

How much do you contribute?

Retirees under age 65

Any cost will be deducted from your MIT monthly pension check unless you defer receipt of your MIT Basic Plan benefit.

• MIT's share of the cost of coverage will be based on your years of retirement-plan-eligible service with the Institute after age 45. See chart above.
• MIT's share will equal 50% for retirees with 10 years of such service after age 45.
• MIT's share will increase two percentage points for each additional year of service beyond the initial 10 years of required service to a maximum of 70% for retirees with 20 or more years of service after age 45. Partial years of service will be prorated at 0.167% per month.

Full monthly cost for retirees under age 65:

Retirees over age 65

MIT will pay a percentage of the cost of MIT Group MEDEX. The dollar amount MIT pays will change as the cost of MIT Group MEDEX changes.

• MIT's share of the cost of coverage will be based on your years of retirement-plan-eligible service with the Institute after age 45. See chart below.
• MIT's share will increase two percentage points for each additional year of service beyond the initial 10 years of required service to a maximum of 70% for retirees with 20 or more years of service after age 45. Partial years of service will be prorated at 0.167% per month.

Full monthly cost for retirees over age 65:

Retirees over age 65 — Grandfathered Group

You qualify for grandfathered eligibility if you were eligible for retiree health insurance benefits on July 1, 1995. You must have been at least age 65 on that date — or age 55 with at least 10 years of service. If you qualify for grandfathered eligibility, MIT pays the full cost of Blue Cross and Blue Shield's MEDEX Supplement and subsidizes MIT Medicare Supplement Plans up to the cost of MEDEX.

Cost for retirees over age 65 -- grandfathered group:

Medicare Supplement Plans

Review the Medicare Supplement Plans Comparison Chart (PDF) to learn about other health plans that MIT offers to eligible retirees and their spouses age 65 and older and to qualified Medicare recipients on the MIT Long-term Disability Plan.

Learn more about MIT and Medicare.

Members of collective bargaining units

All plan provisions are subject to the terms of your collective bargaining agreement.