INSURANCE AND BENEFITS

Bill 28-24 Council Actions

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Bill 28-24 - Council Vote and New Proposed Amendments

The Montgomery County Council will meet on Tuesday, March 17 and have scheduled a vote on Bill 28-24 - Employees' Retirement System and Other Post Employment Benefits - Administration - Powers and Duties, with discussion anticipated to begin at 1:40 PM. .

Please take a moment to review this brief document, which now includes several amendments proposed by the County Executive. These amendments are more aligned to the MCPSRA recommendations.

There is still time to send your message to County Council members to make our voices heard.

If you can attend the session in person, please wear blue.

Thank you in advance for your support.

IMPORTANT HEALTHCARE INFORMATION - Request for Proposal (RFP) Issued for Possible Medicare Advantage Program

This spring, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is conducting a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Medicare Advantage program for Medicare-eligible MCPS retirees. The RFP was released in late February and a decision on whether to proceed is expected by June 2026.

Representatives from Aon, a third-party benefits consultant, recommended that MCPS conduct a market analysis to evaluate the Medicare Advantage options currently available. Aon has supported similar reviews for other school districts and advised that a Medicare Advantage program may present a valuable cost-saving opportunity.

Following this recommendation, staff from the Employee and Retiree Service Center (ERSC), in collaboration with the MCPS Retirees Association (MCPSRA), reviewed the structure and coverage features typically included in Medicare Advantage plans. ERSC and the MCPSRA will jointly review the submitted proposals for plan options and pricing. Any decision to move forward with this type of plan will depend on the overall quality and competitiveness of the proposals received.

ERSC will provide additional updates on the review process and its status to the MCPSRA and MCPS retirees as more information becomes available.

MCPSRA is advocating for Medicare-eligible retirees to keep our current doctors and health care coverage and will keep you informed.

Your Voice Matters: Protecting Montgomery County Retiree Health Care Trust Funds

Act Now - What’s Next for Bill 28-24 - Employees' Retirement System and Other Post Employment Benefits - Administration - Powers and Duties

Bill 28-24 is scheduled for the March 17 session at 1:40 PM.

Background

Recently, we asked you to contact Montgomery County Council members to voice opposition to Bill 28-24, regardless of where you currently reside. Thank you to those who were able to reach out and make our voices heard.

Bill 28-24 directly impacts who controls the $8 billion in Montgomery County retiree trust fund accounts in three key areas:

· Hiring an actuarial firm

· Determining the actuarial assumptions, including key decisions related to establishing a rate of return on investments for the $8 billion dollars held in trust to fund retiree health benefits in the future, as well as the pensions of Montgomery County Government employees. It is important to note that most MCPS employees participate in the Maryland State Retirement Pension System.

· Hiring and supervision of the executive director, a Montgomery County Government employee. The bill would give these responsibilities to the trust fund boards, who only meet four times a year.

Retiree health care trust funds are overseen by the Consolidated Retiree Health Benefits Trust (CRHBT). The Board of Investment Trusts (BIT) has oversight of pensions for Montgomery County Government retirees. The funds are held in trust to ensure that money is available to provide these retiree benefits.

Current Status of Bill 28-24

Since we first reached out to you, the County Council held both a hearing and a committee work session regarding Bill 28-24. Unfortunately, the Council’s Government Operations Committee recommended that amendments be made to Montgomery County Code to shift the responsibility of selecting the actuary firm, establishing actuarial assumptions, and hiring and supervision the executive director to the trust fund boards – exactly the amendments that we oppose. The next step is to move Bill 28-24 to the full County Council for a vote. This vote has not been scheduled yet, but time is of the essence as this is likely to happen soon.

We need your help as we believe the three amendments put our health care benefits at risk without benefit of close supervision by county government officials and the council. We want to retain the current model, which was further defined through a signed Memorandum of Understanding between the boards and county government in December 2025.

Additional background information:

Bill 28-24: Ten Facts to Set the Record Straight

Summary of concerns with Bill 28-24. Mr. Farber, the author of the document, granted permission for MCPSRA to share this information, which was sent to County Council members. He is affiliated with the Montgomery County Retired Employees Association (MCREA) and was a trust fund board member and served as the Montgomery County Council administrator.

Sample message to share with each County Council member is provided for your consideration:

Please feel free to use this message or draft a personalized message. Please be sure to note that you are an MCPS retiree in the signature.

Dear Council Member (Name)

I am writing to express my opposition to Bill 28 –24 – Employees' Retirement System and Other Post Employment Benefits - Administration - Powers and Duties.

The proposed amendments to shift responsibility for selecting the actuary, establishing actuarial assumptions, and the hiring and supervision of the executive director to the Board of Investment Trust and the Consolidated Retiree Heath Benefits Trust (CRHBT) put retiree health care benefits at risk and lack the level of governmental oversight essential to maintain the high ratings and investment gains achieved through the current model.

As you may be aware, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) retirees comprise nearly 50 percent of the retirees represented by the CRHBT. This is the highest percentage of all organizations.

I believe that these unnecessary and illogical amendments, which were not recommended by CRHBT, will put current and future retirees at high risk if these governance changes are approved.

The current model, supplemented by the Memorandum of Understanding signed in December 2025, should be maintained and will provide the checks and balances inherent in a strong shared responsibility model that will preserve our health care benefits well into the future.

Thank you for your consideration. Please vote no when Bill 28-24 comes to the County Council. The security of retiree benefits depends on you.

Respectfully,

NAME

MCPS Retiree and MCPSRA Member

Email addresses for Montgomery County Council Members

Councilmember.Evans@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember.Balcombe@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember.Fani-Gonzalez@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember.Friedson@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember.Glass@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember.Jawando@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember.Katz@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember.Luedtke@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember.Mink@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember.Sayles@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmember.Stewart@montgomerycountymd.gov