This week our focus returns to two main topics of concern: Social Security and healthcare. We also want to remind Mass Retirees members to Save the Date for next Friday’s Tele-Town Hall Meeting.
Next Friday (5/23/2025) at 1:00 PM EST, we will host a members-only Tele-Town Hall Meeting focused on the investment of public pension assets. Our special guest is PRIM Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer Michael Trotsky. The Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (PRIM) is responsible for the investment of more than $100 billion in public retiree and active employee pension assets.
This will be Michael’s third time participating in a Mass Retirees Tele-Town Hall Meeting. The previous two events were very well attended. Given the current uncertainty and turmoil impacting the financial markets, having Michael Trotsky address our members and answer your questions could not be timelier.
If you have a specific question or topic you would like Michael to address, please forward your question to me at shawn@massretirees.com. While he will take questions directly from members, it will be helpful for Michael to have a sense of what issues are of specific interest to retirees so that he can better prepare for the presentation.
There are two ways in which Association members can participate in the meeting. The easiest is to simply join the meeting by answering the automated call that will be sent to all members for whom we have a phone number on file. The call will go out at 1:00 PM EST on Friday, May 23rd. Simply answer the call, stay on the line, and you will be automatically connected to the meeting.
Members can also join the meeting by dialing the toll-free Tele-Town Hall number printed on your Mass Retirees membership card. However, we would prefer that members join through the automated phone call because it is less costly than the toll-free number.
Beware of Social Security Scams
This week we received reports from several members of an apparent email scam targeting public retirees, who may be impacted by the Social Security Fairness Act. The email, which pretends to be from the Social Security Administration, specifically references WEP/GPO and the Fairness Act. It claims that SSA requires updated direct deposit information from the retiree and provides a URL link for the retiree to provide the information online.
While the email appears to be legitimate at first glance, it is not an official email from SSA. We do not know who is behind the email scam, but what is clear is that it appears to be designed to gain access to retiree banking information and steal your money.
As SSA explains, they will NEVER seek personal or financial information from a beneficiary through an email request or by phone. Emails or phone calls that retirees may receive requesting such information are almost always fraudulent. The same word of caution should be applied to your pension or other financial institutions. They will not email or call you asking that you provide such information online or by phone.
If these public agencies or banking institutions require such information, you will receive an official letter asking that you call or the organization in question or make an appointment. However, always seek to verify the information you have received is accurate and that the phone number you are calling is correct.
For more information on how you can detect scams and protect yourself when it comes to Social Security, please click here.
We are thankful that our members brought these issues to our immediate attention and hope that no one has fallen victim to financial criminals. However, given the amount of money paid in retroactive Social Security benefits alone, we are not at all surprised that these scams exist.
Social Security Fairness Act Implementation Update
SSA has issued an update on the continued progress of implementing the Fairness Act. According to SSA, as of May 9, some 85% of eligible retirees have received their retroactive Social Security payment. This accounts for 2.4 million of the roughly 3 million current retirees estimated to have been impacted by the WEP/GPO laws.
Here in Massachusetts, SSA reports that more than 110,000 residents have received over $800 million in retroactive benefits so far. This leaves roughly 20,000 retirees remaining to be paid.
While many retirees are still waiting for their retro payment and revised monthly check to be manually processed, each day we continue to hear from members who inform us that their retroactive payments from SSA have arrived in their bank account – usually without any advance notice.
For those members who were impacted by WEP/GPO and are still waiting to be paid, here are a few reminders:
If you have not done so already, contact SSA and inquire about your status. While you are unlikely to learn when you will receive payment, SSA will be able to confirm that your case is pending.
Once SSA has confirmed your status, there is not much more than you can do than wait. There is nothing that can be done to expedite your case or even confirm exactly when you will be paid. SSA continues to report that all cases will be completed by November 2025, if not sooner.
However, if you are eligible for Social Security and have not previously applied for your own benefit or a spousal/survivor benefit, you will need to file an application in order to receive the benefit.
According to Social Security:
If you never applied for retirement due to WEP or spouse’s or surviving spouse’s benefits because of GPO:
You may need to file an application. The date of your application might affect when your benefits begin and your benefit amount. However, each case is different, and all other Social Security laws and policies, such as benefit reductions for claiming benefits before the full retirement age, the retirement earnings test, and others, still apply.
Retirement or Spouse’s Benefits:
The most convenient way to apply for retirement or spouse’s benefits is online at www.ssa.gov/apply.
Please note that the online application continues to collect pension information until we are able to update it; however, we will not offset the benefit.
If you are applying for spouse’s benefits, please note that selecting “Family Benefits” will take you to the application for Retirement/Medicare benefits. This process ensures that you will be considered for all benefits you are entitled to.
We can take an application by telephone for people who did not previously apply for retirement benefits because of WEP or spouse’s benefits because of GPO. If you meet these conditions, call 1-800-772-1213 Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.
Surviving Spouse’s Benefits:
The survivor benefit application is not available online.
Call 1-800-772-1213 Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.
For additional eligibility information, visit www.ssa.gov/apply.
As of the week ending May 9, 2025, SSA has taken 195,192 new applications since the Social Security Fairness Act was passed. We have completed 85% of the new applications.
Legislature Approves $240 million Supplemental Budget for GIC
While we have been aware for the better part of a year that the GIC was running a deficit and would require a supplemental appropriation this spring, the story that broke in Saturday’s Boston Globe that the GIC had run out of money to pay claims naturally caused concern amongst GIC enrollees. This resulted in us sending a breaking news email alert to members on Saturday regarding a supplemental budget appropriation for the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC).
I am happy to report that the GIC’s $240 million supplemental appropriation filed by Governor Healey in April was approved by the House on Monday and by the Senate just yesterday, and then immediately signed into law by the governor. We appreciate and are thankful for the support of House and Senate leaders in resolving this issue, before there was a threat of interruption in healthcare services to GIC enrollees.
While the need for supplemental appropriations is not unusual, the size of the GIC’s deficit for FY25 is certainly higher than normal. Not only did the GIC begin FY25 with a larger structural deficit than it had in recent years, but rising health care costs have also added additional unexpected costs to the GIC. As we reported in last week’s Update, the extremely high cost of GLP-1 weight loss drugs alone has caused unexpected cost overruns in nearly every health care budget across the country.
Heading into FY26, which begins on July 1, our understanding is that the GIC’s budget has been properly funded and has been structured in anticipation of rising health care costs in the coming year.
GIC Out-of-Pocket Cost Report
At the GIC’s monthly meeting on Thursday, the Fiscal Year 2024 Out-of-Pocket Cost Report was presented to the 17-member Commission. While more work must be done on our end to process and properly understand the information presented within the comprehensive report, our initial takeaway is that the report contains good news for enrollees.
FY24 represented the 5th consecutive year without any increases of note within the GIC’s copayment or deductible structure. The consistency of the costs paid directly by GIC enrollees seems to be illustrated within the report, with overall OPC costs slightly declining by average.
The approach taken by the GIC, which now enters its 7th consecutive fiscal year without any significant increases in OPC of note, seems to be reflected in yesterday’s announcement by the Division of Insurance that requires insurance companies to restrict the growth of deductibles and copays to the rate of medical inflation, which is approximately 4.8%.
While restricting copayments and deductibles can and does result in higher insurance premiums, we believe it to be a far fairer approach to healthcare costs than simply cost shifting on to those with serious medical needs.
Please look to next Friday’s weekly update, as well as the July edition of The Voice, for a full analysis of the out-of-pocket costs report.
With great appreciation,
Shawn
Shawn Duhamel
Chief Executive Officer
Mass Retirees Association