Oct 5, 2005 2 min read

State Rep. Peter J. Daley, D-Washington/Fayette, applauded the passage of a resolution he co-sponsored that would direct the Public Employee Retirement Commission to study the feasibility of providing state premium assistance to the surviving spouses of retired state employees or public school teachers. Daley said H.R. 161 would provide coverage in the instance of a sudden loss of monetary assistance and give surviving spouses the ability to pay their health insurance premiums, pointing out that many individuals often are on fixed incomes and cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket expenses.

Daley has authored complementary legislation, H.R. 299, which would direct the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee or perform a comprehensive fiscal, actuarial and policy analysis of the various retirement enhancement proposals set forth in H.B.s 130 and 131. The bills are an early retirement bill and a permanent cost-of-living benefit for retirees’ measure. The resolution passed the House earlier this year. Study by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee is under way.

“Anyone who has invested many years of service and dedication to the state system and has invested their hard-earned money deserves the coverage to be made available not only to them but to their family as well,” Daley said. “The measure I have introduced, combined with the legislation, will provide a more balanced and comprehensive approach to offering coverage to retirees and their spouses.”

The study to be conducted under H.R. 161 must be completed in three months of the date of the resolution’s passage.