The Empire Plan is a unique health insurance plan designed especially for public employees in New York State. Empire Plan benefits include inpatient and outpatient hospital coverage, medical/surgical coverage, Centers of Excellence for transplants, infertility and cancer, home care services, equipment and supplies, mental health and substance abuse coverage and prescription drug coverage.
GOVERNOR
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL SERVICE
ALBANY, NEW YORK 12239
www.cs.ny.gov
COMMISSIONER
NY13-09
TO: New York State Health Benefits Administrators
FROM: Employee Benefits Division
SUBJECT: New Planning for Retirement, May 2013
DATE: May 22, 2013
We are pleased to announce that the May 2013 Planning for Retirement is at the printer and will be shipped to agencies soon. This popular publication provides important health insurance information for New York State employees who are planning to retire from State service and includes new information about Empire Plan Medicare Rx, a Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan with expanded coverage designed especially for NYSHIP.
This new version replaces the December 2011 version. Please remove the December 2011 version from your shelves, recycle and replace it with this new version.
Note: The actuarial table on page 10 applies to settled groups only. Unsettled groups continue to use the old actuarial table, which can be found on HBA Online, or in the online sick leave calculator for their group on NYSHIP Online.
Remember, the companion Planning for Retirement video is available to order on HBA Online. It has been updated to reflect Empire Plan Medicare Rx. Click on Publications & Forms and select Employees of New York State Agencies. Scroll down to Planning for Retirement Special Order Form, click on Display the form and then click on Print or View Form.
Distribution
We will send you a supply of five copies of this publication. This publication will not be mailed to enrollees’ homes. Planning for Retirement is not included in either the New Hire or New Retiree packages, but we encourage you to give the publication to any employee who is beginning to think about retirement.
Publications Available on Our Web Site: https://www.cs.ny.gov
Please check our web site for new publications. We generally post publications when we sign off for printing. This publication will be available on HBA Online under Publications & Forms and on NYSHIP Online. Click on Planning to Retire?
Ordering Publications
You can order additional copies of this publication [NY0998 Planning for Retirement/May 2013] by ordering on HBA Online under Publications & Forms. If you need help accessing HBA Online, please call the GGC Service Desk at Civil Service at 1-800-422-3671 or 518-457-5406. Call the EBD Help Line at 518-474-2780 with questions about NYSHIP benefits. Please wait until you receive your shipment before placing an order for more.
If you are unsure of how to order publications or have questions about this distribution, please call the Communications Unit at 518-457-7577.