Legislator perk irks workers

If a 62-or-older retiring legislator has 10 years in office he gets 100 percent of the health insurance premiums paid by the state for the rest of his/her and a spouse's lives. If he served eight years in the Legislature, 80 percent of his premium is paid by the state; six years in office, 60 percent; and with only four years in office (just one Senate term or two House terms), 40 percent of his health insurance premium is paid for life by the state.

Legislative staffers required the Deseret Morning News to file a Government Records Access and Management Act request to obtain budget numbers on how much lawmakers were spending yearly on their retired colleagues' health insurance.

This year (fiscal 2004-05) the Legislature will pay $120,231 for 28 separate policies. There are actually 22 retired lawmakers, the other policies going for surviving spouses or minor children. (The health insurance benefit started in 1998 and retired lawmakers who retired before then and their families don't qualify for it.)

In 2002, the Legislature paid $68,054 for 16 retirees, so the cost has nearly doubled in three years, the GRAMA numbers show.

The legislative retirement health care benefit has become a financial "black hole," one legislative staffer said.

As health care costs continue to rise, and as more and more Utah lawmakers stay in office until age 62, when they qualify for the benefit, the cost will further escalate, legislative staffers say.

The 75 House members face re-election every two years, the 29 senators every four years, and so one could argue incumbents could be kicked out of office at regular intervals, and so not be in office when they reach age 62. But the political reality is that most lawmakers hold safe seats, easily winning re-election if they run.

In the 2004 elections, 93.5 percent of the House members seeking re-election won; 92.3 percent of senators seeking re-election.

It's hard to say how many legislators will be in office when they reach 62, making it difficult for legislative budgeters to plan for the health care premium costs.

Currently, 20 senators are either over 62 or approaching their mid-50s, a term or two away from qualifying. About two dozen House members are in the same category.

It's not a career

Because lawmakers are part time and don't make a career of legislative service, legislators' retirement and health care benefits are treated differently from those of full-time state employees.

The 2005 Legislature decided to trim back the sick-leave conversion/health care premiums portion of the state's retirement policy, a move lawmakers and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said was mandatory because of out-of-control health care costs. The employee unions strenuously objected to the changes and some angry state workers suggested that lawmaker benefits should be reduced as well.