Another example of my long term argument that employers will dump their insurance onto the backs of the government. The only downside may be that people will not be able to retire early and will work well into their 60's, 70's, or until death.
Quote:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Employers are getting out of the retirement insurance business. This could be worrisome for American workers who want to retire, before hitting the Medicare-eligible age of 65.
A majority of large employers today offer some form of retiree insurance -- both to early retirees and to retired workers who are Medicare eligible.
But a new survey of 250 large companies by Towers Watson shows that many of them have pared back on their retiree insurance plans and others are planning to discontinue them permanently.
Stuart Alden, Towers Watson's senior health care consultant, said these changes are "significant"
47% of employers polled for the Towers Watson's annual retiree benefits survey said they've already made changes to retiree insurance plan designs.
These include reducing coverage and shifting more of the cost-sharing to early retirees.
When asked what alternatives to early retiree plans employers were considering, 42% said they're considering terminating early retiree plans and will encourage workers to consider buying health insurance through "health exchanges" instead.
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http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/28/pf/e...nt_healthcare/