HEALTH CARE : Survey of Employers Indicates Shrinking Benefits for Retirees
It appears that the Golden Years of retirement are losing their glitter.
A recent survey by Foster Higgins & Co. in Costa Mesa, an international benefits consulting firm, shows that health benefits for retirees are shrinking and will continue to do so for the next several years.
That finding comes from a survey that Foster Higgins is set to release as early as this week. The company queried 2,390 employers across the nation and found that only 1,342 of them offered health benefits to retirees, Foster Higgins spokesman Jim Warner said.
As the recession wears on, Warner said, an increasing number of companies are looking to retiree health benefits as an area in which costs can be cut.
About two-thirds of companies that provide medical benefits to retirees have either cut back what they offer or have raised the retirees’ co-payments, the survey found.
“The employer is beginning to realize that he does not get much return on his investment,” Warner said. “They are realizing that the cost is far more substantial than they have bargained for.”
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