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The
Retirement Assistance Program Online Center is designed for BTU
members only. The center's purpose is to provide
preliminary information about this brand new program.
MENU:
ANNOUNCEMENT --
Nearly 140
teachers signed up for the Retirement Assistance
Program. The district has announced they will implement
the program even though 150 teachers did not sign up.
Currently, district officials are costing out the
program. As more information and details become
available it will be released.
LETTER OF INVITATION
RAP UPDATE:
MAY 10, 2008
RAP AGREEMENT
RAP PROCEDURE
RAP APPLICATION
RAP Q&A
If BTU members need
additional information or have more questions, please
call the School Board of Broward County Benefits
Department at
754-321-3100
today.
RETIREMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (RAP) AGREEMENT
For
the 2008-2009 school year only, the parties agree to
offer this Retirement Assistance Program (RAP). This
program will sunset on June 30, 2009. The parties may
extend this program by mutual agreement only.
The
parties agree to offer this Retirement Assistance
Program (RAP) to employees who meet the following
eligibility requirements.
A. Eligibility Requirements:
1.
Full-time bargaining unit members who are at least age
55 and on Step 20 or higher on the teachers’ salary
schedule in the FRS and who have at least 10 years of
service in the district.
or
Full-time bargaining unit members who are at least age
55 and on Step 20 or above in the TRS and who have at
least 10 years of service in the district.
2.
The employee must sign an irrevocable retirement form by
October 15, 2008.
3.
The employee must retire at the conclusion of the
2008-2009 school year.
4.
RAP is not available to reemployed Broward School Board
retirees or employees in DROP.
5. An
employee participating in this program will not be
rehired by the district in a permanent position until
the individual’s RAP program is completed
at age 65 when Medicare takes affect.
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B. Description of Benefits:
1. Enhanced Health Insurance Benefits:
a.
Effective upon retirement, the Board will provide paid
employee health insurance until the employee is Medicare
eligible.
b.
The Board will only pay for a Board offered HMO or
Consumer Driven plan premium. Employees selecting other
Board sponsored health plans will pay the additional
cost above the most expensive HMO or Consumer Driven
plans. Said excess cost shall be directly paid to the
School Board.
c.
This health insurance benefit is in addition to the
State health insurance subsidy for which eligible
retirees are required to apply directly to the State’s
Division of Retirement.
d.
Payment will be made to the Board approved carriers on
the retiree’s behalf, until the employee becomes
Medicare eligible.
e.
Should the retiree elect not to continue with one of the
Board’s health plans, he/she will not be eligible to
re-enroll in subsequent years nor will they be eligible
for payment of insurance benefits.
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2. Term Life Insurance:
The
Board shall provide group term life insurance of
$50,000. This benefit will be in effect for the same
time period as the health insurance benefit described in
B, 1 above.
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3. Salary Adjustment:
The
Board shall increase the salary by $10,000 of each
employee who participates in the program and retires at
the end of the 2008-2009 school year. Said salary
increase shall be included in the employee’s salary as
equal amount payments and retroactive to the start of
the 2008-2009 school year. Payments shall commence with
the next feasible payroll cycle following October 15,
2008. Payments shall be subject to FICA and withholding
taxes.
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C. Communication
The
parties agree to develop a comprehensive communication
program for the potential participants.
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D. Participation
The
RAP program will be implemented only in the event that
150 employees enroll. Should target numbers not be met
or exceeded, the providing parties will convene to
resolve any outstanding implementation issues. In the
event that (RAP) is not implemented, any submitted
irrevocable retirement form mentioned in section A2
shall be null and void. Additionally, the parties agree
to meet and arrive at a final decision regarding the
issues related to the non-implementation.
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RAP PROCEDURE PDF
Requires Adobe Acrobat
RAP
PROCEDURE JPG
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RAP
Application
RAP APPLICATION PDF
Requires Adobe Acrobat
RAP
APPLICATION JPG
(Download & Print)
NOTE:
If you
are unable to download and print an application, one
will be mailed to all eligible employees in the near
future. Please be patient and wait to receive your
application in the mail.
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RAP Q&A
The
following questions were submitted by BTU members.
If you have a question that is not answered here,
please call:
754-321-3100
today.
Q.
Does RAP include teachers already in DROP?
A.
Teachers enrolled in DROP are not eligible for RAP.
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Q.
What's the birthday cut-off to be 55?
A.
The cutoff
date for all qualifications, including age, is
10/15/08.
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Q. If I
participate in RAP prior to my eligibility for
full retirement benefits, will I suffer a
penalty for early retirement under FRS?
A.
Yes, the two plans are independent. If you do
not have the necessary years of service or age
for full retirement, FRS reduces your benefits.
The extra $10,000 in salary provided in RAP may
compensate for some of the penalty by boosting
your last year's salary.
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Q.
If
the district is paying for health and life
insurance, will the state pay the $5/month/year for
premiums?
A.
The state
health insurance subsidy, like all FRS benefits,
will continue through FRS. The two plans operate
independently.
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Q.
I meet the requirements for the RAP. If I retire
next year in June, 2009 can I start DROP in July,
2009?
A.
If you retire in June 2009, you will need to be
reemployed by another employer who participates in
the state’s retirement plan and earn new
vesting rights in order to participate
in DROP.
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Q.
If I have additional questions, who should I call?
A.
Teachers interested in this program should contact
the school district's benefits department by calling
754-321-3100.
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Q.
I have 23 years of teaching experience, of which 20
are from Dade County, but according to the RAP
requirements, teachers have to work in Broward for
ten years so am I disqualified from RAP?
A.
Three
years of service in Broward is not adequate to
qualify for RAP. You must have 10 years of service
in Broward county schools to qualify.
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Q.
How does RAP impact
teachers who transferred from Dade or Palm Beach
Counties?
A.
As long as potential participants have 10 years of
service in Broward and are at least on Step 20 of
Broward’s salary schedule, teaching experience in
Dade or Palm Beach counties would have no impact on
RAP participation.
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Q.
Do DROP participants get a stipend toward health
insurance like RAP participants when they leave
their school board position?
A.
DROP participants receive a stipend toward health
insurance once they stop working based on their
years of service, but it is not adequate to pay the
cost of the employee’s premiums for Broward’s health
insurance plans.
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Q.
What does non-revocable retirement mean?
A.
An irrevocable retirement notice means that an
individual may not reconsider and must
retire in June, 2009.
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Q.
Can participants take HMO Enhanced or does it have
to be Basic?
A.
RAP
participants can participate in either the high
option or low option HMO plan offered by either
insurance company or in the high deductible Consumer
Driven PPO plan offered by Humana.
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Q.
These are all good questions and answers, but I have
a unique question so what should I do?
A.
Teachers needing additional information should
contact the school district's benefits department by
calling
754-321-3100.
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Q.
If I have not received my retirement money yet (my
first) and I need to not be in DROP to be qualified
for RAP, can I stop DROP before I get that first
check so I can be eligible for RAP?
A.
If a teacher is not a participant in DROP, the
teacher would
be eligible for RAP if by meeting the other
qualifications for age and placement on the salary
schedule. Implementation of RAP may not be decided
until October 2008 due to the requirement for the
number of participants.
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Q.
If you are eligible for normal retirement (30 or
more years), can you participate in RAP?
A.
Yes, eligibility for full retirement benefits does
not disqualify a person if they meet RAP’s other
eligibility requirements.
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Q.
What does it mean that an employee participating in
this program will not be rehired by the district in
a permanent position until the individual's RAP
program is completed?
A.
Restrictions on reemployment means that a person may
not be reemployed as a teacher in the bargaining
unit until they cease receiving insurance benefits
at age 65.
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Q.
If a teacher’s term
life insurance is greater than the $50,000, will the
school board maintain the insurance at its current
amount?
A.
RAP provides $50,000 in life insurance. Additional
life insurance would be at the employee’s expense.
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Q.
If the application deadline is October 15, 2008,
where do teachers get the form or who do they
contact for an application?
A.
RAP Application Forms
will be mailed to eligible participants or they can
be downloaded and printed from this RAP CENTER or an
application can be obtained from the Benefits
Department.
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Q.
Can applications be sent in early?
A.
Although applications can be sent in at any time,
all applications will be retained until October,
2009.
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Q.
Will the $10,000 that is to be evenly divided in
paychecks start when the application is turned in?
A.
Payment will not start until the RAP implementation
is certain, based on the requirement that 150
employees participate.
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Q.
Can teachers be re-employed part time by the Broward
schools prior to age 65?
A.
Participants cannot be re-employed as a teacher
bargaining unit member prior to age 65 when
insurance benefits cease.
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Q.
Can RAP participants work who retire as required
from Broward schools work for another school
district in the state?
A.
Yes, RAP is a Broward schools program.
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Q.
Can you come back as
a sub prior to age 65?
A.
The district may choose to hire RAP participants as
substitutes.
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Q.
Is the retirement date mandatory for June, 2009 or
can I retire earlier than that date?
A.
Participation in RAP requires participants retire
effective June 30, 2009.
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The
above questions were submitted by BTU members. If
you have a question that is not answered here,
please call:
754-321-3100
today.
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