Starting January 1, 2026, everyone who uses TRB health insurance will have a new insurance carrier. Now that we have your attention, let’s talk about what is happening. Our current contract for 2025 is a one-year extension of our UnitedHealthcare contract that began in January 2022. The TRB Health Insurance Committee has reviewed proposals that were submitted for our health insurance plans and made recommendations that were approved by the TRB at the July 17 meeting. Here are some things we do, and do not yet, know about our new health insurance.
First, the TRB followed through on its plan to offer both a Medicare Advantage plan and a Medicare Supplement plan. For the first time, they will use different carriers, although the prescription coverage for both will be with Aetna. Medicare Advantage will be carried by Aetna and Medicare Supplement will be carried by The Hartford. It was explained that our policies are “passive”, meaning we can still see any medical providers who accept Medicare. Our coverage is said to be identical to what we had in our UHC policies. Cigna will continue as our provider for dental health insurance.
Prescription coverage for both TRB plans will be handed through Aetna, which is connected with CVS. As we approach the end of the calendar year, it will be important for you to monitor the medications you use to be certain you have enough to last until the new plans take effect and begin to disperse medication to you.
What else will you have to do? For every medical contact you have after December 31, 2025, you will have to update your insurance information. This will apply to medical supplies you order, as well. You may be able to update your insurance information online in some places such as through hospital websites, but it will be important to make certain your information is correct and current everywhere so as to not delay reimbursement.
What are some things we don’t know? UHC had very prescribed ways to access hearing services through their own network. We don’t know how Aetna or The Hartford will provide these services. UHC provided gym/fitness memberships through Renew Active. We don’t know how the new plans will address this service. That uncertainty may extend to other “perks” that were available through the UHC Medicare Advantage plans. We will have to wait and see. The new costs for the first year of the plan are known to us. Apparently, rates for subsequent years were part of the contracts, but those rates were not made public.
How will we learn about the plans? All that we know at this time is this information from the TRB website:
In the coming months, you will receive additional communication from the Teachers’ Retirement Board regarding plan details and open enrollment meetings which will take place in October, both virtual and in-person (local to Connecticut). A transition call center will be made available to you in September. We will provide additional information at that time.
Here is information about the rates for the two policies for 2026. Note that the State and the Health Insurance Fund combined, contribute an amount equal to two-thirds of the cost of the “base rate” (Advantage) plan to each type of policy. For 2026, the total cost of the plans, including dental, will be $158 for the Advantage Plan, an increase of $10 per month, and $315 for the Supplement Plan, a decrease of $8 per month. The second part of the chart below explains the total cost of the policies with the subsidies included.
Taxes
If you are someone who benefited from the Social Security Fairness Act, keep in mind that you received two years’ worth of income that you did not receive before and you will be taxed on this income. You can arrange to have money withheld from your Social Security payments for federal income tax, but not for state taxes. Your income for 2025 is likely to be higher than usual, which may impact how you fare with the new income-based provisions that will apply to 2025 income taxes.
What is new for 2025 taxes? There are provisions that are new, income-constrained, and difficult to follow, so you will need to pay special attention when filing your federal taxes for 2025. Taxpayers over 65 have had access, based on income constraints, to an additional amount for the standard deduction. Now, for years 2025 through 2028, one more additional deduction for taxpayers over 65 is available.
Don’t get too excited by the deduction numbers in this chart that AARP provides because there are income constraints that impact your eligibility for them. The full amount of the deductions is available to individuals earning less than $75,000 and married couples filing jointly earning less than $150,000. Lesser amounts are available to those with higher incomes such that the deduction bonus phases out completely for individuals with income over $175,000 and couples earning more than $250,000. Confused? So are we, and we haven ‘t even addressed what is going to happen with the changes to the SALT (State and Local Tax exemption) cap that might allow for larger itemized deductions for taxpayers who itemize their deductions. The best we can do at this point is to tell you to pay attention to these extra deduction possibilities for people over 65 who use the standard deduction.
Speaking of deductions, are you aware that you can deduct up to $5000 (individual) or $10,000 (couple filing jointly) per year from your Connecticut state taxes for contributions you make to a CT Higher Education Trust (CHET) 529 College Savings Plan?
Scholarship/Book Grants
SFCRTA continues to provide support for future educators. Graduating seniors from high schools in the towns represented by SFCRTA, may apply for these awards. Please spread the word about these awards and let eligible students know to look on our website in the new year for information on how to apply.
We wish to congratulate the following students who have received the 2025 SFCRTA Book Awards for $2,000 each:
Jordyn Cittadino, Greenwich High School, will attend Pennsylvania State University where she will study Elementary Education and Special Education.
Christina Faubel, Stamford High School, has been accepted at the University of Connecticut. She looks forward to studying Elementary Education.
Sofia Hanlon, Norwalk High School, will attend Marist College and study Special Education.
Cire Holder, Weston High School, will study Elementary Education at North Carolina Agriculture and Technology University.
Kate Putterman, Norwalk High School, will attend the University of Delaware. She looks forward to teaching Special Education.
Brett Sylvester, Greenwich High School, looks forward to attending Merrimack College.
He looks forward to studying Secondary Education and teaching Mathematics in high school.
Charles Young, Greenwich High School, has been accepted at Loyola University Maryland where he will prepare to teach Secondary Math or History.
We congratulate all of our 2025 SFCRTA Book Award recipients and wish them a successful college experience as they prepare for a future career in education.
Volunteer opportunities
Retired educators are very desirable volunteers, especially for programs that involve children. Many museums, zoos, and educational programs happily welcome us. One such opportunity is to serve as a Docent at Lockwood Matthews Mansion in Norwalk. If you are interested, contact Robin Lynch, Volunteer Coordinator at 203-838-9799 x115.
Next time
Our next issue will contain information about joining us or renewing your membership for 2026.
Memberships
Help support SFCRTA so we can continue to provide this Newsletter, to offer scholarships for future educators, to offer meetings for our members, and more. Please join or renew your membership for 2025.
SFCRTA Membership Renewal Information
Our membership goes from – January to December. If you have not yet joined, click here for our membership renewal information for 2025. Remember: Numbers matter and we still face many important issues regarding our pension and health insurance.
The tear off membership card section will no longer be part of the renewal card.
Fill out the return section completely, including phone and email. SFCRTA does NOT provide your information to anyone. We are strictly old school- paper checks and cards kept by the Membership Chair.
Please do not staple your check to the card.
Use a black or blue pen, not a Sharpie as the check reader can’t process it. It helps to have your return address on the envelope.