In many local governments and school districts, employees have the option to receive health insurance coverage after retirement. Among other things, the retirees may be:

• allowed a continuation of coverage for surviving spouses or certain other eligible persons for a period of time after the eligible retiree dies.
• required to contribute to the health insurance coverage costs.
• offered subsidized health insurance costs by allowing the retiree to buy coverage at the group rate.1

Containing health insurance costs should be a priority for local governments and school districts. One way to reduce health insurance costs is to pay premiums only for eligible retirees or their surviving spouses and dependents.

An audit of 20 school districts revealed ten school districts who collectively paid $239,000 in health insurance benefits for deceased or ineligible retirees.