Entitles correctional officers with twenty-five (25) years of service and who are at least fifty-five (55) years of age to a non-Medicare-eligible retiree health care insurance benefit.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would give Rhode Island correctional officers — people who work guarding and supervising inmates in state prisons and jails — access to a specific type of retiree health insurance benefit when they leave their jobs. To qualify, a correctional officer would need to have worked at least 25 years in that role and be at least 55 years old at the time of retirement.

The type of coverage involved is called a "non-Medicare-eligible" retiree health benefit. This is important because Medicare, the federal government's health insurance program for seniors, generally doesn't kick in until age 65. Someone who retires at 55 would face a potential 10-year gap without employer-sponsored coverage. This bill would fill that gap by providing health insurance to qualifying retired correctional officers during those years before they become eligible for Medicare.

This bill would directly affect correctional officers employed by the state of Rhode Island who meet both the age and years-of-service requirements. It would not affect officers who retire earlier or with fewer years of service, nor would it apply to other types of state employees. The bill has been sent to the House Finance Committee, which will review it — likely to examine what it would cost the state to provide this benefit.