Johnson Controls’ Retiree Medical Insurance is Changing

Retiree Medical Insurance Is Changing
DO NOT Ignore or Procrastinate

Did you receive the August 29, 2019 letter from Johnson Controls regarding the change in the ‘retiree health benefit(s) program’?

Note the warning on the first page in bold:

“It is important to understand that your current retiree health benefit(s) program under Johnson Controls will end on December 31, 2019.”

As a replacement, for those ‘eligible post-65 retirees and their eligible post-65 dependents,’ the company is offering to contribute a fixed dollar amount for a fixed number of years into a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA). Then they are providing access to an Insurance consultant (Mercer Marketplace) to help us as individuals use those dollars to buy our own medical insurance. The only way to have access to the dollars offered by JCI, is to work through that consultant, and choose your 2020 medical insurance before Dec. 7, 2019.

Mercer Marketplace 365+
(http://retiree.mercermarketplace.com/jci)
1-855-230-7969

An enrollment guide package followed the initial letter. There were informational meetings offered in only 5 locations across the country. This was a surprise to all of us, and happened very quickly.

Your WSJ Society of Retirees will attempt to share information from our experience in this process. On the website, WSJSociety.com, check The Hub for updates to my President’s Message, From the Editor (Jude), and look for updates on the Resources page. All of these are public, with no login required. Also, you can share your experiences directly on the Open Forum Group, a private Group that does require a login. Sharing your experiences may help other members through the process.

This message is to alert you to this important unexpected change that you need to take seriously. If you have someone else helping you make medical insurance decisions- get them involved NOW! Since all of our members are probably not reading this message – It may be wise to contact any fellow retirees you communicate with and make sure they are aware of this change coming at us.

Get active on this now – if you have not already done so!

Gene Strehlow
WSJ Society president
262-251-0166