State to refund retiree health care money
SPRINGFIELD - The state will refund money to about 75,000 state retirees who've been paying a portion of their pensions for health insurance over the last year and a half after a court hearing in Sangamon County.
Judge Steven Nardulli on Friday scheduled a Dec. 18 hearing to establish how to distribute more than $60 million to the retirees. Attorneys estimate the money will be returned by spring.
Retirees began paying a percentage of their annuity under a 2012 law.
A state Supreme Court ruling this summer found the law unconstitutional because promised benefits cannot be altered. The state ultimately decided not to fight the retirees' motion to return the money.
Nardulli's decision comes as another Sangamon County judge ruled the state pension overhaul approved by lawmakers last year was unconstitutional.