Massachusetts retiree health comes from your district, not MTRS

• MTRS doesn't provide retiree health insurance. It's a local benefit from your school district, which either belongs to the Group Insurance Commission's Retired Municipal Teachers' (RMT) Program or offers its own plan. Ask your district's insurance coordinator what share of the premium it pays.Ready for Retirement 2026 p. 9; MTRS web page 'Health insurance'
• If you were hired by a Massachusetts public employer on or after April 1, 1986, you pay the 1.45% Medicare tax. It earns no Social Security credits, but with 10 years it qualifies you for Medicare at 65.Ready for Retirement 2026 p. 9
• Districts in the GIC's Retired Municipal Teachers' (RMT) Program as of July 2026 include Barnstable, Braintree, Holyoke, Revere, Westfield, Woburn and others; the full list is in the booklet and on MTRS's Health insurance page. Coverage questions for RMT districts go to the GIC at 617-727-2310.Ready for Retirement 2026 p. 9; MTRS web page 'Health insurance', Retired Municipal Teachers' Program
• If your district isn't in the RMT Program, your local employer runs your retiree coverage, usually with a choice of an indemnity plan or an HMO. Costs are negotiated locally, so the share you pay as a retiree may stay the same or even go down.MTRS web page 'Health insurance', Local district coverage; Costs and method of payment
• Tell your local benefits coordinator about three months before your retirement date so you can enroll as a retired teacher without a gap; coverage generally starts when your active coverage ends. If you skip coverage at retirement, ask whether you can enroll later.MTRS web page 'Health insurance', Enrollment; When coverage begins
• Charter school employees and inactive members should check their retiree health eligibility early: districts have different rules, and yours may or may not cover you in retirement.Ready for Retirement 2026 p. 9; MTRS web page 'Health insurance'
• Your spouse's coverage after your death is set by your community. MTRS suggests asking whether you can enroll a spouse now or later, whether your Option A, B or C choice matters, and whether a surviving spouse can keep or start coverage and at what cost.MTRS web page 'Health insurance', Local plan coverage of a retired teacher's spouse after the retiree's death
• Once you're eligible for Medicare you may have to enroll in it. Whether you must switch depends on whether you're in the RMT Program or a local plan, and whether your town accepted M.G.L. c. 32B, § 18.MTRS web page 'Health insurance', Medicare as your primary health care coverage

What MTRS does

Retiree health insurance is not provided by MTRS; it is a local contractual benefit from your school district. Districts either take part in the Group Insurance Commission's Retired Municipal Teachers' (RMT) Program or offer their own plan. Ask your local insurance coordinator what share of the premium the district pays. MTRS can deduct premiums from your pension (M.G.L. c. 32, § 19). Retiree premiums are withheld after tax. Ready for Retirement 2026, p. 9; MTRS web page 'Health insurance'; Introduction to the MTRS (Spring 2026), p. 10

Medicare

If hired by a Massachusetts public employer on or after April 1, 1986 you pay the 1.45% Medicare tax; it earns no Social Security credits but gives Medicare at 65 after 10 years. Ready for Retirement 2026, p. 9 Because Massachusetts teachers don't pay into Social Security for MTRS work, it's worth checking your Medicare and Social Security records. See Social Security.

Questions for your district

• Does the district belong to the GIC's Retired Municipal Teachers' (RMT) Program, or offer its own retiree plan?
• What share of the retiree premium does it pay, and does that change at 65 or with Medicare?
• Can a spouse stay covered, and at what cost?
• Will the premium come out of your MTRS pension?

Questions