AARP 'Deeply Disappointed' by Supreme Court Decision

A major lobby for senior citizens is taking issue with a Supreme Court decision not to review a federal rule allowing employers to reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they reach 65 and become eligible for Medicare.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) late last year finalized and published the rule that AARP had challenged in lower federal courts.

The court's action clears the way for employers to discriminate by reducing or terminating benefits for older retirees because they've turned 65 years old, according to the lobby organization, AARP.

"This double standard, one tier of coverage for those under 65, and another lower tier for those 65 and over, is especially troubling because it comes from the EEOC, the federal government agency created to enforce anti-discrimination policies," says AARP Legislative Policy Director David Certner.

"Beyond blatant age discrimination, the new policy is an ineffective Band-aid for the bigger issue facing American employers and workers: the skyrocketing cost of health care," Certner says. "By allowing employers to reduce or even eliminate health benefits for retirees when they reach age 65, this rule essentially shifts the costs of all retiree health care on to the backs of older retirees. The timing of this new rule couldn't be worse; due to rising costs and fixed incomes, many retirees are already foregoing needed services that have simply become unaffordable."

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