Eligibility for Health Care Coverage as of January 1, 2018
The RHCT Board of Trustees amended the eligibility requirements for participants effective January 1, 2018.
Please review the table below to determine if you are eligible for RHCT health care coverage. You must have at least 10 full years of Eligibility Service to be eligible. If you never become eligible, you can receive your contributions at age 65 in the form of an HRA.
| Your Age when you leave the CTA* | Amount of RHCT Eligibility Service | When am I eligible for RHCT Health Coverage? |
|---|---|---|
| Age 65 or older | 20 or more years | RHCT health coverage immediately |
| 10-19 years | RHCT health coverage immediately | |
| Ages 55-64 | 20 or more years | RHCT health coverage at pension start |
| 10-19 years | RHCT health coverage at age 65 | |
| Less than age 55 | 20 or more years | RHCT health coverage at pension start or age 55 (whichever is later) |
| 10-19 years | RHCT health coverage at age 65 |
If you collected a CTA pension prior to January 1, 2018 and had less than 20 Eligibility Credits, you are not eligible for RHCT health coverage.
* You may be eligible for immediate health care coverage if you are eligible for a disability allowance, regardless of age.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are an exempt employee of the CTA and you opted-out of participation in the Retirement Plan for CTA Employees CTA Pension, or received a refund of your pension contributions, you are not eligible for RHCT Health Coverage.
About the HRA
The Chicago Transit Authority Retiree Health Care Trust (RHCT) was created in January 2008 by Public Act 95-0708, to provide and administer health care benefits for eligible CTA retirees and their dependents or survivors. With the passage of this Act, employees of the CTA were required to begin making contributions to the RHCT to help offset the cost of their health care in retirement.
You must meet certain age and service requirements to be eligible for healthcare coverage from the RHCT. If you were an employee of the CTA on or after January 18, 2008 and you did not meet these requirements, your contributions have remained part of the RHCT. The Trustees and Staff of the RHCT worked with the State Legislature to amend the statute to allow, at age 65, for retirees and former employees to have access to their RHCT contributions.
As a result, effective January 1, 2018, the Trustees have established the Health Reimbursement Account (HRA). The HRA is a way for you to use your contributions to the RHCT.
If you have never enrolled in healthcare coverage from the RHCT, when you reach age 65, you can use the contributions you made to the RHCT to pay for eligible healthcare expenses for yourself and your family.
If you enroll in the HRA, you can never enroll in the RHCT health care benefits and vice versa.
When will I get a notice in the mail?
We will be sending information in December 2017 to retirees, former employees and those receiving disability allowances, who are already age 65 or older. The information will include instructions for enrollment in the HRA.
In early 2018, we will begin mailings to all current CTA employees, and to those former employees, retirees and disability allowance recipients who are not yet age 65.
Please continue to check this site regularly for updates and online forms.
Download HRA Plan Summary
Download HRA Brochure
Download HRA Enrollment Form
