CSLEA has received a number of inquiries from members about a new deduction “CERBT” found on their pay warrants. This deduction is not part of CSLEA dues and is not furnished to CSLEA. During the last round of bargaining, the State required all bargaining units to agree to prefunding of post-retirement health benefits. Due to increased medical insurance costs over the last two decades, the State had a significant unfunded liability of providing health and dental benefits for state retirees.

As a result, the State and every bargaining unit (including managers/supervisors) agreed to prefund retiree healthcare with the goal of reaching a 50 percent cost sharing for both employer and employees by July 1, 2019. The cost varied by bargaining unit. For Unit 7, the amount of employee and matching state contributions required to prefund retiree healthcare shall increase by the following percentages of pensionable compensation:

July 1, 2017: by 1.3 percent
July 1, 2018: by 1.4 percent, for a total of 2.7 percent.
July 1, 2019: by 1.3 percent, for a total of 4.0 percent.

It is important to note that our current contract is set to expire on July 1, 2019. Therefore, by the time the third and last CERBT increase occurs, CSLEA will already be at the bargaining table working towards additional salary increases for its members.
For more information on the deduction, you can refer to Article 21.1 of the Contract. Please contact CSLEA if you have any questions.