Benefits within Texas L.E.

[captcrunch]

I am currently a Police Officer in California. My wife and I were considering a move to Texas and with that I started my research into where I would work. I seem to have come to a roadblock in the area of benefits. From what I am finding officers in Texas are having to spend a lot of money to pay for medical insurance for their families. With that cost plus the typical 7% towards retirement seems to be a huge financial hit for an officer to take from their paycheck. My question is simply does anyone have any good information as to who pays what for family medical coverage. Are there agencies out there that are not forcing their officers to pay so much?

[vttroop]

A lot of TX departments will real you in with high numbers but have horrible and expensive insurance plans. Also I believe the TMRS retirement system doesn't include medical benefits after you retire. The downfall of not having unions.

[vttroop]

Most agencies I knew of charged over $350 a month for family medical.

[K9Rock]

I only have me and my kid on my plan. It's costing me about $200 a month. It ain't great, but that's just the way it is for now. If you're moving here from California you can count on a signifigantly lower cost of living, but I'm sure you knew that. Hopefully, with a little time and lobbying, the cost of healthcare coverage for retirees will improve. My dad retired recently, and he's paying an un-godly amount for his healthcare coverage. It's almost worth staying on just to avoid that kick in the jewels....

[lee61897]

10%, not 7% of a retirement plan payout down here!

I don't have children, so I benefit from not having to paying anything for medical coverage. I would have only needed to pay if I got a premium plan.

[HMFIC]

Im single, so medical has always been free. Last agency was 7% pretax, and City matched 2 to 1.

New City Im with is a whooping 10.25% pretax, and city contributes approx 1.5 to 1.

[MOGSOT]

I am currently a Police Officer in California. My wife and I were considering a move to Texas and with that I started my research into where I would work. I seem to have come to a roadblock in the area of benefits. From what I am finding officers in Texas are having to spend a lot of money to pay for medical insurance for their families. With that cost plus the typical 7% towards retirement seems to be a huge financial hit for an officer to take from their paycheck. My question is simply does anyone have any good information as to who pays what for family medical coverage. Are there agencies out there that are not forcing their officers to pay so much?

As of right now the best department to go to would be San Antonio Police Department. We don't pay monthly for our medical, but are in the process of getting a new contract so that may change. It won't be as much as some of the other Depts. We have a very strong P.O.A. and collective barganing rights with the city.

Right now our family insurance is $200 out of pocket and covered at 80% then when that is reached your covered at 100%. Total out of pocket for a family shouldn't be anymore than $750. This is actually really good because we don't pay a monthly fee for medical coverage the city pays it. We just have to meet our deductible.


They do take 12.5% of every check for the pention fund then the city matches it. And we do pay about $70 a month for prefunded health care to help pay for the medical insurance for the retired S.A.P.D. officers.

Just a heads up. S.A.P.D. does not take lateral transfers. So if you were hoping to join a Dept. and keep time from your Dept. in CA you wont be able to. You will have to go through the 6.5 month academy. You do get paid to go through the academy and will have medical coverage as well.

Good luck. You can try calling 210-207-6262 and ask for any officer in the recruiting office if you want more specific answers.

[JSD73]

There are several agencies in and around the Houston area that are paying 100% for employees and 50-75% of health insurance for dependants.