Retirees underpaid by library trust

To the editor:

The New York Public Library and the District Council 37/ The New York Public Library Health & Security Plan Trust have been paying all Medicare Part B eligible retirees 80 percent of our contribution, not 100 percent. The trust letter of 2025 writes, ”we have decided again this year to reimburse the 2024 Medicare Part B premium at 80 percent of the base cost."

This has been happening since 2017.

Approximately 240,000 City Medicare eligible retirees have received 100 percent. The Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Public Library have reimbursed their eligible retirees 100 percent. During this period, NYPL Medicare Part B eligible retirees have received $3,040.94 less than our fellow city and library retirees.

The Library’s response to our inquiry is to imply they have not received funding from the city to reimburse us 100 percent. The question is: if not, why not?

You would think that they would want to receive the same amount in payments from the City as all the other city agencies, including the Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Public Library.

Let’s assume they have received not a penny from the City, which we doubt. Is it credible for them to claim that we should understand, as Terrance Neal, vice president  of human resources writes, that the Library must take “into account a range of financial and operational considerations.”

That is true for everyone else that paid their retirees 100 percent.

The total amount of Medicare Part B reimbursement NYPL would have paid since 2017 out of pocket, if they had not received one penny from the City, is $16,794,000. This figure is based on NYPL having 1,000 Medicare Part B eligible retirees every year since 2017.

We asked NYPL for the exact number of retirees involved but they have not provided the information we requested.

During the same period, NYPL’s endowment has gone from $1,448,838,000 to $2,738,562,600. This is an increase of $1,289,562,600. Yes, we are talking billions. If NYPL had paid the entire reimbursement to its Medicare Part B eligible retirees out of the endowment fund, it would still have $2,721,768,600.

Our request is that, when we receive our letter in July, either from NYPL or the Trust, it will say this year you will be reimbursed 100 percnet of the 2025 base Medicare Part B premium. That figure is $2,200. 

Trust members are composed of representatives from NYPL, District Council 37, Local 373 and Local 1930. They will vote on this in June and send a letter to union retirees in July.

NYPL human resources will send a similar letter to its non union Medicare Part B eligible retirees.

It should also be noted that the trust and NYPL reimburse us four months after everyone else has received their money.

If you get a chance, please advocate wherever possible that NYPL retirees deserve equal reimbursement. We are the ones who made NYPL one of the most outstanding libraries in the world.

Ray Markey & Jane Kunstler

Ray Markey and Jane Kunstler are the president and vice president of the New York Public Library Retirees Association.