FPUA board approves 2025 employee benefits package with 14.4% funding increase; employees to pay 10% more

The Fort Pierce Utilities Authority board unanimously approved the authority's recommended 2025 employee benefit package after a presentation by HR and outside benefits counsel.

Colleen Thurston, FPUA human resources and risk manager, and Kathleen Miola of Relations Insurance told the board the authority's self‑insured medical plan has performed better than regional cohorts but has experienced higher utilization this year, driven by nine high‑cost claimants whose claims accounted for roughly $1,030,000 in paid claims. "Overall, our self insured plan has performed above our cohorts within the utilities industry over the last year," Miola said during her presentation. She added that the plan is performing "just under a 107% of expected costs year to date." Staff said the authority has the reserves to absorb the current experience but recommended changes to keep the plan funded.

Staff recommended renewing stop‑loss coverage with Symmetra at a $140,000 specific deductible, increasing overall plan funding by about 14.4% (presenters said that equates to roughly $1,000,000 of additional expected plan cost), and asking employees to increase their contributions by 10%. The board was shown examples of per‑pay impacts; for employee‑plus‑family coverage the recommendation raises employee costs by $24.55 per pay period under the proposed allocations.

The package includes several other staff recommendations: maintaining current dental funding through Florida Combined Life, expanding employee assistance program (EAP) visits from six to eight per person per year and adding a Talkspace option, increasing group disability coverage with a Guardian individual policy buy‑up to ensure a 60% wage replacement, and providing employer‑paid LifeLock identity protection on the base "essential" plan for all full‑time employees (employees may opt out or buy up to family coverage at their own cost). Staff also proposed aligning dependent eligibility with Florida statute by extending dependent coverage to age 30 for qualifying dependents.

Board members pressed staff on benchmarks and the dollar split between employer and employee cost increases. Staff said they perform periodic benchmarking against similar utilities and can provide the detailed comparative report as a follow up. After discussion, a board member moved to approve staff's recommendations; another seconded the motion and the roll‑call vote recorded five yes votes, approving the package.

The board directed staff to provide the requested benchmarking materials and to follow up with additional cost breakdowns for members and retirees as requested.