Originally Posted by matclone

I know you know this Big, but you're saving a lot of money up front by not having income or FICA taxes taken out of that 2%. And I don't know exactly how Soc Sec is calculated (so I could be wrong), but I'm guessing the reduced income won't have much of an effect on your pension.

But it does. Your income is listed as what you earn after you pay for health care. The less you earn the less your SS pension will be.

or you could look at from the angle that they give you free health care, but your wages are 2% less than what you think they are.

Fundamentally, they have set your healthcare up as flexible spending account. Somewhere in the back room they are manipulating the bucks for you. Except for flexible spending accounts, healthcare costs are paid off the gross wages. You FICA tax is also calculated off the gross wages and before any deductions including the flex spending accounts.

Sounds more and more like a teamsters deal to me.