Public Safety
Officers Get a Tax Break
Tax savings for health care costs
Beginning in 2007, retired public safety officers, or those who have
separated from service due to disability, get a tax beak for health care
costs.
If you are a retired public safety officer, such as a policeman,
fireman, member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew, a member of a
volunteer fire department, or a chaplain of a volunteer fire department,
you may be eligible to exclude from income distributions from your
governmental retirement plan that are used to pay health insurance
premiums.
The exclusion is limited to the lesser of your actual health insurance
premiums, or $3,000.
The payment of the health insurance premiums must be made directly to
the provider of the health insurance plan. The exclusion will not apply if
the premiums are paid by you then reimbursed by the pension plan.
This exclusion applies to distributions from governmental defined
benefit plans or defined contribution plans, governmental 403(b)
tax-sheltered annuity plans, and governmental 457(b) eligible deferred
compensation plans.
