County retiree health care: what the county promises after work ends (DRAFT – not published)

Key facts

• Plan: county health insurance for retired workers, until age 65¹
• People in the plan: 1,295 workers, 94 retirees and 32 spouses (Oct. 2024)¹
• What the county expects to owe over time: about $43.6 million (Sept. 30, 2025)¹
• Money set aside for it: none in a trust¹

In short

Besides a pension, the county lets some retired workers stay on its health plan until age 65.¹ Retirees pay a set premium.¹ The county’s experts estimate the plan will cost about $43.6 million over time.¹ That is down from $55.2 million a year earlier, mostly because of a new interest-rate guess.¹

How it works

• Who can join. A worker who retires straight from the county and draws a county pension can stay on the health plan.¹
• When it ends. Coverage stops at age 65 or if the retiree stops paying.¹
• Who pays. Retirees pay a set premium based on their years of service.¹
• No savings fund. The county pays as bills come in. It has not set money aside in a trust.¹

The numbers (year ended Sept. 30, 2025)

	Amount
Estimated cost over time, start of year	$55,247,647
Paid to retirees this year	$3,730,471
Estimated cost over time, end of year	$43,632,004
If the interest-rate guess is 1 point lower	$47,688,005
If health costs grow 1 point faster	$49,241,753

Source: county audited report, Note 16.¹

The other side

• This is a guess, not a bill. The $43.6 million depends on how long people live, how fast health costs grow and an interest rate. Change the guesses and it moves by millions.¹
• The drop is not savings. About $6.0 million of the drop came from a higher interest-rate guess (3.81% to 4.85%). About $6.3 million came from people and costs differing from the old guesses.¹
• It is small next to the pension. The pension plan is much bigger. See the county retirement plan page.
• The county can change the plan. Commissioners Court set up this benefit itself.¹

Questions to ask

• What monthly premium does a retiree pay, by the county’s records?
• Where does the county post the retiree plan’s terms?

What you can do

• Ask commissioners how they plan to pay for this benefit over time.
• Read Note 16 in the county’s audited report.

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: We changed wording so it says no more than our sources show.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.

What we still don’t know

• What a retiree pays each month. The audit does not list the premium.

No numbers on this page are our own math. All come from the audit.

Footnotes

1. Williamson County, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, year ended Sept. 30, 2025, Note 16 (Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions): plan description, members as of Oct. 1, 2024, total OPEB liability $43,632,004, changes in the liability, discount rate 3.81% to 4.85%, sensitivity tables. https://emma.msrb.org/P11938140.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶