Winchester Select Board Unanimously Restructures Retiree Health Benefits Effective January 2027

PEPPERELL -- June 15, 2026, Winchester Select Board unanimously restructures retiree health benefits and approves $1 million solar borrowing. The board voted 5-0 Monday to move all current and future town retirees to 50 percent premium sharing, increase Medicare Part B support for existing retirees from roughly $109 to a fixed $200 per month, and eliminate Part B support for employees retiring after August 1, 2026, changes affecting approximately 605 current retirees, two-thirds of them former school department employees. Member Paris Bianni, who led the presentation, said retiree health costs have grown 66 percent over six years at an annual rate of 8.8 percent, well above the town's revenue growth rate. A proposed five-tier prescription drug restructuring was pulled from the package after Member Mike Bettencourt said the impact on existing retirees "could be very front-loaded in a way that we might not be able to mitigate." The board also unanimously approved a $1 million advance from free cash to fund early deposits on a previously authorized $7.9 million solar panel project, voted to create a Long Range Financial Planning Committee modeled on Arlington's multi-board budget planning body, and gave consensus approval to a $200,000 granite amphitheater donation from the Rotary Club of Winchester to be built behind the public library.