The EEOC has issued a new rule allowing employers to coordinate retiree health benefits with Medicare, or comparable state health benefits, without violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). First proposed four years ago, the rule was developed in response to a 3rd Circuit ruling in 2000 in Erie County Retirees Association v. County of Erie, which held that the ADEA requires employers to spend the same amount on health benefits for retirees eligible for Medicare as it spends for younger retirees. The new regulation allows employers to continue the common practice of providing health benefits to retirees by supplementing government healthcare or by offering benefits to cover retirees between the time of retirement and the time they become eligible for Medicare. The AARP, which opposes the rule, filed suit challenging the Commission’s authority to issue the regulation. The 3rd Circuit upheld summary judgment in favor of the Commission in June, and a petition for Supreme Court review is pending.