Section 9. The policy or policies of insurance shall provide that upon retirement of an employee, the policy or policies providing at least two thousand dollars of group life insurance and at least two thousand dollars of group accidental death and dismemberment insurance as set forth in section five, except the optional coverage referred to therein, shall be reduced to one thousand dollars of group life insurance, unless the governmental unit has accepted section nine F, and the retired employee shall make payment of the full premium cost, subject to the provisions of section nine A or nine E, whichever may be applicable, of the average group premium as determined by the appropriate public authority for such insurance; and the group general or blanket insurance providing hospital, surgical, medical, dental and other health insurance, as provided under sections four, eleven C, and sixteen as may be applicable, shall be continued and the retired employee shall pay the full premium cost, subject to the provisions of section nine A or section nine E whichever may be applicable of the average group premium as determined by the appropriate public authority for such hospital, surgical, medical, dental and other health insurance.
The policy or policies may provide for group life insurance not to exceed one thousand dollars on the lives of retired employees who, up to the effective date of such policy or policies, were insured under a group life policy purchased pursuant to the provisions of clause (44) of section five of chapter forty.
Prior to retirement, an insured employee who terminates his services with the governmental unit and who has a right to retire but whose retirement is deferred under any applicable law shall for the purpose of this chapter only be deemed to have been granted a leave of absence without pay and may continue all insurance coverages to which he would have been entitled if he had not terminated his services; provided he files an application therefor with the treasurer of the governmental unit and makes payment for the full premium cost of his insurance with no contribution by the governmental unit notwithstanding the provisions of sections nine A or nine E.
The policy or policies shall also provide that upon termination of employment an employee shall be entitled to convert his insurance to an individual type of policy, subject to the provisions of section one hundred and thirty-four of chapter one hundred and seventy-five with respect to life insurance, and subject to the requirements of the appropriate public authority with respect to health insurance coverages provided in this chapter which shall not be less than the minimum hospital, medical, surgical, dental and other health benefits provided in an individual policy regularly issued by the insurance carrier at the time of conversion, except that with respect to the services of a health care organization, the contract made under section sixteen may provide for extension or continuation of coverage in lieu of the right to convert. No employee will be permitted to convert his insurance or extend or continue coverage for services of a health care organization on separation from service more than one time, if such converted or extended insurance would result in a greater amount of insurance than is provided in sections three, five, eleven C or twelve, as the case may be.