In a total victory for the union's long battle to win full reimbursement of Medicare Part B pension deductions, more than 100,000 retirees will get payments totaling $680.40 in August.

The retirees' five-year struggle ended in June, when the Bloomberg administration withdrew a lawsuit filed by former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

The suit had blocked implementation of the 2001 law mandating full city reimbursement of retirees' contributions to their Medicare Part B premiums.

Former municipal employees normally get city reimbursement for the previous year's Medicare deductions from their Social Security in August, but this year's payment will be the largest yet. It will include $80.40, retroactive for 2000, plus the full $600 reimbursement for 2001.

"Mayor Bloomberg did the right thing," said DC 37 Retirees Association President Stuart Leibowitz. "The city's decision to back off the suit acknowledges its legal and moral obligation to provide for the health care needs of retired employees."

The new Medicare Part B law represents a major legislative triumph for the Retirees Association and DC 37, which lobbied hard to pass it last year.