ANNuity CAlCulAtoRs

jan
’14
P.28
The Health of
state & local
Gov’t pensions
P.41
COVER STORY
annuity
calculators
Online Tools Reduce
Retirement Guesswork
P.22
2014 NARFE
national
Convention
Volume 90 • Number 1
NARFE’S VISA REWARDS
CREDIT CARD
NOW THROUGH
JANUARY 15TH!
Use your NARFE Visa Rewards Credit
Card on purchases and earn
TRIPLE REWARD POINTS.
REWARD
YOURSELF!
1.99% APR2 on purchases
and balance transfers.
Earn 1,500 BONUS POINTS1 with your first purchase.
Then, earn THREE POINTS per dollar on all purchases
made at gas stations, grocery stores, department stores,
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are redeemable for travel, merchandise and gift cards!
No balance transfer, annual
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To apply, log in to Premier Online Banking or
contact a lending representative today at 800.328.1500.
NARFE Premier Federal Credit Union membership required.
Each time that you use your card, NARFE the association,
receives a donation.
1 Points expire five years from time of issue.
2 APR = Annual Percentage Rate. All terms and conditions subject to change without notice. Rates based on credit worthiness. Promotional rate of 1.99% applies
to new credit cards issued from November 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. Balance transfers must be completed within the first 90 days of card issuance; 1.99%
APR applies to purchases and balance transfers for the first six months. After the sixth month promotional period, the rate will adjust to the purchase rate, currently
10.90% to 14.90% and subject to change. Apply by June 30, 2014 to take advantage of this offer. This offer may not be used to pay or make balance transfers from
any existing NARFE Premier FCU accounts, loans or credit cards.
www.narfepremierfcu.org
™
Jan
’14
WashingTon Watch
8
Same Battles Expected to
Be Fought in 2014
9
NARFE Joins White
House Rally Against
Chained CPI
9
Bill Would Open FEHBP
to All
10 FEHBP and the Affordable
Care Act
10 Good News! Resolution
Supports Federal Workers
11 Bill Addresses ‘Pension
Advance’ Scams
12 NARFE Bill Tracker
22
Columns
Cover Story
annuity calculators. Federal employees are going online
to get estimates of their future annuity payments. But, as with all
computations, the output is only as good as the data entered.
4 From the President
34 Managing Money
36 The Informed Citizen
DEPARTMENTS
28
The Health of state and local pensions.
All government pension plans are not the same. But
local experience can be a cautionary tale for feds.
On the Web
P.28
THE HEALTH OF
STATE & LOCAL
GOV’T PENSIONS
www.narfe.org
P.41
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follow us on twitter:
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COVER STORY
ANNUITY
CALCULATORS
Investments, COLA Chart
40 NARFE News
48 The Way We Worked
JA N
’14
visit us online at:
16 Questions & Answers
38 For the Record: TSP
special section
41 33rd Biennial NARFE
National Convention
2014 NARFE
NATIONAL
CONVENTION
Online Tools Reduce
Retirement Guesswork
P.22
ON THE COVER
Illustration by Bill Pragluski,
Critical Stages, LLC
w w w. n a r f e . o r g
|
1
january 2014 | Volume 90 | Number 01
Editor
Margaret M. Carter
Assistant Editor
Ken Fanelli
Editorial Administrator
Toni Vallario
Graphic Design
Charlene Gridley
Editorial Board
Joseph A. Beaudoin, Paul H. Carew,
Elaine C. Hughes, Richard G. Thissen
Editorial Office: narfe magazine,
606 North Washington St.,
Alexandria, VA 22314-1914;
Phone: 703-838-7760; Fax: 703-838-7781;
Email: communications@narfe.org
Advertising Sales: Warren Berger,
Media People Inc.,
122 East 42nd St., Suite 725,
New York, NY 10168;
Phone: 212-779-7172, ext. 223;
Email: wberger@mediapeople.com
NARFE for the Visually Impaired
On the Telephone: This publication can
be heard on the telephone by persons who
have trouble seeing or reading the print
edition. For more information, contact
the National Federation of the Blind
NFB-NEWSLINE® service at 866-5047300 or go to www.nfbnewsline.org.
On digital audio: Issues of narfe
magazine are also available in audio format
through the National Library Service for
the Blind and Physically Handicapped
(NLS). For availability, call 202-727-2142 or
your local NLS service provider.
The Association, since July 1970,
has been classified by the IRS as a
tax-exempt labor organization
[not a union]; however, dues and gifts
or contributions to the Association
are not deductible as charitable
contributions for income tax purposes.
National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
NATIONAL OFFICERS
JOSEPH A. BEAUDOIN, President; natpres@narfe.org
PAUL H. CAREW, Vice President; natvp@narfe.org
ELAINE C. HUGHES, Secretary; natsec@narfe.org
RICHARD G. THISSEN, Treasurer; nattreas@narfe.org
REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS
REGION I Arthur Pike
(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island
and Vermont)
Tel: 207-764-4468
Email: artpike1937@aol.com
REGION II Evelyn Kirby
(Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland,
New Jersey and Pennsylvania)
Tel: 410-604-1141
Email: ekirby@atlanticbb.net
REGION III Donald Stewart
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi,
Puerto Rico, South Carolina and Virgin Islands)
Tel: 305-442-6388
Email: dejs33149@aol.com
REGION IV Paul E. Johnson
(Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin)
Tel: 812-306-5137
Email: pejohnson@tds.net
REGION V Carol R. Ek
(Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
North Dakota and South Dakota)
Tel: 620-241-1131
Email: ek617@att.net
Here’s How to Contact Us…
If you want to:
Join NARFE
Call (toll-free):
800-627-3394
or go to: www.narfe.org
Change or update your
membership record
Call (toll-free):
800-456-8410
Email: memberrecords@narfe.org
REGION VI Jerome S. Smith
(Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma,
Republic of Panama and Texas)
Tel: 903-534-5849
Email: retiredjer@aol.com
REGION VII Frank Impinna
(Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah
and Wyoming)
Tel: 303-482-1747
Email: impinna@gmail.com
REGION VIII Helen L. Zajac
(California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada
and Republic of Philippines)
Tel: 707-644-7565
Email: hlz17@aol.com
REGION IX Lanny G. Ross
(Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon
and Washington)
Tel: 360-692-9741
Email: lannyjean@comcast.net
REGION X William F. Martin
(Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Virginia and West Virginia)
Tel: 540-872-3345
Email: billmartin@narferx.org
For any other NARFE matter:
Call NARFE Headquarters:
703-838-7760
Email: hq@narfe.org
Fax: 703-838-7785
Write: NARFE
606 N. Washington St.
Alexandria, VA 22314
www.narfe.org
narfe (ISSN 1948-4453) is published monthly by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), 606 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Periodicals postage
paid at Alexandria, VA, and additional mailing offices. Members: Annual dues includes subscription. Nonmember subscription rate $45. Postmaster: Send address change to: NARFE Attn:
Member Records, 606 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. To ensure prompt delivery, members should also forward changes of address without delay. Because of the volume involved,
NARFE cannot acknowledge nor be responsible for unsolicited pictures and manuscripts, although every reasonable precaution is taken. All submissions become the property of NARFE.
Copyright © 2014, NARFE. Advertisements in the magazine are not endorsements of products and/or services by NARFE, unless officially stated in the ad. We shall accept advertising
on the same basis as other reputable publications: that is, we shall not knowingly permit a dishonest advertisement to appear in narfe, but at the same time we will not undertake
to guarantee the reliability of our advertisers.
2
| j a n
2 0 14
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Park, Thurston’s Lava Tube and more.
Explore the beauty and history of majestic Alaska. Enjoy a seven night
Alaska cruise on the NCL Jewel through the scenic Inside Passage.
Visit Ketchikan, “The Salmon Capital of the World;” Juneau, the capital
of Alaska; Sawyer Glacier, with incredible colors that constantly
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Francisco with opportunities to see the Golden Gate Bridge and
Fisherman’s Wharf. Plus world famous Sonoma Valley where you will
visit one of the area’s wineries.
Scenic Amtrak Coast Starlight train trip from San Francisco to Seattle.
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From the President
Thoughts on the New Year
T
he New Year brings with it
unfinished business as well as new
opportunities. Important issues that
affect the well-being of federal employees
and retirees remain unresolved, and related
legislation carries over into 2014. By midmonth, Congress will be voting on the
fiscal year 2014 budget. It is our hope that a
budget is passed and that it does not include
the Chained CPI, which we are fighting so
hard to oppose.
The 33rd Biennial NARFE National Convention in Orlando, FL, this summer will be the
pivotal event of the year. Its motto, “NARFE Is
In Your Future: Embrace the mission. Share the
vision.,” speaks to how we must hearken back
to our roots as we reimagine our work going
forward. It is a fitting slogan in a year that the
Future of NARFE Committee will complete its
report on charting the Association’s long-term
direction. At the National Convention, you will
elect national officers, who will lead NARFE in its
efforts to preserve our earned benefits. I encourage you to be a part of this important gathering.
This past November, Katherine Archuleta was
sworn in as the 10th director of the U.S. Office
of Personnel Management. She has extensive
experience in federal service, having worked in
top administrative and personnel positions at the
Departments of Labor, Energy and Transportation. Just as important, she has the president’s
ear. NARFE looks forward to working with her
as a partner in advocating for fairness toward
federal civil servants both retired and active.
Legislatively speaking, 2014 may appear similar to the preceding two years. One difference,
however, is that the electorate – fed up with the
partisan behavior that brought the government
to a standstill last fall – will demand that its lawmakers work toward real solutions for the public
good or face the consequences at the midterm
election ballot box.
Here’s to a happy and prosperous New Year for
NARFE and the federal family it represents!
Joseph A. Beaudoin
NARFE national President
natpres@narfe.org
4
| J A N
2 0 14
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Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) may receive payments from
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BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION IS AN ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT, LOCALLY OPERATED BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD PLANS.
Washington Watch
same battles expected
to be fought in 2014
A
s deadlines loom on Capitol Hill, and lawmakers
continue to legislate from crisis to (self-imposed) crisis,
2014 is looking a lot like 2013.
First on the calendar is the
January 15 expiration of the stopgap Continuing Resolution that
has been funding the operations
of the federal government since
October 16, 2013.
By the time you get this issue,
the budget conference committee that was created to resolve the
fiscal year 2014 budget impasse
should have made its recommendations. Those recommendations
should be voted on by Congress by
January 15. This assumes, however, that committee members
were able to come to an agreement
on a budget bill by their December
13, 2013, deadline. At press time,
proposals that would affect the
federal family were still on the
committee negotiating table.
If Congress is unable to pass a
budget, another government shutdown could occur. However, the
political ramifications from the
shutdown in October have been
widespread, with the American
public largely blaming the Repub8
| j a n
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lican Party, so another shutdown
is possible but unlikely.
The next key date is February 7,
when the federal debt limit will
be reached. Treasury Department
officials have said they will be able
to meet the nation’s obligations
for a few weeks after the deadline,
using extraordinary measures.
Those include borrowing from the
Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, which must be paid
back with interest under the law.
Based on the experience of the
past several years, House Republicans are not expected to agree to
raise the ceiling unless spending
cuts are part of the mix. The debtceiling vote, once noncontroversial, recently has been linked to
other demands. It’s safe to assume
this fight will continue into the
new year.
General opposition to the Affordable Care Act (also known as
“Obamacare”) and criticism of its
problem-plagued implementation,
also will dominate congressional
debate in early 2014, particularly
as members of Congress and their
staffs enter into the health care
exchanges created under the law.
Full repeal of the health reform
law is on the top of the Republicans’ agenda, so the angst surrounding the law is not expected
to abate anytime soon.
As November elections get
closer, members of Congress will
begin spending more time in their
home districts and states and
less in Washington. While most
pundits predict that the balance
of control in Congress likely will
stay the same (House in Republican control, Senate in Democratic
control), House Democrats are
working hard to win the 17 seats
they need to take control of the
House. On the Senate side, a
change in power is more likely,
given the states in play, with the
Republicans needing only six
seats to take the majority.
All in all, 2014 is looking similar
to 2013 and 2012 – the same
fights, the same issues and the
same balance of power in Congress.
—By Jessica Klement, Legislative Director
NARFE JOINS COALITION PARTNERS AT
WHITE HOUSE RALLY AGAINST CHAINED CPI
N
ARFE continued its strong
opposition to the Chained
CPI at a November 14
rally in front of the White House.
NARFE urged the president not to
use the Chained CPI as a bargaining chip in budget negotiations.
NARFE previously held a press
conference in front of the Capitol,
asking Congress not to adopt the
Chained CPI to calculate annual
cost-of-living adjustments
(COLAs) to federal retirement
annuities, Social Security benefits,
military retired pay and disability
benefits. A switch from the current
CPI-W to the Chained CPI would
cost the average federal retiree an
estimated $48,000 over 25 years
in lost benefits, NARFE says.
In the past, the Chained CPI proposal has received support from
congressional Republicans and
Democrats who view the Chained
CPI as a more accurate measurement of inflation. Because the
president included the proposal in
his fiscal year 2014 budget in an
attempt to achieve a “grand bargain” on deficit reduction, NARFE
has been lobbying both the White
House and Congress.
Speaking at the rally, NARFE
National Secretary Elaine C.
Hughes asked, “Why should reducing the standard of living for those
who served our country be part of
a budget compromise?”
“We’ve seen this act before,”
Hughes said. “We’ve earned our
retirement. We will protect our
retirement.”
NARFE joined several of its
coalition partners for the event,
NARFE National Secretary Elaine Hughes speaks at a rally in front of the
White House opposing a switch to the Chained CPI for calculating retiree
cost-of-living adjustments.
which was hosted by the National
Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. Reps. Keith
Ellison, D-MN, and Mark Pocan,
D-WI, also spoke at the rally.
—By Jason Freeman, Legislative Staff Assistant
BILL WOULD OPEN FEHBP TO ALL
I
n October, the chairman of the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
introduced a bill that would allow
all Americans to enroll in the
Federal Employees Health Benefits
Program (FEHBP).
The four-page bill, the Equal
Healthcare Access Act, H.R. 3319,
is short on details. And statements
from bill sponsor Rep. Darrell
Issa, R-CA, have been limited and,
in some cases, erroneous. “The
Equal Healthcare Access Act offers Americans access to the same
health insurance plans long enjoyed by members of Congress and
their families,” Issa said. However,
members of Congress are entering into the health care exchanges
created under the Affordable Care
Act (ACA).
The legislation is silent on many
fronts, including how it would be
implemented, how it would work
with the ACA, and whether enrollees would be in a separate risk
pool from federal employees and
retirees.
NARFE opposes any legislation
that would open the FEHBP to
nonfederal employees, retirees and
their dependents without separate
risk pools. Adding people to the
plan, many of whom are likely to
be previously uninsured, would
undoubtedly raise premiums for
everyone in the plan.
It is unlikely the bill will move
through committee and receive a
vote on the House floor. NARFE
will continue to monitor any progress on the bill.
—By Jessica Klement, legislative director
w w w. n a r f e . o r g
|
9
Washington Watch
FEHBP AND THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW
W
ith provisions of the
Affordable Care Act
(ACA or “Obamacare”) going into effect in 2014,
NARFE’s Legislative Department
provides these reminders about
the relationship between the Federal Employees Health Benefits
Program (FEHBP) and the ACA.
• Federal employees, retirees
and survivors will continue their
coverage through the FEHBP. The
only exceptions are members of
Congress and their staffs, who will
lose their FEHBP coverage and
must purchase insurance in the
new Health Insurance Marketplace, also known as exchanges.
Individuals who do not have
access to insurance through their
Legislative Resources
• Legislative Hotline: A
weekly update of legislative news, compiled by
the NARFE Legislative
Department staff, distributed via email and available by phone (toll-free) at
877-217-8234 and online
at www.narfe.org.
• Legislative Action
Center: A one-stop site
to send a letter to
Congress, and more,
at www.narfe.org.
10
| j a n
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employer can purchase health
insurance in the exchanges.
• Some of the ACA’s tax provisions apply to tax year 2013 and
will be applied when taxpayers
complete their returns in April.
First, flexible spending accounts
(FSAs) are limited to $2,500,
a reduction of 50 percent (this
has already been in effect for the
FEHBP). FSAs enable employees
to use pretax funds to help pay
out-of-pocket medical costs. Retirees continue to be prohibited from
having FSAs.
• Also for tax year 2013, the
threshold for deducting unreimbursed medical expenses is
increased from 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income to 10 percent.
For taxpayers age 65 and older,
the increase is postponed through
2016.
• The following provisions
required to start this year already
have been adopted by the FEHBP:
- Insurers cannot exclude individuals with pre-existing conditions. The FEHBP has always
prohibited such exclusions.
- Insurers cannot have annual
or plan lifetime spending limits.
FEHBP plans have not imposed
lifetime limits.
For more information on the
relationship between the FEHBP
and the ACA, see the May 2013 issue of narfe magazine (p. 30).
—By Sarah Weissmann, Grass-Roots Program
Manager
GOOD NEWS! RESOLUTION
SUPPORTS FEDERAL WORKERS
H
ere’s a bill that the federal
family can rally around. A
resolution introduced in
October by Rep. Marcia L. Fudge,
D-OH, expresses the “sense of the
House of Representatives” supporting federal employees. An additional 42 members of the House
have signed on as cosponsors.
H.Res. 388 details the sacrifices
made by federal employees in recent years. It recognizes that they
are under a three-year pay freeze,
have been required to contribute
more toward their retirement, saw
a loss in income due to furloughs
from sequestration and faced
grave uncertainty during the government shutdown.
The resolution also lists as
grievances the proposals that ask
for even more sacrifice from the
federal workforce. Specifically, it
cites the proposal to base cost-ofliving adjustments (COLAs) for
federal civilian retirement annuities on the Chained CPI, which
would lower COLAs. It also refers
to the proposal to turn the Federal Employees Health Benefits
Program into a voucher system,
which would shift a greater share
of the premium burden onto employees and retirees.
NARFE President Joseph A.
Beaudoin thanked Fudge for her
leadership on behalf of federal
employees and retirees.
— By John Hatton, Deputy Legislative
Director
BILL WOULD HELP PROTECT FEDS
FROM ‘PENSION ADVANCE’ SCAMS
L
egislation that would clamp down on companies
offering unconventional and sometimes illegal
“pension advance” financial products has been
introduced by Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-PA. Nearly 50
support for public service with
his private-sector experience as
an attorney,” Beaudoin said. —By John Hatton, Deputy Legislative
Director
members of the House have cosponsored the bill, the
Annuity Safety and Security Under Reasonable Enforcement
(ASSURE) Act, H.R. 3310.
Pension advance schemes offer cash now and, in exchange,
require borrowers to sign over all
or part of their future monthly
pension checks to a separate bank
The legislation would
require appropriate
disclosures, would
cap interest rates on
pension advances
and would allow
individuals to enforce
the law in court.
account managed by the company.
The companies attempt to circumvent current state and federal laws
prohibiting assignment of pensions to third parties, and often
carry usurious interest rates not
appropriately disclosed to the borrower. Federal retirees are among
those who have been the targets of
these schemes. The topic was the
subject of a narfe magazine cover
story in September 2013 (p. 30). The ASSURE Act would expand
on existing law to require appropriate disclosures regarding these
transactions and cap interest rates
on these advances. Importantly, it
would create a private right of action to allow individuals to enforce
these laws in court.
“These simple measures will
protect federal retirees from
exploitation, allow individuals to
assert their rights in court, and
ensure that retirees maintain their
financial independence,” Cartwright said.
“The legislation would help
ensure the retirement benefits federal workers earned throughout
their careers are secure from financial scams that could rob them
of their annuities through fraudulent sales practices,” said NARFE
President Joseph A. Beaudoin.
“NARFE applauds Congressman Cartwright’s leadership on
the issue, which combines his
Are you part of a multigeneration civil service family? If so,
please email leg@narfe.org. You could be part of a campaign
highlighting the tradition of public service.
MYTH
vs.
REALITY
Myth: Pay raises
are a cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA) for
federal employees.
Reality: Congress
provides pay raises to
federal employees to
ensure their pay remains
competitive with privatesector pay.
Raises are subject to a
“locality pay adjustment,”
which seeks to reflect
regional differences
in salaries and wages
across the country. This
component was introduced
in 1990 when federal
civil service salaries were
viewed as increasingly
uncompetitive with privatesector salaries in urban
locations. Congress must
decide on a yearly basis
whether to budget a raise
for federal employees.
In contrast, yearly
retiree annuity COLAs
are provided under an
automatic plan using the
Bureau of Labor Statistics’
CPI-W. The goal of a COLA
is to help retirees’ annuities
keep pace with inflation.
w w w. n a r f e . o r g
|
11
Washington Watch
narfe bill tracker
The NARFE bill TRACKER is your monthly guide to the congressional
legislation that NARFE is following. Check back each issue for updates.
ISSUE
Bill Number / Name /
Sponsor
H.R. 26: Deferred Benefits Adjustment Act
of 2013 / Rep. Nydia M.
Velázquez, D-NY
Cosponsors: None
DEFERRED
ANNUITIES
supporting
federal
employees
H.Res. 388: Expressing
the sense of the House
of Representatives supporting federal employees / Rep. Marcia L.
Fudge, D-OH
Latest Action(s)
Provides for the indexation
of deferred annuities, including survivor annuities, and
for individuals becoming
subject to the Federal Employees Retirement System
by election. Terminates the
entitlement of a survivor who
remarries before age 55 to an
annuity based on the service
of a deferred annuitant who
dies before establishing a
valid claim for a Civil Service
Retirement System annuity.
Referred to the House
Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform
Recognizes that the work
that federal employees perform should be honored and
respected. Outlines several
ways Congress should not
target federal employees.
Referred to House Committees on Oversight and
Government Reform, and
Ways and Means
Makes any person who has
a “seriously delinquent tax
debt” ineligible for federal
employment or to continue
serving as a federal employee.
Approved by the House
Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform
on 3/20/13
Failed to pass the House
on 4/15/13
narfe, April 2013, p. 9
See story, p. 10
Cosponsors: 42 (D)
H.R. 249: Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act of 2013 / Rep.
Jason Chaffetz, R-UT
Tax
Delinquency
What Bill Would Do
Cosponsors: None
narfe, July 2013, p. 11
Paid Parental
Leave
H.R. 517: To provide that
four of the 12 weeks of
parental leave made
available to a federal
employee shall be paid
leave / Rep. Carolyn B.
Maloney, D-NY
Cosponsors: 17 (D)
Pension scam
protection
12
| j a n
2 0 14
H.R. 3310: Annuity Safety and Security Under
Reasonable Enforcement
Act of 2013 / Rep. Matt
Cartwright, D-PA
Cosponsors: 48 (D)
Allows federal employees to
substitute, for four weeks,
any available paid leave for
any leave without pay available for either the birth of a
child or placement of a child
for either adoption or foster
care.
Referred to the House
Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform
Requires appropriate disReferred to four House
closures regarding “pension committees
advance” schemes and caps
the interest rates on these
See story, p. 11
advances. Also creates a private right of action to allow
individuals to enforce these
laws in court.
ISSUE
Bill Number / Name /
Sponsor
H.R. 1367: FEHBP Prescription Drug Integrity, Transparency, and Cost Savings Act /
Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, D-MA
Cosponsors: 3 (D)
Health Care
H.R. 1780: To provide that
the only health plans available to the president, vice
president, members of Congress and federal employees
are those created under the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or offered
through a health insurance
exchange / Rep. Dave Camp,
R-MI
What Bill Would Do
Latest Action(s)
Provides the Office of Personnel Management greater
oversight authority over the
prescription drug contracting
and pricing methods of the
Federal Employees Health
Benefits Program (FEHBP).
It requires that pharmacy
benefit managers return 99
percent of all rebates, market
share incentives and other
monies received from pharmaceutical manufacturers
for FEHBP business and caps
prescription drug prices paid
by the FEHBP.
Referred to the
House Committee
on Oversight and
Government Reform
Removes federal employees
from the Federal Employees
Health Benefits Program
(FEHBP) and places them in
the health exchanges created
under the Affordable Care
Act.
Referred to the
House Committees
on Oversight and
Government Reform,
Energy and Commerce, and Administration
narfe, June 2013, p. 9
narfe, July 2013, p. 15
Cosponsors: 30 (R)
H.R. 3319: Equal Healthcare
Access Act / Rep. Darrell
Issa, R-CA
Cosponsors: 1 (D), 8 (R)
Requires the Office of Personnel Management to administer a health insurance plan for
nonfederal employees under
the existing Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Referred to House
Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Energy
and Commerce, and
Ways and Means
See story, p. 9
H.R. 1795: Social Security
Fairness Act of 2013 / Rep.
Rodney Davis, R-IL
GPO/WEP
Cosponsors: 70 (D), 27 (R)
S. 896: Social Security Fairness Act of 2013 / Sen. Mark
Begich, D-AK
Referred to the Senate Finance Committee
Cosponsors: 10 (D), 3 (R), 1 (I)
narfe, July 2013, p. 16
H.R. 630: The Postal Service
Protection Act / Rep. Peter
DeFazio, D-OR
postal reform
Repeals both the Government Referred to the
Pension Offset (GPO) and the House Committee on
Windfall Elimination Provision Ways and Means
(WEP).
Cosponsors: 164 (D), 7 (R)
S. 316: The Postal Service
Protection Act / Sen. Bernie
Sanders, I-VT
Cosponsors: 28 (D)
Eliminates the future retiree
health benefit prefunding
requirement, protects six-day
mail delivery and prevents the
closure of rural post offices.
Referred to House
Committees on
Oversight and Government Reform and
Judiciary
Referred to the Senate Committee on
Homeland Security
and Governmental
Affairs
(Continued on p. 14)
Washington Watch
narfe bill tracker
(Continued from p. 13)
ISSUE
Bill Number / Name /
Sponsor
H.R. 2748: Postal Reform
Act / Rep. Darrell Issa,
R-CA
Cosponsors: 2 (R)
What Bill Would Do
Latest action(s)
Moves the U.S. Postal Service
to five-day mail delivery, removes protections for injured
workers and eliminates tothe-door delivery in favor of
cluster boxes.
Approved by the House
Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform on 7/24/13
S. 1486: Postal Reform Act Threatens integrity of the
Federal Employees Health
postal reform / Sen. Tom Carper, D-DE
Benefits Program by reCosponsors: 1 (R)
moving postal workers and
retirees, cuts workers’ compensation benefits, eliminates
Federal Employees Retirement System pension for new
hires.
2013-14_PAC_Coupon:2013 Coupon
3/26/13
3:42 PM
narfe, September 2013,
p. 20
Referred to Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
narfe, December 2013,
p. 9
Page 1
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14
| j a n
2 0 14
How a Chicago Doctor Shook Up the Hearing
Aid Industry with his Newest Invention
New nearly invisible digital hearing aid breaks price barrier in affordability
Reported by J. Page
Chicago: Board-certified physician Dr.
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Questions & Answers
The following Questions & Answers were compiled by NARFE’s Federal Benefits Service Department staff.
NARFE does not provide legal, financial planning or tax advice or assistance.
employees
Retirement application timeline
Q
I was told that I am required to submit my
retirement application about three months
prior to my retirement date. I was also told
that my human resources office cannot
send my application to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) immediately.
A
Retirement applications
are slowed down because
of procedures that payroll
offices must complete. It’s up to
your payroll office to close out
your records and get your claim to
OPM.
The payroll office isn’t able to
issue you your final check or your
lump-sum payment for your annual leave until it receives your
final time card, which will not be
given to payroll until after your
retirement date. Then payroll
must collect all of your pay records, certify those records and
attach them to your retirement
application.
The payroll office assigns a
16
| j a n
2 0 14
control number to your case and
has 30 days from your retirement
date to get your package to OPM,
which will not accept your application without your pay records
attached.
You will know when OPM
receives your retirement package
because it will issue you a Civil
Service Annuity (CSA) number
within seven to 10 days from the
date it receives your file. OPM
uses your CSA number instead
of your Social Security number
when it completes tasks for you.
You should use this number on all
future correspondence with OPM.
If you haven’t heard from OPM
within six weeks of your retire-
ment date, you should contact
your agency to find out where your
claim is. Most packages are at
OPM within 30 days of an employee’s retirement date.
Once you receive your CSA
number, you will probably receive
your first interim annuity check
within a couple of weeks; therefore, you probably will receive
your interim pay within six to
eight weeks of retiring. The
amount of interim pay that you
will receive is usually between 50
and 75 percent of the amount of
the annuity estimate provided to
you from your human resources
office. Then, it takes six to eight
months or longer to get your annuity finalized.
TSP app?
Q
I have a smartphone and
would like to download an
app for the Thrift Savings
Plan (TSP). How do I do this?
A
TSP participants who
navigate to www.tsp.gov
from a smartphone will
now automatically be directed
to the new mobile version of the
TSP’s “My Account.” The mobile
version provides participants the
informational, transactional and
interactive benefits of www.tsp.
gov anytime and anywhere on
a smartphone. According to the
TSP, participants do not need to
download an app to enjoy this
benefit.
military deposit
explained
Q
I’m preparing to retire
under the Civil Service
Retirement System
(CSRS), and there is one thing
that makes no sense to me. I
retired from active military service
before starting my civilian federal
career. I understand about the
bar on double dipping and having
to waive my military retired pay
in order to use my active duty
service years in combination with
my civilian years for retirement
computation purposes. But why
do I now have to pay a military
deposit of thousands of dollars for
those same years? I paid into the
civil service retirement fund while
working as a civilian. The money is
there; the time is there. To me, this
is a double whammy.
A
Your concern is shared
by many. However, the
retirement law is clear
about the requirement to pay
retirement contributions for periods of creditable service used for
inclusion in the retirement calculation. This is consistent with the
law’s provisions covering “deposit
service” for civilian employees.
A deposit is the payment of the
employee’s retirement deductions, plus interest, that would
have been withheld from the
employee’s pay if he/she had been
covered by CSRS during a period
of employment (substitute military service) when retirement deductions were not withheld from
salary (substitute military pay).
Under CSRS, the 7 percent of
pay that is deducted for retirement is matched by the employee’s
agency and together are paid
into the Civil Service Retirement
and Disability Fund. When you
pay the deposit for your military
service, the agency portion of the
retirement deductions is paid out
of the U.S. Treasury. All of these
monies are used to help pay out
current and future retirements.
retirees
FEHBP for surviving
spouse
Q
I am a retired federal
employee, and my wife
is under my Federal
Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) Blue Cross/Blue
Shield family plan and Medicare.
Upon my death, can she switch
to an individual FEHBP plan, and
will the government continue to
provide its monthly share?
A
Your spouse may continue
FEHBP coverage if she is
on your plan when you
die and you provided a survivor
benefit for her when you retired.
There are two requirements for
a surviving spouse to continue
coverage under the FEHBP. First,
you must have elected a survivor
benefit for your spouse when you
retired. Second, you must have a
family FEHBP plan at the time of
your death.
If these two requirements are
met, your spouse will be able to
continue FEHBP coverage if you
predecease her.
The Office of Personnel Management will automatically place
your wife in a self-only policy,
which is less expensive than a
family plan, and the government
will continue to pay its portion
of the health insurance. She will
have Open Seasons and all the
same options that you have for
changing health insurance outside
of Open Season. withholding medicare
premiums from annuity
Q
A
How do I have my Medicare premiums withheld
from my annuity?
Individuals who are
receiving a Social Security benefit automatically
will be enrolled in Medicare Part
A and Part B. If the individual
doesn’t decline Medicare Part B,
his or her Medicare premiums are
withheld from their Social Security benefit.
Many Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) employees
aren’t entitled to a Social Security
benefit and normally have to go to
w w w. n a r f e . o r g
|
17
Questions & Answers
their local Social Security office to
arrange for the Office of Personnel
Management to withhold these
premiums from their annuity. In
some cases, local Social Security
officials do not know how to process these requests. We have been
able to locate the proper procedures to be used by Social Security offices, and we can provide
them to you to give to your local
Social Security office.
You also may go to the Medicare
website at www.medicare.gov
and click on Your Medicare Costs,
which will give you options for
paying your premiums. One of the
options is to have your premiums
deducted from your civil service
annuity by sending an email message to OPMMailbox@cms.hhs.
gov.
eligible for more
than one annuity?
Q
A
Under what circumstances may I receive
more than one annuity?
You may receive a survivor annuity and a separate benefit that is based
on your own service.
Generally, if you are the surviving spouse of more than one
retiree, you must elect one of the
benefits. OPM cannot pay you
two survivor annuities. However,
under certain circumstances, it is
possible for a widow or widower
to receive more than one survivor
annuity simultaneously. If you
are a survivor annuitant and,
after age 55, you marry a federal employee and you are again
widowed, you may be eligible to
receive annuities based on the
service of both spouses.
18
| j a n
2 0 14
cost-of-living
calculation
Q
I understand that federal
retirees will get a 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to their annuities in
2014. How is the amount of the
COLA determined?
A
The COLA is calculated
by comparing consumer
prices in July, August and
September each year to prices in
the same three months from the
previous year. If prices go up over
the course of the year, benefits go
up, starting with payments delivered in January.
Currently, the retiree COLA is
computed using the Consumer
Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
The index represents purchases
of such things as food and beverages, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation,
education and communications,
and other goods and services.
NARFE opposes attempts by
the Obama administration and
some members of Congress to
switch to the Chained CPI for
COLA calculation. Under the
Chained CPI, the COLA would be
less, and the effect would compound over time, resulting in a
significant reduction in benefits.
(See story, p. 9.)
OPM’s ‘Services online’
Q
I need to create an
account online so that
I can change the direct
deposit of my federal annuity to a
different banking institution.
A
To sign up for the Office
of Personnel Management’s (OPM’s) “Services
Online,” go to www.services
online.opm.gov/Security/request
password.aspx. When you receive
your password, you will be able
to make the change in your direct
deposit online. It may take several
weeks for OPM to send you the
password.
Alternatively, you can go to the
new financial institution, request
and complete a form 1199A and
have the bank send it to OPM.
Do not close out your account
with your old financial institution until you know your annuity
is being direct-deposited to your
new bank. If you close out your
current account and your annuity
payment goes to that financial institution, that bank will return it
to OPM. This may cause a delay in
your ability to access your funds.
putting new spouse on
health insurance plan
Q
I sent an email to the
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) regarding what I need to do to get my
new wife onto my health insurance, but have not yet received
a response. I already have NALC
Health Benefit Plan family coverage under the Federal Employees
Health Benefits Program (FEHBP).
I spoke with the NALC rep, and
she said all I have to do is send
NALC a letter with a copy of my
marriage certificate. However, I’m
not sure if I have to complete an
OPM form 2809. I read the directions, but I couldn’t tell if I needed
to place her name onto the
form since I already have family
coverage.
I know I’ll have to get her a
survivor annuity so she can keep
FEHBP if I predecease her, but for
right now, I just want to make sure
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Questions & Answers
NARFE
at Your
Service
I get her health coverage. After we
are married, I want to arrange for
the survivor annuity. Can you tell
me what I need to do for that?
A
The NALC rep with whom
you spoke is correct. OPM
does not keep a record of
dependents covered under a retiree’s enrollment. You already have
family coverage, so you just have
to do what NALC said, which is
to send a letter with the marriage
proof to NALC so your records can
be updated and your new spouse
will not have any problems when
she uses your FEHBP coverage.
The rules for electing a survivor
benefit for a spouse acquired after
retirement state that you have a
ROXC3093NARFEboredomHalfpg.indd 1
ja n 2 0 14
20
|
two-year window after the date
of marriage to make your election
but that no benefits would be payable if you were to die before you
had been married nine months.
For guidance on how to elect a
survivor benefit after retirement
and the costs involved, go to www.
opm.gov/retirement-services/
my-annuity-and-benefits/
life-events/#url=MarriageDivorce.
To obtain an answer to a federal benefits
question, NARFE members should call 703838-7760 and ask for the Federal Benefits
Service Department; send your question
by postal mail to NARFE Headquarters,
ATTN: Federal Benefits; or submit it by
email to fedbenefits@narfe.org.
NARFE service officers
are available to answer
questions and to assist in
helping with a variety of
benefit matters. Check
your chapter newsletter
for the name and phone
number of your service
officer. For the nearest
service officer, call NARFE
(toll-free) at:
800-456-8410.
NARFE Service Centers
also are available in some
areas. Use the Service
Center listings on the
NARFE website,
www. narfe.org.
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Cover Story
Annuity
By William Matthews
Illustration by Bill Pragluski, Critical Stages, LLC
22
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Calculators
Online Tools Reduce Guesswork,
But There Are Limits to
Their Forecasts
The stock market is rising and falling like a bad
electrocardiogram, and the bond market has
flatlined. Pay for federal employees has been frozen for three years, and
retiree cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) always seem to fall short of
actual increases in the cost of living. Meanwhile, Congress is considering
proposals that would require federal employees to contribute more to their
retirement plans and receive even smaller COLAs.
Amid this financial chaos, more than a half-million federal employees
are eligible to retire, according to the Office of Personnel Management
(OPM). But who among them can afford to do so?
To help answer that question, federal workers can consult a growing
array of retirement calculators that have popped up online. Some calculators offer to compute the value of annuities; others attempt to predict
future living expenses; still others try to determine whether your nest
egg will last at least as long as you will. But how reliable are they?
The calculators designed specifically to compute federal employee
annuity payments based on years of service and salary seem to be pretty
accurate, according to scores of current federal employees and recent
retirees who responded to a narfe magazine survey in October.
But getting a trustworthy answer depends on providing the calculator with accurate employment information. And rounding up precise
employment and salary records going back decades can be a daunting,
time-consuming chore, retirees and retirement experts caution.
While retirement calculators may do a good job of estimating
annuities, many do not take into account other factors that will affect
Annuity Calculators
retirement budgets, such as investment income,
inflation, COLAs, taxes, insurance and other living expenses.
Consider, for example, the retirement calculators offered by FedBens.us. “I figure it out
to the penny. No approximations or estimates,”
FedBens creator Robert Benson boasts of his
online annuity calculator (www.fedbens.us/). In
all, Benson has developed nine calculators for
crunching different pieces of the retirement equation, from high-three averages to sick leave credits
to windfall eliminations. But “I don’t look at the
future and make assumptions,” such as adjusting
for inflation or projecting retirement expenses,
Benson says.
So how does an employee determine how much
money will be needed for retirement? “That’s a
highly individual thing,” Benson says. “Does your
spouse work? Do you have money set aside? Do
you have dependents? Do you want to reduce your
scale of living? I don’t get into all of that.”
Instead, FedBens provides a very accurate calculation of federal retirement benefits, and “you
take it from there,” Benson says.
FedBens isn’t unusual. “The federal calculators
that I’m aware of will give you the basic retirement benefit that will be paid by the Office of Personnel Management,” says David Snell, director
of NARFE’s Federal Benefits Service Department.
To do more – factor in inflation, calculate taxes
or predict the effects of stock market gyrations –
“that’s financial planning. That’s a whole different
thing,” Snell says.
Banks, mutual fund companies and an army of
financial advisers eagerly offer a wide variety of
financial services and planning tools – including
online calculators – to tackle such variables.
But retirees and retirement experts warn:
Buyer beware. Advisory fees can be steep, and
advice may benefit the advisers more than the clients. In addition, some financial advisers may not
be familiar with the peculiarities of the federal
retirement systems.
However, when it comes to figuring out the
basics of what you can expect to receive in your
annuity check each month, the reaction among
federal employees who have used online calculators is overwhelmingly positive, according
24
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to those who responded to the narfe magazine
survey. Many of them stress the importance of
assembling accurate employment and salary
information to get an accurate annuity calculation. And, they say, it’s a good idea to start early.
Carey Houk did both of those things. Before
retiring from the Environmental Protection
Agency in 2009, “I spent a good deal of time and
effort gathering accurate and exact inputs –
salary amounts and dates, including anticipated
step increases and COLAs, annual and sick leave
at retirement date, etc.”
Next Houk, a senior data systems analyst,
created his own spreadsheet, where he entered
his employment data and updated it whenever
things changed, such as when he received salary
increases.
With his employment information in good
order, Houk says he fed his data into a calculator
offered by FedCalc (www.fedcalc.com/), and it
figured his retirement annuity “right down to the
penny.”
The result? “Originally, I had the wild idea that
I would retire at age 55. With an accurate estimate
of my annuity, that changed to almost 59,” he
says.
Kathy Truex, too, was convinced by an online
calculation that she should keep working. “I was
able to try different scenarios” with a calculator
from OPM (www.opm.gov/retirement-services/
calculators/), she says.
Based on those results, Truex concluded that
she needed to work three more years – for a total
of 44 – to get the most out of her government
annuity. She retired in 2011 as a supervisory auditor for the Defense Department inspector general.
Truex says her retirement calculations were made
more complicated by time she had spent under the
old National Security Personnel System.
In addition to her Civil Service Retirement
System (CSRS) annuity, Truex says she “put as
much as I could” into the Thrift Savings Plan – a
401(k)-like retirement fund – and an IRA – a taxfavored individual retirement account. By retirement time, “I ended up with a tidy sum.”
Some who were planning for retirement say
they found financial advisers to be useful, but
most said they weighed their advisers’ recom-
mendations against the results they received from
retirement calculators.
Jill Stuart, a Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) airway transportation system specialist
in Kansas who retired in March, says she began
planning for retirement several years in advance.
First she used OPM’s Employee Express (www.
employeeexpress.gov/DefaultLogin.aspx), a Webbased system for federal employees to manage
their employment and personnel information.
Later she consulted an independent financial
adviser.
“My agency is short-staffed and [the retirement specialists] lacked experience,” she says.
“They were very slow in responding to requests.”
By contrast, online calculators “gave me the
answer immediately and allowed me to plug in
various [retirement] dates.” She gave the results
to a financial adviser who, she says, was “very
knowledgeable” about federal retirement systems.
He provided her with the reassurance that she
needed to take the retirement plunge.
Kathleen Smith, a Social Security Administration (SSA) human resource specialist, also sought
help from a financial adviser, although perhaps
too late. Initially, she used an online calculator provided by her agency to figure her annuity
payments.
The calculator “showed me how much more my
annuity would be if I continued my employment
three more years to take advantage of a grade
raise,” she says. So she postponed retirement for
three years, then stopped working at age 58 in
2006.
“It wasn’t until after I retired that it really hit
home that my CSRS pension and cost-of-living
raises do not keep up with the true cost of living,”
she says. “Over the years, I have seen the cost of
gas, insurance, groceries, etc., go up more than
my pension.”
“The SSA calculator took my finances out three
years; my financial adviser took it out to age 95
with inflation factors. Looking back, I should
probably have worked longer,” she says.
As he planned his retirement from the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA), Kenneth Metzger used an
online calculator, but thought he got better results
from his financial adviser. He says he used OPM’s
Online calculator
users stress the
importance of
assembling accurate
employment and
salary information.
online calculator and found it “adequate,” but
“my financial planner was more accurate because
he had detailed information on all sources of
income and expenses, a spreadsheet that keeps
biannual updates and a verification by my tax
accountant.”
Of course, the financial planner and the tax
accountant “cost me fees; the OPM calculator was
free,” says Metzger, who retired in January after
teaching accounting at the BIA’s Haskell Indian
Nations University in Kansas.
The Government Accountability Office says
nearly 30 percent of the federal workforce will
be eligible to retire by 2016. Online retirement
calculators offer an ideal starting point for those
planning to exit.
Under the 1986 Federal Employees Retirement
System (FERS) law, government workers may
draw benefits from three sources: the FERS Basic
Benefit Plan, Social Security and the TSP, to which
the government makes automatic and matching
contributions. The older CSRS offers an annuity,
but no Social Security and no TSP contributions.
Under either system, “If you’re a federal
employee today, you’ve got something better than
a majority of private-industry employees – you’ve
got a pension,” says Tammy Flanagan, senior benefits director at the National Institute of Transition Planning.
w w w. n a r f e . o r g
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25
Annuity Calculators
Pensions for private-sector workers have
largely disappeared, replaced by 401(k)
plans that require workers to save a portion
of each paycheck. In many cases, employers
offer a modest company contribution.
“To have FERS basic retirement – just for
waking up every morning – you get 30 percent of
your salary, and it’s not affected
by the stock market. That’s
golden,” Flanagan says.
“Federal employees, for
the most part, are in a
good place.”
But getting to that good
place still requires some
effort. For example, by contributing to the TSP for
25 years – the maximum contribution is $17,500
for 2014 – government workers can amass a
retirement nest egg of more than a half-million
dollars, Flanagan says. “That can provide
$20,000 to $30,000” a year in retirement
income in addition to the FERS annuity. Add Social
Security, and “that’s a lot to celebrate,” she says.
TSP offers several online calculators, including some designed to estimate the future growth
of TSP accounts and the monthly income TSP
savings will generate (go to www.tsp.gov and click
on Planning & Tools). And there’s a user-friendly
online “retirement estimator” on the Social Security Administration website for obtaining a quick
estimate of Social Security benefits (www.ssa.gov/
estimator).
But other parts of retirement planning often
turn out to be troublesome. “The hardest and
most tedious part of a retirement calculation is
computing the length of service,” Flanagan says.
“Many employees have had issues with their
service that can make it difficult to compute their
service accurately.”
The problems are legion. “Files get misplaced;
records get scrambled,” Flanagan says. Getting
military service counted as part of civilian retirement benefits can be problematic. Federal employees who started out as temporary or part-time
workers may be dismayed to discover that time
in those jobs is counted differently for retirement
purposes than is full-time, permanent employ-
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ment. Breaks in employment, switching from
agency to agency, locality pay and overtime can all
complicate the process of calculating “creditable”
service for retirement, Flanagan says.
“I would say that better than half [of federal
employees preparing for retirement] have questions about their service. And a lot of those who
have problems don’t even know they have problems,” Flanagan says.
The rules that govern what does and doesn’t
count as creditable service take up four chapters –
282 pages – in the CSRS and FERS Handbook for
personnel and payroll offices, she says.
“Online calculators are fine to run the numbers,” Flanagan says – but first you need accurate
numbers. “I would highly recommend that at least
a year before you want to retire you get an estimate [of retirement benefits] from your agency.”
That way, the agency has to round up the records.
“In the end, it’s the agency that has to submit your
paperwork to the Office of Personnel Management
anyway,” she says.
While online retirement calculators are valuable for federal employees close to retirement,
they’re equally helpful for younger workers trying to set realistic retirement goals, says Nevin
Adams, director of the American Savings Education Program at the Employee Benefits Research
Institute.
Consider John Koehler, who hoped to retire
from the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) as soon as he became eligible in 2005. He
abandoned that plan after building a simple Excel
spreadsheet to calculate his retirement prospects.
The numbers told him that if he worked for eight
more years, his annuity would be substantially
larger.
Six years passed, and in 2011, as soon as DHS
made the retirement calculator FHR Navigator (https://fhrnavigator.com/frbweb/logon.
do?operation=index&client=CBP) available to
employees, Koehler used it to recalculate his
annuity. It was “not as user friendly as it could
have been,” Koehler says, but “it actually goes into
your electronic record and looks for those anomalies and verifies what your income was.” That’s
how Koehler discovered that a long-ago job with
the FAA at the beginning of his federal career
was actually a temporary assignment and did not
count toward his CSRS annuity.
“I had to make a choice of paying into CSRS
what I would have paid, plus interest, or take a
minimal reduction in my annuity,” Kohler says.
He did some calculations and found that he
would have to pay $3,000 into CSRS or lose 72
cents a day from his annuity. Cost-benefit analysis
revealed it would take 25 years to earn the $3,000
back, he says. “I decided to lose the 72 cents a
day.”
The eight extra years of work felt like “golden
handcuffs,” he says. But now: “La dolce vita. I’m
having the good life.”
NARFE members have access to a version
of the FHR Navigator through the Association’s
website. It’s called the Federal Retirement Benefits calculator for Employees, or FRB-E, and it
estimates FERS and CSRS retirement benefits
based on the user’s age, length of service, planned
retirement date, high-three average salary and
other factors.
Unlike some calculators, “FRB-E does account
for inflation and COLAs,” says Chris Brown,
director of federal HR software and services for
Economic Systems, Inc., which created the calculator. “Usually, what these projections show is that
COLAs do not really keep pace with true inflation,” Brown adds.
In addition to the FRB-E calculator, NARFE
offers a financial planning tool called Financial
Benefits Maximizer, and an online financial literacy and retirement planning seminar, both also
developed by Economic Systems. (Go to www.
narfe.org, log in, click on “Federal Benefits Topics”
and see the “eSeminar Plus” graphic.)
These online tools are intended “to get employees – as opposed to retirees – involved with
NARFE and planning for their retirement early in
their careers,” Brown says.
It’s difficult to find reliable statistics on how
many government employees use online retirement calculators. The Employee Benefits Research
Institute (EBRI) said last spring that about 25
percent of the people it surveyed – both privatesector and federal employees – used online
Online calculators also
are helpful for younger
workers trying to set
realistic retirement goals.
calculators or consulted financial advisers for
retirement planning. Far more – about 45 percent – “were more likely to simply guess at their
savings needs,” the EBRI reported.
Michael Lynn, chief information officer at Government Retirement & Benefits, Inc. (GRB), says
about “20 percent of a given agency’s population”
uses GRB retirement calculators, and “almost all
are within three years of retirement.” GRB makes
a “whole suite of calculators,” including EBIS –
the Employee Benefits Information System – that
lets federal employees run “what if” scenarios to
see how different decisions will affect their retirement benefits. (EBIS is a secure site that requires
users to log on through agency portals.) GRB also
makes more complex software packages that federal benefits specialists use to calculate employee
retirement benefits.
“I have been using this calculator for years.
I am very satisfied with the results and projections,” Paul Jones says of the CSRS-FERS Benefits
Calculator and Retirement Analyzer (www.fedre
tiresoftware.com). A NOAA fishery policy analyst
turned IT specialist, Jones has 35 years of federal
service. He says the calculator helped solidify
his plan to retire when he hits 41 years and 11
months. “That is the best date to retire for
CSRS employees,” he explains. “If I work longer, I am no longer contributing to my CSRS
retirement.”
Consulting a retirement calculator shouldn’t be
a one-time thing, says Adams of EBRI. “It’s a good
idea to do it at least once a year,” he says. “Situations change, people get married, have a kid, get
divorced.”
And online calculators keep getting better.
—William Matthews is a freelance writer based in Virginia.
w w w. n a r f e . o r g
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27
Special Section
The Health of
State and Local
There Are Lessons to Be Learned for Feds
In the Condition of Other Government Plans
The Great Recession was not kind to state and local
government pension funds.
These plans take contributions by employers and employees and professionally invest
them in stocks, bonds and other financial products. Similar to the situation of all investors, many state and local pension funds lost ground in funding their obligations, and a
small number of localities actually declared bankruptcies and curtailed, or attempted to
curtail, benefits to government workers and retirees. Meanwhile, some plans weathered
not only the Great Recession but also maintained strong funding levels during the previous market crash in the early 2000s.
While federal employees’ Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) pension plans have a different funding mechanism
(see sidebar, p. 31), observers say there are lessons to be learned from the challenges and
successes of state and local funds. narfe magazine writer David Tobenkin asked pension
fund experts about state and local government pension fund developments.
1. Why should federal employees and retirees care about the fate of state and
local government pensions?
“All of us are connected in several ways,” says Jeffrey Brown, finance professor at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and associate director of the NBER Retirement Research Center.
“First, underfunded pension plans … are all competing for the same scarce taxpayer
dollars. Second, these programs are often politically integrated. For example, one
sometimes hears calls to expand Social Security coverage to all remaining state and
local workers (not all of whom are covered by Social Security) as a way of dealing with
By David Tobenkin
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Pensions
w w w. n a r f e . o r g
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29
The Health of
State and Local Pensions
fiscal issues at the federal level. But this fails
to account for the fact that those state and
local plans are severely underfunded, which
might require the federal government to help
bail them out. Third, like it or not, the growing concerns about the fiscal impact of these
public plans put all public-sector employers in
the cross-hairs of those who would like to see
government shrink.”
Others point to the sheer size and scope of
such plans. “As I note in my book State and
Local Pensions: What Now?, public pensions
have a significant economic effect on every
state, city and town in the nation,” says Alicia
Munnell, professor of management sciences
and director of the Center for Retirement
Research at Boston College. “These plans held
about $2.8 trillion in assets in 2012. They
cover 15 million working members (about 11
percent of the nation’s workforce) and provide
regular benefits to eight million annuitants.”*
2. How well are state and local government pension plans faring?
On average, the experts say, plans are doing
worse than before the Great Recession but better than the popular perception.
“The notion that most public plans are
in trouble is simply not correct,” says Munnell. “Before the two financial crises of the
past decade, most plans were in reasonably
good shape. And in the wake of the crisis,
plan finances have begun to stabilize. Many
states and localities have provided reasonable
benefits and set aside money to prefund their
commitments, but a few have simply behaved
irresponsibly. However, even the good states
face challenges: scaling back their investments
in risky assets, maintaining adequate compensation to attract talented workers and obtaining the flexibility to alter benefits for current
workers.”
One of the key measures of a pension plan’s
health is its “average funded ratio,” which
measures a plan’s assets relative to liabilities.
“In the aggregate, over the past decade or
so, average funded ratios for state and local
government pension plans have declined,”
note Alex Brown, research manager, National
Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA), and Joshua Franzel, vice
president of research, Center for State and
Local Government Excellence (SLGE). “In
2001, the average ratio was about 100 percent;
in 2006, this average ratio had dipped to 84
percent; and preliminary figures for 2012 offer
an average ratio between 71 percent to 73 percent.” There is much variation in the financial
standing of these plans, say the analysts, who
rely upon their own calculations and data
from SLGE, Center for Retirement Research at
Boston College, and NASRA.
A large part of the debate regarding pension fund health revolves around the accuracy
of so-called “discount rates” – the estimated
future rate of return on pension fund investments – which factor into determining funded
ratios. Some experts say that accounting rules
that were tightened in 2012, and will change
again in 2014, have made an already confusing
process even more confusing for governments
and employees.
3. Why are some healthier than
others?
According to the research of SLGE, the Government Finance Officers Association and
other groups that have looked at the issue,
plans that are better positioned financially
have some factors in common. They tend to:
• Consistently fund their plans by paying the
full employee and employer portion required
to pay for the pension benefit earned by employees for a specific year, plus an amortized
portion needed to pay for unfunded liabilities attached to the plan, which together are
known as the Annual Required Contribution;
• Incentivize or require employees to retire
at appropriate full-retirement ages that reflect
current life expectancy rates and worker productivity levels;
• Make accurate predictions about investment and other actuarial assumptions associated with the future performance of assets
*Some of Professor Munnell’s responses are adapted from her book with permission of its publisher, the
Brookings Institution.
30
| j a n
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they invest in, including equities, bonds, real
estate and alternative investments, among
other vehicles;
• Not allow extraordinary income in pension
formulas that is not accounted for and funded,
such as overtime or (non-core salary) allowances;
• Take a long-term view of funding the
benefit, without reducing plan funding during
times of extraordinary positive market performance; and
• Avoid retroactive benefit increases to employees.
“The key factor separating the healthy and
less healthy plans is fiscal discipline,” Munnell of Boston College contends. “Sponsors of
seriously underfunded plans, such as those in
Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania, have behaved badly by either
failing to make their required contributions
or using inaccurate assumptions so that the
contribution requirements are not meaningful. An equally large number of states – Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and North
Carolina – have done a good job of providing
reasonable benefits, paying their required
contributions, and accumulating assets.
Whatever differences existed before 2008
were magnified by the financial crisis.”
4. A few localities, such as Vallejo, CA,
and Prichard, AL, have declared bankruptcy and curtailed benefits to pension
beneficiaries. Do you expect others to
follow suit? What will happen to the
employees and pension-holders in the
plans?
“Historically, if one looks at New York City’s
financial crisis in the 1970s or Orange County [CA]’s bankruptcy in the 1990s, pensioners
were among the only creditors that came
out relatively unscathed,” says Brown of the
University of Illinois. “It does appear that
more recent cases are leading to some losses
among pensioners. When you see the magnitude of the pension liabilities relative to local
budgets, it would not surprise me at all to see
more cities attempt to reduce liabilities by
Pension Funding: Federal vs. State and Local
State and local government pension funding
differs significantly from funding for federal civilian
retirement annuities.
Funds deposited in the Civil Service Retirement and
Disability Fund (CSRDF) are converted to special U.S.
Treasury bonds. In essence, the CSRDF represents
budget authority to pay the obligations set forth by
law. When the Treasury redeems any bond held by the
CSRDF, cash from tax revenues or separate government borrowing offsets that redemption. The federal
government could avoid this intellectual complication
by operating on a pay-as-you-go system (as the Civil
Service Retirement System originated), where cash
is distributed directly from the Treasury without any
redemption of U.S. bonds from the CSRDF or if the
contributions into CSRDF only accounted for current
obligations. But the current system, with agency and
employee deposits that account for future liabilities,
forces agencies (in combination with the employee
contribution) to recognize the full cost of compensation
when they prepare their annual budget requests.
On the other hand, state and local government
pension funds hold private-sector assets, such as
stock in private companies, that represent a store
of wealth. As opposed to U.S. Treasury bonds,
which have a low, but predictable and safe, rate of
return, state and local pension fund returns fluctuate greatly, and can turn negative in a recession.
Even if state and local governments have been
responsible in providing adequate contributions
(from both government and employee) to their
funds, substantial declines in asset markets, such
as occurred between 2007 and 2009, can threaten
the stability of the funds. However, greater rates of
return to fund assets in the long term can reduce
the overall cost of state and local pensions in comparison to federal annuities.
But what you may have lost in cost, you gain in
security. Current law provides mandatory contributions to the fund to meet the current and future
liabilities of the CSRDF. According to the Office of
Personnel Management, by 2075 the fund is projected to have assets totaling more than $8 trillion, a
surplus of about $33 billion over its projected future
liabilities at the time. ­
—By John Hatton, Deputy Legislative Director
w w w. n a r f e . o r g
|
31
The Health of
State and Local Pensions
cutting benefits to current or future retirees,
nor would it surprise me to see more cities
declare bankruptcy. It is important to note
that unlike private-sector workers, those in the
public sector are not insured by the Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corp. So in cases where a
state or local government does reduce benefits
and where the courts allow it, the pensioners
will really have no recourse.”
“States are not permitted to file for bankruptcy by federal law,” points out Ron Saathoff, director of pension resources at the
International Association of Fire Fighters
(IAFF), a labor union. “In the case of the
Detroit bankruptcy, the solution proposed by
the emergency manager is to put current and
future retirees in bankruptcy. The proposal is
to reduce retiree pension benefits by up to 80
percent and triple their health care costs. The
outcome ultimately will be decided in federal
court.”
5. At the state and local government level,
are we seeing replacement of definedbenefit pension plans with definedcontribution plans? (In defined-benefit
plans, investment risk and portfolio management is under the control of the fund
manager, and employees receive pension
payouts based primarily on such factors
as length of employment and salary level;
in defined-contribution plans, employees
have greater involvement but no guaranteed benefit levels.)
“Many of the recent pension reforms reflect,
among other things, increased employee contributions, and a shift in the risks associated
with providing retirement benefits from the
employer to the employee,” say Franzel and
Alex Brown. “There has been increased interest in so-called ‘hybrid plans,’ which distribute
risks between the employer and employee.”
Still, they say that so far there has been no
large-scale shift to defined-contribution plans
as the primary vehicle for delivering retirement benefits to state and local employees.
They also say that one goal of shifting from
defined-benefit to defined-contribution plans,
saving money, is not necessarily borne out
in practice. “Several studies have looked at
32
| j a n
2 0 14
whether there were cost savings from switching from defined benefit to defined contribution. They found that, in some cases, cost savings are minimal, partly because you still have
the liabilities on the books from the closed
defined-benefit plan – they don’t go away. You
also lose the economies of scale from having
a defined-benefit plan that is professionally
managed. So it is not a certainty that you will
save money, and sometimes the savings will
take years to materialize.”
“There are misconceptions about the cost
of pensions – for both the public and private
sectors,” agrees Diane Oakley, executive director of the National Institute on Retirement
Security (NIRS), a nonpartisan, nonprofit
research body. “Pensions are highly economically efficient. Our research makes it clear that
the economic efficiencies embedded in pensions enable them to deliver the same retirement benefit as a 401(k) plan at half the cost.
There are also misperceptions about who is
paying the cost of these retirement plans and
the amount of benefits. Typically, employees
and investment returns fund the vast majority
of the benefits – about 75 percent nationally.
Many public workers do not participate in
Social Security.”
6. To what degree have state and local
pension plans changed eligibility, reduced benefits, changed vesting requirements, etc.?
“There is a common misconception that
public plans are static – this is not the case,”
say Franzel and Alex Brown. They note that,
according to the National Conference of State
Legislators, 44 states enacted major changes
in state retirement plans for many groups of
employees from 2009–2012. Some of the more
common changes have been:
• Suspending or lowering cost-of-living
adjustments for current and/or future retirees.
This change is sometimes linked to the plan
funding levels or general economic indicators.
• Increasing employee contributions to plans
for new and existing employees. Sometimes
these increases are phased in over time or
change based on underlying plan funding.
• Reducing benefits for new hires by chang-
ing how the pension benefit is calculated. This
change has often been coupled with higher
vesting requirements, longer service requirements and later retirement ages for new hires.
• Changing from a defined-benefit plan to a
hybrid plan.
7. Is a cooperative approach to addressing
state and local government pension challenges possible?
“There are many examples of collaborative
efforts to address public pension challenges,”
says Nancy McKenzie, senior pension specialist at the National Education Association
(NEA), a labor union. “For instance, an accord
reached in Vermont in 2010 between the legislature, the state treasurer and Vermont NEA
will result in most teachers working additional
years and making higher contributions to the
pension fund but receiving a larger pension
check on retirement and a stronger commitment from the state to preserve and fully fund
their pension system. The state will initially
save $15 million a year, or about 10 percent
of Vermont’s budget shortfall.”
“Yes, it speaks volumes that 48 states have
implemented changes to ensure the continued viability of their pension plans,” says the
NIRS’ Oakley. “One example is Wisconsin.
The pension plan was caught in the crossfire of a highly charged political debate on
a number of issues. But when policymakers
got together and really studied the plan and
its funding level, they found that it is one of
the best plans in the country. In the end, the
involved parties agreed to stay with the pension system that is working for employers and
employees. Also, Ohio and Texas are models
where careful analysis of the pension plans
combined with consensus building led to enactment of changes that put the pensions on
sustainable paths for the long term.”
—David Tobenkin is a freelance writer based in the greater
Washington, DC, area.
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w w w. n a r f e . o r g
|
33
Managing Money
The benefits of a
roth conversion
I
n the November 2013 issue, I wrote about proposals
that would require nonspouse beneficiaries to liquidate
an inherited IRA within five years of inheriting the
account. I also mentioned that Roth IRA conversions
may become even more beneficial if the proposals
become law. Several NARFE members have asked, “If the
proposals apply to inherited Roth IRAs as well, why would
converting to a Roth IRA be beneficial?”
Before we get into the details
of the answer, it’s important to
understand the economic difference between a traditional
IRA (or other tax-deferred retirement plan) and the potential
Roth IRA to which the traditional IRA can be converted.
And that is, there is no economic difference between the two,
assuming the tax liability in the
year you convert to a Roth IRA
is the same as it would be in the
year you (or your beneficiaries)
take distributions from the
traditional IRA if you forgo the
conversion.
Let’s look at a simple example
to illustrate this equality. Let’s
assume Jack has a traditional
IRA worth $100,000 and is
in the 25 percent tax bracket.
What’s the real value of Jack’s
traditional IRA? Hint: It’s not
$100,000. No, the real value is
$75,000 ($100,000 minus the
$25,000 tax liability he must
pay if he liquidated the account).
34
| J A N
2 0 14
Now, let’s assume Jane, also
in the 25 percent tax bracket,
converts her $100,000 traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. When
you convert to a Roth IRA,
you have to pay taxes on every
dollar you convert (assuming
there are no after-tax contributions in your traditional IRA).
In Jane’s case, her taxes on the
conversion total $25,000, and
although it’s better if you don’t,
we’ll assume Jane uses funds
from her traditional IRA to pay
the taxes. This leaves Jane with
a Roth IRA valued at $75,000,
the same “real” value as Jack’s
traditional IRA.
What about the future value,
though? Assuming both accounts grow at 7.2 percent per
year for 10 years, Jack’s traditional IRA will be worth about
$200,000, and Jane’s Roth IRA
will be worth about $150,000.
But adjusting for taxes, Jack’s
traditional IRA’s real value
is $150,000 (assuming a 25
percent tax rate), and because
By Mark A. Keen,
CFP®
a Roth IRA has no tax liability
(assuming qualified distributions), Jane’s Roth IRA’s real
value is $150,000 as well.
When I refer to tax liability,
I’m referring not only to the tax
bracket you may be in, but also
to any ancillary expenses you
may incur as a result of a Roth
conversion or traditional IRA
distribution. For example, the
increased income generated by
a Roth conversion or traditional
IRA distribution may trigger
additional taxes on your Social
Security benefits, higher Medicare Part B premiums or loss of
medical deductions.
Now, to answer the question:
Roth conversions may become
more appealing because if a
nonspouse beneficiary is forced
to liquidate the traditional IRA
within five years, the larger distributions may create a higher
total tax liability for the beneficiary than the deceased owner
would have incurred if he or she
converted the traditional IRA
to a Roth IRA. For example, let’s assume
Jane dies 10 years after she
converted her traditional IRA
to a Roth IRA and leaves the
$150,000 Roth IRA to her son,
Mike. Although, under the proposed rule, Mike must liquidate
the inherited Roth IRA within
five years, the distributions will
be completely tax free. In other
words, Mike’s inherited Roth
FINANCIAL TOOLS
NARFE offers an online
retirement calculator
and other financial
planning tools. Find out
more at www.narfe.org/
federalbenefits.
IRA’s real value is $150,000.
Now, let’s assume Jack died at the same time as
Jane, and left his $200,000 traditional IRA to his
daughter, Mary, who takes out $40,000 per year
to liquidate the account in five years. We’ll also
assume Mary was in the upper range of the 25
percent tax bracket and finds $10,000 of each distribution taxed at the 25 percent rate and $30,000
of each distribution taxed at the 28 percent rate.
Mary’s tax bill on the distributions totals $54,500,
resulting in a net real value of $145,500.
That’s an extra $4,500 in taxes than what Jane
paid to convert her IRA and doesn’t include any
possible ancillary expenses Mary may incur as a
result of increasing her taxable income. For example, if Mary were over age 65, her Medicare Part
B premium would have increased by about $100
per month during the distribution years as well.
Next month, we’ll take a look at factors that
could affect one’s total tax liability and scenarios
where Roth conversions could shine.
Mark A. Keen, CFP®, is partner, Keen & Pocock, 10300 Eaton place, Fairfax, VA, and an investment adviser representative and registered principal of The Strategic Financial Alliance, Inc. (SFA). Securities and advisory
services are offered through SFA. Email: mkeen@keenpocock.com.
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35
|
The Informed Citizen
Electoral planning
I
f you’ve resolved to use the ballot box to its maximum impact,
plan to learn about congressional candidates, especially
between the filing deadline and your state’s primary, shown in
the table below. Incumbents, including those easily re-elected for
many cycles, may get a sudden and serious challenge. “No Prior
Experience” might be the ballot slogan for the “Throw the Bums
Out” party.
These uncertain times empower NARFE chapters, working
together within a single congressional district, to conduct
candidate forums prior to party
primaries when such forums
will have their biggest impact.
Redistricting before the 2012
elections made House primaries
even more important. In many
districts, there will be almost no
competition in November.
Races for Senate and governor
must be coordinated by federa-
State
Filing DeadlinePrimaryRunoff
AlabamaApril 4
June 3
July 15
Alaska
June 2August 19
ArizonaMay 28August 26
Arkansas May 20
June 10
CaliforniaMarch 7
June 3
ColoradoApril 15
June 24
Connecticut
June 10August 12
Delaware
July 8September 9
District of ColumbiaApril 1
FloridaMay 2August 26
GeorgiaMarch 21May 20
July 22
GuamTBD August 30
Hawaii June 3August 9
IdahoMarch 14May 20
IllinoisDecember 2March 18
Indiana
February 7May 6
IowaMarch 14
June 3
KansasTBDAugust 5
Kentucky
January 28 May 20
LouisianaAugust 22December 6
MaineMarch 17
June 10
Maryland February 25 June 24
Massachusetts
June 3September 16
MichiganTBDAugust 5
Minnesota
June 3August 12
MississippiTBD
June 3
June 24
MissouriMarch 25 August 5
MontanaMarch 10
June 3
NebraskaMarch 3May 13
36
| j a n
2 0 14
By Christopher Farrell,
Legislative Representative
tion leaders. Harness the federation convention, where NARFE
heavy hitters gather, to question statewide candidates. Use
elections to make candidates
(incumbents, their challengers
and those running in open seats)
speak to NARFE issues.
The stakes are high. Income
security (COLAs) and health
security (FEHBP and Medicare)
are threatened by the Chained
CPI and risk pool changes
respectively. NARFE’s organizational structure must be used
to defend the earned benefits of
career federal service.
State
Filing DeadlinePrimaryRunoff
NevadaMarch 14
June 10
New Hampshire
June 13September 9
New JerseyTBD
June 3
New MexicoTBD
June 3
New YorkTBD
June 24
North Carolina
February 28May 6TBD
North Dakota
February 28 June 10
Ohio
February 5May 6
OklahomaApril 11
June 24August 26
OregonMarch 11May 20
PennsylvaniaMarch 11 May 20
Puerto Rico
Rhode IslandTBDSeptember 9
South CarolinaTBD
June 10
June 24
South DakotaMarch 25
June 3August 12
TennesseeApril 3August 7
TexasDecember 9March 4 May 27
UtahMarch 20
June 24
VERMONT
June 12August 26
Virgin IslandsTBDTBD
VirginiaMarch 27
June 10
WashingtonMay 16August 5
West Virginia
January 25May 13
Wisconsin
June 2August 12
WyomingMay 30August 19
KEY: Black= No Statewide Election
Red = Senate Election
Blue = Governor Election
Purple = Both Senate & Governor Elections
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’12
2013
’12
2013
For the Record
Thrift Savings Plan
Monthly Returns
G FUND
F FUND
C FUND
S FUND
I FUND
DECEMBER
0.12%
(0.13%)
0.91%
2.69%
4.02%
JANUARY
0.13%
(0.56%)
5.18%
6.96%
4.45%
FEBRUARY
0.13%
0.51%
1.36%
1.00%
(0.99%)
March
0.13%
0.07%
3.75%
4.69%
0.88%
APRIL
0.12%
1.02%
1.93%
0.65%
5.32%
MAY
0.12%
(1.78%)
2.34%
2.71%
(3.12%)
June
0.14%
(1.53%)
(1.34%)
(0.99%)
(2.77%)
JULY
0.18%
0.13%
5.10%
6.88%
5.29%
AUGUST
0.18%
(0.48%)
(2.89%)
(2.76%)
(1.31%)
SEPTEMBER
0.19%
0.99%
3.14%
5.89%
7.41%
OCTOBER
0.19%
0.89%
4.60%
2.94%
3.38%
NOVEMBER
0.18%
(0.35%)
3.05%
2.49%
0.75%
YTD
1.69%
(1.13%)
29.17%
34.40%
20.32%
LAST 12 MO
1.81%
(1.26%)
30.34%
38.02%
25.16%
L INCOME
L 2020
L 2030
L 2040
L 2050
DECEMBER
O.47%
1.19%
1.48%
1.69%
1.93%
JANUARY
1.10%
2.83%
3.56%
4.11%
4.63%
FEBRUARY
0.27%
0.41%
0.49%
0.54%
0.56%
MARCH
0.73%
1.69%
2.12%
2.44%
2.71%
APRIL
0.67%
1.58%
1.91%
2.13%
2.41%
MAY
0.19%
0.33%
0.43%
0.51%
0.53%
JUNE
(0.30%)
(0.94%)
(1.20%)
(1.40%)
(1.59%)
JULY
1.21%
2.95%
3.72%
4.29%
4.83%
(0.39%)
(1.22%)
(1.60%)
(1.87%)
(2.11%)
SEPTEMBER
1.12%
2.71%
3.40%
3.90%
4.42%
OCTOBER
1.01%
2.23%
2.75%
3.11%
3.47%
NOVEMBER
0.58%
1.24%
1.54%
1.74%
1.93%
YTD
6.35%
14.59%
18.32%
21.08%
23.75%
LAST 12 MO
6.86%
15.96%
20.06%
23.13%
26.14%
AUGUST
Stocks advance,
but bonds decline
Equity markets gained in November for the
third consecutive month. A Bloomberg poll indicates that investors expect the Federal Reserve
to delay a decision to taper its monetary stimulus until March 2014 or later, supporting equity
prices. The F Fund suffered its first monthly
decline since August, however, on speculation
that November jobs gains may signal faster
growth and convince the Fed to scale back its
bond-buying sooner.
—BY william H. Jacobson, Deputy Chief investment officer of the
Thrift Savings Plan
Countdown to COLA
T
he Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)
decreased 0.3 percent in October 2013. To
calculate the amount of the 2015 cost-of-living
adjustment (COLA), the indices of July, August and
September 2014 will be averaged and compared
with the 2013 third-quarter average of 230.327.
That percentage increase, if any, determines the
COLA. The October index of 229.735 is down 0.26
percent from the base. The 1.5 percent 2014 COLA
will take effect in January.
Benefits awarded under the Federal Employees’
Compensation Act (FECA) to individuals suffering work-related injuries or illnesses are adjusted
according to each calendar year’s percentage change
in the CPI-W. October’s index is 1.7 percent higher
than the December 2012 base index of 225.889.
The CPI represents purchases of food and beverages, housing, apparel,
transportation, medical care, recreation, education and communication,
and other goods and services. Included are various government fees, such
as water charges, auto registration fees, and sales and excise taxes.
Month
October 2013
November
December
THIS CHART is provided as a service to NARFE members who enrolled in the Thrift
Savings Plan while employed by the federal government. Retirees are not eligible for
enrollment. These returns are net of the effect of accrued administrative expenses and
investment expenses/costs. Percentages in () are negative. Source: TSP
January 2014
February
March
April
G Fund: Government securities (specially issued to the TSP)
F Fund: Government, corporate and mortgage-backed bonds
C Fund: Stocks of large- and medium-size U.S. companies
S Fund: Stocks of small- to medium-size U.S. companies (not included in the C Fund)
I Fund: International stocks of 21 developed countries
L Fund: Invested in the G, F, C, S and I Funds (The proportion of L Fund balance
invested in each of the individual TSP funds depends on the L Fund chosen.)
38
| j a n
2 0 14
May
June
July
August
September
CPI-W
229.735
Monthly %
Change
-0.3
% Change
from
230.327
-0.26
Donate to NARFE Programs
Support Alzheimer’s Research
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Make check payable to:
NARFE-FEEA Disaster Fund or
NARFE-FEEA Scholarship Fund.
Date
YES!
Date
/
/
I would like to help
with my contribution.
Please check appropriate box(es). To make credit-card
contributions, call 800-338-0755. Scholarships are available
to children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of federal civilian retirees and current federal employees who are
NARFE members.
NARFE-FEEA Disaster Fund
Name:
Address:
Amount: $
NARFE News
Philippine Disaster
Panel Looks at
NARFE’s Future
A
12-member committee
began meeting in September 2013.
tasked by National PresiAmong the topics the committee
dent Joseph A. Beaudoin
has considered are: governance,
to address the future course of the
structure, membership, electronic
Association made its first report to
and other communications, dues,
the National Executive Board in Nopractices of other organizations and
vember. “We believe we have made
change strategies.
solid progress toward common ideas
In addition, the committee said it
to strengthen NARFE in keeping
is looking at approaches to advowith our charge,” said the Future of
cacy, budget issues, bylaws, retainLife Membership Apl_New Design 3/26/13 3:49 PM Page 1
NARFE (FON) Committee, which
ing current members and attracting
NARFE members who had losses
due to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines may be eligible for a $500
grant from the NARFE-FEEA
Disaster Fund. To apply, contact
the Federal Employee Education &
Assistance Fund at 800-338-0755.
To donate, see p. 39, or go to
www.feea.org, click on “Give Now,”
then “Check this list for links” and
select “NARFE Relief Fund.”
new ones, and matters that may
come before the 2014 NARFE National Convention in August.
It plans to make recommendations to Beaudoin, the other National Officers and the Board.
In the photo, FON Committee co-chairs
William Shackelford, Virginia; and Evelyn
Kirby, Region II vice president, Maryland,
confer before reporting to the Board.
NARFE NATIONAL LIFE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Life Membership Fee Schedule
Ages
Contact Information
n Mr. n Mrs. n Miss n Ms.
Full Name _____________________________________________
Street Address _________________________________________
Apt./Unit______________________________________________
City _______________________ State _____ ZIP _____________
Phone (__________) ____________________________________
Email_________________________________________________
Date of Birth _________ /_________ /___________________
dd
mm
yyyy
Recruiter ID # (if applicable) _________________________________
Chapter Number _______________________________________
(call 800-456-8410 for chapter information)
Membership Information
Member Number: ______________________________________
(New members) Membership is open to civilians in any agency of the federal
or D.C. (before Oct. 1, 1987) governments eligible for a federal annuity.
Thank you for becoming a National Member for Life. You will
receive a membership card, certificate and special lapel pin.
Please allow six weeks for processing. Dues payments & gift
contributions to NARFE are not deductible as charitable
contributions for income tax purposes.
40
| j a n
2 0 14
Single or Quarterly
Payment
Installments
30-39 $1,796
$450.25
40-50
1,408
353.25
51-55
1,127
283.00
56-60
960
241.25
61-65
801
201.50
66-70
653
164.50
71-75
514
129.75
76-80
392
99.25
81-90
251
64.00
91-100+ 127
33.00
I am a (check all that apply)
n Active Federal Employee
n Active Federal Employee
Spouse
n Annuitant
n Annuitant Spouse
n Survivor Annuitant
PAYMENT INFORMATION
n Single Payment or n Quarterly Installments (4 payments)
Life Membership fee amount: $ ______________________
PAYMENT OPTIONS
n Check or Money Order (Payable to NARFE)
n Charge my: n MasterCard n VISA
n Discover
n American Express
Card No. __________________________________________
Expiration Date _________ /_________
mm
yyyy
Name on Card ______________________________________
Signature ____________________________ Date ________
MAIL THIS APPLICATION TO NARFE Member Records
606 N. Washington St. / Alexandria, VA 22314-1914
August 24-28
rlando
33rd Biennial
NARFE Convention
NARFE will hold its 33rd Biennial National Convention August
24-28 at the Rosen Centre Hotel
in Orlando, FL. The theme for the
Convention is “NARFE Is In Your
Future: Embrace the mission. Share
the vision.”
NARFE National President
Joseph A. Beaudoin says the convention promises to be one of the
most important in the Association’s
history. “It could shape the future
of NARFE,” says Beaudoin, who is
optimistic that proposals from the
Future of NARFE Committee will
be voted on at the convention. (See
story, p. 40.)
Training Opportunities. Delegates will have several training opportunities. “Lunch and Learn” and
“Breakfast and Learn” sessions are
planned on membership marketing,
legislation and the Online Activities
Module.
Location, Location, Location.
It won’t be all work. Ken Thomas,
president of the Florida Federation
and chair of the Convention Host
Committee, issued an invitation to
enjoy the famous Florida sunshine.
“While you certainly know Orlando as America’s favorite family destination, we have found even more
offerings that will give you additional
reasons to attend the 2014 NARFE
National Convention and may entice
you to stay longer,” Thomas says.
See the Host Committee website,
www.narfefl.us, for additional information on local attractions.
Register Online. Starting
in January, you can pay for your
convention and banquet registration
online at www.narfe.org. Or you can
make your reservations by mail using the forms on p. 42.
All convention activities will be
held at the hotel. Note: The convention banquet takes place from
6-11 p.m. on Thursday, August 28,
so hotel reservations will be re-
quired for the night of August 28 if
you plan to attend the banquet.
Delegate Information. Deadlines for candidate statements, committee assignment requests, delegate
forms, resolutions and convention
registration are on p. 43.
Proposed revised bylaws and resolutions will be published and mailed
to all chapters and delegates prior
to the convention. These documents
also will be available online at the
convention home page at www.narfe.
org.
Travel Arrangements
Hotel Registration
Rosen Centre Hotel
9840 International Dr.
Orlando, FL 32819
800-204-7234
www.RosenCentre.com
NARFE Rate: $95 + 13.1%
tax =$107.45 single/double
occupancy per night. Additional person: $20
For NARFE group rate, please use Group Code 50485.
Reservation Cutoff Date: Monday, July 21
Airline Discounts
Delta Airlines, www.delta.com. When booking online, select
Meeting Events Code and enter the meeting ID: NMGND in the box
provided on the Search Flight page. A direct ticket charge of $25 will
apply if booking by phone (800-328-1111).
United Airlines, www.united.com. When booking online, enter
the Z Code: ZCQJH, then the Agreement Code: 825302. A $25
service fee will be collected per ticket for all tickets issued by phone
through United Meetings reservations, 800-426-1122.
w w w. n a r f e . o r g
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41
NARFE 2014 National Convention
Orlando, Florida August 24-28
PREREGISTRATION FORM
NARFE ID #:_ _________________________________
Name:______________________________________
Address:_____________________________________
___________________________________________
Name for badge:_______________________________
Chapter #:___________________________________
Location:_ ___________________________________
Please check:
o (Guest) Member
o (Guest) Nonmember o Delegate*
o Delegate-at-Large*
o Alternate*
*NOTE: This is NOT a voter registration form. Voter registration is
confirmed by your chapter on Form C/14-2.
n n n n A nonrefundable fee of $75 (payable to NARFE) must accompany
this form.
Onsite registration fee will be $90.
Each attendee must complete a separate registration form.
Form must be postmarked by August 1, 2014.
Notify in case of emergency:
Name:______________________________________
Phone Number:_ ______________________________
Form C/14-4
o Charge to my credit card:
o MasterCard
o Visa
o Discover
o AMEX
Card#:_ ____________________________________
Expiration Date:_________ /_ ______
Make check payable to NARFE and send to:
NARFE, Treasurer’s Office
606 N. Washington St.
Alexandria, VA 22314-1914
BANQUET REGISTRATION FORM
August 28, 2014
NARFE ID #:_ _________________________________
Name:______________________________________
Address:_____________________________________
___________________________________________
Chapter #:___________________________________
Nonmember Guest:_____________________________
(mm)
(yy)
Name on card (print):___________________________
Signature:_ _________________________________
NARFE 2014 National Convention
Orlando, Florida August 24-28
n n n n
n
n Tables will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Tables seat 10 people.
RESERVATIONS LIMITED TO 2,000 PEOPLE.
Groups wishing to sit together should submit only one request
specifying number of seats desired. Please attach name list.
A receipt will be mailed to you by August 1 acknowledging payment
and showing your table assignment.
All banquet tickets will be held for pickup at the convention
registration area at Junior Ballroom F, 1st Floor.
BANQUET REFUNDS AVAILABLE ONLY IF RESERVATIONS ARE
CANCELLED 72 HOURS PRIOR TO THE BANQUET.
Please reserve _ _____ tickets at $65 each, total $_______
Form C/14-16
Make check payable to NARFE and send to:
NARFE, Treasurer’s Office
606 N. Washington St.
Alexandria, VA 22314-1914
o Charge to my credit card:
o MasterCard
o Visa
o Discover
o AMEX
Card#:_ ____________________________________
Expiration Date:_________ /_ ______
(mm)
(yy)
Name on card (print):___________________________
Signature:_ _________________________________
Convention Deadlines
Candidate Statements:
March 1
NARFE’s four National Officers –
President, Vice President, Secretary
and Treasurer – and its 10 regional
vice presidents will be elected at the
National Convention.
Candidates may submit their qualifications and/or platforms for narfe
magazine publication. Candidate
statements will be published
in the May issue only. This will
allow NARFE members to view all
candidates for office at once. This is
a change from previous years, when
statements were published as submitted over the course of four months.
The statements must be limited to
400 words and may be emailed to
communications@narfe.org as a Microsoft Word attachment. No copy
corrections will be made, including
spelling, so statements should be
carefully proofread before submission. Candidates should submit a
head-and-shoulders photograph for
publication with their statement.
Photos should be emailed in JPG
format to communications@narfe.
org. Deadline for statements and
photos is March 1.
Candidates also are entitled to
send statements to the membership
via NARFE’s global email messaging
system (GEMS). Statements must be
limited to 400 words, and two may
be sent between February 1 and July
31. Send statements as Microsoft
Word attachments to IT@narfe.org.
Committee Assignment
Requests: March 1
Delegates wishing to be appointed
to a National Convention committee
must submit their request on Form
C/14-22, Request for Committee
Assignment. The form is available at
www.narfe.org. Simply log in, go to
the National Convention page and
click on Forms. The form should be
completed online. When completed,
click “submit,” and the form is sent
to NARFE Headquarters and copied
to the chaper president, federation
president and regional vice president. Anyone wishing to have the
form mailed to them should call or
send the request to Headquarters,
Attn: Linda Parsons (lparsons@
narfe.org). Committee members
must be convention delegates.
Requests must be received by the
Office of the National President no
later than March 1. After reviewing
the requests and considering the regional vice presidents’ comments, the
National President will appoint the
committees. Candidates for national
officer or regional vice president positions will not be assigned to certain
committees.
The convention committees are:
Ballot & Teller, Bylaws, Credentials,
Legislative, Membership, Resolutions, Rules, Sergeant-at-Arms,
Secretary and Timekeeper.
Resolutions: No later
than May 13
All resolutions must be received by
the Office of the National Secretary
no later than May 13. This deadline
is essential if NARFE is to comply
with publication requirements set
down in Article VIII, Section 2.A, of
NARFE’s National Bylaws.
tive, Form C/14-2 must be received
by the Office of the National Secretary no later than June 28.
If a chapter does not send a delegate to the National Convention,
a proxy delegate may be selected
to represent it. Chapters wishing
to designate a proxy delegate must
submit Form C/14-2 to the Office
of the National Secretary no later
than August 9. (If mailed, it must be
postmarked by that date.) A delegate
cannot hold proxies for more than
three chapters.
Registration: Postmarked
by August 1
The registration fee for all convention attendees is $75 if Preregistration Form C/14-4 is used and payment is postmarked or submitted
online no later than August 1. The
onsite registration cost is $90.
Banquet tickets are $65 per person. They are available on a firstcome, first-served basis. Refunds
will be available only if reservations
are canceled at least 72 hours prior
to the banquet. The Preregistration
(C/14-4) and Banquet Reservation
(C/14-16) forms appear in this issue,
p. 42, and will be available online at
www.narfe.org.
Delegate Form: June 28
Proxy Form: August 9
Chapters should appoint or elect
convention delegates as soon as
possible. Form C/14-2, Designation
of Chapter Delegates, Voting Representative and Proxy will be posted
on the NARFE website in late April.
The forms will be interactive. When
completed, click “submit” to send the
form to Headquarters. Anyone wishing to have a form mailed to them
should send the request to Headquarters, Attn: Office of the National
Secretary (natsec@narfe.org).
When used to designate chapter
delegates and the voting representaw w w. n a r f e . o r g
|
43
Active and Retired Federal Employees ...
JOIN NARFE TODAY!
National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
The only organization dedicated solely to protecting and preserving the benefits of all federal
workers and retirees, NARFE informs you of any developments and proposals that affect your
compensation, retirement and health benefits, AND provides clear answers to your benefit questions.
Who Should Join?
Three Easy Ways To Join
1.
2.
3.
N A R F E M E M B E R S H I P A P P L I C AT I O N
n YES. I want to join NARFE.
n Mr. n Mrs. n Miss n Ms.
Full Name ________________________________________
Street Address ____________________________________
Apt./Unit ________________________________________
I am a (check all that apply)
n
n
n
n
n
Active Federal Employee
Active Federal Employee Spouse
Annuitant
Annuitant Spouse
Survivor Annuitant
n Please enroll my spouse
City _______________________ State _____ zIp ________
Spouse’s Full Name ________________________________
phone (__________) _______________________________
Spouse’s Email ____________________________________
Email____________________________________________
NARFE respects the privacy of our members. Personal information
is used to provide content and relevant communications to our
members, and will not be sold or rented to third parties without
your express permission.
Choose Your Membership Type
o eNARFE Chapter Online Membership – $40
NARFE’s electronic chapter. Receive narfe magazine by
mail each month, and all other communications by email
and on eNARFE.org. Get important updates and legislative action alerts, and have access to the eNARFE blog.
OR
o Local Chapter Close-to-Home Membership – $40*
PAYMENT OPTIONS
n Check, Money Order or Bill pay (payable to NARFE)
n Bill me (NARFE membership will start when payment is
received.)
n Charge my: n MasterCard n VISA
n Discover
n American Express
Card No. _____________________________________
Expiration Date _________ /_________
Affiliation with the NARFE chapter closest to your home.
Receive narfe magazine each month; attend meetings,
often with invited speakers; network; and get involved in
grass-roots lobbying efforts.
Name on Card _________________________________
Chapter Affiliation: Chapter # __ __ __ __(if known, otherwise enroll me in the chapter closest to my zIp code).
Date _________________________________________
*First-year dues. Subsequent years, $40 plus local
chapter dues.
Total Dues
$40 First-Year Dues X __________ = __________
per person
# Enrolling
Total Dues
mm
yyyy
Signature _____________________________________
MAY WE THANK SOMEONE? If applicable, please provide
the name, membership and chapter number of the member
who introduced you to NARFE:
Recruiter’s Name __________________________________
Recruiter’s Membership ID __________________________
Recruiter’s Chapter Number _________________________
MAIL THIS APPLICATION TO NARFE Member Records / 606 N. Washington St. / Alexandria, VA 22314-1914
NARFE’s Dues Withholding Program
What is dues withholding?
It is a dues-payment method that gives NARFE members
(retirees) the option of having their annual NARFE membership
dues deducted from their annuities on a monthly basis.
How does it work?
One-twelfth of your total dues is automatically deducted from
your monthly annuity. Your monthly deduction is
determined by the following formula:
(National dues ÷ 12) + (Chapter dues ÷ 12) =
Total Monthly Deduction
Advantages
• Save 15% off your annual membership dues!
• Sign up your spouse and double your savings!
• You’ll never get another dues reminder from us!
• Your monthly payment is affordable and convenient!
• You may cancel your dues withholding at any time!
Application process
It takes 60-90 days to process your application. Once the
process is complete, you will receive a special membership card
distinguishing you as a NARFE dues-withholding member.
To learn more about dues withholding, call 800-627-3394.
Retirees, spouses of retirees and annuitant survivors are eligible for dues withholding.
NARFE Dues Withholding Application for Retirees
n YES. I want to enroll in NARFE’s Dues Withholding Program
(Annual dues of $34 plus Chapter dues of record to be withheld annually.)
Social Security Number (9-digit number)
–
Civil Service Annuity Number
–
C S
–
–
–
(Include prefix, CSA or CSF)
(Include any applicable suffix)
n Mr. n Mrs. n Miss n Ms.
Full Name _______________________________________
NARFE MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
Street Address ___________________________________
NARFE Membership ID ____________________________________
Apt./Unit________________________________________
NARFE Chapter Number____________________________________
City _________________________ State _____ ZIP _____
n YES. I Also Authorize My (NARFE Member) Spouse’s Dues To Be
Phone (__________) ______________________________
Email ___________________________________________
Date of Birth _________ /_________ / ____________________
dd
mm
yyyy
Withheld From My Annuity. (Additional annual dues of $34 plus
Chapter dues of record to be withheld annually.)
If YES, enter spouse’s information below.
Spouse’s Name ___________________________________________
Spouse’s Membership ID ___________________________________
AUTHORIZATION (Withholding will begin in 60-90 days). No payment should be forwarded with application.
I authorize the United States Office of Personnel Management to make appropriate deductions from my annuity payments, not to
exceed the amount certified by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association as the amount of dues for which I
am annually obligated, in accordance with elections I make below, and to pay the deducted sum to the National Active and
Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE). This authorization shall also apply to any and all dues changes certified by
NARFE membership in accordance with elections I make below: Please allow 60-90 days for processing.
I understand that this authorization shall be valid until NARFE receives and processes my written notice of cancellation in accordance with its agreement with the Office of Personnel Management and that any disputes regarding this authorization shall be a
matter between NARFE and myself. I hold the Office of Personnel Management harmless for any erroneous allotment deduction
made pursuant to this authorization.
___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________
Signature of Annuitant or Survivor-Annuitant
Date
Dues payments and gifts or contributions to NARFE are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
MAIL THIS FORM TO: NARFE, ATTN: Member Records, 606 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314-1914
www.narfe.org 800-627-3394 rr@narfe.org
Do not send money with this form
DW-2 (08/12)
Member Perks
NARFE Member Perks
are
designed to provide NARFE members with a quality option
in their search for commonly used products and services.
NARFE makes no guarantee on any products and services
listed, and encourages its members to shop and compare
before making a decision on any financial matter.
Credit Union
NARFE Premier
Federal Credit Union
800-328-1500
www.NARFEpremierfcu.org
As a member of NARFE, you have the
privilege of joining NARFE Premier
Federal Credit Union, which has been
serving members since 1935. We offer extensive services at competitive
rates to members nationwide. Your
savings are federally insured to at
least $250,000 and backed by the full
faith and credit of the United States
Government. For more information,
call the number above, email jparish@narfepremierfcu.org or visit the
website.
insurance
NARFE Insurance Services
800-233-5764
www.narfeinsurance.com
Designed and administered by
Marsh U.S. Consumer, a service of
Seabury & Smith, Inc., exclusively
for NARFE members: Senior Whole
Life, Term Life, Medicare Supplements, Hospital Income Plan, Short
Term Recovery Insurance, Pet Insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Cancer Care, Enhanced
Dental Insurance and Long Term
Care. Go to the website for more information on these programs.
GEICO
800-368-2734
NARFE members with good driving
records may be eligible for quality automobile insurance from GEICO. Ask
about the NARFE discount available
to members in many states. Call to46
| j a n
2 0 14
day for your free, no-obligation rate
quote. Be sure to mention that you’re
a NARFE member!
•Discount amount varies in
some states
•Discount not available in all states
or in all GEICO companies
•One group discount applicable
per policy.
Federal Long Term Care
Insurance Program
800-LTC FEDS
www.LTCFEDS.com
Make long-term care insurance part
of your retirement plan. With benefits
designed specifically for the federal
family, the Federal Long Term Care
Insurance Program offers a smart way
to help protect savings and assets,
and remain independent should you
need long-term care services someday. Start planning for the future. Visit
www.LTCFEDS.com today.
Vacation rentals
Government Employees
Travel Opportunities®
877-867-3639
www.getravelop.com/narfe
Offers government employees, retirees and their families 7-night stays
for only $349 on accommodations
at popular destinations worldwide.
Book online and save on your next
vacation stay.
hotels
Choice Hotels International
800-258-2847
www.choicehotels.com
With 6,000 hotels in the United
States and throughout the world,
Choice Hotels® offers something for
everyone. Join the Choice Privileges®
rewards program and earn points
with every qualifying stay toward free
nights, Airline Rewards, gift cards and
more. As a NARFE member, receive
20% off your next stay at participating hotels when you use Special Rate
ID 00801967. This offer is subject to
availability and cannot be combined
with any other offer. Advance reservations required.
Wyndham Hotel Group
877-670-7088
As a member of NARFE, you will
receive up to 20% off the “Best Available Rate” at participating locations.
Call and give the agent your special
discount ID number, 8000002694, at
time of booking to receive discount.
Whether you are looking for an upscale hotel, an all-inclusive resort or
something more cost-effective, we
have the right hotel for you... and at
the right price. So start saving now.
Call our special member-benefits hotline 877-670-7088 and reserve your
room today at one of these fine hotels: Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®,
Days Inn®, Ramada Worldwide®, Super
8®, Wingate By Wyndham®, Baymont
Inns and Suites®, Hawthorn Suites® By
Wyndham, Microtel Inns and Suites®,
Howard Johnson®, Travelodge® and
Knights Inn®.
car rentals
National
You Drive A Hard Bargain. Receive
up to 20% off rentals at National Car
Rental. To make a reservation call
National Car Rental at 1-800-CAR-
RENT® and reference Contract ID
5282909.
Alamo
Drive Happy® with Alamo® where
NARFE members receive year-round
discounts. Call 1-800-462-5266 and
reference Contract ID 262544.
Avis
The employees/owners of Avis offer
guaranteed low rates and quality services to members of NARFE.
Call 800-331-1441 and mention
ID# A991900.
*State restrictions apply. Call or visit
website for details.
Bekins Van Lines
800-248-4810
www. narfe@bekins.com
All NARFE members will receive discounted pricing for all interstate shipments. Discount will apply to packing
and moving services and valuation
protection. All intrastate shipments,
local moves and international moves
will be competitive based on your
geographical location. Please mention you are a NARFE member and
ask for Traci.
emergency services
narfe merchandise
NARFE General Store
855-99NARFE
(855-996-2733)
www.narfegeneralstore.com
Official NARFE name badges, customizable logo products and plaques.
MASA
800-423-3226
Medical Air Services Association has
been the industry leader in prepaid
emergency assistance services for
more than 30 years. NARFE members
have experienced MASA’s “peace
of mind” services since 2001. Now
NARFE members are entitled to even
more: air ambulance transportation,
helicopter transportation, ground
ambulance, vehicle return, mortal remains transport, and much more!
Call MASA Today. It Could Save
Your Life!
3. Atrial Fibrillation
4. Peripheral Arterial Disease.
You will receive a confidential written report within 21 days. Life Line
Screening and NARFE encourage
you to share these test results with
your doctor. All four screenings cost
just $135. To schedule an appointment, please call the number above
and give the operator code number
BKHN075 or visit the website. Coverage may vary and may not be available in all states.
education
Ivy Bridge College
877-615-9246
http://ivybridge.tiffin.edu/
narfe
Want to earn your associate’s degree
before you transfer to a four-year
school? Ivy Bridge College offers a
variety of degree programs that will
help put you on the right track. No
matter which program you choose,
an education with Ivy Bridge will
provide you with a solid foundation for a rewarding future. NARFE
members and their families can enjoy an exclusive 5 percent savings
on tuition at Ivy Bridge, a unique
online institution that provides a highly supported pathway to a bachelor’s
degree. To learn more, call or visit the
website.
Moving services
NARFE Member
HomeBenefits
800-666-9203
http://narfe.
myhomebenefits.com
•Earn thousands in cash-back
rewards when you buy or sell
a home*
•Shop competitive mortgage
rates, receive discounts on closing
costs, plus take advantage of your
VA Loan Benefits
•Receive preferred pricing
on interstate moving services with
the nation’s most trusted moving
company – Allied Van Lines!
health screening
Life Line Screening
800-324-9906
www.lifelinescreening.com/
NARFE
NOT A MEMBER?
Life Line Screening, America’s leading provider of community-based
preventive health screenings, will
conduct the following screenings using state-of-the-art ultrasound technology in your neighborhood:
TURN TO PAGE 44: Fill out the
Membership Application and mail it
to NARFE to receive all the perks of
being a NARFE member.
1. Stroke/Carotid Artery
2. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
GO ONLINE: It’s easy to join online at
www.narfe.org. Click “Join NARFE.”
Call (Toll-Free) 800-627-3394.
w w w. n a r f e . o r g
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47
The Way We Worked
Did
you know?
The Immigration and
Naturalization Service was
dismantled in 2003, and the
immigration service functions
of the federal government
became the U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services
(USCIS), a component of the
new Department of Homeland Security. Today, 18,000
government employees and
contractors work at 250 USCIS
offices around the world.
INDEXing
at the INS
In this 1962 photo, Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) employees Alice Durant, left, and Marion Jackson
operate mechanical index machines that housed the INS’
Master Index at its Washington, DC, headquarters. Sixty
of the cabinets held 30 million cards referencing files
stored in INS offices nationwide. Rotating trays brought
the proper card to the operator at the push of a button.
Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services uses
digitized images of the cards to locate historical records.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) History Office
and Library; Zack Wilske, historian, USCIS; in collaboration with the Society for History in
the Federal Government (SHFG), bringing together government professionals, academics,
consultants, students and citizens interested in understanding federal history work and the
historical development of the federal government. Website: http://shfg.org/shfg/.
Attention NARFE Retirees
SIGN UP FOR DUES WITHHOLDING
NOW AND SAVE BIG!
WHAT IS DUES WITHHOLDING?
It is a dues payment method that gives NARFE members (retirees) the option of
having their annual NARFE membership dues deducted from their annuities on a
monthly basis.
ADVANTAGES OF DUES WITHHOLDING
• Save 15% off your annual membership dues!
• Sign up your spouse and double your savings!
• You’ll never get another dues reminder from us!
• Your monthly payment is affordable and convenient!
• You may cancel your dues at any time!
HOW DOES IT WORK?
One-twelfth of your total dues is automatically deducted from your monthly annuity.
Your monthly deduction is determined by the following formula:
(National dues ÷ 12) + (Chapter dues ÷ 12) = Total Monthly Deduction
APPLICATION PROCESS
It takes 60-90 days to process your application. Once the process is complete, you will
receive a special membership card distinguishing you as a NARFE dues-withholding
member.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DUES WITHHOLDING,
CALL 800-627-3394.
Retirees, spouses of retirees and annuitant survivors are all eligible for dues withholding.
Life members, active federal employees and honorary members do not qualify.
Never Send in Another Dues Payment Again!
TO SIGN UP, FILL OUT THE APPLICATION ON PAGE 45.
WOW! Now Only
per pair in
lots of 2
or more!
Tan
Reg. 2 for 29.95
For ALL Waists 32 - 60!
High-Quality, No-Wrinkle Fabric!
Your favorite premium quality
dress pants, IMPROVED with
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Expansion Waist! Guaranteed
to be the Best Fitting, Best
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machine wash & dry with
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Styling Appointments:
Trim flat front, 4 pockets,
button close, nylon zipper.
Navy
LAST CHANCE at
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per pair
in lots of 2
or more!
2 for $24
3 for $36
4 for $48
Pewter
Big Men (SAME LOW PRICE):
Famous Maker Set of 3 Belts!
46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60
Even sizes. 32 to 60.
Inseams: XS(25-26) S(27-28) M(29-30)
Genuine Leather.
L(31-32) XL(33-34)
Black & Brown assorted
Imported
On-Line
Quick
Order
colors.
WHAT WHAT
HOW
Add Just $12 per set!
WAIST? INSEAM? MANY?
7ØRØH (31) assorted
Imported
Slate
Haband #1 Bargain Place, Jessup, PA 18434-1834
FOR MAXIMUM COMFORT,
Send ____ pants. I enclose $_______
ORDER YOUR USUAL WAIST SIZE!
purchase price plus $5.99 toward
Waist: 32 34 36 38 40 42 44
shipping. In GA add tax.
What Size: ______
How Many Sets: ______
Haband
Blair
Visa
MC
Discover ® Network
AmEx
Check
Cordovan
#1 Bargain Place
Jessup, PA 18434-1834
Ø3
Ø2
8A
6B
N7
Ø1
72T–Ø1V4Y
NAVY
TAN
SLATE
PEWTER
CORDOVAN
BLACK (not shown)
Card # _____________________________________ Exp.: ____/____
100%
Mr. Mrs. Ms. ______________________________________
Satisfaction
Address _____________________________ Apt. # ______ Guaranteed
City & State________________________ Zip ___________ or Full Refund
of merchandise
Phone/Email ______________________________________ purchase price.
When you pay by check, you authorize us to use information from your check to clear it electronically. Funds may be withdrawn from
your account as soon as the same day we receive your payment, and you will not receive your check back from your financial institution.
For Faster Service Call: 1-800-543-4810 or visit www.Haband.com/bestdeals