may 2013 narfe magazine
DESCRIPTION
May 2013 NARFE MagazineTRANSCRIPT
COVER STORY
TElEwORkThe former workplace privilege Is becoming a workplace presumptionP.24
P.30HOw HEalTH
CaRE REfORm IS affECTIng
THE fEHBP
P.36aCTIVISTS
TakE naRfE’S mESSagE TO
CaPITOl HIll
Volume 89 • Number 05
MAy
’13
™
WashingTon WaTch
ON THE C OVERI l lustration by Bil l Pragluski, Crit ical Stages, LLC
On the Web
follow us on twitter:
like us on facebook:
visit us online at:
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NARFE National Headquarters
columns
DEPaRTmEnTs
sPEcial sEcTion
Congress Confirms Sequestration Funding; Furloughs Set to Begin
Budgets Differ on Approach to Feds
NARFE Bill Tracker
Senate Federal Workforce Subcommittee Members Named
Gear Up Now for August’s “Grass-Roots Advocacy Month”
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7
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15
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From the President
Managing Money
The Informed Citizen
Questions & Answers
For the Record: TSP Investments, COLA Chart
NARFE News
The Way We Worked
Legislative Training Conference Report
HEAltH CARE REFoRm. take a look at how the affordable care act has affected the federal employees Health benefits Program.
30
COVER STORY
TELEWORKThe Former Workplace Privilege Is Becoming a Workplace PresumptionP.24
P.30HOW HEALTH
CARE REFORM IS AFFECTING
THE FEHBP
P.36ACTIVISTS
TAKE NARFE’S MESSAGE TO
CAPITOL HILL
MAY
’13
36
may
’13
24 tElEwoRk. some agencies have embraced telework, but not everyone is on board. Management reluctance and it issues are among impediments to work-from-home opportunities.
covER sToRy
w w w. na r f e .org | 1
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 © 2013, 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.
mAY 2013 | volume 89 | number 05
EditoR Margaret M. carter
AssistANt EditoR Donna J. st. John
EditoRiAl AdmiNistRAtoR toni vallario
GRApHiC dEsiGN charlene Gridley
EditoRiAl BoARdJoseph a. beaudoin, Paul H. carew, elaine c. Hughes, richard G. thissen
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NAtioNAl oFFiCERsJosEpH A. BEAudoiN, President; [email protected] H. CAREw, Vice President; [email protected] C. HuGHEs, Secretary; [email protected] G. tHissEN, Treasurer; [email protected]
REGioNAl viCE pREsidENtsREGION I arthur Pike(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont)tel: 207-764-4468eMail: [email protected]
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REGION X william f. Martin(Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia) tel: 540-872-3345eMail: [email protected]
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From
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EvEry mEmbEr an activist
Joseph A. BeAudoin
nARFe nAtionAl [email protected]
of thousands of them face furloughs. To say that we are fed up with being the punching bag for a dysfunctional legislature is an understatement.
But another battle over the debt limit looms this summer, bringing with it pressure to arrive at a big budget deal. Federal employees and retir-ees will be targets again.
To prevail in this fight, we desperately need more allies. At the recent NARFE Legislative Training Conference, Rep. Donna Edwards, who represents a district in a Maryland suburb of
Washington, DC, told us that too many of her colleagues believe that the interests of federal employees and retirees are the concern of just a few legislators with districts around the Beltway. “We have to change their minds about that,” Edwards insisted.
This is where you come in. Although we had more than 250 of NARFE’s most fervent legisla-tive activists at the conference, that is hardly enough. We need every NARFE member to become an activist. Please read about the Legis-lative Conference in the Special Section in this issue, then do what you can to enlist your mem-bers of Congress on the side of federal employees and retirees. Tell them about your service. And remind them that 85 percent of federal employ-ees work outside the Washington, DC, area.
I also recommend taking a look at our cover story on telework. As a former air traffic con-troller, I know that not every job in the federal government can be done off-site, but many can. See how agencies are implementing the policy.
Finally, we all realize that our health insur-ance is one of the greatest advantages of a federal career. See our story on the Affordable Care Act and how NARFE was able to protect the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program from harm.
in the past several months, Congress has landed some blows to the federal community. Federal employees have had
their pay frozen for the third year in a row. And, thanks to sequestration, hundreds
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6 |M AY 2 0 13
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Congress Confirms sequestration funding;furloughs set to begin
As a result, a large number of federal employees will be fur-loughed between April and Sep-tember, for upwards of 22 days. This amounts to a 20 percent pay cut during that time period. To add insult to injury, the bill also extended the federal pay freeze another year.
NARFE President Joseph A. Beaudoin responded: “By ex-tending the federal employee pay freeze for a third year, the House and Senate continue to use fed-eral employees to fix a problem they didn’t create. Congress seems unable and unwilling to come up with anything more than the same short-sighted ploys that have dangerous real-world consequences for federal
workers and the services on which Americans depend.”
The framework of the final bill was brokered between Sens. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-MD, and Richard C. Shelby, R-AL, the chair and ranking member, respective-ly, of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in conjunction with House Appropriations Commit-tee Chair Harold Rogers, R-KY. Mikulski was unable to protect the federal workforce from a con-
tinuation of the pay freeze or the furloughs made necessary by the lowered appropriations levels.
Although most of the federal workforce was left unprotected, some senators were able to force amendments to protect particular workers from furloughs. Sens. Mark Pryor, D-AR, and Roy Blunt, R-MO, were able to shift funds from a school breakfast grant pro-gram to prevent furloughs of food inspectors, which would have dis-rupted operations of large meat-packing plants in their states.
The bill also reiterates congres-sional support for six-day mail de-livery by the U.S. Postal Service.
H.R. 933 passed the Senate on March 20 by a vote of 73-26, and passed the House on March 21 by a vote of 318-109. It was signed into law on March 26.—By John hatton, Deputy LegisLative Director
a fter assuring the public for more than a year and a half that sequestration – deep, across-the-board budget cuts – was too harsh a deficit-reduction remedy to
ever take effect, Congress passed, and the president signed into law, an appropriations bill that does just that. H.R. 933 provides sequestration-level funding to keep the government running for the remainder of fiscal year 2013, which ends September 30.
CPI COLA CALCULATOR AVAILABLE
A calculator is available at www.narfe.org to help federal employees, retirees and Social Security recipients find out how much they could lose in benefits if the method for determining cost-of-living adjustments is changed to the Chained CPI.
w w w. n A r f e .o r g | 7
the House and Senate have both passed versions of a fiscal year (FY) 2014
budget. A conference commit-tee, made up of members of both chambers, should meet to resolve the differences.
The House plan, H. Con. Res. 25, offered by House Budget Committee Chair Paul D. Ryan, R-WI, calls for a reduction in federal employee benefits of $181 billion over 10 years. Over the last three years, federal em-ployees have already contributed more than $114 billion to deficit reduction.
The House budget would re-quire current federal employees to pay more toward their retire-ment. This new burden would yield no additional retirement benefits to future retirees.
The budget proposes a 10 per-cent reduction in the size of the federal workforce by replacing only one out of three federal employees who leave federal service.
The Senate passed a competing budget plan, S. Con. Res. 8, of-fered by Senate Budget Commit-tee Chair Patty Murray, D-WA. The measure includes none of the proposed cuts for federal em-ployees embraced by the House budget resolution.
The Senate budget also propos-es to eliminate the sequester cuts that went into effect on March 1.
It also calls for an additional $975 billion in revenue by closing loopholes and eliminating tax in-centives for the wealthy and large
corporations, and $975 billion in spending cuts.
Overall, the Senate plan proposes to reduce the federal deficit over the next 10 years, though not eliminate it, by reducing spending, increas-ing revenues and including $100 billion in infrastructure investments to spur economic growth.
The House plan, by con-trast, would achieve a bal-anced federal budget in 10 years through spending reductions alone, and would include neither net revenue increases nor the types of infrastructure investments envisioned by the Senate plan.
Traditionally, differences in the plans are resolved in a conference committee between the House and Sen-ate, but this is unlikely this year.
The conference report on the budget resolution then would be-come the guidepost and enforce-ment mechanism for spending and revenue decisions for FY 2014, beginning on October 1, 2013.
That process includes alloca-tion of resources to the House and Senate appropriations com-mittees to divvy up among their 12 subcommittees to fund the various programs, projects and activities of the federal govern-ment (including the salaries and expenses of active federal employees). —By alan lopatin, LegisLative counseL
budgets differ on approaCh to feds
Because of continu-ing threats to federal benefits, it is essential that NARFE members not let up on their advocacy efforts. While President Obama has called for a long-term budget “Grand Bargain” by July, contacting your members of Congress now ensures that they know NARFE is watching.
For help, check out the revamped “Protect America’s Heartbeat” (PAH) Toolkit. In ad-dition to talking points and other advocacy materials, the Toolkit includes new numbers in “The Federal Family” table, showing civilian annuitants, employees and postal employees by state.
Don’t let up the pressure as “Grand Bargain” takes shape.
advocacy action
REALITy: More than 85 percent of federal employees work outside the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
MyTh: Most federal employees work in Washington, DC.
MYTH vs.
reALITY
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8 |M AY 2 0 13
issue Bill numBer / name / sponsor What Bill Would do latest congressional
action/s
deferred annuities
h.r. 26: Deferred Ben-efits Adjustment Act of 2013 / Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez, D-NY
Amends federal civil service law to provide for the indexation of de-ferred annuities, includ-ing survivor annuities, under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and for individuals becom-ing subject to FERS by election. Terminates the entitlement of a survivor who remarries before age 55 (currently, who remarries at any age) to an annuity based on the service of a deferred annuitant who dies before establishing a valid claim for a CSRS annuity.
Referred to Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
federal pay
h.r. 273: To eliminate the 2013 statutory pay adjustment for federal employees / Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-FL
Extends the federal employee pay freeze for the rest of 2013, which would be the third year of the pay freeze.
Passed the House on 2/15/13 Included in H.R. 933Signed into law on 3/26/13
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
Allows federal employ-ees to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay available for either the birth of a child or place-ment of a child with the employee for either adoption or foster care. Makes available for any of the 12 weeks of leave an employee is entitled to for such purposes: four administrative weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth or placement involved; and any accu-mulated annual or sick leave.
Referred to Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
the narfe Bill tracKer is your monthly guide to the congressional legislation that narfe is Keeping an eye on. checK BacK each issue for updates.
narfe bill tracker
(continued 0n p. 10)
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10 |M AY 2 0 13
Special insert with NARFE-specific information and data to be used for grass-roots advocacy.
Order your copy of the new Congressional Directory today!
Clip and mail to: NARFE Congressional Directory, 606 N. Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1914
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NARFE’s CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY
for the 113th Congress (2013-2014)
MAIL ORDER ONLY — NO PHONE ORDERS, PLEASE — make checks payable to NARFE *Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery
Quantity ___________$20 each (includes ship-ping and handling)
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2013_Cong_Dir_Ads_Layout 3 copy 3/27/13 9:49 AM Page 1
issue Bill numBer / name / sponsor What Bill Would do latest congressional
action/s
retirement calculations/contriButions
h. con. res. 25: Fis-cal year 2014 Budget Resolution / Rep. Paul D. Ryan, R-WI
Among other things, reduces the federal workforce by 10 per-cent through attri-tion and increases the amount that federal employees contribute toward their retirement (but does not specify by how much).
Passed the House on 3/21/13. see story, p. 7.
federal pay
h.r. 933: Fiscal Year 2013 Continuing Ap-propriations Act / Rep. Harold Rogers, R-KY
Funds the federal gov-ernment for the remain-der of fiscal year 2013 (through September 30, 2013) at sequestration levels. Freezes fed-eral pay for a third year (2013).
Signed into law on 3/26/13 (P.L. 113-006)see story, p. 6.
narfe bill tracker (continued from p. 8)
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Autumn Leaves Tour
Arrive in Philadelphia and enjoy a sightseeing tour. Then your scenic journey begins offering spectacular and colorful vistas through Amish Country to Gettysburg. Travel north with a stop at the Corning Museum of Glass into Ontario and awe-inspiring Niagara Falls! Return to upstate New York where you will board a cruise through the 1000 Islands; drive through the six-million-acre civilized wilderness of the Adirondack region, stop in Lake Placid and then into the forest area of New England: The White Mountains, including Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire. Witness the incredible waterfalls at Flume Gorge and enjoy a trip on the Cannon Aerial Tramway. Next drive along the New England coast to Boston, with a city tour and visit Cape Cod, exploring Chatham and Provincetown. View the gorgeous Mansions of Newport, Rhode Island en route to Bridgeport, Connecticut and tour New York City seeing all the major sights of the “Big Apple.”
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Discover the picturesque Northeast this Fall. Arrive in historic Boston and enjoy a city tour en route to Rutland, Vermont. Along the way you will visit the intriguing “Shaker Villages,” a living history museum providing insight to its centuries’ old community and religion. Witness the beautiful fall foliage as you drive through the Green Mountains to the fascinating city of Montreal. Continue along the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City, one of the first settlements in North America.
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*Price per person, based on double occupancy. Alternate departure dates available in 2013. Seasonal rates may apply. Airfare is extra.
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Only members of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association may contribute to NARFE-PAC. NARFEwill neither favor nor disadvantage anyone based on the amount of a contribution or the failure to make a voluntary contribu-tion to this political action fund. NARFE-PAC contributions are not deductible for federal income tax purposes.
� Please find my check or money orderenclosed payable to NARFE-PAC� Please charge to my credit card(required for monthly contribution)
Credit Card InformationType: � MasterCard � Visa
� Discover � AMEX
Card #: ________________________________
Expiration Date: ____ / ____
Name on Card:__________________________
Signature: ______________________________
Date: __________________________________
Name:______________________________________
NARFE Member Number: _______________________
I would like to make a one-time contribution of:� $100 Gold (qualifies for Gold 2013-14 NARFE-PAC lapel pinand a blue NARFE-PAC LEADER hat)
� $50 Silver (qualifies for Silver 2013-2014 NARFE-PAC lapel pin)
� $20 Basic (qualifies for Basic 2013-2014 NARFE-PAC lapel pin)
� Other: ______-or-I would like to be a Sustainer and make a monthly credit cardcontribution to NARFE-PAC of:� $25/month� $10/month
� Other: ______/month (minimum of $10)
Monthly contributions qualify you to receive a NARFE-PAC Sustainerlapel pin along with a blue NARFE-PAC LEADER hat.
� I do not want to receive any gifts for my contribution marked above.
Mail to: National Active and Retired FederalEmployees Association Attn: NARFE-PAC606 North Washington St. | Alexandria, VA 22314
NARFE-PAC CONTRIBUTION FORM
2013-14_PAC_Coupon:2013 Coupon 3/26/13 3:42 PM Page 1
The new Subcommittee on the Efficiency and Effective-ness of Federal Programs and the Federal Workforce will have jurisdiction over legislation af-fecting the federal workforce. In previous Congresses, the sub-committee had a different name: the Subcommittee on Oversight
of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the Dis-trict of Columbia, and, accord-ingly, some difference in subject-matter jurisdiction.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-MT, will chair the new subcommittee, and Sen. Rob Portman, R-OH, will be its ranking member. In these
positions, they control the sub-committee’s majority (Democrat) and minority (Republican) staff, respectively.
The other committee mem-bers are: Democratic Sens. Mark Pryor, D-AR; Claire McCaskill, D-MO; Mark Begich, D-AK; Tammy Baldwin, D-WI; and Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND; and Republican Sens. Ron Johnson, R-WI; Rand Paul, R-KY; and Michael B. Enzi, R-WY.—By John hatton, Deputy LegisLative Director
senate federal WorkforCe subCommittee members named
the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which has jurisdiction over federal employee and retiree issues, announced the
members of its subcommittees for the 113th Congress.
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ALL APPOINTMENTS MUST BE SCHEDULED THROUGH TRUHEARING. FOR A FULL LIST OF PRICING VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT TRUHEARING.COM.
Now it’s your turn to save*. NARFE members can save hundreds to thousands on hearing aids purchased through TruHearing.
“I saved thousands on my hearing aids. Then he did, too.”
Call TruHearing today: (877) 379-4522
*Members can save hundred's to thousands. Savings depend on model(s) chosen. Visit our website at www.truhearing.com for full pricing and product comparisons.THIS IS NOT INSURANCE. TruHearing provides discounts through contracted health plans and enrolled employer groups for hearing aid sales and professional services at selected hearing care providers. Professional services for fitting, programming and three
adjustment visits, are included in the price of the aids. The customer is obligated to pay for testing, and all other post-fitting hearing care services, but will receive a discount from those health care providers who have contracted with TruHearing. FOR FLORIDA, OKLAHOMA, AND NEVADA RESIDENTS: The Member may cancel membership within 30 days, and receive a full refund of fees. The Member must return hearing aids within 30 days
of purchase to receive a full refund of the purchase price. In Florida and Nevada, the DMPO does not make payments directly to providers. As with all Members nationwide, fitting fees, programming fees and first three adjustment visits are included in the price of the aids. The MemberPlus program is a non-fee program to all Washington State residents. or There is no fee for MemberPlus membership for Washington State residents.
ALL CONTENT ©20134 TRUHEARING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.NARFENB0513R1
w w w. n A r f e .o r g | 15
nARFE members should begin planning now for August’s “Grass-Roots Advocacy Month.” While August may seem far off, members of Congress are
already preparing their schedules. The August 2-September 9 congressional recess is a prime opportunity to meet with members of Congress.
gear up noW for august’s ‘grass-roots advoCaCy month’
Contact your representative and senators now to get NARFE on their August calendars. There are two ways to do this: Invite them to speak at a chapter event or request a meeting in the district office.
A step-by-step guide on hosting an elected official at your chapter meeting is included in the “Pro-tect America’s Heartbeat” (PAH) Toolkit, available at www.narfe.org/heartbeat/toolkit.cfm. You also can contact the NARFE Legislative De-partment for a copy of the Toolkit.
The Legislative Department staff is available to help you plan your event, contact congressional offices and provide tips.
If there is more than one chapter located in a congressional district, or if you are inviting a senator, you will improve your chances of getting a “yes” to your invitation by joining forces with other chapters.
If your chapter does not meet during August, you might want to request a “sit-down” with your member of Congress. This will pro-vide an opportunity for the chap-ter to participate in “Grass-Roots Advocacy Month” without having to convene a special meeting.
In the coming months, additional resources will be featured in narfe magazine to help members and chapters make “Grass-Roots Advo-cacy Month” a success. —By Sarah holStine, grass-roots program
manager
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ALL APPOINTMENTS MUST BE SCHEDULED THROUGH TRUHEARING. FOR A FULL LIST OF PRICING VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT TRUHEARING.COM.
Now it’s your turn to save*. NARFE members can save hundreds to thousands on hearing aids purchased through TruHearing.
“I saved thousands on my hearing aids. Then he did, too.”
Call TruHearing today: (877) 379-4522
*Members can save hundred's to thousands. Savings depend on model(s) chosen. Visit our website at www.truhearing.com for full pricing and product comparisons.THIS IS NOT INSURANCE. TruHearing provides discounts through contracted health plans and enrolled employer groups for hearing aid sales and professional services at selected hearing care providers. Professional services for fitting, programming and three
adjustment visits, are included in the price of the aids. The customer is obligated to pay for testing, and all other post-fitting hearing care services, but will receive a discount from those health care providers who have contracted with TruHearing. FOR FLORIDA, OKLAHOMA, AND NEVADA RESIDENTS: The Member may cancel membership within 30 days, and receive a full refund of fees. The Member must return hearing aids within 30 days
of purchase to receive a full refund of the purchase price. In Florida and Nevada, the DMPO does not make payments directly to providers. As with all Members nationwide, fitting fees, programming fees and first three adjustment visits are included in the price of the aids. The MemberPlus program is a non-fee program to all Washington State residents. or There is no fee for MemberPlus membership for Washington State residents.
ALL CONTENT ©20134 TRUHEARING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.NARFENB0513R1
Legislative Resources
• Legislative Hotline: A weekly update of legisla-tive news, compiled by the NARFE Legislative Department staff, distrib-uted via email and avail-able 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.
Winners
Congratulations to the Kansas and West Virginia Federations for winning the 2012 Advocacy in Action competition. Kansas won for its work between January and June, while West Virginia won for its activity in the second half of the year.
A It is our understanding that furloughs have the same effect on retirement
computations as leave without pay. Your basic pay is used – not what you actually receive – when computing the high-three average salary. As with leave without pay, if you have six months or more of furloughed days in a calendar year, you would only receive six months of service credit in your annuity computation. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
has stated the following (in part):The high-three average salary
used to compute Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuities is the largest annual rate resulting from averaging an employee’s rates of basic pay in effect over any period of three consecutive years of cred-itable civilian service, with each rate weighted by the length of time it was in effect. If a period of nonpay status (such as a furlough)
that is creditable for retirement occurs during the three-year peri-od used to compute the high-three average salary, the loss of actual pay during that nonpay status period generally would have no effect on the high-three computa-tion. The basic pay rate in effect during that nonpay status period would be used in the high-three average salary calculation.
For example, if an employee whose annual rate of basic pay is $85,000 is placed in a furlough status for two weeks and that two-week period falls in the employee’s average salary period, that two-week furlough period will be cred-ited in the high-three average salary calculation using the $85,000 annual rate of basic pay that was in effect during the furlough period. In this example, the loss of actual pay (or earnings) during that period is not material in the high-three average salary calculation.
For more information on the
Q In a recent NARFE NewsWatch, someone was quoted as saying that there might be a lot of government retirements because the sequester will affect annuities. I was told that
you get your high-three years of salary to calculate your annuity and not your last three years of employ-ment. So, if I made 20 percent less at the end of December 2013, and I were to retire in January 2014, as I see it, my high-three would be 2010, 2011 and 2012. Will the sequester affect the annuity in any way?
Active employees
EffEct of furloughs on AnnuitiEs
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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.
16 |M AY 2 0 13
effect of furloughs, go to the OPM website, www.opm.gov, and click on “Furlough Guidance” in the graphic carousel at the top of the Main Home Page.
Missing contributions
Q I am a long-time federal government employee, since 1968, and am under
the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). A pay stub anomaly occurred in 1996. My 28 years of cumulative retirement contributions in my first paycheck in January 1996 was recorded to contain $39,418; since then, my cumula-tive retirement contributions have accrued from this new starting point. I did not convert to the Fed-eral Employees Retirement System, and I have had no break in service. I recently applied for retirement. Can I presume that the missing cumula-tive retirement will be reinstated by the Office of Personnel Manage-ment (OPM) for “tax-free” compu-tations? Or do I need to pursue this reinstatement? Can you explain why this happened?
A Almost all employees, during their careers, experience having their
leave and earnings statements modified, and their cumulative contributions changed. When your payroll office changes, your leave and earnings statement will reflect your retirement contribu-tions for that one pay period and continue to accumulate. Your payroll office usually changes when you move from one job to
the next or if you are assigned to a new payroll office without moving to another job. When your payroll office changes, your agency closes out your payroll records and sends them to OPM. Each time there is a change, your leave and earnings statements will reflect the amount of money that you contributed for that one pay period, and your cumulative contributions begin again. OPM will send you a ben-efits booklet after your annuity is finalized, and the booklet will contain your total retirement contributions.
If you are within a few months of retirement, you should wait un-til you get that figure from OPM to see if there is a problem. OPM uses your pay records to finalize your claim. You want those pay records to remain in their current location until the claims examiner requests those records.
You may write OPM if you are not close to retirement, and OPM will provide you with those figures.
OPM is not able to make a request for pay records a priority, so we suggest that you keep copies of your leave and earnings state-ment each time your payroll office changes.
fErs supplEMEnt
Q I am under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), age 55,
with 25 years of service. Under voluntary early retirement (VER), can I get the FERS Annuity Supplement?
A Yes. If you accept a VER offer, the FERS Annuity Supplement is paid at
your minimum retirement age.
tsp App?
Q I found a mobile applica-tion that prompted me to use my Thrift Savings Plan
(TSP) ID number. Is this a legiti-mate app?
AHere is what the TSP has to say about that: “There are a number of mobile
applications that reference the TSP and may prompt you for your TSP credentials. These applica-tions are not sponsored by the TSP. The TSP cannot endorse any information or advice provided by third-party applications. More important, providing your TSP account credentials to third-party applications may jeopardize the security of your account. For more information on keeping your account safe, see the Security Center on the TSP website, www.tsp.gov, or contact the ThriftLine at 877-968-3778.”
roth tsp
Q I retired in June 2012 under the Civil Service Retirement System. If
I understand correctly, the gist of the article “A Mega Roth IRA Opportunity” in the January 2013
retirees
w w w. n A r f e .o r g | 17
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issue of narfe magazine was that federal employees could contrib-ute up to 10 percent of their salary to a Roth Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account. I also understand that this is only applicable to employ-ees who are still working. Until I read the article, I was unaware of this opportunity. Can I now follow up with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to appeal? Please also point me to the IRS regulations.
A While the Roth TSP was authorized by the Thrift Savings Plan
Enhancement Act of 2009, the new option allowing partici-pants to contribute after-tax dollars into their TSP accounts did not go into effect until May 7, 2012. While we don’t know what the basis of your appeal would be, in any case, OPM has no authority with regard to the TSP and would not be the office to contact. We suggest that you write to the Thrift Investment Board, 1250 H St. NW, Washington, DC; or phone 202-942-1460.
There are many IRS regulations applying to Roth 401(k)s, and we are unable to cite the one that may apply to this situation. The legisla-tion that allowed the TSP to offer a Roth option can be found at www.fedsmith.com/2009/06/14/thrift-savings-plan-enhancement-act-2009.
DElAyED intEriM Annuity pAyMEnts
Q I am writing on behalf of a friend and former co-worker with the Depart-
ment of Agriculture. She retired, effective December 31, 2012, and
has yet to receive her annuity. Some delay has affected process-ing her paperwork, and there was a delay in sending it to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). My friend was a 37-year employee and now faces a health crisis. I retired in 2011 and felt that I had a smooth transition. I received incremental payments, and the entire process was seamless. My thanks to OPM. I shared my expe-rience with her about the process and advised that it does take a few months to finalize. My friend
is now concerned not only about income but also about health benefits. I hope that, somehow, her case can be highlighted for review, and she will have some relief quickly and will not have to wait another four weeks, as she has been told.
A Unfortunately, some agencies are not as fast at getting retire-
ment packages for their retired employees to OPM as are other agencies. OPM, of course, cannot begin interim payments until it receives these records from the agency. However, once received, it takes OPM only about a week to set up the interim payments to be included in the next payment tape sent to the Treasury Depart-ment. Your friend’s health ben-efits coverage will continue while she is in interim pay status,
even though premiums are not deducted from her interim monthly annuity.
QuAlifying lifE EvEnts
Q I retired under the Civil Service Retirement System and have health
insurance coverage under the Federal Employees Health Ben-efits Program (FEHBP) for me and my spouse. We do not have sepa-rate vision or dental coverage. My spouse, a nonfederal employee,
will soon be losing her job, which does cover dental and vision insur-ance for both of us. Can I apply now for dental and vision insur-ance under a “life event,” or do I have to wait for Open Season?
A The Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insur-ance Program (FEDVIP)
is separate and different from the FEHBP. According to BENE-FEDS.com, a secure enrollment website sponsored by the Office of Personnel Management for dental and vision insurance, the following is one of the types of qualifying life events that would possibly permit you to enroll out-side of Open Season: Losing other dental/vision coverage (either the eligible or covered person); the time limit to submit the qualifying life event is from 31 days before to 60 days after the event date.
OPM cannot begin interim payments until it receives records from the agency. Once received, it takes OPM only about a week to set up interim payments.
18 |M AY 2 0 13
On November 25, 1963, just three days after the tragedyin Dallas, the U.S. Mint began work on the 90% SilverKennedy Half Dollar. It would prove to be one of the
most popular half dollar designs in our nation’s history. Not surprisingly, when Americans discovered that the brand newKennedy Half Dollar was the centerpiece of the 1964 U.S. SilverProof Set, demand immediately soared through the roof!
By January 11th, 1964, the Mint was forced to halt orders for the1964 Silver Proof Set, and eventually had to reduce the originalmaximum order of 100 Proof Sets down to just 2 sets per buyer in the face of such staggering demand. Finally, on March 12, eventhe limit of 2 sets was halted because the Mint received orders for200,000 Proof Sets in just two days!
Fifty years later, the 1964 Silver Proof Set is still in great demand.
Why? Because this set is chock full of “Firsts”, “Lasts” and “Onlys”:
As we approach the 50th Anniversary of JFK’s 1963 assassinationthis year, the 1964 U.S. Silver Proof Set is back into the spotlightagain. Each set contains the 1964 Lincoln Cent and Jefferson
Nickel, along with three 90% Silver coins: the Silver RooseveltDime, Silver Washington Quarter, and the 1964 Silver KennedyHalf Dollar—the only 90% Kennedy Half Dollar ever struck forregular production.
Saved from destruction—but how many sets survived?Collectors know that the key is to find those sets still preserved inthe original U.S. Mint “flat pack” just as issued. And over the past50 years, that has become more and more difficult! Since this setwas issued, silver prices have risen from $1.29 per ounce to over$48 per ounce at the silver market’s high mark. During that climb,it is impossible to determine how many of these 1964 Proof Setshave been melted for their precious silver content. The packagingon thousands of other sets has been cut apart to remove the silvercoins—so there is no way to know for certain how many 1964 U.S.Proof Sets have survived to this day.
Order now—Satisfaction GuaranteedWe expect our small quantity of 1964 U.S. Silver Proof Sets to disappear quickly, so we urge you to call now to secure yours. Youmust be satisfied with your set or simply return it within 30 days of receipt for prompt refund (less s/h). Limit: 5 per household.
1964 U.S. Silver Proof Set $59.00 plus s/h
TOLL-FREE 24 HOURS A DAY
1-888-870-9343Offer Code KPS161-01
Please mention this code when you call.
The FirstThe LastThe ONLY!
50 Years later the 1964 Silver Proof Set still shines bright
Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Past performance is not a predictor of future performance. NOTE: New York Mint® is a private distributor of worldwide government coin and currency issuesand privately issued licensed collectibles and is not affiliated with the United States government. Facts and figures deemed accurate as of January 2013. ©2013 New York Mint, LLC.
14101 Southcross Drive W., Dept. KPS161-01Burnsville, Minnesota 55337www.NewYorkMint.com
1964 Proof Set Firsts, Lasts & Onlys� The FIRST year Kennedy Half Dollar Proof� The FIRST Proof set to feature a former president on
every coin� The LAST Proof Set struck at the Philadelphia Mint � The LAST year the Roosevelt Dime, Washington Quarter
and Kennedy Half Dollar were struck in 90% silver for regular production
� The ONLY 90% Silver Kennedy Half Dollar Proof ever minted for regular production
� The ONLY Kennedy Half Dollar Proof struck at thePhiladelphia Mint
Actual size is 30.6 mm
KPS161-01_7x9.333_Layout 1 3/12/13 10:13 AM Page 1
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You should contact BENEFEDS directly at BENEFEDS.com or phone 877-888-3337.
hEAlth covErAgE for Ex-spousE
Q My father worked for the federal government for 26 years. He and my mom
divorced in May 2009. My mom got temporary health coverage through Blue Cross/Blue Shield through the federal employees’ insurance program. We received a letter stating that this coverage would be coming to an end soon. My father read the article “Mar-riage and Divorce Federal Style” in the February 2013 issue of narfe
magazine stating that my mom should still be able to have contin-ued health coverage. Can you tell me if this is true? If so, how do I go about helping her get this contin-ued coverage?
A Continued health insur-ance coverage for former spouses of federal annui-
tants under the Federal Employ-ees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) can be continued follow-ing a divorce in one of two ways.
Under the temporary continu-ation of coverage provisions, a former spouse may apply and pay the entire premium for FEHBP coverage that continues for up to 36 months after the divorce.
Under the spouse equity provi-sions, a former spouse who was covered by the annuitant’s enroll-ment for 18 months prior to the divorce and who has not remar-ried prior to age 65, and who has a qualifying court order that awards the former spouse a portion of the retiree’s annuity benefit or awards a future survivor benefit based on the retiree’s federal service, may enroll in the FEHBP and have coverage for as long as the former spouse meets all of the require-ments and pays the premiums.
For additional information, go to the Office of Personnel Manage-ment’s website at www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare.
ROXC3093NARFEboredomHalfpg.indd 1 11/16/12 5:14:06 PM20 |M AY 2 0 13
CHA-CHING!
Federal retirees who are eligible for Medicare (or soon will be) and enroll in the MHBP Standard Option with the Part B Premium Savings Program can get Medicare Part B for nearly free. MHBP will reimburse Medicare Part B premiums for you and your spouse up to the standard amount — $104.90 per month. That’s just over $1,250 a year per person or $2,500 a year per couple! Only those individuals who have Medicare as their primary coverage and have health benefits through MHBP Standard Option are eligible for the program.
Contact MHBP at 1-888-475-2622 and learn how it pays to have Medicare Part B.
This is a summary of the Mail Handlers Benefit Plan Standard Option and Medicare. Before making a final decision, please read the 2013 official Plan brochure (RI 71-007). All benefits are subject to the definitions, limitations and exclusions set forth in the 2013 official Plan brochure. A single annual $42 associate membership fee makes all MHBP plans available to you. For more information about Medicare call 1-800-MEDICAR.
© 2013 Coventry Health Care, Inc. All rights reserved.
*You will be eligible to begin to receiving your premium reimbursement after your Medicare and MHBP enrollments become effective. The effective dates can vary based on when you enroll for coverage (e.g., FEHB Open Season, qualifying life event, Medicare general enrollment period, initial Medicare enrollment, etc.).
Get in on the Deal 1. Use your agency’s preferred method to enroll in MHBP
Standard Option. Choose code 454 for Self Only coverage or 455 for Self and Family.
2. Complete the MHBP Part B Premium Savings Program enrollment form, and mail it to MHBP right away using the address provided on the form.
3. Enroll for Medicare Parts A & B if you don’t already have this coverage.
4. Notify MHBP that you have completed your Medicare enrollment.
5. Submit your reimbursement request* with your proof of premium payment.
It Pays to Choose MHBPHere are a few good reasons to enroll in MHBP Standard Option with the Part B Premium Savings Program:
✔ You will have comprehensive coverage that easily coordinates with Medicare.
✔ You can get Medicare Part B coverage at no cost to you (barring any late enrollment penalty).
✔ You will maximize your benefits by having both Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) and Medicare coverage.
✔ You can avoid paying the late enrollment penalty by enrolling for Medicare when first eligible.
✔ You can mitigate the added premium cost Medicare imposes for high-income earners.
✔ You will have more certainty about your out-of-pocket expenses as a retiree on a fixed income.
It’s payback time.
Federal retirees can get Medicare Part B virtually FREE with MHBP.
MHBP Standard Option with the Part B Premium Savings Program is a great choice when you are retired and eligible for Medicare — you get the coverage you need, you lower your out-of-pocket expenses by having both FEHB and Medicare coverage, and, of course, there’s the cash back — just over $1,250 or $2,500 each year that’s returned to your budget.
sElf-only vs. fAMily covErAgE
Q My husband and I are both retired federal employees. He has always
carried our Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) coverage. He is now enrolled in Medicare, and we are considering changing to two self-only plans in the next Open Season because we will save more than $500 in premi-ums. Are there any “cons” to this proposed change that we should consider? How can I avoid prob-lems with my own enrollment?
A There are two downsides to having separate cover-age under the FEHBP.
First, you will each have to pay deductibles up to the dollar limit set by your plan. Second, you will have separate catastrophic limits to meet instead of one for both of you.
If you decide to go for separate coverage, we see no problem in the two of you enrolling on your own during the next Open Sea-son.
To obtain an answer to a federal benefits question, NARFE members should call 703-838-7760 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 [email protected].
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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 are also available in some areas. Use the service center listings on the NArFe website,
www. narfe.org.
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Telework may be finally moving from a federal workplace privilege to a
workplace presumpTion
Cov
er S
tory
The roads around Albany, NY, in winter are not for the faint of heart. Dolores Ryan is a configuration management analyst
in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Information in Albany, with 31 years of service. She lives 18 miles from the main VA facility, in Eagle Mills, a rural area. Ryan, 63, says that, when she was younger, she didn’t mind driving to and from work.
But in recent years, she began worrying about the commutes in winter, when she would arrive and leave the facility in the dark – especially after she hit a deer 1-1/2 years ago and totaled her car.
Last October, Ryan, who had worked since 2006 under a part-time tele-work arrangement with her agency, made the jump to teleworking for the agency from her home full-time.
If not for telework, the wear and tear of her daily commutes would have caused her to retire, Ryan says.
Backed by federal legislation, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance and individual agency top management, and buoyed by a success-ful role ensuring continuity after recent natural disasters, telework may be finally moving from a federal workplace privilege and futuristic human resources goal into a workplace presumption for many. Telework also has profound implications for agencies and employees, particularly for federal workers in the autumns of their careers. But middle-management resis-tance, other agency and human resources priorities, information technol-ogy (IT) issues, and some employee performance issues are slowing and complicating implementation at many agencies.
The expansion of telework is particularly good news for federal workers with families, long commutes and special needs, and for workers looking to transition into retirement. With respect to the last category, it represents
By David Tobenkin
workplace presumpTion
w w w. n a r f e .o r g | 25
another in an expanding arsenal of federal pre- and post-retirement and flexible-work options. These include authorities that allow retired federal work-ers to continue post-retirement employment with-out offset to their annuities and the new phased-retirement law, under which federal workers can agree to reduce their future pension payments in exchange for reduced work schedules and the abil-ity to draw on some of their pension benefits while still working.
Since enactment of the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 (TEA), federal agencies have rolled out telework arrangements, and increasing numbers of federal employees are taking advantage of them, ac-cording to OPM.
In June 2012, OPM issued a report to Congress, the “2012 Status of Telework in the Federal Govern-ment,” the latest in a line of annual OPM reports on telework that have assessed agency telework practices. OPM reported considerable progress implementing the TEA and expanding telework, with approximately 21 percent of telework-eligible employees participating in routine telework in September 2011, up from roughly 10 percent during calendar year 2009, although OPM has cautioned that data-collection practices differed in different periods. The report also found that, among agen-cies responding, those teleworking represented 8 percent of total employees at those agencies.
In addition, OPM reported that all participant agencies in its data call had established telework policies and notified agency employees of their eligibility to participate in telework; all agencies covered by the Act had designated a permanent or acting telework management officer; and agen-cies that collectively employ more than 99 percent of the federal workforce had adopted telework as a critical component of their agency continuity of operations plans (COOP).
“Agencies have worked quickly and diligently to implement the requirements of the Telework Enhancement Act and make telework available
to employees as described under the law,” says Angela Bailey, OPM associate director, employee services.
Others agree.“We have achieved our initial goal of establishing
a framework to guide implementation of telework across the federal government, and we’ve already seen an increase in participation,” says Rep. Gerald
E. Connolly, D-VA, one of the sponsors of the TEA.Telework experts say that the TEA helped ad-
vance telework in a very specific way.“The Telework Enhancement Act has been a
turning point for agencies who were sitting on the fence,” says Cindy Auten, general manager of the Mobile Work Exchange, a public-private partner-ship focused on demonstrating the value of mobil-ity and telework. “The Telework Enhancement Act is very specific on what is required of agencies at each point to help move the ball forward, and you can see in the legislation the experience of strong agencies in approaches to help move the ball forward. Requiring management training, for example, addresses one of the biggest barriers to change, in that some managers are still just using time and attendance to measure performance. Agencies also are required to let employees know if telework is available to them. We’ve seen tre-mendous efforts by agencies to move forward; but as agencies will tell you, you can’t do everything in a single year.”
Others, however, are more restrained in their assessment of where matters stand, saying seques-tration, the fiscal cliff and other priorities have put the brakes on more rapid telework implementation. “Agencies are trying as hard as they can, but they are hamstrung by sequestration and the fiscal cliff, which have slowed the progress,” says Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, a firm that researches telework patterns. “One agency we are working with had thousands of people who wanted to attend a particular training session, but they could only afford phone lines for 500.”
An important telework threshold came in Octo-ber 2012, when OPM Director John Berry closed federal offices in Washington, DC, during Hur-ricane Sandy. Yet, an OPM announcement ordered teleworkers scheduled to telework to do so or take leave.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), a federal government leader in telework efforts, re-ported high productivity during the crisis through telework: “During the October 2012 Hurricane San-dy, while the federal government was closed to the public, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was still able to maintain a rate of 70 percent productiv-ity, thanks to its telework program,” says Danette Campbell, senior telework adviser to the PTO.
Then, in December 2012, Berry issued guidance
26 | m ay 2 0 13
Some agencies report that telework contributes to large reductions in expenses.
for emergency dismissal and closure procedures that highlighted the importance of unscheduled telework as a tool to strengthen COOP capabili-ties and announced the expansion of telework to enhance productivity during government closures.
Uneven ImplementatIonThe Government Accountability Office is expected to issue a report that will assess the progress that each fed-eral agency has made toward achieving the TEA’s goals by evaluating OPM’s 2012 Status of Telework report. It is expected to find, as earlier examinations by OPM and the Congressional Research Service found, that progress has varied widely at different agencies. That came to the fore in a December 2011 letter from Rep. John Sarbanes, D-MD, and Connolly, who both have large numbers of federal workers in their districts, to Berry relaying findings of a Congressional Research Service survey on telework at federal agencies.
The letter gave front-of-the-class kudos to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the PTO and the General Services Administration (GSA), whose high rate of total work hours accom-plished through telework “suggests that PTO, USDA and GSA are integrating telework into daily opera-tions, consistent with the goals of the Telework Improvement Act,” the letter said.
Developed from a small pilot program in 1997, the PTO program shows just how far a telework program can go at an agency. As of first quarter 2013, a total of 74 percent of PTO positions are eligible for telework, and 86.7 percent of eligible positions are teleworking, Campbell says.
All business units of the agency now use telework, says Campbell. “With the appropriate telework eligibility selection, collaboration tools, non-IT and IT training, and clearly defined performance mea-sures, telework is successful for all business units. Following the philosophy that the PTO telework initiative is not ‘one-size-fits-all,’ each telework pro-gram is developed to meet the needs of a specific business unit or audience within a business unit,” Campbell adds.
At USDA, another telework leader, support from top agency leadership has driven implementation and penetration of telework at the agency.
“Telework and USDA’s Work/Life Programs are an integral component of the Department’s com-mitment to cultural transformation,” says Mika Cross, work/life and wellness program manager.
“Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and his leadership team are absolutely
committed to the transformation of our workplace culture, which includes a change in how and where we work. Each month, leadership is ranked on the progress made toward transforma-tion goals and objectives, and telework is one that is measured each pay period, as well as monthly. The goals are communicated clearly to agency leader-ship, human resources staff, employees and labor organizations, so this approach has worked effec-tively to ignite rapid change.”
As of February 2013 at the USDA, 75 percent of all employees are eligible for telework, 48 percent of employees have approved telework agreements, and 31 percent are participating in telework, Cross says.
Some agencies are reporting that telework policies are contributing to large reductions in expenses for individual agencies and the federal government. The USDA’s Cross says that as USDA employees “increase participation in telework (even just an additional day or two per pay period), this can equate to thousands of dollars in cost avoidance, per employee,” adding up to a $2 million savings when the USDA executed its transit subsidy contract in fiscal year 2012 based on telework participation.
In contrast to those telework leaders, telework availability and use has lagged at other agencies. Federal legislators and union leaders are critical of agencies that are not making similar progress. The December 2011 Sarbanes/Connolly letter, for ex-ample, termed the VA’s classification of 87.5 percent of employees as ineligible for telework “an extraor-dinarily high rate of telework ineligibility.”
That language was mild compared to that re-served for two other agencies, the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Homeland Security. “The Department of the Treasury has classified 53 percent of positions as ineligible for telework, and a mere 1 percent of work hours are
w w w. n a r f e .o r g | 27
completed through telework,” said the letter. “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has clas-sified 70 percent of employees as ineligible, and an average of 0.016 percent of employees teleworked during the average pay period. This abysmal telework performance is inexplicable in light of the large number of DHS positions, and could prove to be a threat to national security if DHS is unable to implement a Continuity of Operations Plan because its employees are unaccustomed to telework.”
Many narfe magazine readers responding to a magazine query said that their agencies have made significant progress in implementing tele-work. “Telework is much more embraced,” says C. Lee Page, a consumer affairs specialist in the San Francisco division of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. “More and more program areas are being encouraged to telework. I think that supervi-sors have seen it work, either through their own detail assignments to the Washington, DC, office or because they approved direct reports that the su-pervisor trusts to telework.” (narfe magazine notes that some assertions in comments by readers in response to the query cannot be readily confirmed.)
Other federal employees, especially at some larger agencies, said that progress varies greatly across the organization.
“Management support varies from location
to location,” says one Washington, DC-based employee at the DHS, who requested anonymity.
“General, high-level policies are in place with the interpretation of those policies left to local manag-ers at the various levels.”
By all accounts, OPM under Berry has been a powerful force for driving change, with even union leaders singing his praises.
“Director Berry has been very liberal and open to telework,” says Charletta McNeill, president of
the American Federation of Government Employ-ees Local 32, housed at OPM. “When you have a director that has that open-mindedness, it makes a big difference. He has embraced the theory that he wants the federal government to be shutdown-ready in the event of a catastrophic event.”
agency challengeSThe largest barrier to implementation is managerial resistance, the OPM’s 2012 Status of Telework re-port found, consistent with the comments of a wide range of telework experts. “There is a command-and-control attitude in federal government,” says Lister, of Global Workplace Analytics. “When you strip away everything else, that is the fundamental issue: Managers don’t trust everyone else.”
Many middle managers and supervisors them-selves face resistance to teleworking. “It depends on individual office directors and individual branch chiefs – they set the policy,” says a division man-ager at the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who requested anonymity. “Most directors only allow their subordinate managers to telework on an ad-hoc basis. Our organization needs more support from top management to convince all managers to allow more frequent telework.”
Some say management has blocked access to telework, often at the local or regional level, or as applied in practice.
“Telework is advertised as available by the com-mander [at his location]; however, supervisors will not approve it, and it is not available to most employees,” says an employee at the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE).
IT issues posed by employees working from home and seeking to interact with colleagues at work and other locations are a challenge at many agencies.
Some narfe magazine readers expressed con-cerns that many cost savings identified in agency telework plans are agency costs being pushed upon their shoulders. Some said that lack of high-speed Internet access or computer equipment, or lack of support for the financial costs of working at home, has made it infeasible for them to telework exten-sively. “Management is pretty supportive [of tele-work],” said one. “However, if an employee chooses to work exclusively at home, [my agency] will not supply any monitor, printer, paper or office sup-plies, which is why no one teleworks exclusively.”
28 | m ay 2 0 13
the largest barrier to telework implementation is managerial resistance.
Mobile Work Exchange’s Auten says, given that many employees have electronics at home that are superior to those back in the office, interoperability and other issues related to “Bring Your Own De-vice” is one of the largest issues facing IT executives implementing telework plans.
Security of information also is a major concern for both employees and agencies, particularly in cases of employees using their own devices.
“For most of our day-to-day work, we need access to certain IT systems that are not accessible from telework; so, until IT security allows us to access these systems from home, we can only do [tele-work] part of the time,” says Joe Geraci, lead ship life cycle manager, aircraft, at the Department of the Navy’s Carrier Planning Activity in Portsmouth, VA. Geraci says that he teleworks every second Friday and uses telework hours to perform tasks for which he does not need access to secure data.
Some defense agencies report progress in imple-menting telework, including through establishing secure, remote locations where teleworkers can access sensitive, protected information.
“Nearly 66 percent of our workforce is eligible for secure telework,” says Kelly Dove, deputy chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA’s) Employee Services Division. “In order to participate, employees’ positions must be eligible. Furthermore, supervisors must complete telework training, and there must be a telework agreement. Less than 10 percent of the eligible DIA workforce has completed the require-ments to telework. There are a very limited number of positions that offer unclassified telework, which is why DIA expanded its telework program to include secure telework. Secure telework allows employees to work in controlled, classified environments.”
Some DownSIDeSThe majority of narfe magazine readers who said that telework is available at their agency described it as a positive, with many characterizing it as an unmitigated blessing. It has helped them concen-trate, spend more hours and more-productive hours at work, reduced commute time and costs, and allowed them to spend more time with family.
However, a smaller number of readers said that telework raises issues of perception and sometimes actual abuse, as well as more subtle downsides.
“If the employee teleworks a great deal, there are some visibility issues amongst both peers and
supervisors,” says a DHS employee in Washington, DC, who requested anonymity. “The employee may be considered ‘lazy’ or an ‘opportunist.’ There is also a challenge with many employees who become unre-sponsive or demonstrate a slow(er) response rate to questions and queries from the office while they are teleworking.”
Within agencies, middle and first-line managers are increasingly being asked to justify why their employees should not be entitled to telework. Some say that the trend may have gone a bit too far. “Even though the [USDA] telework policy states that it is a privilege that may be revoked, many managers are fearful of actually restricting or eliminating telework for employees who fail to live up to their agreements,” says one USDA employee.
Others say that something is lost with reduced direct interaction among employees. “Due to telework and restriction/limiting of legitimate travel, virtual staffs like me (which are very common) do not have any face-to-face time with the management for as long as the whole year,” says one GSA employee who requested anonymity.
makIng It workIt will likely take many years for the full potential of telework to be realized throughout the federal govern-ment. That will allow for deployment of better IT at agencies and homes, better management practic-es, and for employees to gain expertise on elec-tronic devices necessary to fully use telework. “The younger employees are more open to telework than workers near retirement, since they are comfortable with VPN [virtual private network] and web-meeting technology,” says one employee at the ACE. “Older workers at my organization do not use telework.”
But as the VA’s Ryan demonstrates, change could come more quickly for many older employees. Next year, she plans to take one more step away from those cold upstate New York winters by mov-ing to Sun City Center, an age 55-plus retire-ment community near Tampa, FL. Ryan says that she’ll be bringing her job with her, as her supervi-sor has approved her ability to telework from her new home. Could Florida retirement communities become the next federal government hub? —DaviD ToBenkin IS a freeLanCe wrIter BaSed In the waShIngton, dC, metroPoLItan area.
w w w. n a r f e .o r g | 29
Whether you call it the affordable care act or
"obamacare," the health care reform laW Will take full effect in 2014.
here's What it means for you.
By Amy Burke
w w w. n a r f e .o r g | 31
“Given the wide range of misinformation on the Affordable Care Act overall, federal employ-ees and retirees are understandably concerned,” says NARFE Legislative Director Jessica Klement.
However, there are no provisions in the law affecting all federal employees or retirees, she adds, thanks to NARFE and other federal em-ployee groups that lobbied extensively during the bill’s legislative process. ACA’s most signifi-cant change for federal employees affects only members of Congress and their staffs, who must obtain insurance through health care exchanges, instead of the FEHBP, effective January 2014. NARFE continues to have concerns about this provision, particularly since residency situa-tions for some members and staff may limit their choices to the two national exchanges.
The law also allows Indian tribes, tribal or-ganizations and urban Indian organizations to purchase FEHBP coverage for their employees, beginning in spring 2012. The benefits are ad-ministered through the National Finance Center, under an arrangement with the Office of Person-nel Management (OPM).
key changes for all insurersOtherwise, the ACA’s changes to the FEHBP are those that apply to all insurance providers. “The law requires very few changes for plans that are well designed, such as all of the FEHBP plans,” says Walton Francis, author of the Consumers’
CHECKBOOK Guide to Health Plans for Federal Employees and Annuitants.
In a February 2013 report on the FEHBP, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) noted that “some ACA provisions have no meaningful effect on FEHBP as the plans already meet the requirements of the provision, while other provi-sions confer new requirements on the plans.”
“Since the enactment of the ACA, OPM has been carefully monitoring FEHBP carriers’ compliance with all the new requirements es-tablished by the law, including market reforms concerning eligibility, benefits and coverage,” an OPM spokesperson told narfe magazine. “For example, OPM worked closely with carriers on timely implementation of the requirement to extend dependent coverage up to age 26.”
“I cannot overstate how this part of the law has helped us, and how grateful we are,” says Dan Feld, who retired in 2009 from the Philadelphia Regional Office of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the Department of Health and Human Services. “Our older son recently graduated from college (not yet employed), and he wouldn’t have health insurance otherwise.”
Effective in 2011, insurers were required to use 85 percent of premiums on care services or plan improvements.
In August 2012, the law required insurers to cover certain preventative services and well-ness screenings without enrollees having to pay any out-of-pocket costs – in other words,
he health care reform law, formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and informally labeled “Obamacare,” has been hotly debated on the national political stage. Although the ACA was signed into law in March 2010, many NARFE members remain concerned about how it affects the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). “There is a lot of uncertainty on what is in the Affordable Care Act,” notes NARFE member Jim Biscardi, a Department of Defense retiree.
2013•Employers,including
federalgovernment,mustdisclosehealthcarepremiumcontri-butionsonW-2formsstartingwith2012taxyear(informational,nontaxable).
•MedicarePartDdonutholepatientcosts:50percentforbrand-namedrugsand86percentforgenerics.
2011•Largeinsurers
mustspend85percentofpremi-umsoncareandplanimprovement,limitingadministra-tivecosts.
•Nonprescriptionmedicationcostsnolongercoveredinflexiblespendingaccounts.
2012•Indiantribes,tribal
organizationsandurbanIndianorgani-zationsmaypurchaseFEHBPinsuranceforemployeesthroughanOPMpartnershipwiththeNationalFinanceCenter.
ACA Timeline
2010•Insurersmustprovidecoverageofadult
childrenuptoage26(includingmar-ried).
•Newpoliciescannotimposelifetimedollarlimits.
•Allnewplansmustcoverpreventativecare,screeningsandchild/adultrecom-mendedvaccinationsatnocost.
•One-time,$250rebateforMedicarePartDparticipantswhoseprescriptionmedicationcostsplacedtheminthe“donuthole”coveragegap,wherecostsfellbetweenthe$2,800limitandthe$4,550yearlymaximum,resultinginpa-tientsbeingresponsiblefor100percentofmedicationcostsinthisrange.
ehbP and health care reform
32 | M aY 2 0 13
no co-pay, coinsurance or deductible. Francis of Con-sumers’ CHECKBOOK notes that at OPM’s insistence, the FEHBP plans implemented the preventative care provisions in 2011. (However, the CRS reports that some plans may waive the cost-sharing only when enrollees use in-network providers.)
In 2014, a number of provisions of the ACA are sched-uled for implementation, including prohibition of plan lifetime and annual spending limits, as well as banning exclusions based on pre-existing conditions. Once again, the FEHBP is ahead of the pack.
“Historically, FEHBP plans have not imposed lifetime limits, and OPM will continue to enforce this require-ment,” noted the CRS report. “However, some FEHBP plans have imposed annual limits on certain benefits, and beginning in plan year 2013, OPM expects all FEHBP plans to eliminate annual limits on essential health benefits,” the report noted. FEHBP plans have always been prohibited from having pre-existing condi-tion exclusions, the CRS also pointed out.
This year, employers were required to report the value
of employer contributions to health care on employees’ W-2 forms for tax year 2012. The amount is provided for informational purposes only. This provision was in-cluded in the law in an effort to educate the public about the costs involved in health insurance. “People do not understand what health insurance really costs, and how much is being subsidized,” notes Francis. In the FEHBP, the federal government’s employer contribution is 72 percent of the weighted average premium of all plans in the program, not to exceed 75 percent of a particular plan.
Also this year, flexible spending accounts (FSAs), which enable employees to use pretax funds to help pay out-of-pocket medical expenses, will be limited to $2,500, down from $5,000. (Retirees cannot have FSAs.)
For tax year 2013, taxpayers can claim a tax deduc-tion for unreimbursed medical expenses only if these ex-penses exceed 10 percent of their adjusted gross income; this is an increase from the previous threshold of 7.5 percent. However, taxpayers age 65 and older still will
2013•Reductionofflexible
spendingaccountan-nuallimitfrom$5,000to$2,500.
•Thresholdfortaxdeduc-tionsofunreimbursedmedicalexpensesrisesfrom7.5percentto10percentofadjustedgrossincome.Seniorsage65andolderareexemptfromtheincreasefrom2013-2016.
•MedicarePartDdonutholepatientcosts:47.5percentforbrand-namedrugsand79percentforgenerics.
2014•Annualspendinglimitspro-
hibited.•Nondiscriminationofrates
basedongenderorpre-existingconditions.
•Maximumdeductible$2,000individuals,$4,000families.
2015•MedicarePartDdonuthole
patientcosts:45percentforbrand-namedrugsand65percentforgenerics.
2014•AllmembersofCongress
andstaffmustenterthestateornationalhealthex-changes,andwillnolongerbecoveredthroughtheFEHBP.
w w w. n a r f e .o r g | 33
be able to use the 7.5 percent rate through 2016.In 2018, a “Cadillac tax” of 40 percent will be imposed
on insurance companies for plans that exceed an annual cost of $10,200 for individuals or $27,500 per family. Those figures are for the combined contributions of en-rollees and employers. Francis notes that, while the tax will likely “not pinch [the FEHBP plans] right away, over time, it will affect the richness of benefits that employees get.” He predicts that, in the 2020s, the tax could affect more expensive plans, which may make changes in cost sharing or increase deductibles. However, even if the tax does impact certain plans, FEHBP enrollees always have the option to switch to another plan.
The law also continues to narrow the coverage gap, known as the “donut hole,” for Medicare Part D prescrip-tion plan participants. The donut hole is the place where prescription costs range between the annual limit and the catastrophic coverage maximum spending limit ($2,970-$4,750 in 2013), and patients pay largely out-of-pocket. It is unlikely that many FEHBP enrollees have Medicare Part D. “Very few people who contact us are
enrolled in it,” says David Snell, NARFE’s Federal Ben-efits Service Department director, because the prescrip-tion drug coverage offered by the FEHBP plans is equal to or better than Medicare Part D.
effects on premiumsIn the short term, some of the ACA’s requirements on in-surers could result in slightly higher premiums. Francis notes that the law has already caused a minor increase in premiums, citing two requirements already in effect: coverage of preventative care without a deductible and coverage of adult children to age 26. The CRS reported that “ACA will also impose an annual fee on health in-surance plans based on their market share, which could affect most FEHBP carriers.”
Over the long run, however, the law was intended to slow the growth of health care costs and premium increases. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the ACA will result in premiums that are 0-3 percent lower in 2016 compared to without the law. Francis notes that the law could reduce unnecessary medical
MoreinformationonchangesduetotheACA,includinganinteractivetimeline,canbefoundatwww.healthcare.gov.
2018•40percentexcisetax
toinsurersonplanswithpremiumsexceed-ing$10,200individu-als,$27,500families(excludesvisionanddental).
•MedicarePartDdonutholepatientcosts:35percentforbrand-namedrugsand44percentforgenerics.
2019•MedicarePartDdonut
holepatientcosts:30percentforbrand-namedrugsand37percentforgenerics.
2020•MedicarePartDdonut
holeclosed:25percentforbrand-namedrugsandgenerics.
ACA Timeline
ehbP and health care reform
34 | M aY 2 0 13
procedures and put pressure on plans to implement cost-saving measures that, in aggregate, would result in slowing the growth of health care costs. “The net effect [of ACA] on federal employees may not be negative on balance, it may even be positive,” concludes Francis.
fighting to Preserve fehbPFor 50 years, the FEHBP has provided health insurance to the federal family through competing private carriers. According to OPM, the FEHBP currently has approxi-mately eight million participants – active and retired federal employees and their families – making it the country’s largest employer-sponsored health plan. “The FEHBP is the jewel in the crown of federal benefits,” says NARFE’s Snell.
In its recent report, the CRS noted that the FEHBP has drawn the interest of policymakers and research-ers for lessons that can be applied to private and public providers, as well as Medicare and coverage of the un-insured. In fact, OPM’s experience in administering the successful FEHBP, where private insurers compete to
provide coverage for a pool of people, is why OPM was selected to oversee the national exchanges.
In large part, the FEHBP was protected due to the work of NARFE and others in battling measures that would have undercut benefits. In the September 2009 Senate Finance Committee markup of the bill, NARFE succeeded in moderating and defeating proposals that would have forced federal employees into the exchanges and opened up the FEHBP to nonfederal employees be-low a certain poverty level. In addition, NARFE success-fully limited the dollar amounts subject to the “Cadillac tax,” since original proposals would have brought some FEHBP plans into the scope of the tax.
NARFE also secured language in the law that requires OPM to hire separate staff and program budgets for the implementation of the two national exchanges, in order to reduce any impact on OPM’s administration of the FEHBP. The language also requires the risk pools to remain separate. —Amy Burke is a communications professional specializing in federal policies and politics.
2017•MedicarePartDdonut
holepatientcosts:40percentforbrand-namedrugsand51percentforgenerics.
Now that I’m older and my hearinghas gotten worse, I’ve had troubleunderstanding people on the
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Now, thanks to innovative technologyand scientific research, there is a medicalalarm pendant that can summon helpfor you… automatically… if a fall is detected. Plus, the Lifeline Phone is agreat amplified phone. It’s cordless, has large buttons, an easy to read displayand lets you increase the volume of theconversation. That’s only the beginning.This phone is also a Personal EmergencyResponse System (PERS) that can connect you with Philips Lifeline’s 24/7 Response Center in case of an emergency. You simply wear thelightweight, waterproof pendant aroundyour neck. All you have to do is press the
button, and the phone will promptly connect you with a live Response Associate.If the sophisticated technology within the AutoAlert pendant senses that you’vefallen, and you’re unable to push the button, AutoAlert will automatically senda help signal.
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36 |m AY 2 0 13
ore than 250 representatives of NARFE chapters and federations traveled from around the country to the NARFE Legisla-tive Training Conference to hone their advo-cacy skills. Their attendance couldn’t have come at a better time.
As they gathered March 9-12, federal agencies were preparing to send furlough notices to hundreds of thousands of federal employees as a result of sequestration, and Congress was debating extension of the federal employee pay freeze for a third year.
The conference, at the Renaissance Arlington (VA) Capital View Hotel, fea-tured two days of speeches and breakout sessions, and one day on Capitol Hill for a rally and visits to congressional offices.
NARFE Legislative Director Jessica
Klement briefed attendees on the latest activity in Congress and moderated a panel discussion featuring three congressional staff members, who advised the conference goers on the best ways to get their message across when they meet with members of Congress and their staff.
“The biennial legislative conference af-fords NARFE members an opportunity to learn more about the legislative process and how things work in Congress,” Klement said.
“NARFE’s rally on Capitol Hill was particularly successful, with many lead-ers from the federal community and three members of Congress.
“We are hearing lots of positive feedback on the meetings NARFE members had with their members of Congress,” she added.
Alison Peña, left, legislative chair of the Wisconsin Federation, meets U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-WI, in his Capitol Hill office during the NARFE Legis-lative Training Conference. (Photo by Mike Theiler)
Sp
ecia
l Sec
tion
w w w. n A r f e .o r g | 37
Capitol Hill Rally: FRozen, FuRlougHed and Fed up
“W e are fed up with furloughs. We are fed up with frozen salaries. We are fed up with the government picking on govern-
ment workers and retirees.” With that statement, NARFE President Joseph A. Beaudoin kicked off a rally at the U.S. Capitol. Beaudoin was joined by three Washington, DC-area members of Congress and federal and postal employee union leaders.
“This is not a political game, this is personal,” said Bill Dougan, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, referring to the furloughs. The majority of federal employees make between $25,000 and $75,000 a year, he pointed out.
Colleen Kelley, president of the National Trea-sury Employees Union, said that as a result of the continuing pay freeze and furloughs, employees are “racing” into retirement. “They are going out of fear,” said Kelley, who predicted that the loss will have “a devastating impact on our country.”
Cliff Guffey, president of the American Postal Workers Union, and Jeanette P. Dwyer, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, also expressed solidarity with NARFE members. “We are proud to stand alongside federal employees,” said Dwyer.
AbovE: NARFE Legislative Director Jessica Klement, left, moderates congressional staff panel, from left: Ann Humphrey, office of Rep. Chris van Hollen, D-MD; Kata Sybenga, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; and ben Rhodeside, office of Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-vA. (Photo by Bridget Boel) bELoW: Rep. Frank R. Wolf, R-vA, right, addresses the NARFE rally on Capitol Hill as NARFE President Joseph A. beaudoin looks on. Wolf was joined by Reps. James P. Moran, D-vA, and Gerald E. Connolly in speaking to the assembled conference goers. (Photo by Mike Theiler)
advoCaCy tune-upt break-out sessions, attendees:
• Heard about grass-roots campaigning, methods for contacting members of Congress
and the use of social media. They were urged to tell their stories on the Protect America’s Heartbeat website, www.protectamericasheartbeat.org, and get them into the hands of legislators to highlight federal employees and retirees in their districts.
• Learned, through entertaining and informa-tional skits, the “right” and “wrong” way to conduct congressional visits.
• Were briefed on NARFE-PAC fundraising and how decisions on campaign donations are made in consultation with NARFE leaders in the field.
• Examined where the federal budget process has broken down in recent years.
a
38 |m AY 2 0 13
t hree federal-employee champions – two seated members of Congress and one former member – called upon attendees
to persuade more lawmakers to stand up for the federal community, decried government dysfunction and said partisanship is to blame.
Rep. Donna Edwards, D-MD, noted that the attendees came from all around the country and asked for their help in lining up additional allies to fight for federal employee benefits. “We have work to do with a lot of members of Congress who think, somehow or other, the interests of the broad federal workforce, both active and retirees, is only a concern of those of us who represent the metropolitan Wash-ington suburbs,” she said.
Edwards also told the largely retiree audi-ence that the concerns of federal retirees are directly tied to the concerns of the active workforce. “Some people would like to divide and conquer,” she said. “Don’t fall for that.”
Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-VA, said seques-tration – the across-the-board reductions
in federal spending that began March 1 – “may or may not be an Armageddon, but it is a symbol of the dysfunction of our government right now.”
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, cre-ation of Medicare Part D and the Bush-era tax cuts contributed to spending down the budget surplus amassed in the Clinton admin-istration, Connolly said. “Then the recession hit,” and federal spending rose to provide a safety net and economic stimulus. Fixing the budget deficit requires balance, he said. “We need a little more revenue, and we need less spending; but if we only focus on spending, it will be hard for the economy to come back.”
Former member of Congress Thomas M. Da-vis III, R-VA, addressed the political climate in Congress. Republicans and Democrats are at each other’s throats as never before, he said.
Three major factors leading to this polariza-tion include redistricting and media business models, he said. A majority of people get their news via the Internet, “where anyone can say anything, and there are no filters.” The third factor is money. Campaign finance reform has meant that soft money is now in super PACs and interest groups, with corporations donat-ing unlimited money.
Davis also talked about the shrinking middle ground between liberal and conserva-tive on Capitol Hill. In 2011, 4 percent were in the middle in the House; in the Senate, 0 percent were in the middle, he said. When he was in Congress, he was able to get things accomplished by working closely with his counterparts, he said. “We had to make com-promises.”
Fed-FRiendly laWmakeR CHallenges naRFe to line up moRe allies:
‘We Have WoRk to do’
AbovE: Rep. Donna Edwards bELoW: Thomas M. Davis III (Photos by Margaret Carter)
Rep. Gerald E.
Connolly (Photo by Margaret Carter)
2013 LegisLative training ConferenCe
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-MT, reviews a package of letters from NARFE members in Montana presented by Janice Erfle, president of Chapter 459 in billings. (Photo by Mike Theiler)
w w w. n A r f e .o r g | 39
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poliCy expeRt pRediCts tax ReFoRm Will Be addRessed
“t his is the first time since 1985 that we have had a sequester go into effect,” said G. William Hoagland, former
staff director for the Senate Budget Commit-tee, and budget cuts are going right down to the bone marrow. Senior vice president with the Bipartisan Policy Center, Hoagland noted that it has been a tough two years, and federal employ-ment has declined each year for the last two years, with a loss of 163,000 federal jobs.
“We went from the largest surplus ever re-corded in our country to the largest deficit (post 9/11),” said Hoagland, who pointed out that the statutory debt limit will be reached on May 18. The Treasury Secretary will have certain authorities to keep the federal government in operation – a process that he said is likely to continue up to the August congressional recess.
“What bothers me is the public debt – about $12 trillion,” said Hoagland. He quoted former Sen. Alan K. Simpson, who said that, if China
were to attack Taiwan, we would have to go to war with China. Today, we would have to borrow from China to go to war with China.
While we have reduced the debt by $2.4 trillion, nearly all of it is on the spending side, Hoagland said. “The presi-dent is right: To be achieved, we need to do more on the revenue side.” While the House does not intend to raise any more revenues, Hoagland said that it will take on tax re-form, and there is only one way to do it – through exclusions, credits and deductions. Possibilities include the exclusion of employers’ health insur-ance contributions, charitable deductions and a change in the home mortgage interest deduction.
Despite the polarization in Congress, he pre-dicted that the budget gap will be bridged. He quoted Winston Churchill, who said: “You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they’ve tried everything else.”
AbovE: Steven C. LaTourette bELoW: G. William Hoagland (Photos by Margaret Carter)
2013 LegisLative training ConferenCe
if Washington doesn’t reach a “big deal” to solve the nation’s budget-deficit problems, govern-ment programs will continue to be squeezed,
said former Republican lawmaker Steven C. LaTourette. LaTourette retired in January after 18 years representing Ohio’s 14th Congressional District, citing frustration with partisan politics.
Of the entire $3.6 billion annual federal budget, two-thirds goes out automatically to pay Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and interest on the debt, he explained. “Of the last little one-third that is left on the table, one-half is defense spending,” he explained. Everything else that the federal government funds – educa-tion, employees, the environment, transporta-tion, “whatever you think is important to you,” comes out of the remaining $600 billion.
He criticized both parties for lacking the courage to act. “It is patently wrong for the Re-
publican party not to put revenue on the table,” he said. The amount of money that comes in through taxes, as a percent of the gross domes-tic product, is the same as 1959. “That’s not a sustainable model.”
“Just as the Republicans need to get off the notion that we are not going to increase rev-enues, Democrats have to get off the notion that we are not going to look at entitlement programs,” such as Social Security and Medicare, he said. There needs to be discussion about how to make the programs sustainable.
If the president and members of the Senate and House “can’t figure out how to achieve a combination of rev-enue increases and spending reduc-tions, you’ve got the wrong people in Washington, DC,” he said.
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Per pair.
THE BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION IS AN ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT, LOCALLY OPERATED BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD PLANS.
* Price shown does not include cost of comprehensive hearing exam. Examination and testing for prescribing hearing aids is covered under the Service Benefit Plan. The Insured may need to submit for reimbursement. Service Benefit Plan members get the TruHearing MemberPlus membership fee waived through December 15, 2013. $108 is the regular yearly cost for the TruHearing MemberPlus membership. Must be a Service Benefit Plan member to access TruHearing MemberPlus discounted pricing. State and Local taxes and/or fees may apply. Prices and products subject to change.§ The Service Benefit Plan will pay a hearing aid benefit up to $2,500 total every 3 calendar years for adults age 22 and
over. Hearing aid benefits for Service Benefit Plan members up to age 22 is $2,500 every calendar year. (2013 benefit.) Do not rely on this communication piece alone for complete benefit information. All benefits are subject to the definitions, limitations, and exclusions in the Service Benefit Plan brochure. The Blue365® Discount Program offers access to savings on items that you may purchase directly from independent vendors, which may be different from items that are covered under your Service Benefit Plan policy or any other applicable federal healthcare program. For hearing aids, acupuncture, chiropractic and vision services, you must exhaust your Service Benefit Plan benefits first. To find out what is covered under your policy, contact the Service Benefit Plan. The products and services described herein are neither
offered nor guaranteed under any local Blue company’s contract with the Medicare program. In addition, they are not subject to the Medicare appeal process. Any disputes regarding these products and services are not subject to the Service Benefit Plan’s Disputed Claims process. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) may receive payments from Blue365 vendors. Neither the Service Benefit Plan, BCBSA, nor any local Blue company recommends, endorses, warrants or guarantees any specific Blue365 vendor or item. The Service Benefit Plan reserves the right to change, modify, or terminate any items and vendors made available through Blue365, at any time.
MEMBERPLUS MEMBERSHIP FEE WAIVED THRU 12/15/2013 (SAVE $108)
Hearing Aids for
Really.
Sound too good to be true? Not with Blue.The Service Benefit Plan makes it possible to buy hearing aids through TruHearing for only $10*.
For example, the Phonak Audeo S Smart III™ retails for $4,050 per pair. Ouch! But with TruHearing
MemberPlus the cost is only $2,190 per pair. Then use your Service Benefit Plan hearing aid benefit of up to
$2,500§, and pay only $10 shipping. For a full list of pricing visit our website at www.truhearing.com.
To enroll in TruHearing MemberPlus:
(877) 360-2432
ALL APPOINTMENTS MUST BE SCHEDULED THROUGH TRUHEARING.
Use enrollment code: HP2R-A365
TruHearing is an independent company providing discounts on hearing aids.
w w w. n a r f e .o r g | 43THE BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD ASSOCIATION IS AN ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT, LOCALLY OPERATED BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD PLANS.
* Price shown does not include cost of comprehensive hearing exam. Examination and testing for prescribing hearing aids is covered under the Service Benefit Plan. The Insured may need to submit for reimbursement. Service Benefit Plan members get the TruHearing MemberPlus membership fee waived through December 15, 2013. $108 is the regular yearly cost for the TruHearing MemberPlus membership. Must be a Service Benefit Plan member to access TruHearing MemberPlus discounted pricing. State and Local taxes and/or fees may apply. Prices and products subject to change.§ The Service Benefit Plan will pay a hearing aid benefit up to $2,500 total every 3 calendar years for adults age 22 and
over. Hearing aid benefits for Service Benefit Plan members up to age 22 is $2,500 every calendar year. (2013 benefit.) Do not rely on this communication piece alone for complete benefit information. All benefits are subject to the definitions, limitations, and exclusions in the Service Benefit Plan brochure. The Blue365® Discount Program offers access to savings on items that you may purchase directly from independent vendors, which may be different from items that are covered under your Service Benefit Plan policy or any other applicable federal healthcare program. For hearing aids, acupuncture, chiropractic and vision services, you must exhaust your Service Benefit Plan benefits first. To find out what is covered under your policy, contact the Service Benefit Plan. The products and services described herein are neither
offered nor guaranteed under any local Blue company’s contract with the Medicare program. In addition, they are not subject to the Medicare appeal process. Any disputes regarding these products and services are not subject to the Service Benefit Plan’s Disputed Claims process. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) may receive payments from Blue365 vendors. Neither the Service Benefit Plan, BCBSA, nor any local Blue company recommends, endorses, warrants or guarantees any specific Blue365 vendor or item. The Service Benefit Plan reserves the right to change, modify, or terminate any items and vendors made available through Blue365, at any time.
MEMBERPLUS MEMBERSHIP FEE WAIVED THRU 12/15/2013 (SAVE $108)
Sound too good to be true? Not with Blue.The Service Benefit Plan makes it possible to buy hearing aids through TruHearing for only $10*.
For example, the Phonak Audeo S Smart III™ retails for $4,050 per pair. Ouch! But with TruHearing
MemberPlus the cost is only $2,190 per pair. Then use your Service Benefit Plan hearing aid benefit of up to
$2,500§, and pay only $10 shipping. For a full list of pricing visit our website at www.truhearing.com.
If a spouse inherits a TSP participant account, a TSP beneficiary participant account will be established for the sur-viving spouse. The beneficiary participant account may look the same, but many of the rules governing the beneficiary par-ticipant account are different. For starters, while a participant doesn’t need to worry about re-quired minimum distributions (RMDs) until he or she turns age 70-½, a beneficiary partici-pant may have to start taking RMDs as soon as the year fol-lowing the year the participant died.
If the participant dies before his or her required beginning date (RBD) (April 1 follow-ing the year he or she turns age 70-½ or separates from government service, whichever is later), the beneficiary partici-pant must begin taking RMDs by the later of December 31 of the year the deceased owner would have turned age 70-½ or
December 31 of the year follow-ing the year of death.
If the participant died on or after the RBD, the beneficiary participant must begin taking annual RMDs by December 31 of the year following the year of the participant’s death. The beneficiary participant also must be sure to take any year of death RMD (based on the de-ceased participant’s life expec-tancy) if the participant had not already done so.
If the surviving spouse were older than the deceased participant, these RMD rules might be beneficial because the spousal beneficiary may be able to delay any RMDs until well past the date he or she turns age 70-½. For example, if a TSP participant dies at age 65 and leaves his TSP account to his 71-year-old wife, she is not required to take RMDs from her TSP beneficiary participant account until five years later, when her deceased
husband would have been age 70-½.
On the other hand, the ben-eficiary participant RMD rules may force a younger surviving spouse to take distributions well before the date he or she turns age 70-½. For example, let’s switch the ages in the previous example so that the deceased participant is age 71, and the surviving spouse is age 65. Although the surviv-ing spouse has not yet reached age 70-½, she’ll be required to take minimum distributions starting by December 31 of the year following the year her husband died. This means that the RMDs are starting at age 66 for the surviving spouse, rather than age 70-½.
Furthermore, a TSP benefi-ciary participant’s RMDs are calculated using the IRS’ Single Lifetime Table, which results in much larger RMDs when com-pared to the Uniform Lifetime Table TSP participants get to use. For example, assuming a $250,000 account balance, the RMD for a 70-year-old partici-pant using the Uniform Life-time Table is $9,124, whereas the RMD for a 70-year-old ben-eficiary participant is $14,706 – 60 percent more!
These rules result in larger distributions at potentially earlier ages. If the surviving spouse doesn’t need the money, he or she is forced to pay unnec-
Ma
nagi
ng M
oney
By Mark a. keen,
CFP®
Understanding tsP Beneficiary rUles
When a surviving spouse chooses to continue an inherited Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account as a TSP beneficiary participant
account, he or she must follow some quirky rules that may result in thousands of dollars in unnecessary taxes. In some instances, the surviving spouse would be better off transferring the inherited TSP account to an individual retirement account (IRA). Let’s take a look at why that may be.
44 |m ay 2 0 13
essary taxes and will lose out on future tax-advan-taged growth. Perhaps one of the most detrimental outcomes occurs when a beneficiary participant dies with money remaining in the TSP beneficiary participant account. In this situation, a beneficiary of a beneficiary participant has no choice but to take a lump-sum distribution from the inherited TSP beneficiary participant account. The distribu-
tion cannot be transferred to a beneficiary IRA, so it’s fully taxable, and any future tax deferral is lost forever. Any Roth money in the TSP account would be distributed tax-free; however, the benefits of a tax-free account are gone. If it is financially advan-tageous to do so, the surviving spouse may want to transfer the inherited TSP account to an IRA of his or her own. He or she will then be subject to the RMD rules for account owners, including RMDs based on the more favorable Uniform Lifetime Table. In addition, the surviving spouse will be able to pass the tax-advantaged account down to future generations.
Mark a. keen, CFP®, is Partner, Keen & PoCoCK, 10300 eaton PlaCe, FairFax, Va, and an inVestment adViser rePresentatiVe and registered Prin-CiPal oF the strategiC FinanCial allianCe, inC. (sFa). seCurities and adVisory serViCes are oFFered through sFa. email: [email protected].
MONEY MEMONARFE offers an online retirement calculator and other financial planning tools. Find out more at www.narfe.org/federalbenefits.
For reservations & details call 7 days a week:
1-800-736-7300
Travel with other NARFE Members to the 125th Rose Parade!Plus... Coastal California Tour
11 Days from $1458*
Enjoy the best New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day you have had in years with YMT at the Rose Parade plus an exciting adventure up the California coast to San Francisco! Begin in the “City of Angels” that includes a tour of Los Angeles, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Attend a VIP presentation on the history and traditions of the Rose Parade, plus an exclusive, pre-parade, after public hours, � oat building and viewing at the Rosemont Pavilion with included dinner. Then on Wednesday, January 1, 2014, observe the Rose Parade from your reserved YMT grand stand seats!
On Friday, January 3, depart for Central California. Visit the beach community of Santa Barbara and its Camino Real Mission; the Danish Village of Solvang; tour the world renowned Hearst Castle, with its considerable collection of art and antiques and travel the scenic Big Sur and famous Highway One, to Monterey. Your last stop is San Francisco with a city tour including a trip over the Golden Gate Bridge and back, plus a ferry trip and tour of Alcatraz Island.*Price per person, based on double occupancy. Airfare is extra.
Departs: December 29, 2013
w w w. n a r f e .o r g | 45
The
Info
rmed
Cit
izen
Decoding Your LabelOn the second line under the barcode on your label, your eight-digit NARFE membership identification number appears following the letters ID. Next come the letters CH and four digits, indicating your NARFE chapter. Then there are two letters and two numerals. The letters will, in most cases, be the postal code for your state or territory, and the numerals may range from 01 through 53. These indicate your congressional dis-trict. For instance, CA22 denotes California’s 22nd Congressional District. If you are a snowbird who lingered past Spring Train-ing, your temporary Florida or Arizona address should not have affected your congressional district assignment based on a permanent address.
Omission or Incorrect AssignmentAs in baseball, errors do occur. One good test is to insert your new congressional district as-signment at a website that will list both the current member of Congress and the person
who represented that congres-sional district until January 3, 2013. The best website is www.my2012district.com/. This site also shows maps before and after redistricting. Interactive maps allow you to drill down to the street level. Should your label prove incorrect, contact the NARFE Legislative Department staff.
NARFE Reports and OAMFor NARFE chapter and fed-eration officers, the quarterly Officers Roster (M-111) will show updated congressional district assignments. Finally, federa-tion officers will have a tool to connect chapters sharing the same representative. Even more important, the NARFE Online Activities Module (OAM) on the NARFE website, www.narfe.org,
allows chapter officers to know which members are in which congressional districts. District and federation officers must co-ordinate multiple chapters that share a representative. In this crucial task, the NARFE legisla-tive staff is eager to help.
Profiles AvailableIn addition to our newly pub-lished Congressional Directory: 113th Congress 2013-2014 (see ad, p. 10), our frequently updated Legislative Action Center al-lows NARFE members to access revised advocacy templates and biographical information on each member of Congress. Unique to the Legislative Action Center is the ability to easily display the votes cast by your congressional delegation on the most important NARFE issues. This web resource updates the “How They Voted” ar-ticle from the centerfold of the Oc-tober issue of narfe magazine. The gateway to “Key Votes” is capwiz.com/narfe/keyvotes.xc/?lvl=C. A less well-known feature of this website allows for the display of an entire state delegation’s votes on a bill or an amendment.
DeCoDIng Your MagazIne label
The mailing label on your issue of narfe magazine provides a new tool for NARFE members. For the first time, this month’s label shows the congressional district in which
you reside (see illustration below). This should be the congres-sional district in which you voted during the primary and general elections in 2012.
By Christopher Farrell, LegisLative RepResentative
#BXBBKNY ****************CAR-RT LOT**R-020#01234567 2# ID 01234567 CH0123 CA22JA2 NARF1 0010 #421 #107266MR JOHN SAMPLE20 PRIMROSE LANECLOVIS, CA 93619-9830
|||||
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
your NarFe membership identification number
your NarFe chapter
the postal code for your state and your congressional district
DeCoDiNg your magaziNe laBel
46 |M AY 2 0 13
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Countdown to CoLA
the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 1.0 percent in February. To calculate the amount of the 2014
cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), the indices of July, August and September 2013 will be averaged and compared with the 2012 third-quarter average of 226.936. That percentage increase, if any, determines the COLA. The February index of 228.677 is up 0.77 percent from the base.
Benefits awarded under the Federal Employees’ Com-pensation Act (FECA) to individuals suffering work-related injuries or illnesses are adjusted according to each calendar year’s percentage change in the CPI-W. February’s index is 1.23 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.
G Fund: Government securities (specially issued to the TSP)F Fund: Government, corporate and mortgage-backed bondsC Fund: Stocks of large- and medium-size U.S. companiesS Fund: Stocks of small- to medium-size U.S. companies (not included in the C Fund)I Fund: International stocks of 21 developed countriesL 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.)
Month CPI-WMonthly
% Change
% Change
from 226.936
OCtOber 2012 227.974 -0.1 0.45
NOvember 226.595 -0.6 -0.15
DeCember 225.889 -0.3 -0.46
JaNuary 2013 226.520 +0.3 -0.18
February 228.677 +1.0 +0.77
marCh
aprIL
may
JuNe
JuLy
auGuSt
September
The C and S Funds continued their string of positive returns in March. Both have now been up for five months in a row. The I Fund in-creased in value as well, but its returns are be-ing held back by the economic situation in Eu-rope. While the C and S Funds are up more than 10 percent for 2013, the I Fund has returned just under 5 percent. The F Fund had been out-performing the G Fund for a while, but for the last six months, it is basically unchanged.—TRACEY RAY is chief investment officer of the thrift savings Plan.
domestiC Funds tALLy big gAins; inteRnAtionAL LAgs
bY TRACEY RAY
thRiFt sAvings PLAn monthLy RetuRns
G FUND F FUND C FUND S FUND I FUND
aprIL 0.15% 1.12% (0.62%) (0.71%) (1.87%)
may 0.14% 0.91% (5.99%) (6.91%) (11.40%)
JuNe 0.11% 0.05% 4.13% 3.25% 7.08%
JuLy 0.12% 1.38% 1.40% (0.62%) 0.56%
auGuSt 0.11% 0.07% 2.25% 3.57% 3.29%
September 0.10% 0.15% 2.57% 2.51% 2.96%
OCtOber 0.12% 0.20% (1.86%) (1.31%) 0.85%
NOvember 0.11% 0.16% 0.57% 1.53% 2.41%
DeCember 0.12% (0.13%) 0.91% 2.69% 4.02%
2013 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%
ytD 0.38% 0.01% 10.61% 13.09% 4.34%
LaSt 12 mO 1.46% 3.98% 13.98% 17.16% 11.59%
L INCOME L 2020 L 2030 L 2040 L 2050
aprIL 0.01% (0.38%) (0.52%) (0.63%) (0.78%)
may (1.38%) (4.20%) (5.23%) (6.00%) (6.85%)
JuNe 1.04% 2.72% 3.32% 3.77% 4.27%
JuLy 0.37% 0.63% 0.71% 0.75% 0.78%
auGuSt 0.63% 1.57% 1.94% 2.23% 2.51%
September 0.62% 1.52% 1.87% 2.12% 2.38%
OCtOber (0.11%) (0.45%) (0.60%) (0.71%) (0.80%)
NOvember 0.34% 0.77% 0.93% 1.06% 1.19%
DeCember O.47% 1.19% 1.48% 1.69% 1.93%
2013 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%
ytD 2.11% 5.00% 6.28% 7.23% 8.07%
LaSt 12 mO 4.15% 8.42% 10.22% 11.55% 12.72%
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.gov.
48 |m ay 2 0 13
Signature Date / /
Support Alzheimer’s Research
Join the Silver CIrcle
Give to the Scholarship and Disaster Funds
donate to nARFe Programs
NARFE mEmbERs CoNTRibuTEd FoR AlzhEimER’s REsEARCh: $10 million Fund
$10,213,831**Total as of February 28, 2013
100% of all contributed funds go to Alzheimer’s research.
if you have any questions, write to:
NATioNAl CommiTTEE ChAiRJane Rodgers, P.o. box 234Wadesville, iN 47638-0234
EmAil: [email protected]
mAkE ChECk PAYAblE To:NARFE-FEEA Disaster Fund or
NARFE-FEEA Scholarship Fund.
PlEAsE mAil CouPoN ANd ChECk To:Feea
3333 S. Wadsworth Blvd., Suite 300Lakewood, CO 80227
CliP This CoNTRibuTioN FoRm ANd mAil To:
NARFE Silver Circle, 606 N. Washington St. Alexandria, VA 22314
Enclosed is my nARFE-Alzheimer’s contribution: $Every cent that is contributed is used for research.Please circle: Mr. Mrs. Miss Ms.name:Address:City: State: ZIP: Chapter number:
Enclosed is my Silver Circle contribution: $ID #(ID # may be found on your narfe magazine label or your NARFE membership card)name:Address:City: State: ZIP:
name:Address:City: State: ZIP:
silver Circle contributions are NoT deductible for federal income tax purposes.
iNsTAllmENT PlANWall of Fame 12-month installment plan
Please check appropriate box(es). To make credit-card contributions, call 800-338-0755. Scholarships are available to children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of fed-eral civilian retirees and current federal employees who are NARFE members.
YEs!
nARFE-FEEA Disaster Fund Amount: $
nARFE-FEEA Scholarship Fund Amount: $
I would like to help with my contribution.
All donations go to the NARFE General Fund to support NARFE programs and operations.
My check is enclosed (Please make check payable to NARFE Silver Circle.)
Please charge my credit card
WRiTE YouR ChAPTER NumbER oN ChECk; mAkE iT PAYAblE To:
NARFE-Alzheimer’s Research
ANd mAil To:Alzheimer’s Association
225 N. Michigan Ave., 17th FloorChicago, IL 60601-7633
YouR ChARiTAblE CoNTRibuTioN is TAx-dEduCTiblE To ThE FullEsT ExTENT AlloWEd bY lAW.
Signature Date / /
Credit Card Information: MasterCard Visa Discover AMEXCard number:Expiration Date: (mm)/ (yy) 3-Digit Security Code:name: (please print)
Card type MasterCard Visa Discover AMEXCard number:Expiration Date: (mm)/ (yy) name: (please print)
•For a contribution of $25 or more, you will receive a silver Circle pin,
and your name will be listed in narfemagazine with other contributors.
•For a contribution of $1,000 or more, your name will be placed on the “Wall of
Fame” at NARFE headquarters.
YouR ChARiTAblE CoNTRibuTioN is TAx-dEduCTiblE To ThE FullEsT
ExTENT AlloWEd bY lAW.
50 |m ay 2 0 13
NA
RF
E N
ews
Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) will be cel-ebrated May 5-11. The theme
of this year’s observance is “Why I Serve.” PSRW honors the men and women who serve our nation as federal, state, county and local gov-ernment employees. It is organized annually by the Public Employees Roundtable and its member organi-zations, including NARFE.
Throughout the country, govern-ments and organizations par-ticipate through proclamations, awards ceremonies and tribute events. The PSRW website, www.psrw.org, has a “How to Celebrate PSRW Guide” that NARFE chapters might find helpful in organizing a commemoration or event.
New this year to PSRW is a 5K run/walk in Washington, DC, spon-
sored by many federal employee/retiree organizations, including NARFE. Proceeds from the race will benefit the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund.
take note: cards are in the mail!
NARFE’s annual notecard fund-raising campaign is in full swing. If they haven’t already, members soon should be receiving a set of notecards and address labels, courtesy of NARFE. The cards, which feature photographs taken by NARFE members, include birthday, sympathy and “thinking of you” sentiments, along with a blank card. NARFE hopes mem-bers will return a voluntary dona-tion in the enclosed envelope.
CElEbRAtE YOuR sERviCE
Life Membership Fee ScheduleAges Single or Quarterly
Payment Installments30-39 $1,796 $450.2540-50 1,408 353.2551-55 1,127 283.0056-60 960 241.2561-65 801 201.5066-70 653 164.5071-75 514 129.7576-80 392 99.2581-90 251 64.0091-100+ 127 33.00
NARFE NATIONAL LIFE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
MAIL THIS APPLICATION TO NARFE Member Records 606 N. Washington St. / Alexandria, VA 22314-1914
PAYMENT INFORMATIONn Single Payment or n Quarterly Installments (4 payments)
Life Membership fee amount: $ ______________________PAYMENT OPTIONSn 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 ________
I am a (check all that apply)n Active Federal Employee n Active Federal Employee
Spousen Annuitant n Annuitant Spousen Survivor Annuitant
Contact Informationn 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 InformationMember Number: ______________________________________(New members) Membership is open to civilians in any agency of the federalor D.C. (before Oct. 1, 1987) governments eligible for a federal annuity.
Thank you for becoming a National Member for Life. You willreceive a membership card, certificate and special lapel pin.Please allow six weeks for processing. Dues payments & giftcontributions to NARFE are not deductible as charitablecontributions for income tax purposes.
Life Membership Apl_New Design 3/26/13 3:49 PM Page 1
For chapter photos, see our Out and About Photo Gallery at www.narfe.org/narfemagazine.
Three Easy Ways To Join1.2.3.
� YES. I want to join NARFE.
� Mr. � Mrs. � Miss � Ms.
Full Name ________________________________________
Street Address ____________________________________
Apt./Unit ________________________________________
City _______________________ State _____ ZIP ________
Phone (__________) _______________________________
Email____________________________________________
Date of Birth _________ /_________ / _______________dd mm yyyy
I am a (check all that apply)� Active Federal Employee� Active Federal Employee Spouse� Annuitant� Annuitant Spouse� Survivor Annuitant
� Please enroll my spouseSpouse’s Full Name ________________________________
Spouse’s Email ____________________________________
Spouse’s Date of Birth ______/______/_____________dd mm yyyy
NARFE respects the privacy of our members. Personal informationis used to provide content and relevant communications to ourmembers, and will not be sold or rented to third parties withoutyour express permission.
The only organization dedicated solely to protecting and preserving the benefits of all federalworkers and retirees, NARFE informs you of any developments and proposals that affect yourcompensation, retirement and health benefits, AND provides clear answers to your benefit questions.
Who Should Join?
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
Active and Retired Federal Employees ... JOIN NARFE TODAY!National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
PAYMENT OPTIONS� Check, Money Order or Bill Pay (Payable to NARFE)� Bill me (NARFE membership will start when payment is
received.)� Charge my: � MasterCard � VISA
� Discover � American Express
Card No. _____________________________________
Expiration Date _________ /_________mm yyyy
Name on Card _________________________________
Signature _____________________________________
Date _________________________________________
Choose Your Membership Type
� Local Chapter Close-to-Home Membership — $45Affiliation with the NARFE chapter closest to your home. Receive narfe magazine each month; attend meetings, oftenwith invited speakers; network; and get involved in grass-roots lobbying efforts.
$45 first-year dues X __________ = __________Per Person # Enrolling Total Dues
(First-year dues include national and chapter dues.)
Chapter Affiliation (if known, otherwise enroll me in the chapter closest to my ZIP code). Chapter #___ ___ ___ ___
OR
� eNARFE Chapter Online Membership — $40NARFE’s electronic chapter. Receive narfe magazine by maileach month, and all other communications by email and oneNARFE.org. Get important updates and legislative actionalerts, and have access to the eNARFE blog.
$40 first-year dues X __________ = __________Per Person # Enrolling Total Dues
MAY WE THANK SOMEONE? If applicable, please providethe name, membership and chapter number of the memberwho 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
Application_magazine_CMYK.qxd:cmyk for magazine 2/21/13 11:44 AM Page 1
� Mr. � Mrs. � Miss � Ms.
Full Name _______________________________________
Street Address ___________________________________
Apt./Unit________________________________________
City _________________________ State _____ ZIP _____
Phone (__________) ______________________________
Email ___________________________________________
Date of Birth _________ /_________ / ____________________dd mm yyyy
NARFE MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
NARFE Membership ID ____________________________________
NARFE Chapter Number____________________________________
� YES. I Also Authorize My (NARFE Member) Spouse’s Dues To BeWithheld From My Annuity. (Additional annual dues of $34 plusChapter dues of record to be withheld annually.)
If YES, enter spouse’s information below.
Spouse’s Name ___________________________________________
Spouse’s Membership ID ___________________________________
MAIL THIS FORM TO: NARFE, ATTN: Member Records, 606 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314-1914www.narfe.org 800-627-3394 [email protected]
NARFE Dues Withholding Application for Retirees
NARFE’s Dues Withholding Program
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 toexceed the amount certified by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association as the amount of dues for which Iam annually obligated, in accordance with elections I make below, and to pay the deducted sum to the National Active andRetired Federal Employees Association (NARFE). This authorization shall also apply to any and all dues changes certified byNARFE 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 accor-dance with its agreement with the Office of Personnel Management and that any disputes regarding this authorization shall be amatter between NARFE and myself. I hold the Office of Personnel Management harmless for any erroneous allotment deductionmade 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.
What is dues withholding?It is a dues-payment method that gives NARFE members(retirees) the option of having their annual NARFE membershipdues deducted from their annuities on a monthly basis.
How does it work?One-twelfth of your total dues is automatically deducted fromyour 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 at any time!
Application processIt takes 60-90 days to process your application. Once theprocess is complete, you will receive a special membership carddistinguishing 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.
� YES. I want to enroll in NARFE’s Dues Withholding Program (Annual dues of $34 plus Chapter dues of record to be withheld annually.)
C S(Include prefix, CSA or CSF)
(Include any applicable suffix)
– – – –
Social Security Number (9-digit number)
–
Civil Service Annuity Number
Do not send money with this form DW-2 (08/12)
DW-2 (08-12) magazine:DW2 10/24/12 4:27 PM Page 1
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Call Today Toll-Free1-800-514-8773for your FREE information kit and DVD, and our Senior Discounts
Credit Union
nArFe Premier Federal Credit Union800-328-1500www.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 of-fer 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 num-ber above, e-mail [email protected] or visit the website.
Credit CArd
Bank of America866-438-6262Bank of America offers the officially approved credit card program for NARFE, featuring the Platinum Plus® MasterCard® with WorldPoints. This is the only credit card that helps support NARFE every time you use it to make a purchase–at no addi-tional cost to you. When calling, use NARFE’s full name, not NARFE.
insUrAnCe
nArFe insurance services800-233-5764www.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.
GeiCo800-368-2734NARFE members with good driving records may be eligible for quality au-tomobile insurance from GEICO. Ask about the NARFE discount available to members in many states. Call to-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.
hotels
Choice hotels international800-258-2847www.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 participat-ing hotels when you use Special Rate ID 00801967. This offer is subject to availability and cannot be combined with any other offer. Advance reser-vations required.
Wyndham hotel Group877-670-7088 As a member of NARFE, you will receive up to 20% off the “Best Avail-able 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 up-scale 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 ho-tline 877-670-7088 and reserve your room today at one of these fine ho-tels: 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®.
VACAtion rentAls
Government employees travel opportunities®877-867-3639www.getravelop.com/narfeOffers government employees, retir-ees and their families 7-night stays for only $349 on accommodations worldwide. Book online and save on your next vacation stay.
CAr rentAls
AlamoDrive Happy® with Alamo® where NARFE members receive year-round discounts. Call 1-800-462-5266 and reference Contract ID 262544.
nationalYou 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.
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.
54 |M AY 2 0 13
Mem
ber
Per
ks
AvisThe employees/owners of Avis offer guaranteed low rates and qual-ity services to members of NARFE. Call 800-331-1441 and mention ID# A991900.
nArFe MerChAndise
nArFe General store855-99NARFE (855-996-2733)www.narfegeneralstore.comOfficial NARFE name badges, cus-tomizable logo products and plaques.
MoVinG serViCes
nArFe Member homeBenefits800-666-9203http://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!
*State restrictions apply. Call or visit website for details.
Bekins Van lines800-248-4810 www. [email protected] All NARFE members will receive dis-counted pricing for all interstate ship-ments. 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 men-tion you are a NARFE member and ask for Traci.
eMerGenCy serViCes
MAsA800-423-3226Medical 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 re-mains transport, and much more!
Call MASA Today. It Could Save Your Life!
heArinG BeneFits
truhearing877-360-2442Two discount programs to choose from:
ValueAdd® or MemberPlus®. Similar to a warehouse membership, Mem-berPlus saves hundreds more for a $108 yearly membership. Member-Plus also includes:• 45-day, money-back guarantee
on membership fee and all purchases
• 48 batteries, 3-year warranty, and one-time loss and damage for 3 years (small manufacturer deductible applies) on each purchased hearing aid
• Guest membership for up to four extended family members (siblings, parents, etc.) for only $79 each
• Combine with an existing health plan hearing benefit to maximize savings.
Visit TruHearingMemberPlus.com for more information, or call 877-360-2442, Mon-Fri, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. ET.
heAlth sCreeninG
life line screening800-324-9906www.lifelinescreening.com/NARFELife Line Screening, America’s lead-ing provider of community-based
preventive health screenings, will conduct the following screenings us-ing state-of-the-art ultrasound tech-nology in your neighborhood:
1. Stroke/Carotid Artery2. Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm3. Atrial Fibrillation4. Peripheral Arterial Disease.
You will receive a confidential writ-ten 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 appoint-ment, please call the number above and give the operator code number BKHN075 or visit the website. Cover-age may vary and may not be avail-able in all states.
edUCAtion
ivy Bridge College 877-615-9246http://ivybridge.tiffin.edu/narfeWant 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 founda-tion for a rewarding future. NARFE members and their families can en-joy an exclusive 5 percent savings on tuition at Ivy Bridge, a unique online institution that provides a high-ly supported pathway to a bachelor’s degree. To learn more, call or visit the website.
not A MeMBer? GO ONLINE: it’s easy to join online at www.narfe.org. Click “Join nArFe.”
TURN TO PAGE 51: Fill out the Membership Application and mail it to nArFe to receive all the perks of being a nArFe member.
CALL (TOLL-FREE) 800-627-3394.
w w w. n A r f e .o r g | 55
Photo courtesy of the Library of congress; Darlene richardson, historian, u.s. Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs; in collaboration with the society for history in the Federal Government (shFG), http://shfg.org/shfg/. Bringing together government professionals, academics, consultants, students and citizens interested in understanding federal history work and the historical development of the federal government.
This photograph of the Veterans Bureau correspondence department was taken on May 20, 1924. Correspondence often requested additional information from veterans to complete processing of claims. In 1930, the Veterans Bureau became the Veterans Administration and, in 1989, officially became the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The
Wa
y W
e W
orke
d
In servIce To servIce men and Women Are you a Department of
Veterans Affairs employee or retiree? Tell us about your service, and we will post it on
the NARFE website. To tell your story, send an
email message to [email protected].
Stories may be viewed at
www.narfe.org/narfemagazine.
56 |M AY 2 0 13
Finally, a cell phone that’s... a phone.Introducing the all-new Jitterbug® Plus.
We’ve made it even better… without making it harder to use. All my friends have new cell phones. They carry themaround with them all day, like mini computers, with little tiny keyboards and hundreds of programs which are supposed to make their life easier. Trouble is… myfriends can’t use them. The keypads are too small, the displays are hard to see and the phones are so complicated that my friends end up borrowing my Jitterbug when they need to make a call. I don’t mind…I just got a new phone too… the new Jitterbug Plus.Now I have all the things I loved about my Jitterbugphone along with some great new features that makeit even better!
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