| AFSA | RETIREE NEWSLETTER |
December
2003
Volume 17, Number 5 |
American
Foreign Service Association, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, DC, 20037
Web: www.afsa.org E-mail afsa@afsa.org
Phone number (800) 704-AFSA
Inside This Issue
D.C. Tax Relief Proposed
Congress and Your Benefits
2004 COLA Update
Local Association News
Employment News
Take Note
Proposed DC legislation would increase the income tax exclusion for pension income and military retired pay.
On
November 12 the District Council Committee on Finance and Revenue held
hearings on Bill 15-184 (Pension or Other Retirement Income Exclusion
from Income Tax Amendment Act of 2003).
This legislation would increase the current annuity exclusion to $10,000
for individuals 62 to 64 years of age and to $20,000 for those 65 years
of age and older. At present D.C. gives a $3,000 annuity exclusion to
individuals who are 62 and older and a personal exclusion of $1,370
to all residents 65 and older.
In contrast, Maryland has a pension exclusion of up to $18,500 for residents
who are 65 years of age and older or totally disabled (reduced by Social
Security), and all residents 65 and older receive a personal exemption
of $1,000. Virginia gives a $6,000 annuity exclusion to individuals
ages 62 to 64, a $12,000 annuity exclusion to those 65 and older, and
a $800 personal exclusion to residents who are 65 and older.
AFSA urges its D.C. members to write or call their D.C. council members
and the Mayor to urge favorable action on Bill 15-184. For more information,
see www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us
TAX RELIEF FOR FOREIGN SERVICE
The 2003 Military Family Tax Relief Act provides that State Department workers and military members on extended overseas assignments may qualify for the same capital gains relief available to other Americans when they sell their primary residences.
The tax code requires a person to reside in a home for two out of five years prior to the sale of a home in order to qualify for capital gains exclusion on the profit from the sale of the home. Home sellers can claim exclusions up to $250,000 per individual or $500,000 per couple.
Foreign Service and military personnel, because of back-to-back overseas assignments, have had trouble meeting the residence rules.
The change in the tax code permits Foreign Service and military personnel to suspend the five-year period. The period can be suspended during any period of extended official duty, not to exceed ten years. Extended official duty is defined as an assignment more than 50 miles from a principal residence.
The change is retroactive to 1997; people seeking retroactive relief have one year from November 11, 2003, in which to request a refund of capital gains paid.
DEFERRED ANNUITANTS AND LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE
One of the provisions of the 2004 Defense Authorization Bill, P.L. 108-136, makes deferred federal annuitants eligible to apply for the federal long-term care insurance program (FLTCIP). Previously deferred annuitants could not participate in FLTCIP until they began receiving their federal annuities. Now deferred annuitants are able to buy insurance when premiums are less expensive and when they are less likely to have health problems.
MEDICARE
The conference report on Medicare was passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Bush on December 8, 2003. AFSA is pleased to report that Section 561 of the Senate-passed prescription drug bill, which would have permitted employers to eliminate or reduce health benefits for retirees 65 and older, was not included in the final bill. However, AFSA is concerned that H.R. 2631 and S. 1369 were not included in the final agreement. These bills would require the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) to maintain prescription drug parity between Medicare-eligible retirees enrolled in FEHBP and other federal employees and retirees. H.R. 2631 was passed by unanimous vote in the House. No action has been taken on S. 1369 in the Senate.
The new Medicare Act does not go into effect until 2006. As a result, it will not have an immediate effect on the plans in the FEHBP, essentially all of which provide better drug prescription benefits than those under the new Act. What the Medicare Act will mean for FEHBP benefits in the long run, however, is uncertain and bears close watching.
We urge AFSA members to call their Senators and ask for Senate consideration of S. 1369. For assistance in contacting your congressmen, go to the AFSA website at www.afsa.org/afsa_cong_mail.cfm.
The amount of COLA you will receive in 2004 will depend on your retirement plan and the date on which your annuity began.
If
you receive benefits solely under the old FSRDS retirement system, you
will receive a 2.1% Cola.
If you receive benefits under the new FSPS retirement system, however,
you will receive a 2.0% COLA on the FSPS portion of your annuity and
a 2.1 % COLA on any FSRDS portion.
If your annuity began on or after January 1, 2003, you will receive a prorated COLA based on the number of months that benefits were paid before December 1, 2003.
If you retired under the new FSPS system and receive an annuity supplement, you will receive the COLA on your regular annuity, but not on your annuity supplement.
The Foreign Affairs Retirees of New England (FARNE) will hold a winter meeting on January 7, 2004, at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts. Greg Thielman, a former director of the Office of Strategic Proliferation and Military Affairs in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), will speak about Iraqi weapons intelligence. If interested, contact Gina Crocker at Farne384@aol.com or (508) 600-0296.
The Foreign Service Retirees Association of Florida (FSRA) held its annual meeting and banquet on November 15 in Jacksonville. AFSA President John Limbert attended the banquet and was warmly received by the organization, which now has a membership of 900.
FSRA will host a luncheon on Saturday, January 24, 2004, at the Palm Aire Country Club in Sarasota. Contact Irvin Rubenstein at (954) 474-2949 or Paul Byrnes at (941) 377-8181.
Employment and Volunteer Opportunities
FINDING
A JOB AFTER RETIREMENT
Ambassador George Jones, AFSA Retiree Vice President.
One of the things they tell you in the Department's Transition Course is that the best way to find a second career is through friends and contacts. "Cold calling" - sending a resume to or visiting a firm where no one knows you - is much less likely to yield results. I have had two post-FS jobs and both came through contacts. I met the president of one organization when he was a Peace Corps country director. Years later he was among the people I called on when looking for post Foreign Service employment, and as it happened, he was looking to fill a position. Almost four years later, I went to the monthly luncheon of my college alumni association, and met a fellow alum, a vice president of a company that was looking for someone to fill a position.
I managed USAID contracts in democracy and governance at both organizations. Overseeing and backstopping the overseas office of a USAID contractor is not much different from the work of a country director at State or AID, and the skills one learns as a manager in the Foreign Service are readily transferable to the private sector.
Job
Opportunities
Also see http://www.afsa.org/jobs.cfm.
The
Political Military Bureau's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC)
is establishing an outreach team. The team will include a dedicated
response cell that will answer inquiries from U.S. exporters of defense
equipment and services. In the near future DDTC will seek qualified
individuals to serve on the response team on a full or part-time basis.
Additional information about this job opportunity will be posted on
the AFSA website.
Management Systems International (MSI) seeks a consultant for
30 days during January and February for a World Bank project in Tanzania.
The project will explore standards for accounting and auditing operations,
addressing issues of corporate governance, corruption, ethics, and public
service reform. If interested, send a cover letter, resume and reference
to recruitment@msi-inc.com and to the attention of Gail Critchley.
MSI seeks a Chief of Party for a 2 ½ year anti-corruption project
in Columbia. Candidates should have management experience in large USAID
programs, experience in and Latin America, technical and diplomatic
skills, anticorruption, public administration and citizen involvement,
and Spanish. If interested, send a cover letter, resume and reference
to recruitment@msi-inc.com and to the attention of Gail Critchley.
Volunteer Opportunities
Youth for Understanding (YFU) is a nonprofit organization that prepares young people for responsibilities and opportunities in a changing interdependent world through international exchanges. YFU seeks volunteers to work with student files and assist in the host family placement process. Contact Tina Saudek Cusack at (240) 235-2151 or cusack@yfu.org.
The Bead Museum seeks volunteers who have an interest in beads and museums. Volunteers are needed to greet the public, provide tours and programs, and operate the museum shop. Contact Tania Said at (202) 624-4500.
Be part of the major recruiting effort now going on at the Department of State. The Recruiter Emeritus Program seeks volunteer retirees to promote Department job opportunities in their states of residence. Write to volunteer@state.gov or Department of State, Recruitment, Examination and Employment, 2401 E Street NW, H518, Washington DC 20522.
Take
Note
AFSA Scholarship Fund and Fund for American Diplomacy Do you want to
give something back to the career that served you well, simplify your
lifestyle, be recognized, and/or leave a memorial? You can do this with
a planned gift to the AFSA Scholarship Fund and/or the Fund for American
Diplomacy. Contact, Lori Dec toll free at 1 800 704 2372 ext. 504 or
dec@afsa.org for more details.
The Foreign Service Retirees Home Exchange Program (FSRHEP) offers home exchange, home visiting, and rental opportunities in the United States, Europe, and Central and South America. Participation in FSRHEP is open to retirees who are members of AFSA, DACOR, and USIAAA. Information and an application form can be found on the AFSA website at www.AFSA.org under home exchange.
Federal Flexible Benefits Plan Annuitants, except for reemployed annuitants, are not eligible for coverage in the Federal Flexible Benefits Plan through either Premium Conversion or Flexible Spending Accounts.
