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| AFSA | RETIREE NEWSLETTER |
October
2003
Volume 17, Number 4 |
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
Health Premiums
Congress and Your Benefits
COLA Update
Elderhostel News
Local Association News
Employment News
Health
insurance premiums for federal employees and retirees will increase
by an average of 10.6 percent in 2004, the fourth consecutive year of
double digit increases.
Although this increase is less than that for the private sector, it
reflects a high rate of growth.
Premiums for federal employees rose 11.1 percent in 2003, 13.3 percent
in 2002, and 10.5 percent in 2001.
The monthly increases for retirees with Blue Cross Blue Shield will
be $7.02 for self only and $16.60 for self and family. Monthly increases
for the Foreign Service Benefit Plan will be $4.38 for self only and
$12.39 for self and family.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) attributed the rate increases
to rising prescription drug costs and the expanding use of health care
facilities by an aging federal workforce. OPM officials noted that there
will be an increase in the number of health plans offered and that changes
in benefits will be relatively minor.
Premium increases and changes in benefits vary considerably by health
plan. AFSA encourages retirees to read the materials that the Retirement
Office will send to them in early November. The Federal Employees Health
Benefits open season will begin November 10 and end on December 31.
With
the 108th Congress under pressure to cut funding, a number of federal
retirement benefit issues hang in the balance.
Social Security: Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government
Pension Offset (GPO) Current law provides that if you work for an
employer who does not withhold Social Security taxes, the pension you
receive based on that employment will reduce your Social Security benefits
from any other employment. The Windfall Elimination Provision applies
to Foreign Service Retirement System (FSRDS) annuitants who were not
eligible for a government annuity until after 1985. The WEP reduction
can reduce a retiree's earned Social Security benefit by as much as
60 percent.
A related law, the Government Pension Offset, prevents FSRDS annuitants
(who were first eligible to retire in December 1982 and later) from
collecting both a government annuity that was not covered by Social
Security and Social Security benefits that are based on the work record
of their spouses. The effect of the GPO is that two thirds of an annuity
will offset any Social Security benefits that would be payable to the
retired government worker as a spouse.
House and Senate bills to eliminate both the Windfall Elimination Provision
(H.R. 594 and S. 349) and the Government Pension Offset (H.R. 887 and
S. 363) have been introduced. The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs
held the first ever hearing on WEP and GPO problems on September 24.
Premium Conversion
Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code allows federal employees to
pay health insurance premiums with pre-tax earnings. This results in
savings of $400 to $600 a year. Section 125 does not extend the premium
conversion benefit to federal and military annuitants. Faced with increasing
health costs and unable to use pretax earnings, annuitants effectively
pay higher health insurance premiums at a time when income is reduced.
Legislation to amend Section 125 to allow federal civilian and military
retirees to pay health insurance premiums on a pretax basis has been
introduced in both houses of Congress (H.R. 1231 and S. 623). H.R. 1231
was approved by the House Government Reform Committee and now must be
considered by the House Armed Services and the House Ways and Means
Committees. Because this bill has a revenue impact, the Ways and Means
Committee remains the major stumbling block.
Medicare: Prescription Drug Coverage
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed Medicare
reform bills that include a prescription drug benefit. While welcoming
this coverage, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees
(NARFE) and AFSA have become concerned that this inclusion would prompt
health insurance plans, including the Federal Employees Health Benefit
Plan (FEHBP), to reduce or eliminate their prescription drug benefits.
Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) and Sen. Daniel Akaka introduced stand-alone bills
that would require FEHBP to maintain prescription drug parity between
Medicare-eligible retirees enrolled in FEHBP and other federal employees
and retirees. H.R. 2631 passed by unanimous vote in the House. There
has been no commitment to floor action with respect to companion Senate
bill S. 1369.
We urge AFSA members to ask Congress to pass the Windfall Elimination Provision, Government Pension Offset, and Premium Conversion legislation, and to include the House-passed H.R. 2631 in the Medicare Conference Bill. To contact your Congressperson, please click here.
NOTE: Federal Employees Group Life Insurance premiums for FEGLI enrollees at older ages will increase slightly in January 2004 and again in 2005 as part of a phased-in set of increases. The increases affect Option B, which provides optional insurance equal to five times ones' salary.
Retiree cost of living adjustments (COLAs) are based on changes in the consumer price index from the third quarter of one calendar year to the next. Retirees have accumulated 2.1 percent toward the 2004 COLA with one month remaining in the counting period. The increase for September, which is the final figure needed to determine the next COLA for retirees and Social Security beneficiaries, will be released on October 16.
This
has been another successful year for special outreach programs presented
by AFSA retirees in cooperation with Elderhostel.
A total of eighteen weeks of programs about the Foreign Service were
presented by retirees at nine locations in the U.S. Retirees in the
D.C. area, Arizona, Colorado, Florida and Georgia hosted thirteen weeks
of their established programs. New programs were launched in California,
Washington, and New England. We hope to see new programs in Texas and
North Carolina in the coming year.
AFSA welcomes the increasing interest in this outreach and appreciates
the contributions made by our retirees. Participating retirees share
insights about diplomacy, public diplomacy, and cross-cultural communication.
And the Elderhostel audience sees first-hand the continuing importance
of diplomacy, including its role in preventing or peacefully resolving
crises. For information, please contact Ward Thompson at thompsonw.@afsa.org.
The
Foreign Affairs Retirees of Maryland will host a luncheon on
Tuesday, October 21 at the Classic Hyatt Residence in Chevy Chase. Ms.
Harrier Hentges of the United States Institute of Peace will talk about
peaceful resolution of international conflict. Contact Norman Glick
at (301) 963-7747 or nglick@erols.com.
The Foreign Service Retirees Association of Southern California
will hold a luncheon on Friday, October 24, at Tom Ham's Lighthouse
Restaurant on Harbor Island, San Diego. UCSD Professor Stephen Haggard
will speak on the North Korean Nuclear Challenge. Contact: Raymond Gonzalez
(760) 599-0622.
The Foreign Affairs Association of Southern and Central California
will hold its next luncheon meeting on Thursday, November 13 at
the Marriott Hotel in Fashion Island in Newport Beach. Professor Donald
Will of Chapman University will talk about prospects for peace in the
Middle East. Contact Marguerite Cooper at (323) 666-0909.
The Foreign Service Retirees Association of Florida will hold
its Annual Banquet on Saturday, November 15 at the Hilton Riverfront
Hotel in Jacksonville. Contact: Irwin Rubenstein at (954) 474-2949.
Foreign affairs personnel retire relatively early with tremendous general and specific skills and with worldwide experience and understanding. Employers recognize this and, as a result, our retirees can be found working in important positions in academe, foundations, consulting firms, government, and in the nonprofit world. In this and future newsletters, we will feature different kinds of employers and job opportunities.
Management Systems International (MSI) is one example of a Washington, D.C. consulting firm that serves clients worldwide. Established in 1981, the firm specializes in private sector development, democracy and governance, environment and natural resources, and countries and regions in transition. Its core expertise includes managing political change; planning, measuring, and evaluating; institutional development; mainlining gender considerations; and training.
For general recruitment purposes, applicants should complete the MSI Consultant Registration Form and email the completed form with a current resume to recruitment@msi-inc.com. If interested in one of the four MSI positions listed on this page, send a cover letter, resume and reference to recruitment@msi-inc.com and to the attention of Gail Critchley
Job Opportunities
(click here to view more job openings)• Under a USAID contract MSI seeks a Senior Policy Advisor to help establish a Policy Management Unit in the Office of the President of the transitional government of Afghanistan. Candidates should possess skills in institutional development, policy analysis, management and implementation. Short-term consultants are also needed.
• Global Development Alliance through MSI seeks an administrative assistant for a USAID contract. Candidates should have B.A. degree, two years working experience, computer and writing skills, and current U.S. Government secret security clearance. Position will be located in D.C.
• MSI has immediate opening for a Proposal Coordinator for mostly USAID proposals. Candidates should have writing, organizational, and computer skills.
• MSI seeks short term consultants for an Anti-Corruption Program in Tomsk and Samara. Candidates should have expertise in law enforcement programs and first-hand experience in law enforcement.
• Development Associates is looking for a retired RSO to go to Armenia for a month, beginning sometime in October, to do a physical security check of the Armenian Parliament. Contact John Garcia at jgarcia@devassoc1.com.
• Booz Allen Hamilton is seeking three international development professionals. The positions are: (1) chief of party for a USAID trade project; (2) seasoned professional to foster private sector led economic growth and job creation; (3) international business consultant to lead a major USAID funded Small and Micro Enterprise project in Croatia. Contact www.boozallen.com.
| The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) runs until December 1. Designate the AFSA Scholarship Fund (CFC 2422) or Fund for American Diplomacy (CFC 2460) on your pledge card or by annuity deduction. Contact Lori Dec at 1 800 704 2372 ext 504 or dec@afsa.org. |
