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AFSA COMMUNITY: A VIBRANT FORUM
FOR EXCHANGING IDEAS
The online AFSA Community has exceeded growth
expectations in 2016. This online discussion forum is a
resource which allows members to share advice, inter-
ests and viewpoints on a wide variety of topics with
other active duty and retired members. This collabora-
tion tool has resulted in 1,000 lively discussions posts
with nearly as many contributors on such diverse top-
ics as insurance, the Thrift Savings Plan, the Foreign
Service, healthcare, retirement issues and more. The
online AFSA Community is a member-to-member venue
which allows members to seek input and share their
thoughts, advice and ultimately build relationships.
AN EYE ON BENEFITS
In May, AFSA hosted Paula Jakub from the American
Foreign Service Protective Association (no affiliation
with AFSA) to address a packed house on the critical
topic of how to coordinate Medicare with FEHB ben-
efits: Part B or not Part B remains the most critical
Medicare question. In October, AFSA brought TSP’s
Randy Urban to present information on how to get
the most out of one’s Thrift Savings Plan, focusing on
withdrawal strategies. Medicare and TSP continue to
be the most popular retiree-related topics featured on
AFSA’s website. All presentations were recorded and
are available online at
www.afsa.org/video.37
Ambassador
Stephenson meets
with Colorado
Lieutenant Governor
Donna Lynne.