FEDERAL RETIREE or FEDERAL WORKER?

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1 National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association Protecting Federal Worker Retirement Benefits Since 1921 Chapter 706 Oceanside/Carlsbad/Encinitas Cardiff Bay Drive Oceanside CA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED NON PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID OCEANSIDE, CA PERMIT NO. 150 February 2019 issue FEDERAL RETIREE or FEDERAL WORKER? Chapter Officers and Committee Chairs President Tom Buggie Chaplain Gloria Cortez st V.P. Sara Baldwin Membership Carol Amano nd V.P. Gloria Cortez Editor Newsletter Tom Buggie Secretary Marcy Rose/Carol Amano Sunshine Gloria Cortez Treasurer Joe Beyer Ways & Means Publicity Carol Amano Hospitality Sara Baldwin Legislation (Nat l) Tom Buggie Public Relations Carol Amano Alzheimer Coord. Carol Amano Service Officer Marcy Rose Service at Senior Center District 1 V.P. Bob (Old Bob) Davidson By Appointment Only (call Marcy Rose) Chapter phone: (leave messages only) Old Oceanside Senior Center CHAPTER WEBSITE: Country Club Lane Oceanside CA Senator Kamala D. Harris B Street Ste San Diego CA Congressman Levin s Oceanside Office 760--???-???? Senator Dianne Feinstein El Camino Real Ste Front Street Ste Oceanside CA San Diego CA Chapter Meeting February 21, rd Thursday of Each Month at 1:30PM Except July, August & December Country Club Ln Senior Center Board Country Club Ln Senior Cntr 1 st Wednesday each Month at 9:30AM Treasurer s Report as of January 31, 2019 (By Joe Beyer) Balance Forward (Checking) $ Receipts Dividend.93 Total Checking Receipts $ Total Disbursement (306.06) Less: Outstanding checks 0.00 Net Disbursements ($306.06) Balance (Checking) $ ``````` Balance on Hand for Use: Checking $5, Savings (incl $0.19 Dividend) 1, Total on Hand $6,911.39

NARFE National Active and Retired Federal Employee Association February 2019 Volume 26 Issue 02 SPEAKER Contributed by Sara Baldwin, 1st VP February Speaker Carol Amano will tell us about the AARP

The last one this far south was held almost twenty years ago. The chapter board has decided to provide some financial help to those attending.

2 NARFE National Active and Retired Federal Employee Association February 2019 Volume 26 Issue 02 SPEAKER Contributed by Sara Baldwin, 1st VP February Speaker Carol Amano will tell us about the AARP tax program and how to signup for it. Taxes are on our minds this time of the year. We will also discuss the NARFE California Federation s upcoming convention being held in San Diego. The last one this far south was held almost twenty years ago. The chapter board has decided to provide some financial help to those attending. We will have registration forms available and can help you fill them out. Meeting is free and open to the public so invite family and friends to this highly informative and entertaining presentation. LEGISLATIVE UPDATES Another Lockout Again? The temporary fix is about to expire and no there is progress in sight. Luckily most functions related to retiree benefits are mostly automated. My checks were all received on time. How about yours? Congress is Still Deadlocked. In a little over one month the House has managed to introduce 1375 bills and resolutions and the underperforming Senate has only 700 of them. 129 have passed in one chamber, 8 have passed two chambers (House and Senate) and six have been sent to the President. One new law calls for paying furloughed federal workers. That bill had 44 cosponsors. The other four new laws had from zero to seven cosponsors. California Democratic Representatives introduced 13 of the bills that have passed in the House. One CA Republican Representative has had a bill passed in the House. That probably reflects who controls the House in the 116 th Congress. Nancy Pelosi controls what comes to a vote. What s Ahead? Who know s? I imagine we all are glad we re retired. CHAPTER MEETINGS Our future chapter meetings are on the 3 rd Thursdays of the month: February 21 st, March 21 st, April 18 th, May 16 th, and June 20 th. At this time we plan to have no meeting in July and August. CHAPTER BOARD MEETING The Board meeting on Wednesday, February 6 th was attended by Tom Buggie, Sara Baldwin, Gloria Cortez, Marcy Rose, and Joe Beyer. Topics discussed: April NARFE convention and our chapter duties, IRS non-profit filing, reviewed liability insurance (not due until June). 2

MEETING MINUTES for January 17, 2019 Contributed by Carol Amano & Marcy Rose, Secretary Co-Chair Tom Buggie, President, called the meeting to order. Gloria Cortez (2 nd V.

Due to the high number of members and guests arriving, and the fact that we wanted to give our speaker the maximum amount of time to answer questions, we had a quick business meeting.

3 MEETING MINUTES for January 17, 2019 Contributed by Carol Amano & Marcy Rose, Secretary Co-Chair Tom Buggie, President, called the meeting to order. Gloria Cortez (2 nd V.P) gave the Invocation and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Due to the high number of members and guests arriving, and the fact that we wanted to give our speaker the maximum amount of time to answer questions, we had a quick business meeting. Tom Buggie (President) provided the National Legislation Report: o All legislation from the last Congress that wasn t signed into law expired with the new 116 th Congress. In the first two weeks of January, over 633 bills were introduced! o Social Security Fairness Act of 2019 (now HR141) was introduced by Rodney Davis (Rep from IL). This is the WEP Repeal that is (re)introduced every two years. The following reports were in the newsletter or on the meeting agenda: Treasurer s Report Secretary s Report/Meeting Minutes for the last chapter meeting Ways and Means Report recycling brought in $ for calendar year Publicity Report our meeting announcement was in all three newspapers. Membership Report: 0 members transferred out, 1 new member, 1 died, 3 were provided second renewal notices, and 4 members were dropped for non-renewal. Total of 172 members as of January. Tom Buggie mentioned Dues Withholding still being the BEST option for lowest cost chapter membership with a continuing savings of $6 annually PLUS two one-time bonus incentives totaling $25 just for switching to dues withholding. Tom Buggie mentioned the California Federal Convention for April in San Diego. Registration form is in the January newsletter. Our speaker: Dale Huffman (CPA) returned again this January to bring us up-to-date on the tax law changes. Was it real or was it just smoke and mirrors? Dale was entertaining and informative as he always is! Meeting adjourned and refreshments were available. The meeting was attended by 14 members and 15 guests. Sandy Buggie won the drawing. MEMBERSHIP Contributed by Carol Amano & Marcy Rose, Membership Co-Chairs Half-Price First-Year Membership Drive NARFE is YOUR voice in Congress! The Half Price First Year Membership Drive will be for the first year. The application must be sent directly to Chapter 706 for processing and the individual must be a NEW NARFE member living in CA. This offer is ONLY available for NEW members (that includes postal carriers) that join our chapter and live in our geographical area of service. Current and former members of NARFE are not eligible because the cost of the membership is being partially offset by rebates from NARFE Headquarters and the NARFE California Federation of Chapters (CSFC). Without the assistance of NARFE and the CSFC we would not be able to do this. 3

4 ONLY THE SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP FORM CAN BE USED FOR THIS OFFER. PLEASE APPROACH FORMER CO-WORKERS AND YOUR POSTAL CARRIER THIS MONTH AND TALK UP THE BENEFITS OF A NARFE MEMBERSHIP! TWO NEW CHAPTER MEMBERS ARE CLARK BEYER AND PETE COPELAND. Our special membership form is also on our chapter website at narfechapter706.org. CALIFORNIA STATE FEDERATION OF CHAPTERS (CSFC) CONVENTION The Seventh Biennial CSFC Conference is scheduled for April 24-25, 2019 at the Crown Plaza Hotel, 2270 Hotel Circle North, in San Diego. Do not miss your opportunity to find out more about what NARFE is doing to protect your hard-earned benefits and what challenges lie ahead. The convention will start with a 6pm reception for NARFE President Ken Thomas on April 23 rd. This will be followed by two days of federation business. We will discuss and vote on resolutions submitted by the chapters (and probably some from HQ). All members in attendance can vote on all floor votes and votes requiring a paper ballot with be done by the designated Chapter Voting Representative. Enclosed is the registration form for this very important event. You can attend the event for $40 (register before April 8 th ) or $50 for late registration and either eat on your own or join the NARFE group for lunch on April 24 th ($35) and/or the banquet dinner on April 25 th ($45). The Board decided to encourage convention attendance by providing some financial assistance. The chapter will pay the registration fee (up to $40) and pay for the recognition lunch on the 24 th. If you can attend, please add it to your calendar and let us know. We can help you fill out the registration form. If you don t want to drive back and forth, then you can stay at the hotel. The room rates are $118 plus tax per night from April 23 rd to 25 th (includes a complementary full hot breakfast). If you are unable to drive but want to attend, we can get a car pool going (call Carol). FREE TAX PREPARATION Free AARP Tax Preparation began February 1 st and continues through April 15 th. Tax aides will prepare federal and state tax returns for middle and low income taxpayers, especially those ages 60 and older. This service is offered at senior centers and community sites throughout North County. Tax aid volunteers prepare tax returns using IRS approved tax preparation software. Contact your local senior center soon to make your appointment. Appointments book up fast! FREE NARFE WEBINARS Get expert guidance about federal benefits and retirement by registering for one of NARFE s onehour webinars and a bonus one-hour Q&A session. Upcoming webinars: The TSP and You March 7 th Optimizing Your Social Security Benefits March 21 st All webinars are at 11 AM Pacific Time (preregister at the NARFE website) All NARFE Federal Benefits Institute webinars are FREE for NARFE members. The nonmember registration fee of $39.95 includes a one-year membership in NARFE, a subscription to narfe magazine, member-only discounts and more. If a member misses the live webinar you can see the recorded webinar a few days later on the NARFE website. 4

RECYCLE FOR CASH If you have CA CRV aluminum cans, bottles, and plastics, please bring them to our meetings and we will consolidate them and turn them into cash for the chapter.

Please check closely for CA CRV those are the only items we want. Also, do not remove the labels from bottles as that is the proof of CA CRV. Recycling was $32.29 for the month of January.

5 RECYCLE FOR CASH If you have CA CRV aluminum cans, bottles, and plastics, please bring them to our meetings and we will consolidate them and turn them into cash for the chapter. CA CRV does not usually include milk and juice bottles, plastic containers, or food cans but does include water, soda, and other beverage bottles. Please check closely for CA CRV those are the only items we want. Also, do not remove the labels from bottles as that is the proof of CA CRV. Recycling was $32.29 for the month of January. Thanks to Duane Hill and Tom Buggie for what they brought in. BOXTOPS FOR EDUCATION The Chapter collects Boxtops for Education all year long to support our local schools. Please bring your Boxtops to the Chapter meeting or mail them to Carol Amano at 4517 Big Sur St, Oceanside, CA ALZHEIMER S INFORMATION Contributed by Carol Amano, Alzheimer s Chair Our chapter members donated $14 in the month of January. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED. Our goal for calendar year 2019 is $200. NARFE Fundraising Total NARFE members have contributed $12.94 million to the NARFE Alzheimer s Research Fund. These are NARFE members private donations made via chapters, on the NARFE website, or through the NARFE magazine form. Moderate Exercise May Help Improve Cognitive Function Walking and other types of moderate exercise may help older adults who are losing their mental sharpness, according to results of a new clinical trial. Researchers found that six months of moderate exercise, such as walking or pedaling a stationary bike, helped improve the brain's ability to pay attention, regulate behavior, get organized and achieve goals. The findings support the concept that a healthy lifestyle can help protect the brain. Source: NARFE Alzheimer s January e-newsletter DUES WITHHOLDING = LOWEST COST MEMBERSHIP. Those switching to Dues Withholding will save $6 annually plus receive a $15 check from the CSFC and a $10 check from our chapter. About 50% of our members now use Dues Withholding, they pay the lowest cost Chapter 706 membership. MEMBERS RENEWING (December 18 & January 2019) PAULINE BENNETT ## CARLSBAD JEANNETTE A LANDIS ## SOLANA BEACH GREFALIA COKAS ## SAN DIEGO ROBERT O MCGEE ## ENCINITAS JEFFREY CONWELL OCEANSIDE JIM PROVENZA ## OCEANSIDE DAVID HARMER OCEANSIDE MILTON ROLL ## CARLSBAD PATRICIA F HERRICK ## FALLBROOK ZELLA G RUTHBERG ## SOLANA BEACH JOYCE M HIGHTOWER ## LAS VEGAS NV CATHERINE P. SMART SOLANA BEACH ARLENE J JOHNSON ## OCEANSIDE CAROLYN WYNN ## OCEANSIDE ## = Dues Withholding 5

NEW MEMBERS (December, 18 & January 2019) Clark Beyer Pete Copeland Leslie Colville && Claudia Faunt && Phillip Ketner && Bonsal Oceanside Oceanside Encinitas Encinitas && Prospective Member ##

Note: additional information is available on the Obits page on our website (www.narfechapter706.org) Note:The date for 2019 is Saturday, October 12, 2019. We need more members!

To get more members, the chapter is offering new members a half-price one year membership. They pay $20 and the chapter pays $20.

6 NEW MEMBERS (December, 18 & January 2019) Clark Beyer Pete Copeland Leslie Colville && Claudia Faunt && Phillip Ketner && Bonsal Oceanside Oceanside Encinitas Encinitas && Prospective Member ## Transferred In Reinstated IN MEMORIAM (December, 2018 & January, 2019) No deaths were reported in December or January. Note: additional information is available on the Obits page on our website ( Note:The date for 2019 is Saturday, October 12, We need more members! Our membership has dropped below the USPS requirements for mailing at the non-profit postage rate. We are currently mailing an extra copy to a few members but that is not a viable long-term solution. To get more members, the chapter is offering new members a half-price one year membership. They pay $20 and the chapter pays $20. It s a great deal for them and will expose them to the benefits of NARFE membership. Do you know anyone at your former workplace? How about your neighbors? How about you sons and daughters? Please let them know about NARFE and the half-price membership. There are a few requirements. The application and their check must be mailed to the chapter. Mailing the application directly to NARFE would require a $40 check rather than the $20 check if they send it to us. They must also be a California resident as the California State Federation of Chapters (CSFC) is partcipating in this offer. We are attaching a membership application. You and your friends can also get one from our chapter website ( ). The special membership application can also be found on our website. 6

7 RESULTS OF CHAPTER 706 MEMBER SURVEY We asked our chapter members to provide their opinion via a member survey in our January newsletter. Some members elaborated. Some members didn t answer all the questions. Some members provided comments. This explains why all the numbers may not track. Here are the results. 178 surveys were mailed; members responded via , direct mail or verbally. 1. Do you attend the chapter meetings? YES - 5 NO - 6 If you don t attend meetings, please tell us why. o My life has too many complications with family. o No time available. o Hearing problem. o Away often for work and family trips. o Sometimes I am on vacation. o No longer drive. 2. Are the dates (Thursdays) & meeting times (1:30-3PM) convenient? YES- 6 NO - 1 If not, what other dates and times would you suggest? o Do not drive due to age (so no dates & times would work) Comments: o If we are trying to recruit active working civil service employees, then we need to meet evenings or weekends. For retirees the dates and times are great. o It has been this date for years, no changes please. 3. Is the meeting location (Country Club Sr Center) convenient? YES - 6 NO - 2 If not, what other meeting location would you suggest? o Closer to Encinitas o If you move the location around I m not sure that would be interesting to members. Plus it might be hard to find other locations. Comments: o Osd Sr Ctr is relatively close even for Carlsbad and Encinitas members. o This location is very good bus stop can come early and eat lunch. Lots of senior information available. 4. Does the chapter provide interesting speakers? YES 8 NO - 1 What other speakers would you suggest? o Budget and financial planning. o Cleaning, purging and downsizing all the junk. Comments: o All worthwhile and informative. o Yes, from what I see in the newsletter. o There is always something new. Some seem to come each year tho. o It appears you have good speakers. Do you have attendees rate the speakers? This would be a good idea if not being done.

8 5. Do you think the monthly newsletter provides you with value? YES - 10 NO - 0 Comments: o Keep snail mail hard copy going as long as possible. o Always most worthwhile. o Lots of work goes into newsletter and it truly shows each month. o It does keep me appraised of local emphasis. Much of the info is duplicative to NARFE magazine. o I like the newsletter. You might consider bi-monthly in order to save money and go to bimonthly meetings. o Many of those who attend see the meetings as a social event. Bi-monthly meetings would not be a good idea. o Newsletter keeps me up-to-date. o I like hard copy documents. I follow what s in the newsletter. o The newsletter is well-written. o Newsletter is great and it keeps me well-informed of what is going on. What suggestions would make the newsletter a better resource for you? No suggestions were provided. 6. What changes would you want to see or suggestions you would want the board to consider? Keep big focus on recruiting. Want to donate to Alzheimer s effort. Establish a membership committee if you don t already have one. I think you re doing a good job. Lazy-boy chairs for anyone over 80 Thanks for all your hardwork!! I am looking forward to reading the survey results. Thanks for a great newsletter.

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May General Membership Meeting Canceled

May 2018 NUMBER 05-18 General Meeting Date & Time: Meeting Place: May General Membership Meeting Canceled Program: NARFE is recognized as the association devoted exclusively to serving and protecting the