MADISON AREA NEWSLETTER

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1 Tireless Advocacy, Trusted Advice National Active & Retired Federal Employees MADISON AREA NEWSLETTER Chapter #120, Madison, Wisconsin August, 2014 Volume 23 Issue 4 Officers: PRESIDENT Kathi Vos kathiv@tds.net ST VICE PRESIDENT James Bren JIMBREN@CHARTER.NET (608) ND VICE PRESIDENT Melanie Miller melanie.miller@uwex.edu (608) SECRETARY Linda Kustka linda.kustka@ces.uwex.edu TREASURER Joanne B. Biesek joaniezip@hotmail.com SERVICE OFFICER Robert M. Kramer bucksawbob@yahoo.com LEGISLATIVE CHAIR Alison Peña tawhee@chartermi.net SUNSHINE/HOSPITALITY COORDINATORS Veronica Guski, ronni@tds.net , Diane Maertz, mumslady@frontier.com Liz Eddy yarite@charter.net Luncheon & Meeting Friday, August 22, 2014 REX S INNKEEPER, WAUNAKEE Program: Genealogy Join us on August 22nd to hear Joel Belaire tell us of the practical achievements he accomplished using 'Genealogy." Joel is not a computer expert, but has investigated several issues using genealogy techniques. He is an excellent speaker and has taught several mini-courses through the student union on other subjects. His presentation is sure to be fun. Plate lunch is a lasagna and vegetable OR soup & salad bar. Use the coupon on page 5 of this newsletter to indicate your choice. Registration and social hour start at 11:00 am, lunch at 12:00 noon with meeting and program following. Reservations can be made by sending a check payable to NARFE Chapter #120 to Kathi Vos, 413 Walnut Grove Drive, Madison, WI by Wednesday, August 20, Lunch is $11.00 per person. For last minute changes call Kathi at Breakfast Meeting Friday, September 26, 2014, 8:30 am The EGG & I, 2501 West Beltline, Madison Spotlight: Transportation Security Admin. (TSA) Deputy Director, Rick Spencer, will be joining us on September 26th when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is our "Agency in the Spotlight." Rick might bring along an airport screener and may share some tips on getting through the line quickly without bringing undue attention to yourself as a traveler. Join us to welcome Rick to our group.. Happenings Veronica Guski We are sad to report the death of Edgar L. Lamb, a letter carrier at the Beloit Post Office. On a happy note, Arlene Biba celebrated her 90th birthday. Also, Betty Keller celebrated her 75th birthday. Please contact Veronica Guski (ronni@tds.net) with member updates. National NARFE Chapter WEB: NARFE120.wordpress.com

2 Legislative Report Alison Peña On July 16, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5016, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act of 2015, which provides the historical legislative vehicle for adjustments to federal employee pay scales. The bill does not include a federal pay raise for 2015, but does not preclude one, deferring the decision to President Obama, who proposed a 1 percent pay raise in his FY15 budget. Postal reform bill SB-1486 remains stalled in the senate. NARFE opposes this legislation so a stall is not a bad thing. August is advocacy month. Look at page 9 of your current NARFE magazine for a list of things you can do to spread the work about how you feel regarding the whittling away of your federal benefits as you meet with local candidates and representatives when they are home in August. It takes a village to make change. One person doing advocacy for NARFE in Wisconsin will not help us to raise our many voices. Please let me know of your activities so that I may report to headquarters what our state is doing. You can me at Tawhee4@gmail.com. Here are the issues you will need to convey concerns about: We know that with a new congress the 2016 budget will enter discussion with more emphasis on sequestration and federal employee cuts. Keep your relationships warm for more contact next year. Meet with candidates. Senate side: SB-1486 we want it to remain stalled and oppose the legislation. House side: Federal Employee Combat zone Tax Parody Act. HR-4621 ; This is a bill proposing that civilians working in combat zones receive the same tax breaks as military personnel in the same zone. CPI-E bill HR- 4202; this is the fair consumer price index legislation for pay increases that should be considered in place of chained CPI. I have been serving as Legislative Chair for three years. I believe this is a position that is an opportunity for personal growth and political education and should not stay with one person for a long period of time. The local chapter and the Federation budgets contain funds for the next legislative chair to go to the conference in March I urge you to consider taking on this position and let me know if you have any questions regarding duties or the conference. The 2015 Legislative Training Conference will be held from Saturday, March 14, 2015, through Tuesday, March 17, 2015, at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, VA. Reservations will be accepted beginning October 1. This is a biennial training conference, which culminates in Lobby Day on Capitol Hill. Full details appear in the September issue of NARFE magazine. Service Officer Notes Bob Kramer Members occasionally have questions on how to report the death of an annuitant. The following steps should be taken: 1. Notify Office of Personnel Management (OPM) of the annuitant s death. a. Phone OPM at This is in the Eastern Time Zone and their business day is 7am-5pm. Lines get busy later in the day so calls made from the Central Time Zone between 6am-7am are likely to be successful without a long wait. b. Online may also be used at retire@opm.gov. Select Online Services, Report the death of an annuitant. Finally, scroll down the last screen to Report the death of an annuitant. c. A written notice may be sent to OPM, Retirement Operations Center, Boyers, PA In either case, the contact person should be prepared with the annuitant s name, CSA or CSF number, date of birth and death, and Social Security number. If there is a surviving spouse, it would be helpful to have his/her name, address, (Continued)

3 (Service Officer Notes Continued) phone number, and Social Security number. That allows OPM to send an application for death benefits as the survivor annuity is not automatic it must be applied for. 2. Return uncashed annuity checks in the deceased s name to the Treasury Department. Very likely the annuity was directly deposited in a bank, credit union or other account holder, in which case, that holder needs to be notified so that deposits made after the date of death can be returned. The annuitant is paid up to the day of death so the last payment will reflect the portion of the month that they lived. 3. Social Security should also be notified and usually the funeral director will make this report, but if you wish to do yourself the phone number is: I should also mention that there has been a smidgen of news on the benefits front. Those who participate in the vision and dental programs (FEDVIP) can expect to be able to select coverage from four new providers during the open season this fall. Blue Cross Blue Shield, Delta Dental, and Dominion Dental will complement the dental side, while Aetna is added to the vision side. Current dental plan providers include FEP Blue Dental, GEHA, MetLife and United Concordia, while FEP Blue Vision, United Healthcare, and Vision Service provide vision plans. Also a bit of flexibility has been added to enrollments which can now accommodate the recently married and those who have returned to employment after a certain period of leave without pay. Previously these types of cases had to wait until the open season but now can have coverage as the event occurs to make it more consistent with other aspects of the health benefits program. Tip O Hat Jim Everts This month we "tip the old bonnet" to Bill Bremen. Bill retired from the Federal Highway Administration in 2011 after 42 years of service. He joined NARFE after retiring and recognizing his talent we recruited him to be part of our chapter audit team. Like the sign in the old barber shop back home which stated "your head is needed to run our business" that's true for all who volunteer for leadership roles in NARFE chapter #120. After graduating from U.W. Platteville, Bill served in the military engineering command in Vietnam building roads. Following his service time he started his career in Indiana and transferred to Wisconsin 35 years ago. Bill and Shirley have four children (3 girls and a boy) and 2 granddaughters. The 2 granddaughters ages 18 and 15 months are noted to receive special granma care since Granma Shirley retired this month. Bill brags of having one of their four children living in each of the four time zones in the United States allowing a few cross country trips. Bill has a compassion for our national park system. He relates visiting 12 of them on a cross country trip with his son to California a few years ago. He also claims to be a Walt Disney fan. Bill still works 2 days a week on a project in the engineering department on the U.W. campus and stays active with volunteer activities which includes church activities, active leadership in Operation Life Saver which focuses on railroad crossing safety, active in Madison History Club which recently toured Villa Louie in Prairie du Chien. Bill says he owns an old boat but is too busy to fish. Needless to say that Shirley and Bill don't just sit in the corner and watch the world go by, but march with the crowds of busy retirees. So greet Bill at the next luncheon with a smile, introduce yourself and wish him well. Thanks Bill for your interest in NARFE.

4 Membership Report Melanie Miller Special Recruitment Incentives Are Being Offered for the Month of September A special incentive is being offered for the month of September.While many of our members are ongoing recruiters, we would like to encourage greater participation and remind those who may have felt some reluctance that material and guidance are available. Certainly, we all would like to increase the number of NARFE members and build our collective voice, and many work hard to do just that, regardless of incentive. But let s make September count! Let s build that voice just as Congress resumes session! Several special incentives are available from the National Office. Recruiters will receive $10 for each new member, current OR retired, who join in September All September recruiters will be entered into a drawing, once for each new member they have recruited and a Kindle Fire tablet will be awarded to a recruiter randomly selected from this pool. So here is what you need for recruiting. The NARFE membership brochure, F-135 (08/13), call me if you need some (Melanie Miller or melanie.miller@uwex.edu) The brochure can help you through recruitment talking points and includes an application with a prepaid return envelope. You might want to look at a sample Elevator Speech, or summary of our focused sales pitch, is available online at Once logged in, go to Officer Resources, Tips, Tools and Templates, and you ll find it is the last link on that page. Don t Forget Your Recruiter ID (NARFE Membership ID # which can be found on the label of your NARFE magazine). Be sure to get it on the new applicants form. Credit for recruitment can be given only if the ID number of the recruiting member is provided upon joining. We look forward to making September a terrific recruitment month one that will reinvigorate all the would-be recruiters among us! President s Report Kathi Vos Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting. Franklin D. Roosevelt Voting is not just about showing up to the polls - voting is about being informed and making sure the candidate has earned your vote. Even though you may not be able to attend the NARFE National Convention, please make sure your voice is heard. With all the talk about the Future of NARFE let s be sure to elect the most qualified candidates. NARFE 33rd Biennial National Convention -- You can follow the convention online and on Twitter beginning August 25. For an update on the National Executive Board delays and regional revamp read page 36 of the August NARFE magazine or go to the website at Dobbin McNatt, our Wisconsin Federation President and member of the Madison Chapter 120 will be representing us at the August 24-28, 2014 NARFE Convention. He has the responsibility for caring one vote/50 members. So with 704 voting members in Chapter 120, he will be carrying 14 votes. The General Resolution to be voted on at the 2014 National NARFE Convention this August in Florida is That the NEB continue developing the model for the Future NARFE using the Future of NARFE Committee report as a foundation, and provide implementing resolutions and bylaw amendments for consideration at the (Continued)

5 August 22, 2014 Luncheon Reservation Form Please reserve: Lasagna and $11.00 Soup & Salad $11.00 Name(s) Make check payable to NARFE Chapter 120. Send to: Kathi Vos 413 Walnut Grove Drive Madison, WI Due: August 20, 2014 (President s Report Continued) 2016 National Convention. Election of President, Treasurer and Region IV Vice President -- See candidate statements on page of the August 2014 NARFE magazine or online at Running for President is Elaine Hughes, Richard Thissen and Ken Thomas and for Treasurer is Jon Dowie. Running for Regional Vice-President is Paul Johnson and Edward Konys. Please let Dobbin know if you support this General Resolution (yes or no) and who you want him to vote for National President, Regional Vice President and Treasurer via at mydomcnatt@tds.net or call ASAP, or no later than August 22. Any Chapter 120 Bylaw Changes? -- The Constitution and Bylaws of NARFE Chapter 120 can be found at the bottom of our NARFE Leadership page on our website at In the past three years, your NARFE Leadership Team has been trying to follow these Bylaws closely. However, there is always room for improvement. Please read the Bylaws and note that any bylaws changes are due in writing to our Chapter Secretary Linda Kustka, LINDA.KUSTKA@CES.UWEX.EDU by August 24, By-Laws may be amended at the Annual meeting on October 25, 2014 by a two-thirds vote of the members present. Chapter 120 Nominating Committee At Work -Tom Miller, Jim Honer, Dick Pederson and Roger Allan met on July 23 to identify candidates for the Chapter offices of President, 1st Vice President-Programs, 2nd Vice President-Membership, Secretary and Treasurer. Officers shall be elected by ballot each year at the annual meeting. If you would like to nominate yourself or others, please contact the Nominating Committee Chair Tom Miller at tfmillerphoto@sbcglobal.net. These officers will be elected at our annual NARFE Chapter 120 meeting on Friday, October 24. Wisconsin Primary Election, August 12, And most importantly, don t forget to vote in the Wisconsin Primary election on Tuesday, August 12 as well as our General Fall Election on November 4. For more information on local elections go to our Ask, Learn & Vote website at

6 CHAPTER 120 COMMITTEES Get involved by enlisting in: Programs Committee Chair Jim Bren, Membership Committee Chair Melanie Miller, Audit & Budget Committee Co-chairs Jim Everts & Bill Bremer, Nominating Committee Chair Tom Miller, Executive Committee President Kathi Vos Send address changes to MARK YOUR NARFE CALENDAR Friday, August 22, 2014 Lunch and Business Meeting Rex s Inn, Waunakee, WI Registration 11am Lunch-Noon Program: Genealogy Friday, September 22, 2014 Breakfast Meeting Egg & I, Fitchburg, WI Order meal 8:30 am Round Table Discussions Transportation Security Admin Friday, October Lunch and Business Meeting Rex s Inn, Waunakee, WI Registration 11am Lunch-Noon Program: Fed Health Benefits

UW-MADISON RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION CURRENT OPERATING PROCEDURES BOARD OF DIRECTORS September, 2015

I. REPORTING RESPONSIBILITY UW-MADISON RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION CURRENT OPERATING PROCEDURES BOARD OF DIRECTORS September, 2015 A. In addition to reports to its members through The Sifter, the Association