December 2018 NARFE Magazine

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Volume 94 • Number 12

SEEKING IMPROVEMENTS FOR FEDERAL JOB CLASSIFICATIONS OPEN SEASON REPORT

Federal Employee Program

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The Service Benefit Plan will pay a hearing aid benefit up to $2,500 total every 3 calendar years for adults age 22 and over, and up to $2,500 total per calendar year for members up to age 22. Do not rely on this communication piece alone for complete benefit information. All benefits are subject to the definitions, limitations, and exclusions in your Service Benefit Plan brochure. The Blue365® Discount Program offers access to savings on items that you may purchase directly from independent vendors, which may be different from items covered under the Service Benefit Plan or any other applicable federal healthcare program. For hearing aids, acupuncture, chiropractic and vision services, you must exhaust your Service Benefit Plan benefits first before accessing the savings of the Blue 365® Discount Program. To find out what is covered under your policy, contact Service Benefit Plan. The products and services described herein are neither offered nor guaranteed under any local Blue company’s contract with the Medicare program. These items are not subject to the Medicare appeal process.

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Beltone is made available through Blue365, which provides exclusive health and wellness deals and is a program of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Companies. Beltone is an independent company providing discounts on hearing aids. © 2017 GN Hearing Care corporation. All rights reserved. Beltone is a trademark of GN Hearing Care Corporation. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple Watch are tradmarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

DEC

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SPECIAL SECTIONS

42 Open Season 2018: Plan Changes

WASHINGTON WATCH

24

COVER STORY THE NEW NORMAL: SHORT TERM FEDERAL EMPLOYEES David Tobenkin explores how short-term employment is becoming the new norm for federal workers.

6

New WEP Reform Bill Introduced

7

Jeff Pon Resigns From Role as OPM Director

8

Register for LEGcon19 and Protect Your Earned Pay and Benefits

9

Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations Update

9

Federal Pay Raise Faces Final Hurdle

10 2019 COLA Announced, FERS Annuitants Disadvantaged

11

Bill Tracker

COLUMNS

4

From the President

60 Managing Money

32

SEEKING IMPROVEMENTS FOR FEDERAL JOB CLASSIFICATIONS – David Tobenkin takes a look at federal job classifications and what’s being done to improve them.

DEPARTMENTS

16 Questions & Answers 64 For the Record

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66 Alzheimer’s Update

On the Web

68 NARFE News

VISIT US ONLINE AT:

74 Member Perks

www.narfe.org LIKE US ON FACEBOOK:

NARFE National Headquarters FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:

@narfehq

Volume 94 • Number 12

SEEKING IMPROVEMENTS FOR FEDERAL JOB CLASSIFICATIONS

76 The Way We Worked

ON THE COVER

Illustration by GRAPHEK W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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DECEMBER 2018 | Volume 94 | Number 12

EDITOR Helen Mosher ASSISTANT EDITOR Christopher Johnson COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT Precious Dorch-Robinson GRAPHIC DESIGN GRAPHEK, Beth Bedard EDITORIAL BOARD Kenneth J. Thomas, Kathryn Hensley, Barbara Sido EDITORIAL OFFICE: NARFE Magazine 606 North Washington St. Alexandria, VA 22314-1914 Phone: 703-838-7760 Fax: 703-838-7781 Email: communications@narfe.org ADVERTISING SALES: Warren Berger Media People Inc. 122 East 42nd St., Suite 1622 New York, NY 10168 Phone: 212-779-7172, ext. 223 Email: wberger@mediapeople.com NARFE FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED ON THE TELEPHONE: This publication can be heard on the telephone by persons who have trouble seeing or reading the print edition. For more information, contact the National Federation of the Blind NFB-NEWSLINE® service at 866-5047300 or go to www.nfbnewsline.org.

ON DIGITAL AUDIO: Issues of NARFE Magazine are also available in audio format through the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS). For availability, call 202-727-2142 or your local NLS service provider.

The Association, since July 1970, has been classified by the IRS as a tax-exempt labor organization [not a union]; however, dues and gifts or contributions to the Association are not deductible as charitable contributions for income tax purposes.

National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association NATIONAL OFFICERS KENNETH J. THOMAS, President; natpres@narfe.org KATHRYN HENSLEY, Secretary/Treasurer; natsectreas@narfe.org EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BARBARA SIDO, execdir@narfe.org

REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS

REGION I James C. Risner (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) TEL: 207-540-6233 EMAIL: jim.c.risner@gmail.com REGION II Kathleen Adams (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) TEL: 302-697-6650. CELL: 302-561-5660 EMAIL: adamskhawaii@aol.com REGION III Clarence Robinson (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands) CELL: 404-312-8028 EMAIL: crobin8145@att.net

REGION VI Marshall L. Richards (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Republic of Panama and Texas) TEL: 903-660-2784 EMAIL: pappysdad@cobridge.tv REGION VII Rodney L. Adelman (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) TEL: 623-505-4719 EMAIL: narfe7vp@cox.net REGION VIII Helen L. Zajac (California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada and Republic of Philippines) TEL: 707-644-7565 EMAIL: HLZajac125@gmail.com

REGION IV Robert L. Helfrich (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin) TEL: 317-501-1700 EMAIL: rvp4@narfe.org

REGION IX Richard Wilson (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington) TEL: 253-210-5609, CELL: 425-736-6899 EMAIL: narfe1404@comcast.net

REGION V Cindy Reneé Blythe (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota) TEL: 785-256-1450 EMAIL: mrsdocbusyb@yahoo.com

REGION X William Shackelford (Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia) TEL: 703-830-6590, CELL: 703-201-6304 EMAIL: wshack1951@aol.com

HERE’S HOW TO CONTACT US…

TO JOIN NARFE, RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP OR FIND A LOCAL CHAPTER:

CALL (TOLL-FREE) 800-456-8410 OR GO TO www.narfe.org TO CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER OR EMAIL LISTING:

CALL (TOLL-FREE) 800-456-8410 EMAIL memberrecords@narfe.org OR GO TO www.narfe.org, log in and click on “Update My Record”

TO REACH A FEDERAL BENEFITS SPECIALIST:

EMAIL fedbenefits@narfe.org NARFE HEADQUARTERS

606 N. Washington St. Alexandria, VA 22314 703-838-7760 Hours of operation: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. ET

www.narfe.org

narfe (ISSN 1948-4453) is published monthly by the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE), 606 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. Periodicals postage paid at Alexandria, VA, and additional mailing offices. Members: Annual dues includes subscription. Nonmember subscription rate $40. Postmaster: Send address change to: NARFE Attn: Member Records, 606 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314. To ensure prompt delivery, members should also forward changes of address without delay. Because of the volume involved, NARFE cannot acknowledge nor be responsible for unsolicited pictures and manuscripts, although every reasonable precaution is taken. All submissions become the property of NARFE. Copyright © 2018, NARFE. Advertisements in the magazine are not endorsements of products and/or services by NARFE, unless officially stated in the ad. We shall accept advertising on the same basis as other reputable publications: that is, we shall not knowingly permit a dishonest advertisement to appear in NARFE Magazine, but at the same time we will not undertake to guarantee the reliability of our advertisers.

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From the President

THE RESULTS ARE IN

T

he 2018 midterm elections are in the history books. Television, print and electronic media helped us track the

winners and losers of elections decided by small margins or overwhelming percentages.

Candidates’ campaign phrases were burned into our brains and became part of the dinner table conversation. And we, the people, heard it all.

The TV spots, printing presses and internet are now silent. We are experiencing a momentary reprieve prior to the run-up launching campaigns to get out the vote for the 2020 elections. A popular television series said it best, “We now return control of your television sets to you.”

Stay focused; remain vigilant. Our earned benefits are at risk. Congress has created a framework constantly discussing cutting the deficit, and placing federal employees and annuitants squarely in the crosshairs by: • Threatening to furlough federal employees and cutting the services they provide; • Proposing changes to the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program that would cost you more;

NARFE’s Mission Statement To support legislation and regulations beneficial to federal civilian employees and annuitants and potential annuitants under any federal civilian retirement system and to oppose those detrimental to their interests.

To promote the general welfare of federal civilian employees and annuitants and potential annuitants, to advise and assist them with respect to their rights under retirement, health and other employee and retiree benefits laws and regulations, and to represent their interests before appropriate authorities.

To cooperate with other organizations and associations in furtherance of these general objectives.

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•

roposing to raise retirement contributions P of federal employees while freezing salaries and cutting benefits; • Proposing workforce reductions and layoffs, and the possibility of another governmentwide shutdown; • Eliminating retiree COLAs in FERS, reducing them under CSRS, and proposing formula-calculating changes to the cost-ofliving adjustment; • Privatizing the U.S. Postal Service and switching it from a service-driven model to one based on a for-profit business; and, • Folding the Office of Personnel Management into the General Services Administration and the Executive Office of the President.

Our message to Congress couldn’t be simpler: “Don’t balance the federal budget on the backs of active and retired federal workers.”

As NARFE’s president, my priorities must be: • Strong advocacy on Capitol Hill; • Building NARFE into a member-driven, earned-benefits-protecting business; • Driving the recruitment of current federal employees and retirees, and retention and reinstatement of existing members.

• Continuing to modernize networking, communications and outreach efforts; and • Ensuring a rebranded message which aggressively and effectively markets our association to a new generation of federal employees.

NARFE is at the crossroads, and it’s past time for change.

Now let’s get to work.

KENNETH J. THOMAS NARFE NATIONAL PRESIDENT natpres@narfe.org

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Washington Watch

NEW WEP REFORM BILL INTRODUCED

A

bipartisan pair of congressmen — Reps. Kevin Brady, R-TX, and Richard Neal, D-MA — introduced a bill, H.R. 6933, the Equal Treatment of Public Servants

Act of 2018, to modify the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) in late September. As NARFE members are all too familiar, the WEP reduces the Social Security benefits of federal retirees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) who earned Social Security benefits through other employment, such as private-sector jobs. It also applies to many state and local government retirees whose public sector employment was not covered by Social Security.

Under the bill, starting in 2020, individuals whose Social Security benefits are reduced by the WEP would receive an additional monthly payment of $100 per month. Individuals receiving a WEP-reduced Social Security benefit based on their spouses’ employment would receive an additional $50 per month. These changes would apply to individuals who turn age 62 prior to 2025.

But individuals who turn age 62 in 2025 (those turning 55 this

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year) or later would be subject to a new formula designed to more accurately account for the earnings an individual received while paying into Social Security compared to the earnings received ACTION ALERT!

while paying into a public pension system in a non-Social Security covered position. This formula would affect each individual differently, but should increase Social Security benefits for a significant majority of individuals who would be subject to WEP under current law.

As very few CSRS-covered Feds are younger than 56—and those who are would likely do better under the new formula—the bill’s changes would be almost universally positive for federal employees and retirees.

The bill would also require Social Security statements sent from the Social Security Administration (SSA) to report non-covered earnings (e.g., earnings under CSRS). This would help provide individuals

DECEMBER

Don’t miss your opportunity to join NARFE members from around the country at LEGcon19 to get the inside scoop about what the 116th Congress has in store for Feds and discuss NARFE’s legislative priorities on Capitol Hill. To learn more and register for LEGcon19, visit www.narfe.org/LEGcon19.

with a more accurate assessment of their future benefits.

Finally, H.R. 6933 would require the SSA Commissioner to study and test the administrative feasibility of partnering with state and local pension systems to improve the sharing of information on non-covered earnings. This could lead to allowing SSA to apply WEP to the Social Security benefits of a greater number of state and local government retirees who might otherwise avoid enforcement.

The bill’s sponsors serve as the chairman and ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over the bill.

Such support typically would mean the bill has a strong chance of advancing out of the committee in the near future. But, at this stage in the year, the sponsors have released the bill primarily to seek feedback from stakeholder representatives, such as NARFE and representatives of state

JEFF PON RESIGNS FROM ROLE AS OPM DIRECTOR

J

eff Pon, Ph.D., abruptly resigned from his position of director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), on October 5, 2018.

His resignation came amid initiatives to significantly transform the civil service and reorganize OPM. During his roughly seven-month tenure as OPM Director, Pon spearheaded many Trump administration initiatives to alter civil service policies and reshape the role of OPM, including folding OPM policy functions into the Executive Office of the President and transfer programmatic functions to the General Services Administration.

Pon, notably, also submitted four legislative proposals to Congress that would have severely impacted federal pay and benefits had they gained traction.

Dr. Pon frequently shared his vision for the civil service of future generations, which included the digitalization of employee records to streamline services, flexibility for future federal workers to transfer in and out of federal service smoothly, expedited hiring processes and a rightfully enhanced public appreciation of civil servants.

The White House appointed Margaret Weichert to serve as OPM’s acting Director. Weichert comes to the position from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) where she serves as the Senate-confirmed Deputy Director for Management.

Weichert will continue in her OMB capacity, where she is working closely on the proposals to alter the civil service.

— BY SAMUEL BARTELS, ADVOCACY ASSISTANT

government employees and retirees. Early indications are that some stakeholders are concerned that the bill could reduce benefits for some of their younger (under age 56) members, even while helping many others. If unaddressed, those concerns could hold up further action on the bill this Congress. Nonetheless, the bill introduction represents a small step towards possible WEP reform.

— BY JOHN HATTON, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY

MYTH vs.

REALITY Myth: Only the President has the authority to determine a federal employee pay adjustment.

Reality: Under the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA), federal pay rates are statutorily adjusted annually to maintain the competitive pay required to recruit and retain a well-qualified workforce.

However, FEPCA also allows the president to propose an alternative pay-rate adjustment for federal employees, which takes effect absent congressional action. If it chooses to act, Congress can authorize a specific pay rate adjustment through the appropriations process, as seen in the decades prior to 2010.

W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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Washington Watch

REGISTER FOR LEGCON19 AND PROTECT YOUR EARNED PAY AND BENEFITS

A

re you a member of the federal community interested in becoming a first-class advocate to protect your earned pay and benefits?

Register today for LEGcon19, NARFE’s Legislative Training Conference, to be held March 10-13, 2019, at the Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, VA. At LEGcon19, you’ll learn how to strengthen your advocacy skills, work with fellow NARFE members to protect what you’ve earned, and ensure your legislators recognize NARFE and its legislative priorities.

Your attendance at this conference will help NARFE build relationships with legislators and congressional staff, and position NARFE as the go-to resource on the federal community.

So what can you expect at LEGcon19? The conference officially begins with a plenary on Sunday, March 10, at 2 p.m., so please plan your travel accordingly. Although not mandatory, first-time attendees and seasoned advocates alike are encouraged to attend a participant orientation following the opening plenary at 4:30 p.m., which will provide attendees with information about conference logistics and answer lingering questions.

The first two days of the conference will include presentations from policy 8

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experts and hands-on training, which will prepare LEGcon19 attendees for Capitol Hill meetings on Wednesday, March 13, the last day of the conference. Back by popular demand, NARFE will host a reception on Wednesday, March 13, after Capitol Hill meetings end, to bring everyone together and share stories of the day’s experiences. Light refreshments will be served.

The $199 early-bird registration fee will be available until December 15, so don’t delay.

Registration includes three buffet breakfasts, two lunches, conference materials, a closing reception, and transportation on March 13 between the Hilton Mark Center Hotel and Capitol Hill for congressional meetings.

The fee is non-refundable.

Register today at: www.narfe.org/LEGcon19.

After registering for LEGcon19, make sure to call the Hilton Mark Center Hotel, at 877-783-8258, to make your room reservation.

Be sure to specify that your reservation is for the NARFE Legislative Training Conference.

If you prefer, you can make your room reservation online through the LEGcon19 website.

To guarantee the NARFE rate of $175 per night (plus applicable taxes), please make your room reservation by February 15.

Additional information about the conference is available on

the LEGcon19 website (www.narfe.org/LEGcon19).

If you have any questions, please contact the Advocacy Department at advocacy@narfe.org.

We look forward to seeing you at the conference.

— BY MOLLY CHECKSFIELD, GRASSROOTS PROGRAM MANAGER

NARFE GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY Learn more about how you can take action to protect your earned pay and benefits by reviewing NARFE Grassroots materials at bitly.com/ NARFEGrassroots2018

FISCAL YEAR 2019 APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE

C

ongress was unable to complete all 12 appropriations bills before the conclusion of fiscal year 2018 (FY18) on September 30, 2018.

However, in stark contrast to years prior, before the start of fiscal year 2019 (FY19), they were able to approve five out of 12 spending bills, providing approximately 70 percent of discretionary funding for FY19.

The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, Energy and Water, and Legislative Branch appropriations package, H.R. 5895, conference agreement passed in the House 377-20 and in the Senate 92-5. President Trump signed the

legislation into law on September 21, 2018. The minibus provided $44.6 billion for the Energy and Water appropriations bill, $98.1 billion for the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill and $4.8 billion for the Legislative Branch appropriations bill.

The Departments of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services and Education appropriations package, H.R. 6157, conference report passed in the House 361-61 and in the Senate 93-7. President Trump signed H.R. 5895 into law on September 28, 2018.

The conference report provided $674.4 billion for the Department

of Defense appropriations bill and $178.1 billion for the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill.

Through the passage of a continuing resolution (CR) attached to H.R. 6157, legislators gave themselves an extension until December 7 to pass the remaining seven appropriations bills. Thankfully, the CR extended funding for the agencies that were not appropriated for by October 1, avoiding a partial government shutdown at the start of FY19 that would have disrupted the lives of many federal employees.

— BY SAMUEL BARTELS, ADVOCACY ASSISTANT

FEDERAL PAY RAISE FACES FINAL HURDLE

C

ivil servants remain in suspense regarding a 2019 federal pay raise.

Senate-House conference committee negotiations on H.R. 6147, the appropriations minibus in which a pay raise would be included, stalled in September. With the passage of a continuing resolution, lawmakers postponed the deadline for an appropriations federal pay decision until December 7. If Congress fails to take action by January, the president’s proposed pay freeze will be implemented.

The Senate included a modest 1.9 percent average federal pay increase in its version of the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill, but the House remained silent on the issue. The fate of this pay raise will depend on the 26 conferees coming to a bicameral agreement and reconciling the differences

between the two chambers’ differing versions of H.R. 6147.

In early October, media outlets reported an agreement between House and Senate Republicans on a 1.9 percent raise. However, it’s highly unorthodox for specific provisions to be released before the final conference report. A deal has yet to be reached. Though in favor of a federal employee pay raise, Democrats are opposed to another component of this House-Senate Republican agreement—a lift on the salary freeze as it applies to Vice President Mike Pence, senior Trump administration appointees and executive-level employees.

NARFE led the way in creating the possibility for a 2019 pay raise against formidable odds. But as December 7 nears, NARFE members should continue to contact their legislators. We cannot permit federal employees to be singled out for stagnant pay in 2019.

Legislative Resources • Legislative Hotline: A weekly update of legislative news, compiled by the NARFE Advocacy Department staff, distributed via email and available by phone (tollfree) at 800-456-8410, option 4 and online at www.narfe.org.

• Legislative Action Center: A one-stop site to send a letter to Congress, and more, at www.narfe.org.

— BY SAMUEL BARTELS, ADVOCACY ASSISTANT W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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Washington Watch

2019 COLA ANNOUNCED, FERS ANNUITANTS DISADVANTAGED

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ivil Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirees and Social Security beneficiaries will receive a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2019, the largest COLA since 2012.

Unfortunately, Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) retirees will not receive the full COLA and instead receive a 2 percent adjustment to their annuities.

This inequitable cap placed on FERS retirees’ COLAs is in accordance with federal law and based on an agreement struck in Congress in the 1980s when FERS was established, which limits FERS COLAs to 2 percent when the COLA falls between 2 and 3 percent.

By law, federal benefits increase when the cost of living rises, as measured by the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

COLAs are intended to maintain the earned value of federal annuities in the face of rising inflation.

If FERS retirees’ COLAs do not properly reflect the relevant measure of consumer prices, they will unduly erode in purchasing power over time.

FERS retirees earned their annuities through careers of hard work just like CSRS retirees and face the hardships of rising consumer prices just like other retirees living on fixed incomes. NARFE opposes this unfair policy and is currently working with our allies in Congress to ensure all federal retirees are protected from inflation.

For more informtion on COLAs, visit the Social Security Administration website at: www. ssa.gov/cola.

— BY SAMUEL BARTELS, ADVOCACY ASSISTANT

NARFE-PAC:

MEETING OUR GOALS

NARFE-PAC, the political arm of NARFE, works to defend your earned pay and benefits by building strong relationships between NARFE and members of Congress. Thank you for your support!

NARFE-PAC set ambitious goals for the 2017-2018 cycle. Below is its progress.

Raise $1.5 million

$1.83 million

Disburse $1 million in political contributions

$934,500 Figures as of 9/30/2017

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Send NARFE members to 100 local fundraisers

95

Grow monthly giving program (sustainer program) by 50%

33%

narfe bill tracker

THE NARFE BILL TRACKER IS YOUR MONTHLY GUIDE TO THE CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION THAT NARFE IS FOLLOWING. CHECK BACK EACH ISSUE FOR UPDATES. ISSUE

BILL NUMBER / NAME / SPONSOR

WHAT BILL WOULD DO

H.R. 756: Postal Service Reform Act of 2017 / Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-UT Cosponsors: 11 (D), 12 (R)

Requires postal retirees to enroll in Medicare in order to continue receiving their current federal health insurance coverage. Enrollment would be automatic.

H.R. 6076 / S. 2629: Postal Service Reform Act of 2018.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-NC Cosponsors 5 (D), 2 (R) Sen. Tom Carper, D-DE Cosponsors 3 (R), 2 (D)

POSTAL REFORM

Approved by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; pending in two other committees NARFE, November 2017 Pending in three House committees; approved to bypass committee process in Senate NARFE, September 2018

H.Res. 15: As a resolution, it will not be sent to the president and, therefore, cannot become law / Rep. Sam Graves, R-MO Cosponsors: 185 (D), 73 (R)

Expresses the sense of the House that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of six-day delivery.

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

H.Res. 31: As a resolution, it will not be sent to the president and, therefore, cannot become law / Rep. David McKinley, R-WV Cosponsors: 179 (D), 51 (R)

Expresses the sense of the House that the U.S. Postal Service should take all measures to restore service standards in effect on July 1, 2012.

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

H.Res. 28: As a resolution, it will not be sent to the president and, therefore, cannot become law / Rep. Susan Davis, D-CA Cosponsors: 186 (D), 61 (R)

Expresses the sense of the House that the U.S. Postal Service should take all measures to ensure the continuation of door-to-door delivery for all businesses and residential customers.

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

H.Res. 993 / S. 633: As a resolution, it will not be sent to the president and, therefore, cannot become law / Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-MA Cosponsors: 182 (D), 54 (R)

Expresses the sense of the House/Senate that Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the U.S. Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization.

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO

Support

Oppose

Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs NARFE, October 2018

Cosponsors: 36 (D), 5 (R), 2 (I)

NARFE’s Position:

LATEST ACTION(S)

No position

W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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Washington Watch

EDITOR’S NOTE: These bills are all listed online at www.narfe.org/legislation/votervoice.cfm.

ISSUE

BILL NUMBER / NAME / SPONSOR

WHAT BILL WOULD DO

H.R. 4775 / S. 2295: The Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act / Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, D-VA Cosponsors (H.R. 4775): 54 (D), 1 (R) Sen. Brian Schatz, D-HI Cosponsors (S. 2295): 10 (D), 0 (R)

Provides for a 3 percent pay raise for federal employees in 2019.

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (H.R. 4775) and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

H.R. 3269: Federal Employee Pension Fairness Act of 2017 / Rep. Anthony G. Brown, D-MD

Repeals laws passed in 2012 and 2013 that increased the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) contributions for newly hired federal employees.

Referred to the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Foreign Affairs

Cosponsors: 29 (D), 1 (R)

H.R. 1022/S. 362: Federal Employees Paid Parental FEDERAL Leave Act of 2017 / Rep. COMPENSATION Carolyn Maloney, D-NY Cosponsors: 81 (D), 1 (R) Sen. Brian Schatz, D-HI Cosponsors: 3 (D), 0 (R) H.R. 5389: Federal Retirement Fairness Act / Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-WA Cosponsors: 10 (D) 5 (R)

H.R. 6275: The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2018/Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-VA

H.R. 1291 / S. 1278: Washington, DC Admission Act / Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC Cosponsors (H.R. 1291): 175 (D), 0 (R) Sen. Thomas Carper, D-DE Cosponsors (S. 1278): 28 (D), 1 (I)

Referred to the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Administration and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental affairs

This legislation would allow federal employees who started their careers in temporary positions, before transitioning into permanent roles, to “buy back” such time and include it in their retirement annuity calculations.

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Provides federal employees with 12 weeks of paid leave in connection with the birth or adoption of a child.

Referred to the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Administration

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NARFE, July 2018

NARFE, October 2018 Sets forth procedures that would allow the District of Columbia to become a state known as the State of Washington, DC.

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Committee on Rules Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

NARFE’s Position: 12

NARFE, October 2017

Provides federal employees with 6 weeks of paid leave in connection with the birth or adoption of a child.

Cosponsors: 4 (D), 5 (R)

DC STATEHOOD

LATEST ACTION(S)

Support

Oppose

No position

ISSUE

COLA

GPO/WEP

CAMPAIGN FINANCE

DATA BREACH

BILL NUMBER / NAME / SPONSOR

WHAT BILL WOULD DO

LATEST ACTION(S)

H.R. 1251: CPI-E Act of 2017/ Rep. John Garamendi, D-CA Cosponsors: 51 (D), 2 (R)

Requires Social Security and many federal retirement programs to use the Consumer Price Index for the elderly (CPI-E) to calculate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) to retirement benefits.

Referred to the House Committees on Ways and Means, Veterans’ Affairs, Oversight and Government Reform, and Armed Services NARFE, May 2017

H.R. 1205 / S. 915: Social Security Fairness Act of 2017 / Rep. Rodney Davis, R-IL Cosponsors (H.R. 1205): 133 (D), 60 (R) Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH Cosponsors (S. 915): 22 (D), 4 (R), 1 (I)

Repeals both the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means (H.R. 1205) Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance (S. 915) NARFE, May 2017

H.R. 6933 / S. 3526: Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2018 / Rep. Kevin Brady, R-TX Cosponsors: 4 (D) 26 (R) Sen. Ted Cruz, R-TX Cosponsors: 0 (D) 0 (R)

Modifies the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) for affected individuals who turn 62 prior to 2025 by providing additional monthly payments of $100, and additional $50 monthly payments to those receiving WEP-reduced Social Security benefits based on their spouse’s work record. Individuals who turn 62 in 2025 or later would be subject to a new formula that more accurately accounts for their earnings while in Social Securitycovered employment.

Referred to the House Committees on Ways and Means Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance

H.R. 20: The Government Reforms campaign finance By the People Act of 2017 / laws to put small donors Rep. John Sarbanes, D-MD on par with wealthier donors. Provides a tax credit or contributions Cosponsors: 161 (D), 1 (R) and government matching contributions.

Referred to three House committees

H.R. 5765: The Reducing the Effects of the Cyberattack on OPM Victims Emergency Response (RECOVER) Act / Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

This legislation would extend the availability of identity protection for individuals whose personal information was compromised during recent data breaches at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

NARFE, August 2018

Cosponsors: 4 (D) 0 (R) NARFE’s Position:

Support

Oppose

No position

CONGRESSIONAL SCORECARD UPDATE We’ve made some updates to the Congressional Scorecard that was published in our October issue. You can download it at: www.narfe.org/pdf/NARFE_1018_CongressionalScorecard.pdf

W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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Find this and other great deals on www.fepblue.org/blue365

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Be smart about your hearing aid purchase. Service Benefit Plan members can combine their benefit with TruHearing® prices to save thousands.

Example Savings (per pair) Prices and products subject to change. For more information, visit TruHearing.com.

Sample Product

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TruHearing Price

Benefit (up to $2,500)*

You Pay†

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$6,110

$4,190

–$2,500

$1,690

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$5,570

$3,100

–$2,500

$600

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$2,950

–$2,500

$450

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$3,860

$2,590

–$2,500

$90

TruHearing Flyte® 770

$3,700

$1,990

–$2,500

$0

Widex® Beyond® 220

$4,010

$2,500

–$2,500

$0

Smartphone compatible‡

Rechargeable

* FEP will pay a hearing aid benefit up to $2,500 total every 3 calendar years for adults age 22 and over, and up to $2,500 total per calendar year for members up to age 22.

Do not rely on this communication piece alone for complete benefit information. All benefits are subject to the definitions, limitations, and exclusions in your FEP brochure.

The Blue365® Discount Program offers access to savings on items that you may purchase directly from independent vendors, which may be different from items covered under FEP or any other applicable federal healthcare program. For hearing aids, acupuncture, chiropractic and vision services, you must exhaust your FEP benefits first.

To find out what is covered under your policy, contact the customer service number on the back of your member ID card. The products and services described herein are neither offered nor guaranteed under any local Blue company’s contract with the Medicare program. These items are not subject to the Medicare appeal process.

Any disputes regarding these products and services are not subject to the FEP’s Disputed Claims process. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) may receive payments from Blue365 vendors. Neither the FEP, BCBSA, nor any local Blue company recommends, endorses, warrants or guarantees any specific Blue365 vendor or item. The FEP reserves the right to change, modify, or terminate any item and vendors made available through Blue365, at any time.

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† Price shown does not include cost of comprehensive hearing exam. Examination and testing for prescribing of hearing aids is covered under the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan. The member should confirm that the provider rendering the hearing exam is a Preferred provider. If the provider is Non-preferred, the member may be charged a maximum fee of $75 for the exam, and the member may need to submit a claim for reimbursement. Must be a FEP member to access TruHearing discounted pricing. ‡ Smartphone compatible hearing aids connect directly to iPhone®, iPad®, and iPod® Touch devices. Connectivity also available to many Android® phones with use of a phone clip accessory. § Hearing aid returns, repairs, and replacements subject to provider and manufacturer fees. For questions regarding fees, contact TruHearing customer service.

TruHearing is offered through Blue365, which provides exclusive health and wellness deals and is a program of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. The Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® words and symbols, Federal Employee Program®, FEP® and Blue365® are all trademarks owned by Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

All content ©2018 TruHearing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. TruHearing® and Flyte® are registered trademarks of TruHearing, Inc. All other trademarks, product names, and company names are the property of their respective owners. Savings based on a survey of national average retail hearing aid prices compared to average TruHearing pricing. Actual customer savings will vary. Three follow-up visits must be used within one year after the date of initial purchase.

Questions & Answers

The following Questions & Answers were compiled by NARFE’s Federal Benefits Institute staff.

NARFE does not provide legal, financial planning or tax advice or assistance.

EMPLOYEES TERMINATION AND REGULAR RETIREMENT

Q

I’m 62 with more than 15 years of federal service. I’ve had Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage my entire federal career. I’m currently facing a possible termination from federal service. If I’m terminated, will I lose my entitlement to my earned annuity and federal health insurance in retirement?

A

If an individual (who is already eligible for an immediate retirement and is already eligible to keep FEHB coverage in retirement) gets terminated, they will qualify to keep FEHB coverage in their annuity when they apply for their retirement.

Since you are already eligible for an immediate retirement and meet the criteria to keep FEHB coverage in retirement, an involuntary separation from federal service will not affect your ability to claim your annuity or keep your FEHB coverage in retirement.

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However, an exception would apply if your termination was connected with any of the offenses cited in 5 U.S. Code 8312, which largely involve treason, espionage and seditious conduct against the U.S. But unless your termination is for such a reason, they can’t prevent you from claiming your annuity or the benefits that come along with it.

FED MARRIED TO A FED AND FEHB

Q

My wife and I are both federal employees and when our youngest child

reached the age of 26 several years ago, we switched from one family FEHB plan to individual self-only plans. We found this to be more cost effective than maintaining a self-plus-one or a family plan for just the two of us. My wife plans to continue federal service and retire a few years from now, but I plan to retire next summer. Should I consider making any adjustments to my FEHB coverage this upcoming Open Season?

A

It’s not a bad idea to consider using this Open Season before the year of your separation for retirement to consider asking your wife to add you to her FEHB plan, while simultaneously cancelling your own plan. However, the answer might also depend upon your age and whether or not you have access to TRICARE (military health insurance).

If you have access to TRICARE, you can ask the Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) to suspend your FEHB coverage for TRICARE for an indefinite period of time during any month of retirement.

This could potentially save you some money if you are satisfied with your coverage under TRICARE in retirement. And if desired, you can use any future open season in retirement to unsuspend any FEHB plan later.

If you don’t have access to TRICARE or you don’t want to suspend your FEHB coverage for TRICARE, then you may want to use this year’s Open Season to cancel your FEHB coverage and simultaneously ask your spouse to add you to her FEHB plan, either self-plus-one or self and family, whichever is most cost effective. If you are employed by two different federal agencies, then you will want to double check that the effective dates for your Open Season elections are the same.

This will ensure that you don’t have any break in coverage.

When you submit your retirement application to your agency retirement office next year, you should include a copy of your spouse’s Open Season election that reflects the effective date that she added you to her FEHB plan so your agency retirement office can certify that you have been continuously covered by FEHB for the last 5+ years of your federal career, including the date of your separation. This is important because it will make it a lot easier for you if you want to obtain your own FEHB coverage in retirement later.

There are a couple of reasons why remaining under your spouse’s employment FEHB plan might benefit you while your spouse remains federally employed. One reason has to do with pretax savings and the other reason has to do with Medicare Part B premium savings.

Although the annual cost of FEHB coverage in retirement is the same as the annual cost for full time employees, the deduction for the FEHB premium in retirement is not withheld on a pretax basis like it is for employees. So the pretax savings for the cost of a selfplus-one or family FEHB plan will most likely outweigh the smaller savings in cost of keeping your individual plans separate.

If you are older than 65 and remain under your wife’s employment FEHB plan, you wouldn’t need to consider signing up and paying for Medicare Part B so soon. As long as you remain under her employment FEHB plan, Medicare would be secondary to her FEHB plan. So unless you have a lot of major health issues, Medicare Part B probably wouldn’t be needed until your wife retires from federal service.

If you lose your spouse to death or divorce, this would be a qualified life event (QLE) to regain your FEHB coverage in your own retirement. But the more likely scenario will be that once your wife retires from federal service, she will probably want to tell OPM to change her plan to a self-only FEHB plan during the first month

of her retirement. That will be your QLE to regain your own self-only FEHB plan effective the same date that she drops you from her plan.

Regardless of the scenarios listed above, if you have already passed the age of 65 on the effective date that you are no longer covered by employment FEHB coverage, you would have an 8-month Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to enroll into Medicare Part B without any penalties.

RETIREES MEDICARE AND FEHB

Q

I’ve been retired for a few years and signed up for Medicare Parts A and B earlier this year. What should I consider during this year’s Open Season when it comes to comparing FEHB plans now that FEHB is secondary for most of my hospital and doctor care?

A

If you are married and your spouse isn’t yet eligible for Medicare and is under your FEHB plan, keep in mind that your FEHB plan is still primary for your spouse. If that’s the case, the most important consideration would be to identify the plan that works best for your spouse as it may be all they have for now. The good news is that most FEHB plans that will benefit your spouse will also waive all your copays and deductibles for most services that you receive, with the exception of prescription copays or coinsurances. However, your W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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Questions & Answers

spouse would continue to have copays and deductibles for services they receive until they have a chance to enroll into Medicare Parts A and B. If you’re not married or you’re married to someone who also has Medicare Parts A and B, then you definitely should take a closer look at some of the plans that work really well as secondary to Medicare. You usually don’t need an expensive FEHB plan when Medicare becomes your primary payer for healthcare, especially during your healthy retirement years.

Various FEHB plans are finding creative ways to help annuitants save money when Medicare becomes primary for most of their medical services. Some FEHB plans are purposely adding perks specific for annuitants with Medicare Parts A and B while keeping those same perks out of other plans. This helps them control the cost of various FEHB plans while simultaneously guiding participants to plans that are designed to work best for them. Read section 9 of any FEHB plan brochure to obtain a better understanding of how that plan works with Medicare.

For example, some Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans have special programs with incentives especially for plan participants who have Medicare Parts A and B. In some cases, the plans might give larger discounts on prescription copays or coinsurances once the participant is enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B. Other plans, like Aetna Direct and BCBS Basic, provide health fund accounts that allow participants to reimburse themselves up to a specified 18

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amount each year to help offset the costs of Medicare Part B premiums as well as other eligible out-ofpocket expenses such as copays/ coinsurances you might have for prescription drugs.

Once Medicare Parts A and B become your primary coverage for most of your medical services, you shouldn’t feel tied to the most expensive FEHB plans when most other less expensive plans are often comprehensive enough to take care of the remaining costs associated with your medical services, especially if they will be waiving most, if not all of your copays and deductibles for hospital and doctor services.

If you have any specific doctors that you prefer to use, this will be an obvious factor when comparing FEHB plans. But you will often find that the doctors you prefer will often accept more than one FEHB plan available to you. Call your doctors or use the FEHB plan’s website tools to determine whether your doctors accept the FEHB plans that you are looking at.

Prescription needs and potential out-of-pocket costs will also be a major consideration for some folks. Use the tools on the FEHB plan websites to review these details.

Even though Medicare Parts A and B are your primary, do you expect to go out of network for any services? If so, then you may want to avoid any plans that do not provide coverage out of network.

Otherwise, those are situations where you may be responsible for the part of the medical bill that isn’t paid by Medicare.

Use the tools available to you on OPM’s website to compare plans and review various FEHB plan brochures. Consider using

the more comprehensive tools available from the Consumers Checkbook Guide to Federal Health Plans when attempting to narrow your choice down to 3 or 4 plans. NARFE20 is a discount code that will give you 20 percent off the 2019 subscription. Here are the links: • www.opm.gov/healthcareinsurance/healthcare/ plan-information/ compare-plans • www.checkbook.org/newhig2/ hig.cfm Finally, take advantage of the customer service representatives from the FEHB plans that you are comparing. Call them and have them address any questions or specific concerns you have about your medical needs and how their plan coordinates your healthcare benefits with Medicare.

Don’t be afraid to try out a new plan. If that plan doesn’t deliver what you thought it should, you can always use next year’s Open Season or your “once in a lifetime event code 2L” on the OPM Form 2809 to change to any other FEHB plan later.

Also, take the time to watch the “FEHB and Medicare: Understanding Your Choices” webinar on our website: www.narfe.org/member/ FederalBenefitsInstitute/

CHANGE TO FEHB PLANS

Q

I have a pre-existing heart condition. If I change FEHB plans, do I need to worry about a waiting period before I can get coverage?

A

There are no exclusions or waiting periods for pre-existing conditions

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W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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Questions & Answers

NARFE at Your Service in any plan in the FEHB Program.

Update

In the November 2018 Q&A section of NARFE Magazine, “Waiving Military Retirement Pay” on p. 18 mentions the address to which you need to send your waiver to waive your military retirement pay, resulting in receiving credit for military service in the computation of your benefit. This address has since been updated.

The correct address is:

8899 E. 56th St. Indianapolis, IN 46249-1200 Phone: 800-321-1080 Fax: 800-469-6559 For suggested wording for the request, please refer to the November 2018 issue.

To obtain an answer to a federal benefits question, NARFE members should call 800-456-8410 and select option 2 for the Federal Benefits Institute; send the question by postal mail to NARFE Headquarters, ATTN: Federal Benefits; or submit it by email to fedbenefits@narfe.org.

At NARFE headquarters, experts are available to answer questions and to assist in helping with a variety of benefit matters.

Call NARFE at:

800-456-8410, Option 2

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10/10/18 2:54 PM

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o ct N t ra e n Fe o Co N hly t on M

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Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS) is regulated and funded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and is designed exclusively for individuals with hearing loss. To learn more, visit www.fcc.gov. The Hamilton CapTel phone requires telephone service and high-speed Internet access. WiFi Capable. Callers

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W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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Cover Story

THE NEW

SHORT-TERM FEDERAL

By David Tobenkin

Would you stick around 25 or 30 years for a gold watch from Uncle Sam? “No thanks,� says Michael Pollard, 38, who originally foresaw a full career in federal service after eight years of military service as a U.S. Naval Officer and later federal service at the U.S. Department of Defense, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). But in March, Pollard left his CT-14/GS-15 grade equivalent

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NORMAL EMPLOYEES

manager job at the CFTC to join the global law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP as director of strategy and development.

The move was driven not only because of higher salary potential, but also because it offered him freedom to promote organizational innovation and rise rapidly in his career in a manner that he concluded would be impossible in what he describes as a bureaucratic, change-averse federal agency environment.

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Likewise, Paul Singh, 29, spent 22 months at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a GS-13 safety evaluator before heading out in July to join pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca as a pharmacovigilance scientist monitoring adverse event reporting from clinical trials for new cancer drugs. Like Pollard, Singh says he left in part for more income—30 to 40 percent more base salary plus larger bonuses—but also for an opportunity better aligned with his clinical training and the ability to focus deeply on a single cancer drug.

They are not alone. Fewer federal employees are choosing to spend a full career in federal government. This development is likely to affect agencies as well as career and financial planning for federal employees, many federal HR leaders say. Federal agencies, led by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), are working on approaches to adjust to a workforce in which an increasing number of federal employees are presumed to not want to spend their entire careers in federal government.

“Today’s workforce is increasingly shifting towards a gig economy where employees work for shorter periods of time in mission-focused areas,” former OPM Director Jeff Pon said in testimony before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in May 2018. “Our ability to accommodate this in federal employment is constrained by our rules and system of design at a time when most workers don’t expect to sign up for a long career.”

A CHANGING FEDERAL LANDSCAPE

Many people say the landscape is changing. “We are seeing some shift in employees spending their entire careers at the Department of Defense (DOD), and I do not think our agency is unique,” says Ronna Rowe Garrett, executive director for the DOD’s Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service. “We have found over the last five years that at the ten-year mark out of college, many employees depart the agency to do other things.”

In recent years, the number of separations from federal service of employees with five to nine years of service has risen steadily, from 20,634 separations in FY 2011 to 32,361 in FY 2017. (Data from first half of FY 2018, however, suggested the number of separations appeared to be trending substantially lower than FY 2017.)

Five to nine years is an important employment span that divides relatively short-term service from long-term service, which implies pursuit of a fullcareer of federal service.

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and there would be more evidence of them doing so, except for the fact that the federal government impedes this kind of career pattern in various ways, even by labeling it pejoratively as the revolving door,” says Ronald Sanders, a former senior federal agency HR executive and currently director of the School of Public Affairs at the University of South Florida.

It should be noted that some agency executives say they are not seeing such trends. “Despite very strong economic conditions over the last three or four years, we have not seen any employee exodus, and continue to have an attrition rate below 5 percent per year,” says James McNamara, the SEC’s acting chief human capital officer. “The ability for employees at the SEC to be involved in the agency’s mission to protect investors, maintain fair and efficient markets and facilitate capital formation is our greatest selling point.”

Part of the overall trend toward short-term employees is driven by generational shifts suggesting that the cohort of individuals now roughly between 24 and 35 years old do not seek long-term employment in the same degree as previous generations when they were that age. For example, a total of 43 percent of millennial respondents to a “Deloitte 2018 Millennial Survey” said that they expected to leave their current employer within two years, given the choice, and only 28 percent said that they would stay beyond five years. As for respondents, who are now 23 years old and younger, 61 percent of them said in the Deloitte survey that they would leave within two years, and only 12 percent said that they would stay past five years.

In addition to these demographic trends, many note federal workforce developments that would discourage long-term employment, such as pay freezes during some post-Great Recession years and discussion of the same for 2019, benefits cuts such as increased Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) contribution requirements for newer employees and similar federal benefits cuts proposed by the Trump administration, and sequestration and continuing threats of government shutdowns.

If long-term service is waning, what limitedterm employment patterns are federal employees likely to pursue? Jeffrey Vargas, president and CEO of Alexandria, VA-based human capital consultancy Generationology, LLC, and previously chief learning officer at the CFTC and National Nuclear Security Administration, says there are many patterns of short-term employees, including: 1. Joining the federal government out of school and staying three to five years to gain experience and, in some cases, take advan-

“Today’s workforce is increasingly shifting towards a gig economy where employees work for shorter periods of time in more mission focused areas.”

- Jeff Pon, OPM Director

tage of rapid advancement tracks and/or student loan repayment programs.

2. Joining as parents of young children or sandwich generation professions with both young children and aging parents for the critical years of such care because of federal government’s generally strong work-life balance policies, or 3. Joining late in a career to try to secure access to the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) Program to carry health insurance into retirement.

“It is a noxious myth that today’s workers or tomorrow’s workers don’t want or need job security.”

CHANGES UNDERFOOT

The Trump administration, through OPM, called for responding to the limited-term employment trend by taking steps to respond to it. Some of the reforms would require legislative action, such as altering the current grade and step compensation system. Pon and others have also argued that moving to pay-for-performance structure would increase the incentives for good employees to stay by increasing their financial rewards and providing them greater recognition while enticing more private-sector talent into federal government.

Union leaders, however, have alleged that focusing federal workforce efforts on limited-term employees is part of a pattern of systematic disempowerment, and attempted dismemberment, of the federal civil service. At the May 2018 House hearing where Pon spoke, Jacqueline Simon, director of public policy at the American Federation of Government Employees, questioned whether newer generations really are not seeking long-term employment.

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“It is a noxious myth that today’s workers or tomorrow’s workers don’t want or need job security,” Simon says. “Just because the gig economy has made employment for so many Americans unstable and insecure doesn’t mean the federal government should follow suit.”

Some also question whether limited-term employees would be as committed to agency missions and, given that many will be looking at future opportunities in the private sector, will remain impartial toward the industries they regulate.

Does hiring more employees for shorter terms make sense? It depends.

“Some occupations lend themselves to short-term employment, such as those with rapidly changing skill sets, given the federal government is not known for being good at training people and keeping skills up to date,” says Jeffrey Neal, a senior vice president at consulting firm ICF and a former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief human capital officer. “The downside of that is

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what happens to people who are hired: are you going to use them up and throw them out? That is particularly the case or positions for which you do need people for years and years. A lot depends on what type of employer the federal government wants to be. Should there be at will employment, like in the private sector, allowing for flexibility depending upon what the market wants, or should the federal government be a model employer? I would put myself in the model employer camp.”

FEDERAL AGENCY EFFORTS

Agencies and federal HR experts are examining ways to navigate civil service rules and practices that impede in and out federal employment. One impediment is that competitive service federal employees who come back into federal government must resume employment at the previous grade at which they were employed when they departed.

“If individuals leave the government as a GS-11, acquire several years of experience that clearly qualifies them for a GS-14, and decide they want to return to public service, we should welcome them back, not make them jump through all sorts of hoops as if they were a new hire,” Sanders says.

The often lengthy and rule-based federal hiring process for competitive service positions, a roadbump to facilitating such movement in and out of federal service, has been an OPM target for reform for years, though Pon in his testimony noted that much remains to be done. For the time being, the reality is that for many agencies, poaching federal employees who are already in the federal system is an easier way to satisfy their employment needs than hiring non-federal employees, Vargas says.

However many agencies, such as DOD, also have direct hire authorities for some classes of employees that reduce the procedural steps for hiring. Similarly, a December 2014 cyber hiring mandate also gives DHS greater authority for hiring and paying cybersecurity professionals, including creating an entirely new personnel and pay system for cyber workers, which Angela Bailey, the current chief human capital officer at DHS, said would be rolled out soon in Congressional testimony earlier this year.

In addition, some are trying to broaden the experience of their employees while ultimately retaining them. In July 2018, DOD signed a memorandum to implement a public-private talent exchange program under which DOD and privatesector organizations can exchange talent for periods of three months to two years. “This will allow us to obtain competencies highly sought after from private-sector employment, particularly in STEM and medical fields, without losing employees on a permanent basis,” Garrett says.

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“Some occupations lend themselves to short-term employment, such as those with rapidly changing skill sets, given the federal government is not known for being good at training people and keeping skills up to date.”

Some agencies have also received short-term hiring authorities. In 2016, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) began a new program called eNGAge under which outside academic or industry software coders and data scientists can serve for up to five years within NGA, bringing fresh skills and approaches with them, notes Stephanie Platz-Vieno, director of the NGA Human Development Directorate. In addition, the NGA has a special, statutorily approved excepted service pay system that allows for employees returning to the NGA from the private sector to have their pay set in consideration of skills and experiences gained outside of government.

Vargas advocates better tracking and recruitment of federal agency alumni employed elsewhere.

“We need to create a marketing and recruitment message out there to them,” Vargas says. He notes that after machine manufacturing giant Caterpillar had a large reduction in workforce, it created an alumni network that kept in touch with those let go.

“When business picked up, 70 to 80 percent of new hires came from the alumni network,” Vargas says.

“That is a powerful tool that government hasn’t had to use before because of the 30-year gold watch.”

Would recently departed CFTC employee Pollard consider returning to the federal government? Perhaps, but only at a much later point in his private-sector career, when he could come back as a senior executive with the power to be more influential to “make the federal government work better for the American taxpayers,” Pollard says.

FINANCIAL PLANNING

Limited-term federal employment presents varying challenges for employees’ career and financial planning. For many short-timers, of course, federal employment may not add much in terms of retirement

benefits or generate an annuity that will support much of the needs of retirement. Still, knowledge of some key federal benefit requirements may spell the difference between enjoying some federal benefits and forfeiting them.

To be vested for a federal annuity, an employee must have at least five years of creditable civilian service. To receive an immediate, unreduced annuity, FERS plan participants must have one of three combinations upon separation: 1) 30 years in service and minimum retirement age, 2) 20 years in service and age 60, and 3) five years in service and age 62. The general combinations for Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) immediate annuities are age 62 with 5 years, age 60 with 20 years and age 55 with 30 years, all combinations requiring CSRS coverage for one of the last two years before retirement.

It is important to understand the difference between postponed retirements and deferred retirements under the FERS system, notes Carol Schmidlin, president of Sewell, NJ-based financial planning firm Franklin Planning. A postponed FERS retirement, which allows one to carry FEHB and Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) benefits into retirement, requires attaining minimum retirement age, at least 10 years creditable civilian service, leaving some FERS contributions in the system, leaving federal service, and then waiting to draw the annuity until there is no reduction for an early retirement (age 60 for those with 20 years of service and age 62 with those with 10 to under 20 years of service).

In contrast, a deferred retirement, such as separating service prior to reaching minimum retire-

“Knowledge of some key federal benefit requirements may spell the difference between enjoying federal benefits and forfeiting them.”

ment age (MRA) with a minimum of 10 years of service, would allow the retiree to collect the annuity at age 62, but he or she would not be eligible for FEHB and FEGLI, once he or she separated from service. Nor would one be able to start those up once he or she reached age 62 and begin receiving an annuity. A steep reduction in annuity benefits of up to 5 percent a year for each year one retires prior to reaching age 62, or age 60 with 20 years of service, should also be kept in mind. As with a FERS deferred retirement, a deferred CSRS retirement prevents continuing FEHB and FEGLI health and life insurance benefits into retirement.

As noted, given that many private-sector employers do not allow retiring employees to carry health insurance into retirement, a key benefit that may be worth including in career planning is qualifying to carry the FEHB into retirement. To be eligible to do so, employees must 1) retire under a qualifying retirement system (which requires at least five years of federal civilian service), 2) must have been covered by FEHB for the last five years of federal service leading up to the date of separation from federal service (either under their own policy or under that of a family member) or for the full period of service since the employee’s first opportunity to enroll, if less than five years, and 3) must receive retirement benefits starting within a month of retiring or, under the FERS plan, must satisfy the minimum retirement age to avoid an annuity reduction and have 10 years of credible federal service in cases where retirement has been postponed. For employees returning to federal service from the private sector and reinstating FEHB coverage, the coverage in their prior appointment counts toward having five years of continuous service as long as they re-enroll within 60 days of being rehired.

For many who will only spend some time in federal government, taking advantage of some of the unique attributes of federal benefits may be high on their federal benefits to-do list, Schmidlin say. For the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), it takes three years of employment for agency one percent of basic pay TSP contributions to vest. Many employees will want to put in five percent of pay to receive a full four percent agency matching contribution, in addition to the automatic one percent contribution.

They may also want to take advantage of the TSP’s G Fund, which allows earning medium to long-term interest rates with no risk of losing principal, a fund with no equivalent in the private sector, says Schmidlin.

—DAVID TOBENKIN IS A FREELANCE WRITER BASED IN THE GREATER WASHINGTON, D.C. AREA. W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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SEEKING IMPROVEMEN TS FOR

FEDERAL JOB

CLASSIFICATION S

By David Tobenkin

Today’s federal workforce has changed tremendously from that of 70 years ago, but in many respects, the system used by federal agencies to classify federal jobs has not kept pace.

Job classification, the federal system for categorizing federal positions that largely determines their level, duties, and pay, affects the ability to recruit, attain the right staffing levels, facilitate interoffice mobility, measure performance, and compensate employees equitably. But it is a system that is notoriously difficult to manage and that many say has become dysfunctional.

It is likely to be a key reform proposal of the Trump Administration, which in its President’s Management Agenda promoted steps to make the federal workforce more agile. That Agenda seeks, for example, to promote flexibility in the workforce by allowing employees to move between agencies and positions where the need for employees is greatest. Lack of good classification impedes such mobility, as the lack of accurate job descriptions means employees at one agency cannot tell if they would be a good fit at another agency, nor can managers at the receiving agency tell the same.

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THE CURRENT CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

The GS system, the pay system created in 1949 that is used for the vast majority of the federal government’s civilian, white-collar workforce, has a standardized set of 420 occupations, grouped in 23 occupational families, and a statutorilydefined 15 grade level system. The result is a complex landscape of thousands of possible job classifications and the challenge of continuing to effectively manage each position’s individual accuracy and its relationship to the others.

A 2014 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report described the problem: “Classifying occupations and developing position descriptions in the GS system requires officials to maintain an understanding of the individual position and the nuances between similar occupations. Without this understanding, the transparency and internal equity of the system may be inhibited, as agency officials may not be classifying positions consistently, comparable employees may not be treated equitably, and the system may seem unpredictable.”

A 2014 joint work by the Partnership for Public Performance and Booz Allen Hamilton, Building the Enterprise: A New Civil Service Framework, reported that by treating all occupations equally and linking them to the current pay scales, the GS system is unable to make meaningful differences in the complexity and skills required by individual positions across occupations.

“Many would agree that there is a need for an overhaul of the job classification construct,” says Ronna Rowe Garrett, executive director for the DOD’s Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service, where she develops and oversees civilian human resource plans, policies, and programs for 950,000 DOD employees. “The cumulative

“ ...agency officials may not be classifying positions consistently, comparable employees may not be treated equitably, and the system may seem unpredictable.”

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“ The cumulative effect of decades of workarounds is a fragmented personnel structure.”

effect of decades of workarounds is a fragmented personnel structure.”

“DOD receives new authorities through the [National Defense Authorization Act] every year, which gives us the opportunity to make changes and implement hiring authorities for specific situations, which allows us to be more adaptive and flexible than would otherwise be the case. Yet we now have so many authorities that it is hard to utilize them all to work around the construct,” Garrett says, adding that DOD has utilized such special authorities to hire for financial management, business transformation, childcare, and cybersecurity positions.

DETERMINING WHO ACTUALLY DOES WHAT

Under the current classification structure, it can be hard to accurately describe what a particular position entails. The position of “analyst” illustrates the ambiguity, says Jeffrey Neal, senior vice president at consulting firm ICF and a former Department of Homeland Security chief human capital officer. “For job applicants, it can be hard to know the difference between a program analyst, a management analyst, a business analyst, a management/program analyst, or any of the other types of ‘analysts’ they see advertised, or the countless other job identifiers,” Neal notes. “If I am policy analyst for transportation issues and you are budget analyst, they are totally different skill sets. That is what drives distinctions.”

In the old days, classification officers at federal agencies would investigate positions, including through audits involving discussions with managers and employees, to determine whether the job descriptions corresponded to reality, whether positions were being

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compensated appropriately to the work they performed, and to make sure work was being assigned to those in different positions in a way that was effective and efficient, Neal notes.

Eventually such efforts were curtailed. Part of the problem was that as jobs moved away from rigid, narrow, defined jobs involving certain well-defined physical and mechanical activities and into more complicated knowledge work, keeping job descriptions up-to-date and consistent became harder and more subjective, says Howard Risher, a federal pay consultant.

“The idea of a job description came out of industrial engineering in the 1930s and 1940s as a way to document and control what workers did,” Risher added. “Then we moved away from mechanical jobs and toward people using their brains, to the point where every job requires human knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge. Then, when someone wrote a job classification it often was prompted by a question about that person’s value. Then the way to describe those jobs came to be to interview the people doing the job. And, of course, when you interview them, they generally tend to say, “I am important” and give other less-than-objective self-assessments. I was director of compensation for a conglomerate in the private sector and we ended up with file drawers full of job descriptions. They were filed and never used again until it was time to rewrite the position.”

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OPTIONS FOR REFORM

Various reform efforts are being promoted to address the problem. Most focus upon simplification of the system and better ties between market forces and job descriptions.

The Building the Enterprise report proposed revising the classification system by reducing the number of grades from 15 to five broad pay bands, representing a much wider range of duties and responsibilities to more closely reflect the work of a modern civil service.

It also called, for selected occupations, for benchmarking the pay to comparable private sector, nonprofit, and state and local government occupations to ensure pay comparability; and

“ ...we ended up with file drawers full of job descriptions. They were filed and never used again until it was time to rewrite the position.”

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also would provide greater discretion to the executive branch managers to control salaries for individual employees.

Significantly, altering the GS grade and step system would require an act of Congress. Ronald Sanders, a former senior federal agency HR executive and currently director of the School of Public Affairs at the University of South Florida, says that a smaller number of grades, or bands, for employees tends to gravitate toward rankin-person approaches, which classify employees based upon their unique skills and abilities, an approach common in the military and used for the Senior Executive Service, rather than rankin-position, or classifying positions based on needs and then hiring individuals with those qualifications, the approach most commonly used in the federal government. For many whitecollar job positions, rank-in-person is the right approach, he says.

“ If we have that, we have enough for compensation, training, and performance management, and it is simpler, because most jobs only require a handful of competencies.”

“If we have that, we have enough for compensation, training, and performance management, and it is simpler, because most jobs only require a handful of competencies,” agrees Risher. “That allows you to show that a senior cybersecurity analyst’s classification is valid at whatever agency he or she is employed.”

MAKING PROGRESS

Some federal agencies already have progressed along these lines, particularly at agencies that have received statutory authorities for demonstration projects that apply differing job classification approaches. Many of these agencies use pay38

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for-performance constructs, in which accurate classifications of position and duties is important in order to justify the wider variation in compensation that can occur. The National GeospatialIntelligence Agency (NGA), for example, has five pay bands, rather than 15; the National Institute of Standards and Technology uses a similar approach arranged by career paths and pay bands.

In some cases, reexamination of the system of classifying positions has been driven by hiring imperatives, such as the recent massive wave of agency hirings of cybersecurity experts in the wake of federal and private sector hacks of databases. Such cybersecurity positions largely did not exist fifteen years ago.

One key initiative that began in March 2010, is the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), a partnership between government, academia, and the private sector focused on cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development that is led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In April 2013, NICE published a National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (the NICE Framework) that for the first time provided a consistent way to define and describe cybersecurity work at any public or private organization, including federal agencies. In 2017, NICE updated the NICE Framework as NIST Special Publication 800-181 in which 52 work roles are described with details including the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform tasks in that work role.

“This document helps agencies know what skills their cybersecurity workforce need and helps employees examine the skills connected to the work roles they perform, as the employees can then identify training courses to improve their skills enabling them to do more within their roles,” says Bill Newhouse, deputy director of NICE and a NIST senior security engineer.

“This document glues educator, agencies and individuals together.”

The Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act of 2015 required OPM to establish procedures to implement the NICE coding structure (3 digit codes assigned to each NICE work role) and to identify all federal civilian positions performing information technology, cybersecurity, or other cyber-related functions.

Some agencies also say they have made special efforts to improve job classifications.

“We developed an online job posting tool, the NGA Marketplace, several years ago that allows NGA employees to see all the jobs in the agency the position descriptions, job titles, pay bands, job

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requirements and locations,” says Stephanie PlatzVieno, director of the NGA Human Development.

“This tool supports career planning because it allows employees to add specific jobs to their goals - effectively applying for jobs in advance.

When job vacancies occur, we have a slate of applicants to be considered. When you do this, you have to ensure that your position descriptions are accurate. We embarked two years ago on an

“ We found the job descriptions were inconsistent: some were accurate and some were out-of-date.”

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agency-wide effort requiring line managers and HR professionals to work together to describe all positions using a very structured template as we found the job descriptions were inconsistent: some were accurate and some were out-of-date.”

Giving positions the right job titles in hiring advertisements and elsewhere also matters, PlatzVieno says. “We used to call people who did very sophisticated analytics on data, statisticians or analytic methodologists,” Platz-Vieno says. “But ‘data scientist’ is the term you had better use if you want to hire this skill set now. With our hiring flexibilities, we are free to advertise for such positions using a more accurate title rather than one that is out-of-date.”

—DAVID TOBENKIN IS A FREELANCE REPORTER BASED IN THE GREATER WASHINGTON, D.C. AREA.

REFERENCES 1 U nited States Government Accountability Office. “OPM Needs to Improve the Design, Management, and Oversight of the Federal Classification System (2014),” https://www.gao.gov/assets/670/665200.pdf 2 P artnership for Public Performance, Booz Allen Hamilton. “Building the Enterprise: A New Civil Service Framework,” http://ourpublicservice.org/ wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Building_the_Enterprise__A_New_Civil_ Service_Framework-2014.04.01.pdf

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Open Season Report

O

PEN SEASON REPORT

OPEN SEASON: NOVEMBER 12-DECEMBER 10

FEHB PLAN CHANGES

T

he Federal Benefits Open Season for Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program enrollment changes ends Monday, December 10. You should receive this issue of NARFE Magazine in late November, so there is still time to review health plans and make an informed decision.

FEHB participants will be able to choose from 83 health plan carriers offering 265 health plan choices during this Open Season.

If you are a federal employee and not presently enrolled in the FEHB, you may enroll during Open Season if you are not otherwise excluded from coverage because of the nature of your appointment.

If you are a federal annuitant and are not presently covered by the FEHB as an enrollee or a family member, you cannot enroll in the FEHB during Open Season, except if you previously suspended your FEHB enrollment in favor of coverage under TRICARE, TRICARE For Life, a Medicare Advantage HMO plan, CHAMPVA, Medicaid or as a Peace Corps volunteer.

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Open Season changes for employees are effective at the beginning of the first pay period after January 1, 2019.

Open Season changes made by annuitants and survivor annuitants are effective on January 1, 2019, and the premium changes will be effective in the February 1, 2019, annuity payments.

PLAN BROCHURES

When deciding which plan is best for you, be sure to review your current plan’s 2019 brochure, as well as the brochures for other plans you are considering. The 2019 plan brochures for all of the FEHB plans can be viewed online and downloaded at www.opm.gov/ healthcare-insurance.

Each brochure is formatted the same way, with sections on specific topics, such as “How Our Plan Has Changed,” “Your Costs for Covered Services” and “Coordinating Benefits With Other Coverage.” And all plan brochures have a box on the cover that provides the page numbers to find the new premium rates and the plan’s

changes for the new year.

Since the implementation of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, all plans provide a Summary of Benefits and Coverage with easyto-understand information about out-of-pocket costs, coverage and rights of enrollees.

PREMIUM CHANGES

The average total premium increase in the FEHB for 2019, based on all of the enrollees in all of the plans, is 1.3 percent. The average premium increase for enrollees is 1.5 percent.

The 1.3 percent figure is not an across-the-board increase per plan. It is the weighted average increase for the total premium (government and employee share) for all of the plans in the FEHB. This means that some plans’ premiums decreased, some did not change at all and some increased.

Federal employees with Self Only coverage will pay, on average, $1.53 more per two-week pay period; those with Self Plus One coverage will pay an average of $3.06 more per pay period, and those with Self and Family

coverage will see an average increase of $2.55. Employees in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Standard option, the most popular enrollment, will see biweekly premiums fall $0.93 for Self Only coverage, $1.27 for Self Plus One, and $3.74 for Self and Family.

There are HMO enrollees who will see some increases in premiums and some whose premiums have been lowered.

For example, the enrollee’s share of the monthly premium

for Self and Family coverage for Illinois Humana Health Plan, Inc. (enrollment code AB5) will increase by $158.79 per month while the Self Only option (enrollment code AB4) will increase $72.15 per month.

On the other end of the spectrum, monthly premiums for KC2 California Kaiser Foundation Health Plan will decrease $5.26 a month for the Basic Self and Family option. But even if your particular plan’s premiums are

not rising by much, make sure you read the plan brochure – particularly Section 2, “How We Changed for 2019.” This section will reveal which, if any, out-ofpocket expenses, such as copayments and coinsurance, will increase in 2019.

When reading each plan’s brochure, note which costs are not included in meeting the plan’s yearly deductible. These out-ofpocket expenses can really add up.

—FEDERAL BENEFITS INSTITUTE

MEDICARE PREMIUMS: PART B AND PART D Medicare Open Season began October 15 and ends December 7.

PART B

The monthly Medicare Part B base premium for 2019 will increase $135.50, a slight increase from $134 in 2018. The annual deductible for Medicare Part B beneficiaries will be $185 in 2019, a slight increase from $183 in 2018.

Medicare Part B covers physician services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment and certain other medical and health services not covered by Medicare Part A. An estimated two million Medicare beneficiaries (about 3.5 percent) will pay less than the full Part B standard monthly premium amount in 2019 due to the statutory hold harmless provision, which limits certain beneficiaries’ increase in their Part B benefits to be no greater than the increase in their social security benefits.

PART D

The Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit is geared to people who do not have employer-provided or union-provided prescription drug coverage. Under your FEHB coverage, you simply pay co-payments and/ or coinsurance for your prescription drugs, so the majority of FEHB enrollees will not need Medicare Part D. Anyone covered under the FEHB has what is known as “creditable prescription drug coverage.” This means that the FEHB prescription drug coverage is at least as good as, if not better than, the Part D coverage. This also means if a person with FEHB coverage turns down Part D when he or she is first eligible to enroll but signs up at some point in the future, he or she will not be required to pay a penalty for late enrollment in Part D.

FEHB plan brochures for 2019 contain statements certifying the creditability of each plan’s drug coverage for Part D lateenrollment purposes. These statements will be found at the beginning of each plan’s brochure, immediately before the table of contents, and will be headlined “Important Notice From (Plan’s Name) About Our Prescription Drug Coverage and Medicare.”

Part D requires a monthly premium in addition to the Medicare Part B premium. The estimated average monthly basic premium for 2019 will be about $41. Some may pay a higher monthly premium based on their income. In 2019, enrollees in Part D may have to pay a deductible before the plan’s prescription drug coverage starts.

For more information on Medicare Parts B or D, visit www.medicare.gov.

W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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43

Open Season Report

FEE-FOR-SERVICE PLANS

F

ollowing are the six feefor-service (FFS) plans available to all employees and annuitants and the changes in benefits.

In addition to the six opento-all plans, there are four FFS plans open to specific groups of federal employees and annuitants.

Premium rates for all 10 FFS plans are shown in the chart on p. 45.

Review the brochures, available either on the plans’ websites or at www.opm.gov/healthcareinsurance. Many plans will include clarifications of existing benefits that could be beneficial when choosing a plan.

When reviewing each plan’s changes, take note of announced changes in preferred provider organizations (PPOs). If you live in a state where your plan is changing its PPO network, you need to contact the plan and ask for a new PPO directory for 2019 to assure that your doctors, hospitals, etc., will be in the new network. Otherwise, you may wish to change plans during Open Season. Using your plan’s PPOs is a major way to save out-of-pocket costs.

American Postal Workers Union Health Plan (APWU) High Option The plan’s catastrophic out-ofpocket maximum is $5,500 for Self Only and $9,000 for both Self Plus One and Self and Family if the plan’s network providers are used. The in-network deductible is $350 for Self Only and $700 for Self Plus One and Self and Family coverage. The hospice benefit has increased to $15,000 lifetime coverage, which includes advance

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care planning. The in-network office visit co-payment in 2019 is $25. The plan will provide virtual office visits.

Consumer Driven Health Plan The plan’s in-network catastrophic out-of-pocket maximum is $5,000 for Self Only and $10,000 for Self Plus One and Self and Family coverage; the out-of-network catastrophic maximum is $13,700 for Self Plus One and Self and Family (Self Only remains $10,200). The deductible is $800 for Self Only and $1,600 for Self Plus One and Self and Family. The plan has increased the hospice benefit to $15,000 lifetime coverage, which includes advance care planning.

The plan includes virtual office visits.

More information on APWU can be found at www.apwuhp. com.

Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Service Benefit Plan Changes BCBS is offering a third plan in 2019 with their existing Standard and Basic Option plans. FEP Blue Focus offers low premiums and co-pays for everyday healthcare needs and covers preventative essentials. These include: two free virtual doctor visits through Teladoc; your first 10 doctor and specialist visits for $10 each; preferred drug coverage in their formulary and a reward for getting an annual checkup.

Other changes include adding dermatology to telehealth benefits; fully covering pathology services as part of preventive colon cancer screenings; acupuncture services

received will count toward your annual visit maximum; and partnering with GMMI, Inc. to provide an Overseas Benefit Program.

Numerous changes to pharmacy costs and coverage include: reducing Preferred retail pharmacy cost share for generic Metformin (diabetes medicine) and Preferred brand diabetic medicines, test strips and supplies; the Standard Option cost share for generic drugs is now a flat co-pay of $7.50 for a 30-day supply; the Basic Option cost share has increased for Preferred brand name drugs received through the Mail Service Pharmacy Program and Preferred and Non-Preferred specialty drugs received through the Specialty Drug Pharmacy Program; Naloxone and Narcan injectable and nasal spray in full for up to a 90-day supply combined; and the list of drugs not covered under Standard Option are referred as “excluded” while the Basic Option is referred to as “Managed Not Covered Drugs.”

More information on BCBS can be found at www.fepblue.org.

Government Employees Health Association (GEHA) Overall Plan Changes GEHA’s annual contribution to High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) accounts has increased to $900 for Self Only and $1,800 for Self Plus One and Self and Family.

3-D mammograms and FIT DNA colorectal cancer screenings are now covered 100 percent under all GEHA medical plans.

Skilled nursing care is now covered 21 days while diabetic

KEY: E mployees pay biweekly Annuitants pay monthly

2019 PREMIUMS — FEE FOR SERVICE Plan Option

Code

Total Premium biweekly monthly

Gov’t Pays biweekly monthly

Enrollee Pays biweekly monthly

Enrollee Increase/ Decrease biweekly monthly

OPEN TO ALL

APWU HEALTH PLAN High Self 471 $335.18 $726.22 High Self & Family 472 $804.42 $1,742.91 High Self Plus One 473 $703.86 $1,525.03 CDHP Self 474 $275.85 $597.68 CDHP Self & Family 475 $654.04 $1,417.09 CDHP Self Plus One 476 $599.54 $1,299.00 BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD SERVICE BENEFIT PLAN Standard Self 104 $342.41 $741.89 Standard Self & Family 105 $793.53 $1,719.32 Standard Self Plus One 106 $748.81 $1,622.42 Basic Self 111 $294.90 $638.95 Basic Self & Family 112 $702.56 $1,522.21 Basic Self Plus One 113 $662.84 $1,436.15 GEHA BENEFIT PLAN High Self 311 $336.15 $728.33 High Self & Family 312 $838.27 $1,816.47 High Self Plus One 313 $739.53 $1,602.32 Standard Self 314 $235.13 $509.45 Standard Self & Family 315 $592.46 $1,283.66 Standard Self Plus One 316 $505.54 $1,095.34 HDHP Self 341 $234.82 $508.78 HDHP Self & Family 342 $582.69 $1,262.50 HDHP Self Plus One 343 $504.86 $1,093.86 MHBP Value Self 414 $220.23 $477.17 Value Self & Family 415 $532.24 $1,153.19 Value Self Plus One 416 $521.82 $1,130.61 Standard Self 454 $266.14 $576.64 Standard Self & Family 455 $618.48 $1,340.04 Standard Self Plus One 456 $612.59 $1,327.28 HDHP Self 481 $259.40 $562.03 HDHP Self & Family 482 $602.74 $1,305.94 HDHP Self Plus One 483 $574.05 $1,243.78 NALC High Self 321 $314.81 $682.09 High Self & Family 322 $706.93 $1,531.68 High Self Plus One 323 $692.97 $1,501.44 CDHP Self 324 $218.55 $473.53 CDHP Self & Family 325 $492.77 $1,067.67 CDHP Self Plus One 326 $477.39 $1,034.35 Value Self KM1 $179.37 $388.64 Value Self & Family KM2 $404.60 $876.63 Value Self Plus One KM3 $380.78 $848.86 SAMBA High Self 441 $421.24 $912.69 High Self & Family 442 $1,010.97 $2,190.44 High Self Plus One 443 $926.72 $2,007.89 Standard Self 444 $317.03 $686.90 Standard Self & Family 445 $729.20 $1,579.93 Standard Self Plus One 446 $697.49 $1,511.23

$230.18 $525.32 $492.27 $206.89 $490.53 $449.66

$498.72 $1,138.19 $1,066.59 $448.26 $1,062.82 $974.25

$105.00 $227.50 $279.10 $604.72 $211.59 $458.44 $68.96 $149.42 $163.51 $354.27 $149.88 $324.75

$11.96 $27.20 $25.80 $4.99 $9.98 $9.14

$25.91 $58.94 $55.89 $10.81 $21.62 $19.82

$230.18 $525.32 $492.27 $221.18 $525.32 $492.27

$498.72 $1,138.19 $1,066.59 $479.21 $1,138.19 $1,066.59

$112.23 $268.21 $256.54 $73.72 $177.24 $170.57

$243.17 $581.13 $555.83 $159.74 $384.02 $369.56

-$0.93 -$3.74 -$1.27 $0.00 -$3.74 -$1.27

-$2.01 -$8.10 -$2.76 $0.00 -$8.10 -$2.76

$230.18 $525.32 $492.27 $176.35 $444.35 $379.16 $176.12 $437.02 $378.65

$498.72 $1,138.19 $1.066.59 $382.09 $926.75 $821.51 $381.59 $946.88 $820.40

$105.97 $312.95 $247.26 $58.78 $148.11 $126.38 $58.70 $145.67 $126.21

$229.61 $678.06 $535.73 $127.36 $320.91 $273.83 $127.19 $315.62 $273.46

$2.40 $43.70 $6.05 $3.84 $18.19 $8.26 $0.86 $8.89 $1.86

$5.21 $94.68 $13.10 $8.33 $39.41 $17.91 $1.88 $19.26 $4.04

$165.17 $399.18 $391.37 $199.61 $463.86 $459.44 $194.55 $452.06 $430.54

$357.88 $864.89 $847.96 $432.48 $1,005.03 $995.46 $421.52 $979.46 $932.84

$55.06 $133.06 $130.45 $66.53 $154.62 $153.15 $64.85 $150.68 $143.51

$119.29 $288.30 $282.65 $144.16 $335.01 $331.82 $140.51 $326.48 $310.94

$-2.29 $-5.54 $-5.44 $-0.67 $-1.56 $-1.54 $-0.65 $-1.53 $-1.45

$-4.97 $-12.01 $-11.78 $-1.45 $-3.38 $-3.35 $-1.42 $-3.30 $-3.14

$230.18 $525.32 $492.27 $163.91 $369.58 $358.04 $134.53 $303.45 $293.84

$498.72 $1,138.19 $1,066.59 $355.15 $800.75 $775.76 $291.48 $657.47 $636.65

$84.63 $181.61 $200.70 $54.64 $123.19 $119.35 $44.84 $101.15 $97.94

$183.37 $393.49 $434.85 $118.38 $266.92 $258.59 $97.16 $219.16 $212.21

$5.84 $8.68 $13.64 $1.08 $4.74 $3.48 $0.88 $3.89 $2.85

$12.66 $18.81 $29.55 $2.32 $10.27 $7.53 $1.91 $8.44 $6.18

$230.18 $498.72 $525.32 $1,138.19 $492.27 $1,066.59 $230.18 $498.72 $525.32 $1,138.19 $492.27 $1,066.59

$191.06 $485.65 $434.45 $86.85 $203.88 $205.22

$413.97 $1,052.25 $941.30 $188.18 $441.74 $444.64

$-0.93 $-3.74 $-1.27 $-10.74 $-26.28 $-22.84

$-2.01 $-8.01 $-2.76 $-23.26 $-56.94 $-49.49

RESTRICTED

COMPASS ROSE HEALTH PLAN (members of the Intelligence Community, employees of Departments of Defense and State) High Self 421 $321.36 $696.28 $230.18 $498.72 $91.18 $197.56 $-0.93 $-2.01 High Self & Family 422 $771.27 $1,671.09 $525.32 $1,138.19 $245.95 $532.90 $-3.74 $-8.10 High Self Plus One 423 $707.00 $1,531.83 $492.27 $1,066.59 $214.73 $465.24 $-1.27 $-2.96 FOREIGN SERVICE BENEFIT PLAN (American Foreign Service personnel, Departments of State and Defense, USAID, Foreign Agricultural and Commercial services, other executive branch employees assigned overseas; Foreign Service retirees) High Self 401 $268.18 $581.06 $201.14 $435.80 $67.04 $145.26 $0.99 $2.14 High Self & Family 402 $663.46 $1,437.50 $497.60 $1,078.13 $165.86 $359.37 $2.46 $5.33 High Self Plus One 403 $656.86 $1,423.20 $492.27 $1,066.39 $164.59 $356.61 $2.81 $6.08 RURAL CARRIER BENEFIT PLAN (active and retired rural letter carriers) High Self 381 $316.47 $685.69 $230.18 $498.72 $86.29 $186.97 $-0.93 $-2.01 High Self & Family 382 $625.08 $1,354.34 $468.81 $1,015.76 $156.27 $338.58 $3.06 $6.63 High Self Plus One 383 $612.83 $1,327.80 $459.62 $995.85 $153.21 $331.95 $3.01 $6.51 PANAMA CANAL AREA BENEFIT PLAN High Self 431 $277.60 $601.47 $208.20 $451.10 $69.40 $150.37 $3.31 $7.17 High Self & Family 432 $559.47 $1,255.52 $434.60 $941.64 $144.87 $313.88 $6.90 $14.95 High Self Plus One 433 $554.06 $1,200.46 $415.55 $900.35 $138.51 $300.11 $6.59 $14.28

Open Season Report

counseling is covered at 10 visits per year. Members are also eligible for MDLIVE virtual care, access to doctors or therapists via phone or mobile app with an average wait time of 10 minutes.

High Option Changes Catastrophic out-of-pocket maximum (OOPM) amounts have changed from $5,500 for PPO and $7,500 for Non-PPO to $5,000 for PPO and $7,000 for Non-PPO. The Self Plus One and Self and Family OOPM will change from $7,000 for PPO and $9,000 for Non-PPO to $10,000 for PPO and $14,000 for Non-PPO. Under the Inpatient Maternity benefit, coverage for a Non-PPO facility will be the same as other inpatient coverage. Namely, you are responsible for room and board, a $300 readmission copay and 25 percent of the plan allowance plus the difference between the Plan allowance and the billed amount for other hospital services. PPO facility charges are covered 100 percent.

Standard Option Changes Catastrophic out-of-pocket maximum (OOPM) for Self Only will change from $6,000 for PPO and $8,000 for Non-PPO to $6,500 for PPO and $8,500 for Non-PPO. The Self Plus One and Self and Family OOPM will change from $7,500 for PPO and $9,500 for Non-PPO to $13,000 for PPO and $17,000 for Non-PPO. More information for GEHA can be found at www.geha.com.

Mail Handlers Benefit Plan (MHBP) As of press time, the 2019 plan brochures for MHBP were not available. They will become available in early November at www.mhbp.com.

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National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Overall Plan Changes NALC now requires prior authorization for genetic testing.

There will be lower copayments and coinsurance for medication used to treat hypertension, diabetes and asthma.

Some of what the plan now covers: one preventative medicine counseling visit associated with a low dose cat scan (LDCT); preeclampsia screening for pregnant women; postpartum diabetes mellitus after pregnancy; the Shingrix vaccine for prevention of shingles; and skin cancer prevention counseling for children age 6 months through 21 years old.

The plan no longer applies manufacturer discounts on specialty medications to the patient’s deductible or out-ofpocket maximum.

High Option Changes An enrollee’s share of the nonPostal premium will increase for Self Only, Self Plus One and Self and Family. Pre-authorization is no longer required for the shingles vaccine. Speech generating devices are now covered up to $1,250 per year.

You can now pay $20 for a spinal or extraspinal manipulation referred by a PPO provider.

More information on NALC can be found at www.nalc.com.

Special Agents Mutual Benefit Association (SAMBA) Overall Plan Changes Some of the plan changes include: the prescription drug co-pay or coinsurance for the first two fills per person, per calendar year, for the covered

purchase of Naioxone-based rescue agents will be waived.

Benefits are provided for autologous transplants for chronic lymphocytic lymphoma/ small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) and allogeneic transplants for advanced neuroblastoma (see p. 56 and 69 of the SAMBA brochure).

Plan shares of the non-postal Premium will decrease for Self Only, Self Plus One and Self and Family.

Standard Option The catastrophic protection out-of-pocket maximum for deductibles, coinsurance and co-payments is $7,000 ($14,000 for Self Plus One and for Self and Family) for combined medical and prescription PPO expenses, and $9,500 for Self Only ($19,000 for Self Plus One and for Self and Family) for combined medical and prescription non-PPO expenses.

Calendar year deductibles will be reduced from $400 to $350 per person (limited to $700 for Self Plus One and $900 for Self and Family).

High Option The catastrophic protection out-of-pocket maximum for deductibles, coinsurance and co-payments is$6,000 per person ($12,000 for Self Plus One and for Self and Family) per calendar year for combined medical and prescription PPO expenses, and $9,500 per person ($19,000 for Self Plus One and for Self and Family) per calendar year for combined medical and prescription non-PPO expenses.

More information on SAMBA can be found at www. sambaplans.com.

—FEDERAL BENEFITS INSTITUTE

The Aetna Direct plan SM

“You owe it to yourself” - Thomas, Aetna Direct member

» Low monthly plan premiums » A fund of up to $1,800 to help you pay for

Connect with us live at AetnaFedsLive.com

» Waived deductibles and coinsurance for medical

Schedule a one-on-one phone conversation

prescriptions or Medicare Part B premiums services if Medicare Parts A and B are primary and your provider accepts Medicare assignment

Chat with a federal team member online

Participate in live webinars or view them on demand

..........................................................................................................

Federal retirees are talking about Aetna Direct.

Visit aetnafeds.com/aetnadirect 1-855-277-4356

Health insurance plans are offered and/or underwritten by Aetna Life Insurance Company (Aetna). This is a brief description of the features of this Aetna health insurance plan. Before making a decision, please read the plan’s applicable federal brochure(s). All benefits are subject to the definitions, limitations and exclusions set forth in the federal brochure. Plan features and availability may vary by location and are subject to change. Aetna does not provide care or guarantee access to health services. For more information about Aetna plans, refer to aetnafeds.com/aetnadirect. ©2018 Aetna Inc. 2018400

Open Season Report

IMPORTANT SAVINGS TIPS SELF PLUS ONE

If you are enrolled in Self and Family coverage but have only one dependent, consider changing to Self Plus One coverage. Even if the difference in premiums is small, every dollar you save is important.

Changing to Self Plus One will provide exactly the same level of benefits you have with Self and Family coverage, and if your spouse is the dependent, he/she still will be able to continue FEHB coverage as a survivor annuitant at your death.

PREFERRED PROVIDERS

Health plans contract with preferred doctors and facilities to accept the plan’s allowance for

IMPORTANT REMINDERS FOR ANNUITANTS AND SURVIVORS • OPEN SEASON NOTIFICATION. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will send you notification by mail or electronically if you have provided OPM with your email address. Both notices will provide details on Open Season and guidance on how to obtain information and materials.

• PLAN PARTICIPATION. Make sure your current plan will participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program for 2019. This is especially important if you are currently enrolled in a health maintenance organization (HMO) plan.

• STAYING PUT. If, after reading your current plan’s brochure— particularly about changes and 48

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services. This affects not only your part of the bill but, in most cases, it will reduce the dollar amount you must meet before catastrophic coverage kicks in.

LOWER-COST PLANS

Do the work to find a plan that suits your medical needs and budget, especially if you are enrolled in Medicare Parts A and B and your FEHB coverage is secondary.

Look at Consumer Driven Health Plans that provide an account with funds to be used for out-of-pocket expenses. Many plans waive deductibles and co-payments if Medicare is your primary coverage. Use the new plan comparison tool at www.opm.gov.

premiums for 2019—you decide to continue your current coverage, you do not have to do anything.

Your enrollment in your current plan will continue into 2019, and the new premiums will be deducted from your February 1, 2019, monthly annuity payment.

• MAKING A CHANGE. For Open Season changes, call the Open Season Express number provided in your FEHB Open Season notice, log on to Open Season Online at the internet address provided in your Open Season notice, or contact the Open Season Processing Center provided in your Open Season notice.

• LOW ANNUITY. If your monthly annuity is not enough to cover your plan’s 2019 premiums, you have the option to change to a plan that you can afford.

You also may pay your monthly premiums directly to OPM if you want to stay with your current

plan but your monthly annuity is not sufficient to withhold the premium amount.

• MEDICARE ENROLLEES. Make sure you read your plan brochure’s sections titled “When You Have Medicare” and “Coordinating Benefits With Other Coverage.” Section 9 of every FEHB brochure should provide these details.

Call a service representative from the plan to address any questions you might have about the coordination of your FEHB benefits with Medicare.

• AGE 65 AND NOT ENROLLED IN MEDICARE. Fee-for-service (FFS) plans include a section in their brochures titled “When You Are Age 65 or Over and Do Not Have Medicare.” This section details how, by law, the plan must use Medicare’s approved amounts on which to base its payments.

Open Season 2018 November 12th to December 10th (800) 222-2798 | www.apwuhp.com

Together. Better Health.®

We Have Proudly Served Our Retirees for More Than 50 Years

To your coverage, select Plan’s plan Amaximize benefit focused plan on you focused andAPWU your on Health you family. and your

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2019 Monthly Premiums

for 2019New Plan benefits for 2019

Self Only: $227.50 | Self Plus One: $458.44 | Self and Family: $604.72

virtual visits – only Lower $15 (High copay Option for Option virtual only) visits – only (High Part Option only) *High members when$15 Medicare A and B pay as primary

Open Season Report

The following chart is the corrected version of four Kaiser HMO plans from the bottom half of p. 40 in the November 2018 issue of NARFE Magazine.

2019 PREMIUMS — LARGEST HMOS* Plan Option

Code

Total Premium Gov’t Pays biweekly monthly biweekly monthly CA KAISER FOUNDATION HEALTH PLAN OF N. CALIFORNIA High Self 591 $458.07 $992.49 $230.18 $498.72 High Self & Family 592 $1,093.45 $2,369.14 $525.32 $1,138.19 High Self Plus One 593 $1,093.45 $2,369.14 $492.27 $1,066.59 Standard Self 594 $368.11 $797.57 $230.18 $498.72 Standard Self & Family 595 $861.36 $1,866.28 $525.32 $1,138.19 Standard Self Plus One 596 $861.36 $1,866.28 $492.27 $1,066.59 Basic Self KC1 $295.76 $640.81 $221.82 $480.61 Basic Self & Family KC2 $692.05 $1,499.44 $519.04 $1,124.58 Basic Self Plus One KC3 $692.05 $1,499.44 $492.27 $1,066.59 CA KAISER FOUNDATION HEALTH PLAN OF S. CALIFORNIA High Self 621 $317.17 $687.20 $230.18 $498.72 High Self & Family 622 $733.04 $1,588.25 $525.32 $1,138.19 High Self Plus One 623 $733.04 $1,588.25 $492.27 $1,066.59 Standard Self 624 $199.09 $431.36 $149.32 $323.52 Standard Self & Family 625 $460.12 $996.93 $345.09 $747.70 Standard Self Plus One 626 $460.12 $996.93 $345.09 $747.70 DC, MD, VA KAISER FOUNDATION HEALTH PLAN MID-ATLANTIC STATES High Self E31 $319.70 $692.68 $230.18 $498.72 High Self & Family E32 $735.30 $1,593.15 $525.32 $1,138.19 High Self Plus One E33 $735.30 $1,593.15 $492.27 $1,066.59 Standard Self E34 $240.81 $521.76 $180.61 $391.32 Standard Self & Family E35 $553.84 $1,199.99 $415.38 $899.99 Standard Self Plus One E36 $553.84 $1,199.99 $415.38 $899.99 Basic Self T71 $193.90 $420.12 $145.43 $315.09 Basic Self & Family T72 $473.61 $1,026.16 $355.21 $769.62 Basic Self Plus One T73 $431.49 $934.90 $323.62 $701.18 CO KAISER FOUNDATION HEALTH PLAN OF COLORADO High Self 651 $341.05 $738.94 $230.18 $498.72 High Self & Family 652 $770.79 $1,670.05 $525.32 $1,138.19 High Self Plus One 653 $770.79 $1,670.05 $492.27 $1,066.59 Standard Self 654 $270.77 $586.67 $203.08 $440.00 Standard Self & Family 655 $611.96 $1,325.91 $458.97 $994.43 Standard Self Plus One 656 $611.96 $1,325.91 $458.97 $994.43 Basic Self N41 $198.39 $429.85 $148.79 $322.39 Basic Self & Family N42 $448.35 $971.43 $336.26 $728.57 Basic Self Plus One N43 $448.35 $971.43 $336.26 $728.57

Enrollee Pays biweekly monthly

Enrollee Increase/ Decrease biweekly monthly

$227.89 $568.13 $601.18 $137.93 $336.04 $369.09 $73.94 $173.01 $199.78

$493.77 $1230.95 $1302.55 $298.85 $728.09 $799.69 $160.20 $374.86 $432.85

$32.20 $75.56 $78.03 $16.73 $37.56 $40.03 -$0.53 -$12.43 -$6.24

$69.99 $163.71 $169.05 $36.25 $81.38 $86.72 -$1.15 -$5.26 -$13.53

$86.99 $207.72 $240.77 $49.77 $115.03 $115.03

$188.48 $450.06 $521.66 $107.84 $249.23 $249.23

$11.05 $27.23 $29.70 $1.80 $4.14 $4.14

$23.94 $59.00 $64.34 $3.90 $8.97 $8.97

$89.52. $209. 98 $243.03 $60.20 $138.46 $138.46 $48.47 $118.40 $107.87

$193.96 $454.96 $526.56 $130.44 $300.00 $300.00 $105.03 $256.54 $233.72

$13.33 $30.56 $33.03 $1.94 $4.44 $4.44 -$4.61 -$9.04 -$8.23

$28.87 $66.22 $71.56 $4.20 $9.63 $9.63 -$9.98 -$19.58 -$17.83

$110.87 $245.47 $278.52 $67.69 $152.99 $152.99 $49.60 $112.09 $112.09

$240.22 $531.86 $603.46 $146.67 $331.48 $331.48 $107.46 $242.86 $242.86

$15.09 $32.49 $34.96 $8.72 $19.71 $19.71 $3.28 $7.40 $7.40

$32.70 $70.40 $75.74 $18.90 $42.71 $42.71 $7.09 $16.02 $16.02

2019 FSAFEDS

E

ligible federal employees can enroll in FSAFEDS, the federal government’s flexible spending program, each year during the Federal Benefits Open Season.

Under the program, employees contribute money from their salary into an FSAFEDS account before taxes are withheld and use it to get reimbursed for out-ofpocket health care and dependent care expenses.

The federal government offers three types of FSAFED accounts: • Health Care Flexible Spending Account, used to pay for qualified medical costs and health care expenses that are not paid by an employee’s Federal Employees

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Health Benefits (FEHB) Program plan or any other insurance.

• Limited Expense Health Care Flexible Spending Account, only available to employees who enroll in an FEHB High Deductible Health Plan with a Health Savings Account, and limited to dental and vision care services/products.

• Dependent Care (Day Care) Flexible Spending Account, used to pay for eligible dependent care expenses such as child care.

Open Season FSAFEDS enrollments are effective January 1, 2019. Current enrollees must enroll each year to continue participating in FSAFEDS. Federal retirees are not eligible for FSAFEDS.

For participants enrolled in a health care or limited expense health care account in or after 2016: • The minimum election for all accounts is $100.

• The ability to carry over funds has been adopted for health care and limited expense health care FSAs. If employees are enrolled in one of these FSAs, they will be able to bring up to $500 of unspent funds from 2018 into 2019. These funds can be used to reimburse eligible expenses incurred in 2019. Employees must re-enroll for the 2019 benefit period to be eligible for the carryover. (This carry-over ability does not affect dependent care FSAs.)

COVERAGE THAT FOCUSES ON YOU

fepbluevision.com

There’s a reason why more people choose Blue.

Since 1960, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program (FEP) has been the provider of choice for federal employees and their families. No hidden costs. No out of pocket guesswork. FEP BlueVision members enjoy comprehensive coverage at significantly lower prices.

As a participating FEDVIP vision plan, FEP BlueVision® benefits include:

ZERO COPAY comprehensive routine eye exam

FULLY COVERED FEP BlueVision® Collection Frames

GENEROUS FRAME ALLOWANCE at Independent Providers & Retail Locations

ENHANCED FRAME ALLOWANCE of up to $200 for High Option Members at Visionworks®

Regular eye exams can serve as a preventive health measure. Your eye exam can detect eye diseases as well as systemic diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disease, high blood pressure and more.

Enroll during the Federal Benefits Open Season: November 12 through midnight Eastern time December 10, 2018.

To enroll, visit BENEFEDS.com or call 1-877-888-FEDS (3337), TTY: 1-877-889-5680.

BLUVISFLR2019-02-EDIT

Questions? Visit fepbluevision.com or call 1-888-550-BLUE (2583), TTY: 1-800-523-2847.

Open Season Report

2019 FEHB PRESCRIPTION DRUG GUIDE

I

n the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, prescriptions can be filled by health plans through the plan’s preferred retail pharmacies, nonpreferred retail pharmacies and the plan’s mail order service. The plans charge coinsurance and/ or co-payments for prescription drugs when they are purchased through any of these sources. Some plans provide prescription drug plan benefits even if the plan’s annual deductible is not met. Other plans may have a specific annual deductible that must be met before the plan begins to pay prescription drug benefits.

Health plans will substitute

available generic equivalent drugs for brand name drugs for prescriptions submitted to local pharmacies and mail order services, unless the prescribing physician indicates that the patient is to receive only the brand name medication.

To keep prescription drug benefit costs down for the plans, some are reducing out-of-pocket costs for generic drugs and raising them for brand name drugs. This will make prescription drugs more costly for enrollees needing life-saving and life-extending medications, which are usually brand name specialty drugs. You also will see that some plans have capped the yearly

amount of out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs to keep enrollees who need the expensive brand name drugs—sometimes called specialty drugs—from possible financial hardship.

Enrollees covered by Medicare Part A and Part B may note that some plans waive their own deductibles, coinsurance and co-payments for hospital and medical services. These waivers do not apply to the prescription drug co-payments and/or coinsurance.

Some plans will charge lower coinsurance and co-payment rates for enrollees who are covered by Medicare Part A and Part B. In addition, there are some plans that

YOUR COSTS: PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS, SELECTED PLANS

52

PLAN

RETAIL PHARMACY / NETWORK

Blue Cross Blue Shield - Standard

Generic: 20% of plan allowance (15% if you have Medicare) Brand name: Preferred: 30% of plan allowance / Nonpreferred: 45% of plan allowance

GEHA - Standard

Generic: Lesser of $10 or pharmacy’s usual and customary cost Brand name: 50% up to a max of $200

MHBP - Standard

Generic: $5 co-pay per presc.

Brand name: Preferred: 30% of plan allowance ( 25% if enrolled in Medicare B) + any difference between plan allowance and cost of generic unless exception obtained, limited to $200 per presc. / Nonpreferred: 50% of plan allowance + any difference between plan allowance and cost of generic unless exception obtained, limited to $200 per presc.

NALC - High

Generic: 20% of cost Brand name: Formulary: 30% of cost / nonformulary: 45% of cost (If enrolled in Medicare: NALC Senior Antibiotic generic: $0; generic: 10% of cost; formulary brand: 20% of cost)

SAMBA - Standard

Generic: $8 Brand name: Preferred: 30% of plan allowance / nonpreferred: 50% of plan allowance

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charge Medicare enrollees the same coinsurance and co-payments as non-Medicare-eligible enrollees in one option, while charging Medicare enrollees smaller coinsurance and/or co-payment amounts than non-Medicare enrollees in the plan’s other option.

Usually, patients will fill orders for short-term prescription drugs, such as antibiotics, at a local pharmacy. They will use mail order services for maintenance drugs, such as medications used to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart disease, etc.

It is wise to compare the prices of medications at local pharmacies with the cost of obtaining the

medications through mail order services. Many times, the cost of filling a prescription at a local pharmacy is less than the copayment for using a mail order service. Some plans charge the full mail service co-payment even though the actual cost of the prescription drug is less than the co-payment; other plans charge only the cost of the prescription drug if the actual cost of the drug is less for the mail service pharmacy than the co-payment. In other words, do not expect the mail service pharmacy to charge less than the co-payment because the local pharmacy has the prescription drug at a lower price.

Some plans have limitations on the amount and frequency of dispensing prescription drugs.

Plan members should be aware of those limitations and also should be aware that more plans have prior-approval requirements before certain prescriptions can be filled.

The general rule for most plans is that refills can be obtained when 75 percent of the current supply is used up.

With some plans’ co-payments for brand name drugs increasing January 1, check your current prescription level to see if you can order a refill before the end of the year and avoid any increase.

—FEDERAL BENEFITS INSTITUTE

RETAIL PHARMACY / NON-NETWORK

MAIL ORDER (90-DAY SUPPLY)

45% of plan allowance

Generic: $15 ($10 if you have Medicare) Brand name: Preferred: $80 per presc. / N onpreferred: $105 per presc.

Generic: Lesser of $10 or pharmacy’s usual and customary cost Brand name: 50% up to a max of $200 + any difference between plan allowance and cost of the drug

Generic: Lesser of $20 or the cost of the drug Brand name: 50% up to a max of $500

50% of the plan allowance + any difference between plan allowance and billed amount

Generic: $10 co-pay per presc.

Brand name: Preferred: $80 co-pay ($60 co-pay if enrolled in Medicare B) + any difference between plan allowance and generic unless exception obtained / Nonpreferred: $120 co-pay + any difference between plan allowance and generic unless exception obtained Specialty drugs: 15% of plan allowance, limited to $425 per presc.

(For 30-day supply: 15%, limited to $200 per presc.)

45% of plan allowance

Generic: NALCSelect: $5 / NALC Preferred: $7.99 / generic: $12 Brand name: Formulary $65 / nonformulary $80 (For 60 day supply: generic: $8 / formulary brand: $43 / nonformulary brand: $58) Specialty drugs: $350 (60-day supply: $250; 30-day supply: $150)

Generic: $15 Brand name: Preferred: 30% of plan allowance / nonpreferred: 40% of plan allowance

Generic: $20 Brand name: Preferred: 35% of plan allowance / nonpreferred: 50% of plan allowance

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Open Season Report

2019 FEDVIP PLANS

O

pen Season for the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) coincides with the Open Season for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Eligible individuals will be able to choose benefits that cover dental care, vision care or both. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) contracts with 12 insurance carriers to provide comprehensive coverage under 15 different plans.

Three types of enrollment are available: Self Only, for the enrolled employee or annuitant; Self Plus One, for the enrolled employee or annuitant and one eligible family member; and Self and Family, for the enrolled employee or annuitant and all eligible family members. For more information, go to www. benefeds.com or call 877-8883337.

DENTAL PLANS

There are six nationwide and four regional plans. Premiums are based on rating areas (a group of ZIP codes). Each plan can have up to five rating areas.

See the chart on p. 57 for premiums for nationwide plans. To find out your rating area, go to www.opm.gov and put “dental rating areas” in the FAQ Search window. For regional plan rates, go to www.benefeds.com.

NATIONWIDE PLANS

(Includes international coverage) Aetna Single high option plan • Offers in-network benefits and out-of-network benefits • $25,000 yearly maximum per member for in-network 54

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services • No annual deductible • Orthodontia covered after a 12-month waiting period for adults and dependent children with no age limit ($2,000 per person lifetime maximum on covered orthodontia services) • Free add-on discounts such as fitness, vision, weight-loss programs and natural products Delta Dental Two plan options • No waiting periods outside of orthodontia • Expansive network of Delta Dental PPO dentists • No ID card required to receive services and no claim forms to file; PPO dentists file the claim • No deductible charged when using in-network FEP BlueDental (Blue Cross Blue Shield) Two plan options • No deductible for preventive, diagnostic, intermediate or major services under either option in-network; • Out-of-network: high option has a $50 deductible; standard option has a $75 deductible • Under both options, preventive and diagnostic services are paid in full when services are provided by in-network dentists • Annual maximum: high option, unlimited in-network; $3,000 out-of-network; standard option, $1,500 in-network; $750 out-of-network • Orthodontia: standard option has a 12-month waiting period; high option has no waiting period; adult orthodontia is offered

GEHA Two plan options • Under standard option, orthodontia covered after 12-month waiting period with no age limitation; no waiting under high option • Under standard option, the per person calendar-year maximum is $2,500; under high option, it is $35,000 • Members enrolled in GEHA’s dental plan options will receive the same association benefits as other GEHA plan members, including hearing and vision discounts, Life Alert and teeth whitening, at no additional cost • Benefit provided for medically necessary/noncosmetic implants MetLife Two plan options • In 2019, the high option maximum for nonorthodontic services is $35,000 per year; • No waiting period for orthodontia ($2,000 in-network per person lifetime maximum on covered orthodontia services under standard option; $3,500 per person lifetime maximum under high option) • Adult orthodontia is available for the high option only with a lifetime maximum of $1,500 • Out-of-network benefit (there is a deductible for both the standard and the high options’ out-of-network services) • Benefit provided for medically necessary/noncosmetic implants.

United Concordia Single High option plan • No deductible; • For 2019, the annual maxi-

We champion your smile Your oral health is our passion!

Through our Federal Employees Dental Program, we make it easy to take care of your smile with great benefits, affordable rates and a large, nationwide network of dentists.

Choose from two plan options designed to meet your oral health needs. Both plans come with 100% coverage for preventive care, like exams and cleanings, when you visit a network dentist. Check out our FEDP dentist directory to find a network dentist near you: deltadentalins.com/fedvip.

High Plan Offers additional coverage and an increased per-person, in-network maximum of $30,000.

A higher annual maximum means lower outof-pocket costs for you. And new for 2019 — adult orthodontic coverage is included.

Standard Plan Also offers quality coverage at a low premium and a per-person, in-network maximum of $1,500.

Open season ends soon — December 10.

For coverage starting January 1, 2019, be sure to enroll in a Delta Dental plan by December 10, 2018.

Visit deltadentalins.com/fedvip to learn more.

Federal Employees Dental Program is administered by the Federal Government Programs division of Delta Dental of California through its subsidiary Delta Dental Insurance Company.

Open Season Report

mum will increase to $15,000 per covered person • Orthodontia covered after 12-month waiting period for all members ($3,000 per person lifetime maximum on covered orthodontia services) • Coverage for certain implant prosthetics and resin crowns and an annual maximum of $10,000 • Out-of-network benefit at a lower percentage rate

DENTAL PLANS — REGIONAL PLANS

Dominion Dental Services, Inc. Service Area: Mid-Atlantic Region, including the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, most of Vir-

ginia and southern New Jersey.

Two dental health maintenance organization (HMO) options, Select Standard and Select High • The only dental HMO plan offered in the FEDVIP program • No maximum dollar limits, waiting periods or deductibles • Covered benefits include cleanings, fillings, endodontics, periodontics, crowns and bridges, implants and orthodontics for adults and children • Predetermined fees (fixed co-payments) • Access to one of the largest dental HMO networks in the Mid-Atlantic B:7.25”

EmblemHealth T:7” Service Area: All of New York

Humana Service Area: All of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, DC, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri,

Low premiums and savings on progressive and transition lenses.

National network including private practice and retail settings.

Now welcoming TRICARE retirees and active military families.

See for yourself at fedvip.myuhcvision.com UnitedHealthcare Vision® coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, located in Hartford, Connecticut, or its affiliates.

Administrative services provided by Spectera, Inc., United HealthCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates. This policy has exclusions, limitations and terms under which the policy may be continued in force or discontinued. For costs and complete details of the coverage contact UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company.

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UEI201800040_FEDVIP_Print_7x4.75_FINAL 1 DEC 2 018

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10/3/18 10:20 AM

B:5”

Open season is happening now through December 10 at midnight EST.

T:4.75”

The choice for your 2019 vision plan is clear.

state and some ZIP codes in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey.

• 100 percent coverage for all in-network dental services • Out-of-network benefit, even in areas that meet access, that pays benefits up to a scheduled maximum • Orthodontia covered with no waiting period for adults and dependent children ($3,000 per person lifetime maximum on covered orthodontia services)

2019 PREMIUMS - NATIONWIDE DENTAL PLANS PLAN NAME

KEY: Employees pay biweekly Annuitants pay monthly

RATING Region*

SELF ONLY biweekly | monthly

SELF PLUS ONE biweekly | monthly

SELF AND FAMILY biweekly | monthly

1 2 3 4 5

$15.04 | $32.59 $16.56 | $35.88 $17.62 | $38.18 $19.45 | $42.14 $21.11 | $45.74

$30.07 | $65.15 $33.12 | $71.76 $35.26 | $76.40 $38.89 | $84.26 $42.23 | $91.50

$45.11 | $97.74 $49.67 | $107.62 $52.86 | $114.53 $58.33 | $126.38 $63.34 | $137.24

$8.68 | $18.81 $9.45 | $20.48 $10.18 | $22.06 $10.74 | $23.27 $12.27 | $26.59

$17.35 | $37.59 $18.91 | $40.97 $20.37 | $44.14 $21.47 | $46.52 $24.54 | $53.17

$26.03 | $56.40 $28.35 | $61.43 $30.56 | $66.21 $32.21 | $69.79 $36.81 | $79.76

1 $16.74 | $36.27 $33.48| $72.54 2 $18.36 | $39.78 $36.71 | $79.54 3 $20.13| $43.62 $40.26 | $87.23 4 $21.41 | $46.39 $42.83 | $92.80 5 $24.90 | $53.95 $49.81 | $107.92

$50.22 | $108.81 $55.07 | $119.32 $60.39 | $130.85 $64.25 | $139.21 $74.71 | $161.87

AETNA PPO

High

DELTA DENTAL PPO

Standard

High

1 2 3 4 5

FEP BLUEDENTAL PPO

Standard

1 2 3 4 5

$9.17 | $19.87 $10.05 | $21.78 $11.43 | $24.77 $12.34 | $26.74 $13.64 | $29.55

$18.34 | $39.74 $20.11 | $43.57 $22.85 | $49.51 $24.66 | $53.43 $27.28 | $59.11

$27.52 | $59.63 $30.16 | $65.35 $34.25 | $74.21 $36.97 | $80.10 $40.92 | $88.66

High

1 2 3 4 5

$17.32 | $37.53 $19.41 | $42.06 $21.13 | $45.78 $22.89 | $49.60 $25.61 | $55.49

$34.65 | $75.08 $38.79 | $84.05 $42.25 | $91.54 $45.74 | $99.10 $51.19 | $110.91

$51.97 | $112.60 $58.19 | $126.08 $63.38 | $137.32 $68.62 | $148.68 $76.80 | $166.40

Standard

1 2 3 4 5

$9.78 | $21.19 $10.74 | $23.27 $12.20 | $26.43 $13.16 | $28.51 $14.60 | $31.63

$19.57 | $42.40 $21.47 | $46.52 $24.36 | $52.78 $26.30 | $56.98 $29.18 | $63.22

$29.34 | $63.57 $32.20 | $69.77 $36.54 | $79.17 $39.45 | $85.48 $43.78 | $94.86

High

1 2 3 4 5

$16.55 | $35.86 $18.19 | $39.41 $20.65 | $44.74 $22.30 | $48.32 $24.74 | $53.60

$33.11 | $71.74 $36.38 | $78.82 $41.31 | $89.51 $44.59 | $96.61 $49.51 | $107.27

$49.66 | $107.60 $54.60 | $118.30 $61.95 | $134.23 $66.91 | $144.97 $74.31 | $161.01

Standard

1 2 3 4 5

$9.77 | $21.17 $10.60 | $22.97 $11.76 | $25.48 $13.04 | $28.25 $14.34 | $31.07

$19.55 | $42.36 $21.19 | $45.91 $23.52 | $50.96 $26.08 | $56.51 $28.67 | $62.12

$29.32 | $63.53 $31.79 | $68.88 $35.28 | $76.44 $39.13 | $84.78 $43.01 | $93.19

High

1 2 3 4 5

$17.84 | $38.65 $19.98 | $43.29 $21.76 | $47.15 $23.57 | $51.07 $26.38 | $57.16

$35.69 | $77.33 $39.96 | $86.58 $43.53 | $94.32 $47.14 | $102.14 $52.75 | $114.29

$53.53 | $115.98 $59.94 | $129.87 $65.29 | $141.46 $70.70 | $153.18 $79.13 | $171.45

$14.10 | $30.55 $15.82 | $34.28 $17.56 | $38.05 $19.30 | $41.82 $21.03 | $45.57

$28.20 | $61.10 $31.67 | $68.62 $35.12 | $76.09 $38.60 | $83.63 $42.05 | $91.11

$42.28 | $91.61 $47.49 | $102.90 $52.69 | $114.16 $57.89 | $125.43 $63.07 | $136.65

GEHA PPO

METLIFE PPO

UNITED CONCORDIA PPO

High

1 2 3 4 5

* Rating regions for each carrier are not the same for all plans W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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Open Season Report

Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and most of Maryland.

• No annual deductible • Coverage for dental implants • No waiting period for orthodontia • Per person annual maximum benefit: $15,000 Triple-S Salud Service Area: Puerto Rico • Orthodontia covered with a 50 percent coinsurance after a 12-month waiting period ($2,000 per person lifetime maximum on covered orthodontia services) • No out-of-network benefit in areas that meet access standards

VISION PLANS

There are four vision plans. See the chart below for premiums.

Aetna Vision • Maximum in-network annual benefit is $10,000 • Lower co-pays for in-network services, including none for lens, $20 for standard pro-

gressive lens, $40-65 per tier for premium progressive lens in high option • Frame allowance increased to $230 high, $140 standard • In- and out-of-network benefits • No deductible in the voluntary plan • Extra discounts at participating providers on balances over the allowance, LASIK laser surgery, retinal imaging and second pairs of eyeglasses and sunglasses FEP BlueVision (Blue Cross Blue Shield) • Flat-rate reimbursement in areas without adequate access • Low-vision services offered • Discounts on laser vision correction • Unconditional breakage warranty to repair or replace any plan frame or lens(es) for a period of one year from date of delivery • Coverage for elective contact lenses and medically necessary contact lenses • High option provides an outof-network benefit based on a

fee schedule • No out-of-network benefits under standard option.

UnitedHealthcare Vision Plan • Will pay out-of-network, limited access and international benefits based on a published fee schedule • Low-vision services offered • Discounts on laser vision correction • Prosthetic eye replacement on a lifetime maximum basis • Coverage for elective contact lenses and medically necessary contact lenses VSP (Vision Service Plan) • Will pay out-of-network international benefits based on a published fee schedule • Offers a WellVision Exam designed to detect conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, glaucoma and diabetes • Guaranteed pricing on retinal screening • Discounts on laser vision correction

2019 PREMIUMS - NATIONWIDE VISION PLANS PLAN NAME SELF ONLY

biweekly | monthly AETNA VISION Standard $3.11 | $6.74 High $5.63| $12.20

58

KEY: Employees pay biweekly Annuitants pay monthly

SELF PLUS ONE biweekly | monthly

SELF AND FAMILY biweekly | monthly

$6.22 | $13.48 $11.24 | $24.35

$9.34 | $20.24 $16.87 | $36.55

FEP BLUEVISION Standard High

$3.51 | $7.61 $5.40 | $11.70

$7.01 | $15.19 $10.79 | $23.38

$10.52 | $22.79 $16.19 | $35.08

UNITEDHEALTHCARE VISION PLAN Standard High

$3.09 | $6.07 $4.64 | $10.05

$6.03 | $13.07 $9.03 | $19.57

$8.98 | $19.46 $13.45 | $29.14

VSP (VISION SERVICE PLAN ) Standard High

$3.52 | $7.63 $6.66 | $14.43

$7.03 | $15.23 $13.34 | $28.90

$10.56 | $22.88 $20.02 | $43.38

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HAPPY TEETH. HAPPY LIFE. Affordable GEBA Dental Plans OPEN ENROLLMENT

NOV 12-DEC 17

NOW AVAILABLE to all federal employees, retirees and their families.

For 60 years, GEBA (Government Employees’ Benefit Association) has offered affordable, highquality insurance from financially strong companies. Although we are not participants of the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program, our plans are open to ALL federal employees, retirees and their families. Visit GEBA.com to learn more about what we can do for you.

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Managing Money

NAMING A TRUST AS BENEFICIARY

A

common question I receive from NARFE members and clients alike is, “May I name my trust as ‌beneficiary to a retirement plan, such as my Thrift

Savings Plan (TSP) and Individual Retirement Account (IRA)?”

The short and simple answer is yes, however, replace “may” with “should” and the answer becomes much more complex.

Pretty much anyone, or anything, may be named as a beneficiary, as well as who or what you’ve named impacts the distribution rules your retirement plan will be subject to after your death. For instance, when a real, living person is named as beneficiary (called a “designated beneficiary”), he or she will have the option of taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) over his or her own life expectancy — a strategy commonly referred to as a “stretch IRA.” Note, while a TSP participant’s non-spouse beneficiary may not stretch payments from the TSP, he or she may transfer his or her share to an inherited IRA and stretch payments from there.

On the other hand, when a non-designated beneficiary (e.g. a charity, an alma mater, a pet, etc.) is named, no life expectancy exists, and therefore, no stretch strategy. In this case, if the retirement plan owner died before the required beginning date (RBD), the date an owner must begin receiving RMDs from the retirement plan, the 60

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inherited retirement plan must be distributed under the five-year rule. If the owner died after the RBD, the five-year rule is not an option, but the distributions may be based on the life expectancy of the deceased owner.

Although a trust is considered a non-designated beneficiary, it may qualify as a designated beneficiary trust by meeting the following four specific requirements: 1. The trust is valid under state law.

2. The trust is irrevocable, or will by its terms, become irrevocable upon the death of the retirement plan owner.

3. The beneficiaries of the trust are identifiable.

4. A copy of the trust document must be provided to the IRA custodian by October 31 of the year following the year of the owner’s death.

Requirements one, two, and four are straightforward, but requirement three may pose some problems. Not only must all the beneficiaries be

BY MARK A. KEEN,

CFP®

identifiable, but they all must be designated beneficiaries as well.

If not, the trust does not qualify as a designated beneficiary trust and the beneficiaries lose the stretch strategy.

At the heart of the issue, is the trust may be drafted as a “conduit” trust or an “accumulation” trust. A conduit trust simply passes along each IRA distribution to the trust’s current beneficiary, whereas, an accumulation trust allows for the accumulation of the IRA distributions within the trust.

In the case of a conduit trust, only the current beneficiaries need to be scrutinized with respect to whether they are all designated beneficiaries.

With an accumulation trust, however, all potential beneficiaries, including current, contingent, or otherwise, must analyzed to determine if they are designated beneficiaries.

Consideration must be given up until the point the potential for accumulation no longer exists.

While it may seem like a conduit trust is the safer bet, the very reason you may want to name a trust as beneficiary merits the use of an accumulation trust. For example, using a special needs trust to provide for a handicapped child; protecting assets for a child in a high-risk profession; and protecting assets for a child in a troubled marriage are a few instances where an

BENEFITS RESOURCES NARFE offers members a wide range of information on federal benefits. Visit www. narfe.org/federalbenefits and www.narfe.org/ FederalBenefitsInstitute.

accumulation trust may be more appropriate.

If you’re considering naming your trust as beneficiary, it’s important to consider your goals and financial planning needs. If enhanced protection is not a concern, and you simply wish to pass your assets to your beneficiaries with no strings attached (e.g. you’re not controlling the money from the grave), then simply naming individuals as beneficiary is likely the better route.

The reason is, even if the trust qualifies as a designated beneficiary trust, the life expectancy of the oldest trust beneficiary must be used to determine RMDs, but when individuals are named as beneficiary, each beneficiary may use his or her own life expectancy.

Next month, we’ll take a deeper look at some of the reasons why you would want to name a trust as beneficiary and the trade-offs you’ll need to consider as well. At the end of the day, a trust may be named as beneficiary, but the coordination of trusts and retirement plans is one of estate planning’s more complex issues and should not be tackled without proper legal counsel.

MARK A. KEEN, CFP®, IS PARTNER, KEEN & POCOCK, AND AN INVESTMENT ADVISER REPRESENTATIVE AND REGISTERED PRINCIPAL OF THE STRATEGIC FINANCIAL ALLIANCE, INC. (SFA). SECURITIES AND ADVISORY SERVICES ARE OFFERED THROUGH SFA.

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W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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2018

G FUND

F FUND

C FUND

S FUND

I FUND

OCTOBER

0.26%

-0.78%

-6.84%

-10.06%

-7.94%

SEPTEMBER

0.24%

-0.62%

0.57%

-1.76%

0.91%

AUGUST

0.26%

0.67%

3.26%

4.57%

-1.91%

YTD

2.38%

-2.26%

2.98%

-0.30%

-8.92%

1 YEAR

2.79%

-1.90%

7.32%

3.07%

-6.48%

3 YEAR*

2.30%

1.27%

11.53%

10.27%

4.25%

5 YEAR*

2.25%

2.19%

11.38%

8.65%

2.37%

10 YEAR*

2.30%

4.19%

13.29%

13.92%

7.07%

*ANNUALIZED

L INCOME

L 2020

L 2030

L 2040

L 2050

2018

OCTOBER

-1.40%

-2.24%

-4.60%

-5.54%

-6.35%

SEPTEMBER

0.21%

0.22%

0.23%

0.22%

0.21%

AUGUST

0.61%

0.80%

1.28%

1.47%

1.65%

YTD

1.52%

1.21%

0.12%

-0.35%

-0.74%

1 YEAR

2.58%

2.79%

2.51%

2.37%

2.29%

3 YEAR*

3.71%

5.19%

6.68%

7.39%

8.03%

5 YEAR*

3.61%

5.06%

6.23%

6.82%

7.31%

10 YEAR*

4.53%

7.65%

9.11%

10.05%

N/A

*ANNUALIZED

RETURNS are net of the effect of accrued administrative expenses and investment expenses/costs. Source: TSP (For additional monthly returns, go to www.tsp.gov.)

G Fund: Government securities (specially issued to the TSP) F Fund: Government, corporate and mortgage-backed bonds C Fund: Stocks of large- and medium-size U.S. companies S Fund: Stocks of small- to medium-size U.S. companies (not included in the C Fund) I Fund: International stocks of 21 developed countries L Fund: (Lifecycle) Invested in the G, F, C, S and I Funds (The proportion of L Fund balance invested in each of the individual TSP funds depends on the L Fund chosen.)

OPM RETIREMENT CLAIMS PROCESSING STATUS

2017

2018

For the Record

INCREASED INTEREST RATES TURNS STOCKS NEGATIVE IN OCTOBER

THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN FUND RETURNS

Claims Received

Inventory Monthly FYTD (Steady State Average Processing Average Processing is 13,000) Time in Days Time in Days

SEPTEMBER 8,810 16,828 OCTOBER 8,850 18,860 NOVEMBER 5,572 19,294 DECEMBER 5,568 14,515 JANUARY 14,590 20,467 FEBRUARY 13,290 24,225 MARCH 7,767 18,730 APRIL 8,390 17,489 MAY 7,625 18,024 JUNE 9,397 18,198 JULY 8,281 18,334 AUGUST 8,826 17,513 SEPTEMBER 7,142 17,628

62 64 68 60 63 46 49 58 58 65 57 56 64

67 64 66 63 63 59 57 57 58 59 59 58 59

PLEASE NOTE that this report is new, with the addition of monthly/FYTD processing time in days, to be more in line with the OPM 60-day processing goal. l Source: OPM 64

| DEC

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S

entiment toward stocks turned negative largely because of increased U.S. interest rate fears and trade policy concerns that dominated the positives of a good corporate earnings picture and economic growth. The C Fund and the S Fund lost significant ground, pushed lower by broad U.S. stock declines across companies of all sizes.

The I Fund also declined with international stock and the dollar’s rising value. Higher interest rates drove the F Fund’s losses. All of the L Funds’ returns were negative for the period. —BY SEAN MCCAFFREY, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN

2019 COLA: 2.8% CSRS; 2% FERS INCREASE

R

etirees under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) will receive a 2.8 percent increase while retirees under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) will receive a 2 percent increase in their annuities in 2019.

The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) was determined by comparing the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for the third quarter of 2018 (July, August, September), 246.352, with the 2017 third-quarter average of 239.668.

Benefits awarded under the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) to individuals suffering work-related injuries or illnesses are adjusted according to each calendar year’s percentage change in the CPI-W. September’s index (246.565) is 2.51 percent higher than the December 2017 base index of 240.526.

The CPI represents purchases of food and beverages, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education and communication, and other goods and services. Included are various government fees, such as water charges, auto registration fees, and sales and excise taxes.

MONTH

CPI-W

OCTOBER 2017

240.573

NOVEMBER DECEMBER

Monthly % Change

% Change from 239.668

-0.15

0.38

240.666

0.04

0.42

240.526

-0.06

0.36

JANUARY 2018

241.919

0.58

0.94

FEBRUARY

242.988

0.44

1.39

MARCH

243.463

0.20

1.58

APRIL

244.607

0.47

2.06

MAY

245.770

0.48

2.55

JUNE

246.196

0.17

2.72

JULY

246.155

-0.02

2.71

AUGUST

246.336

0.07

2.78

SEPTEMBER

246.565

0.09

2.88

Donate to NARFE Programs Support Alzheimer’s Research

YOUR CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION IS TAX-DEDUCTIBLE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW.

WRITE YOUR CHAPTER NUMBER ON CHECK; MAKE IT PAYABLE TO: NARFE-Alzheimer’s Research

Enclosed is my NARFE-Alzheimer’s contribution: $ Every cent that is contributed is used for research.

Please circle: Mr. Mrs. Miss Ms. AND MAIL TO: Name: Alzheimer’s Association Address: 225 N. Michigan Ave., 17th Floor City: State: ZIP: Chicago, IL 60601-7633 Chapter Number: Credit Card Information:

MasterCard VISA NARFE MEMBERS CONTRIBUTED FOR If you have any questions, write to:

Discover AMEX ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH: $13 Million Fund NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR Card Number: Olivia Williams, 22 Garden Springs Road Expiration Date: (mm)/ (yy) Columbia, SC 29209 *Total as of September 30, 2018 3-Digit Security Code: 100% of all contributed funds go to Name: (please print) EMAIL: oeashf3@bellsouth.net

$12,821,149.30* Alzheimer’s research.

Signature

Join the Silver CIrcle CLIP THIS CONTRIBUTION FORM AND MAIL TO: NARFE Silver Circle 606 N. Washington St. Alexandria, VA 22314

•For a contribution of $25 or more, you will receive a Silver Circle pin, and your name will be listed in narfe magazine with other contributors.

•For a contribution of $1,000 or more, your name will be placed on the “Wall of Fame” at NARFE Headquarters.

YOUR CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION IS TAX-DEDUCTIBLE TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW.

/

Enclosed is my Silver Circle contribution: $ ID # (ID # may be found on your narfe magazine label or your NARFE membership card)

Name: Address: City: State: ZIP: Silver Circle contributions are NOT deductible for federal income tax purposes.

INSTALLMENT PLAN Wall of Fame 12-month installment plan

Give to the Scholarship and Disaster Funds

PLEASE MAIL COUPON AND CHECK TO: FEEA 1641 Prince St. Alexandria, VA 22314

/

All donations go to the NARFE General Fund to support NARFE programs and operations.

My check is enclosed

(Please make check payable to NARFE Silver Circle.)

Please charge my credit card Card type MasterCard VISA

Discover AMEX Card Number: Expiration Date: (mm)/ (yy) Name: (please print)

Signature

MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO: NARFE-FEEA Disaster Fund or NARFE-FEEA Scholarship Fund.

Date

YES!

Date

/

I would like to help with my contribution.

Scholarships are available to children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of federal civilian retirees and current federal employees who are NARFE members.

NARFE-FEEA Disaster Fund NARFE-FEEA Scholarship Fund

Amount: $ Amount: $

Name: Address: City: State: ZIP: To make credit card contributions, visit NARFE Scholarships at www.feea.org/givenarfeschol or NARFE Disaster Relief at www.feea.org/givenarferelief.

/

Alzheimer’s Update

THREE GRANTS AWARDED FOR ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH

E

ach year, the NARFE-Alzheimer’s National Committee decides which research projects will be awarded grants from the NARFE-Alzheimer’s

Research Fund.NARFE has awarded a total of 78 research grants since the program began in 1985.

In 2018, NARFE members donated $414,806 to the fund.

At its August 2018 meeting, the committee awarded three new grants totaling $414,806. This year’s grants go to: Megan Zuelsdorff, Ph.D., University of WisconsinMadison, (Madison, Wisconsin), $174,870; funding over three years for research on “Social Stressors, Allostatic Load, and Disparities in Cognitive Aging.”

This study will look at how living in a disadvantaged social environment could increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers will conduct a larger examination of stress and the day-to-day wear and tear on the body known as “allostatic load” to further evaluate an individual’s potential risk for Alzheimer’s by analyzing cognitive and physiological data from two specific demographic groups: AfricanAmerican individuals and rural Americans.

They will also use stress data from their previous research.

Zuelsdorff will then further explore how race or a rural

66

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environment might affect brain health.

The results of this study could improve our understanding of how one’s social environment could lead to an increased risk for dementia and lead to novel ways to prevent or delay dementia onset.

JiaBei Lin, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), $119,968; partial funding over three years for research on “Developing Therapeutic Protein Disaggregases for Alzheimer’s Disease.”

This study will examine whether a protein found in yeast can be used to moderate the harmful effects of amyloidbeta and tau, the two molecules closely linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Lin and her team will conduct a study to assess the ability of several variations of the HSP104 protein to break apart amyloid-beta protein clumps.

They will also compare how well the different forms can reduce misshapen amyloid-beta and tau proteins—as well as alleviate

BY OLIVIA A. WILLIAMS NARFE-ALZHEIMER’S CHAIR

the related cell damage and death—in yeast and in human brain cells in a dish.

The study will help in understanding the process needed to break apart the misfolded amyloid-beta and tau from brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. The study results could also lead to human clinical trials that test HSP104 variations as a potential Alzheimer’s therapy.

Nicholas Fitz, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), $119,968; partial funding over three years for research titled, “ApoE Isoform-Specific Effects on Microglial-Mediated inflammation.”

This study will look at how certain changes in immune cell activity affect different brain regions in Alzheimer’s. Nerve cells communicate through specialized regions called synapses that connect one nerve cell to another. As Alzheimer’s progresses, synapses are damaged, and that limits how effectively nerve cells can communicate. It appears that this disruption to nerve cell communication contributes to memory and cognitive decline.

Fitz is researching how certain immune cells in the brain, called microglia, can help maintain healthy nerve cell communication by removing

unhealthy synapses. Microglia appear to perform this important function by sensing and responding to changes in their immediate vicinity. They use special receptor proteins on their surfaces to sense changes in nearby cells and proteins.

Microglia have many of these proteins, and one of the things that they can sense is a particular protein called apolipoprotein E (ApoE). People with a certain marker on the gene responsible for making ApoE are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

However, it is not clear exactly how these ApoE variations influence the ability of microglia to remove unhealthy synapses.

Fitz and his research team will determine how different variations of ApoE will change the microglia function in the brain. First, the researchers will incubate microglia with different variations of the

ApoE protein in laboratory dishes and measure how well microglia can sense and respond to the unhealthy nerve cell synapses. Fitz will also identify any changes in the microglia genomics (complete set of genes) and the energy use (metabolism) during the experiments.

The researchers will then further study how ApoE and other proteins known to be impacted in Alzheimer’s may change microenvironments in different brain regions. Additionally, Fitz will collect the microglia from mice that have been genetically-engineered with high and low risk variations of APOE, which will focus on three different brain regions know to play important roles in Alzheimer’s. Fitz will further validate findings by measuring microglia function in donated Alzheimer’s brain tissue samples.

Through this research, Fitz will

be able to glean new information about how microglia function to keep neural pathways clear.

OLIVIA A. WILLIAMS IS CHAIR OF THE NARFEALZHEIMER’S NATIONAL COMMITTEE. EMAIL: OEASHF3@GMAIL.COM THIS COLUMN APPEARS QUARTERLY.

Did you know? #EndAlz is a “hash tag” on social media. If you’re on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, include “#EndAlz” in your updates to show support or search “#EndAlz”to learn more about research and fundraising for the Alzheimer’s Association.

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NARFE News

OPEN SEASON DEADLINE MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 A reminder that the Open Season deadline to make any changes to your health coverage is Monday, December 10. Be sure to look over Open Season information in the November and December issues of NARFE Magazine.

You can also visit OPM’s Open Season page at www.opm. gov/healthcare-insurance/ open-season.

NARFE SCHOLARS

N

ARFE is proud to announce the 2018 NARFE Scholarship winners and their NARFE sponsors. Each chosen student receives a certificate and a $1,000 check towards the 2018-19 school year.

In 1987, the Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund (FEEA) established a scholarship program for children and grandchildren of federal employees. NARFE became

a member of FEEA’s board of directors in 1997, and the following year, NARFE’s National Executive Board (NEB) authorized the creation of a scholarship fund open to the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of NARFE members, the NARFE-FEEA Scholarship Awards Program, supported by NARFE members and administered by FEEA. This year, a total of $19,000 was awarded to the 19 children, grandchildren and great-

grandchildren of NARFE members out of 333 entries.

The competition is open to high school seniors only. Winners are listed below by their region of residence.

NARFE extends special thanks to the members from NARFE’s 10 regions who served on the judging teams and to the staff of the Federal Employee Education & Assistance Fund, which administers this program for NARFE.

2018 NARFE SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

REGION I

Matthew Schiffer Plainview, NY Adelphi University Sponsor: Nadine BruhSchiffer Alyssa Aharon Rego Park, NY Yeshiva University Sponsor: Allan Arnold

REGION II

Mei-Ling Malecki Hummelstown, PA Tulane University Sponsor: John Malecki Margaret Dolbin Silver Spring, MD University of Delaware Sponsor: Richard Rothstein

REGION III

Delaney Dvorak Venice, FL University of Wisconsin Madison Sponsor: Tom Dvorak 68

| DEC

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Timothy Gillikin Marietta, GA North Carolina State University Sponsor: Grady Morris

Caleb Carr Ozone, AR University of Arkansas Sponsor: James Winnat

REGION IV

Aron Ludwinski Las Cruces, NM West Virginia University Sponsor: Louisa Huyge

Kendall Dillon Commerce, MI Michigan State University Sponsor: Carolyn Dillon Caroline Elmer Fort Wayne, IN Butler University Sponsor: Eugene Saalfrank

REGION V

Austin McCoy Rochester, MN California Institute of Technology Sponsor: Kimberly McCoy

REGION VI

Noah Koontz Stillwater, OK Oregon State University Sponsor: Berry Kuntz

REGION VII

Abigail Stockwell Mesa, AZ Carleton College Sponsor: Roger Clark

REGION VIII

Marie Navarro Santa Rosa, CA University of California Davis Sponsor: Marie O’Hanlon Marlon Washington Hecules, CA Stanford University Sponsor: Dorothy FullerGlasglow

REGION IX

Wyatt Platts Eagle, ID Southern Methodist University Sponsor: Kevin Platts Catylynn Duff Milwaukie, OR The College of Idaho Sponsor: Jean Herrera

REGION X

Tessa Hansen Cary, NC North Carolina State University Sponsor: Donald Hansen Mikayla Cunney Garrisonville, VA Virginia Commonwealth University Sponsor: Andrew Cunney

NARFE NATIONAL LIFE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION National Life Membership offers a hedge against future dues increases and affirms a member’s ongoing support of NARFE’s mission to serve federal employees and retirees. National dues are paid for life; applicable chapter dues are billed annually.

CONTACT INFORMATION o Mr. o Mrs. o Miss o Ms. Full Name _____________________________________________ Street Address _________________________________________ Apt./Unit ______________________________________________ City _______________________ State _____ ZIP _____________ Phone (__________) ____________________________________ Email ________________________________________________ Date of Birth _____ /_____ /_________ dd

mm

yyyy

Recruiter ID # (if applicable) _______________________________ Chapter Number (if applicable) ____________________________ (call 800-456-8410 for chapter information) MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION Member Number: _______________________________________ (New members) Membership is open to civilians in any agency of the federal or D.C. (before Oct. 1, 1987) governments eligible for a federal annuity.

Thank you for becoming a National Member for Life. You will receive a membership card, certificate and special lapel pin.

Please allow six weeks for processing. Dues payments & gift contributions to NARFE are not deductible as charitable contributions for income tax purposes.

I am a (check all that apply)

o Active Federal Employee o Active Federal Employee Spouse

o Annuitant o Annuitant Spouse o Survivor Annuitant

Life Membership Fee Schedule Ages 30-39 40-50 51-55 56-60 61-65 66-70 71-75 76-80 81-90 91-100+

Single or Quarterly Payment Installments $1,796 $450.25 1,408 353.25 1,127 283.00 960 241.25 801 201.50 653 164.50 514 129.75 392 99.25 251 64.00 127 33.00

PAYMENT INFORMATION o Single Payment or o Quarterly Installments (4 payments) Life Membership fee amount: $ _____________________ PAYMENT OPTIONS o Check or Money Order (Payable to NARFE) o Charge my: o MasterCard o VISA o Discover o American Express Card No. _________________________________________ Expiration Date _____ /_______ mm

yyyy

Name on Card _____________________________________ Signature ________________________ Date ___________ MAIL THIS APPLICATION TO NARFE Member Records 606 N. Washington St. / Alexandria, VA 22314-1914

THE COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN: A TRADITION OF CIVIL SERVICE GENEROSITY

I

t’s no surprise that there is a long history of charitable giving in the federal community. The federal workplace has been a source of donations for charitable organizations since the late 1940s. Charitable fundraising efforts in the federal workplace were formalized in the 1960s; by 1971, multiple charity campaigns were fully consolidated and combined into a single solicitation period, reducing workplace distractions and significantly boosting the amounts contributed.

Today, the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the largest workplace giving program in the world and successfully raises millions of dollars from generous civilian federal employees, postal employees and military personnel annually for eligible local, national and international

charitable organizations. Partnering nonprofit organizations specialize in areas ranging from disaster relief and public safety to education and youth, health care, and more.

In addition to providing support to those in need worldwide, the CFC also serves as an opportunity for federal employees to enhance their professional skills by learning new competencies in the execution of their volunteer roles.

We are well into the CFC’s 2018 Giving Campaign, but it is not too late to give. The solicitation period will run until January 11, 2019.

Feds can contribute through payroll deductions, annuities, credit or debit cards, bank accounts and pledged volunteer hours. Last year, Feds raised more than $104 million in funds and volunteer time for thousands of organizations. You can help by visiting

the CFC’s online donation site, finding organizations you identify with and believe in, and donating what you can in monetary support or in volunteer time.

Federal retirees could contribute to the CFC through their annuities for the first time starting last year.

Unfortunately, their involvement was delayed until close to the end of the season. This time around, retirees were able to contribute right away starting on September 10, 2018.

Annuitants can either make a onetime contribution using a credit card, debit card or e-check, or contribute monthly donations through their annuities.

For more information, visit: www.opm.gov/combined-federalcampaign/.

— BY SAMUEL BARTELS, ADVOCACY ASSISTANT

narfe Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation 1. Publication Title: narfe 2. Publication Number: 4632-60 3. Filing Date: September 26, 2018 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 12 6. Annual Subscription Price: $40 7. Address of Known Office of Publication: National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, 606 N. Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1914 8. General Business Office of the Publisher: National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, 606 N. Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1914 9. Names and Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, 606 N. Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1914 Editor: Helen Mosher, 606 N. Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 223141914 Managing Editor: Not Applicable 10. Owner: National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, 606 N. Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1914 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages or Other Securities: None 12. Tax Status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months 13. Publication Title: NARFE 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: October 2018 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation:

Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months

No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date

A. Total Number of Copies (Net Press Run) 208,035 201,956 B. Paid Circulation 1. Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 200,605 195,784 2. Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 3. Paid Distribution Outside the Mails including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Ouside USPS 263 249 4. Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS 300 300 C. Total Paid Distribution 201,168 196,333 D. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution 1. Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies included on PS Form 35410 2,629 2,579 2. Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies included on PS Form 3541 3. Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS 3,738 2,544 4. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail E. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution 6,367 5,123 F. Total Distribution 207,535 201,456 G. Copies Not Distributed 500 500 H. TOTAL

208,035 201,956 I. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation 97% 97.2% 16. Publication of Statement of Ownership: December 2018 17. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete.

Helen Mosher, Editor/Sept. 26, 2018

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Meet the future of personal transportation.

It’s not a Wheelchair...

It’s not a Power Chair...

It’s a Zinger!

10”

The Zinger folds to a mere 10 inches.

Years of work by innovative engineers have resulted in a mobility device that’s truly unique. They created a battery that provides powerful energy at a fraction of the weight of most batteries. The Zinger features two steering levers, one on either side of the seat. The user pushes both levers down to go forward, pulls them both up to brake, and pushes one while pulling the other to turn to either side. This enables great mobility, the ability to turn on a dime and to pull right up to tables

or desks. The controls are right on the steering lever so it’s simple to operate and its exclusive footrest swings out of the way when you stand up or sit down. With its rugged yet lightweight aluminum frame, the Zinger is sturdy and durable yet convenient and comfortable! What’s more, it easily folds up for storage in a car seat or trunk– you can even gate-check it at the airport like a stroller. Think about it, you can take your Zinger almost anywhere, so you don’t have to let mobility issues rule your life. It folds in seconds without tools and is safe and reliable. It holds up to 265 pounds, and it goes up to 6 mph and operates for up to 8 hours on a single charge.

Why spend another day letting mobility issues hamper your independence and quality of life?

Zinger Chair® Call now toll free

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Please mention code 110216 when ordering.

Just think of the places you can go: • Shopping • Air Travel • Bus Tours • Restaurants– ride right up to the table! • Around town or just around your house

Not intended for use by individuals restricted to a sitting position and not covered by Medicare or Medicaid. Zinger is not a medical device. © 2018 firstSTREET for Boomers and Beyond, Inc.

83923

More and more Americans are reaching the age where mobility is an everyday concern. Whether from an injury or from the aches and pains that come from getting older– getting around isn’t as easy as it used to be. You may have tried a power chair or a scooter. The Zinger is NOT a power chair or a scooter! The Zinger is quick and nimble, yet it is not prone to tipping like many scooters. Best of all, it weighs only 47.2 pounds and folds and unfolds with ease. You can take it almost anywhere, providing you with independence and freedom.

Member Perks

SAVE MONEY WITH NARFE PERKS NARFE appreciates your service, and so do businesses across the country.

Whether you are planning your next vacation or planning for retirement, members can save money on everyday purchases, thanks to our Affinity Partners.

It’s just one more way we’re able to say “thank you” for being a NARFE member.

INSURANCE NEW

NEW

Dignity Memorial - End of Life Planning 844-502-5901 https://narfe.dignitymemorial. com Planning a funeral can be an overwhelming task for family members. The Dignity Memorial Funeral Benefit Program gives you and your family benefits and discounts to help alleviate the financial and emotional burdens of planning a funeral. Visit NARFE’s website for details or call 844-502-5901.

Neptune Society 1-800-NEPTUNE (637-8863) www.neptunesociety.com Our pre-arranged plans cover all necessary expenses for one guaranteed price even if the services are not needed for 40 or 50 years. The Neptune Society offers a $100 discount to all NARFE Employees members. Call 1-800-NEPTUNE and mention your NARFE membership or visit NARFE’s website for more details.

NEW

Nationwide 1-855-550-9216

Starr Wright 1-800-424-9801 www.wrightusa.com

For your love of discounts side. Discover how Nationwide’s suite of solutions can help protect your financial future. Protect what matters to you for less with a memberonly discount when you enroll in an auto or power sports policy. Plus, receive an additional discount when you bundle home and auto policies. Protect all sides with Nationwide’s wide range of insurance and financial solutions. Benefit from guidance and support from a company that has been strong and stable for 90 years.

Protect yourself and your career.

Introducing Special Federal Employee and Contractors Professional Liability Insurance. Starr Wright USA has been defending Feds for more than 50 years offering up to $2 million of coverage including LEOSA coverage. Rates for employees are very affordable and we offer a $25 gift card with recurring annual payment and one extra month coverage.

We even have contractor’s coverage too!

Visit www.wrightusa.com.

MOVING SERVICES

NARFE Insurance Services 800-233-5764 www.narfeinsurance.com Designed exclusively for NARFE members, plans administered by Mercer Health & Benefits Administration LLC: Group Term Life Insurance, Senior Age Whole Life Insurance, Senior Term Life Insurance, Group Hospital Income Insurance, Hospital Income and Short-Term Recovery Insurance, and Pet Insurance.

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Bekins Van Lines 800-456-6832 narfe@bekins.com All NARFE members will receive contracted pricing for all interstate shipments. This will apply to packing, transportation and fullvalue coverage against damages. Please mention you are a NARFE member

MiniMoves 800-300-6683 MiniMoves is America’s only national mover exclusively focused on small shipments; a piece, a room or a full condo.

Member discount - $25 off 500 pounds; $50 off larger moves. Use code 1292.

Wheaton World Wide Moving 800-248-7960 narfe@wvlcorp.com At Wheaton, we know interstate relocating is much more than trucks and boxes.

Moving is not simply an address change.

It’s a life change. Call today and mention you are a NARFE member to start the moving process.

PRODUCTS NEW

ID Shield 571-830-5489 www.legalshield.com/info/narfe LegalShield along with Kroll will monitor more of what matters: We monitor your identity from every angle, not just your Social Security number, credit cards and bank accounts. If any change in your status occurs, you will receive an email update immediately. NARFE members receive the discounted rate of $8.95 for individuals and $18.95 for families when you sign up through the website above.

NEW

LegalShield 571-830-5489 www.legalshield.com/info/narfe

Budget Car Rental 800-218-7992 www.budget.com

Whether it’s big, small or somewhere in between, you have affordable legal help when you need it. With your legal plan, you or your family members can contact your law firm any time you need legal advice or assistance, 24/7 for covered emergencies.

NARFE members receive the discounted rate of $16.95 for individuals and $18.95 for families of 10 (two adults and up to 8 children) when you sign up using the link.

Budget Car rental was founded in 1958 for the “budget-minded” renter. Today, with approximately 3,500 locations around the world, Budget is a leading rental car supplier now offering discounts to members of NARFE. Call or book your reservation now at Budget.com using the NARFE BCD number D871500.

0ffice Depot and OfficeMax 855-337-6811, extension 2897 www.officediscounts.org/narfe Office Depot and OfficeMax are one company! NARFE Members can save up to 80% on over 93,000 products. Great for your printing, cleaning and office needs. Shop online or in any Office Depot or OfficeMax store. Enjoy FREE next-day delivery on online orders over $50! Visit www.officediscounts.org/narfe to shop online or print off a FREE Store Purchasing Card or call 855.337.6811 x 2897 to place your order over the phone.

TRAVEL

Alamo 800-462-5266 www.alamo.com Drive Happy® with Alamo® where NARFE members receive year-round discounts.

Call or visit our website today and reference Contract ID 262544.

Avis Car Rental 800-633-3469 www.avis.com Avis Car Rental is one of the world’s best-known car rental brands with approximately 5,500 locations in more than 165 countries. Call or book your reservation now at Avis.com using the NARFE AWD number A701900.

Choice Hotels International 800-258-2847 www.choicehotels.com With 6,400 hotels in the United States and throughout the world, Choice Hotels offers something for everyone. As a NARFE member, receive 20% off your next stay at participating hotels when you use Special Rate ID 00801967. Choice Hotels brands include: Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, MainStay Suites and more.

National 800-CAR-RENT www.nationalcarrental.com You Drive A Hard Bargain. Receive up to 20% off rentals at National Car Rental.

To make a reservation, call National Car Rental at 1-800-CAR-RENT® and reference Contract ID 5282909.

Wyndham Extra Holidays 800-428-1932 www.extraholidays.com Excellent service and the finest comforts are standards you can always rely on with Wyndham Extra Holidays. With more

spacious floor plans than a regular hotel, you can enjoy a One-, Two- or ThreeBedroom suite with separate living areas and partial or fully equipped kitchens.

Please use promo code 8000002694 when calling or booking online.

WELLNESS

Brookdale Senior Living 571-483-1265 www.Brookdale.com As the largest operator of senior living communities in the U.S., Brookdale has over 1,000 locations all across the country.

NARFE Members are eligible for 7.5% discounts at Brookdale Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care communities and 10% discounts on Brookdale Private Duty Home Care.

HearUSA www.hearusa.com/narfe HearUSA: The Nation’s Most Trusted Name in Hearing Care. Choose from 250+ hearing aids with $0 Co-Pay for Many Plans. Wireless. Bluetooth. Smartphone Compatible. Nearly Invisible. Risk-Free 60Day Trial. Free Follow-Up Care. Free 3-Year Warranty. Call 1-855-845-2706 to see if you qualify for 2 FREE hearing aids.

Life Line Screening 800-324-9906 www.lifelinescreening.com/ NARFE Life Line Screening, America’s leading provider of community-based preventive health screenings, will conduct health screenings using stateof-the-art ultrasound technology in your neighborhood. To schedule an appointment, please call the number above and give the operator code number BKHN075 or visit the website.

NARFE Member Perks are designed to provide NARFE members with a quality option in their search for commonly used products and services. NARFE makes no guarantee on any products and services listed and encourages its members to shop and compare before making a decision on any financial matter.

Check out these additional Member Perks on the NARFE website for more details!

W W W. N A R F E . O R G

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The Way We Worked

COFFEE INSPECTION

In this photo from 1949, Ford M. Milam (right) and Thomas Villanova inspect a coffee tree at a station in the National Agronomy Center in Santa Tecla, El Salvador. Milam was part of USDA’s Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations, and Villanova was in charge of coffee improvement work.

The Department of Agriculture established its first foreign office—the Section of Foreign Markets—in 1894 to collect data on production, consumption and prices of foreign farm products. The office was renamed and its functions reorganized several times over the years. Today, the Foreign Agricultural Service is responsible for USDA’s overseas programs, including market development, international trade agreements and negotiations, and statistics and market information collection.

PHOTO from the Records of the Department of Agriculture, National Archives, courtesy of the National Archives History Office; in collaboration with the Society for History in the Federal Government (SHFG), bringing together government professionals, academics, consultants, students and citizens interested in understanding federal history work and the historical development of the federal government. To join, visit www.shfg.org.

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DID YOU KNOW? On May 15, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which he called “the Peoples’ Department.”

The USDA ensures food regulations and administers programs to help American farmers with price support subsidies. In 1884, Congress established the Bureau of Animal Industry (BIA) under the USDA umbrella to prevent diseased animals being used in food or food items. Under President Eisenhower, the BIA was dismantled and restructured as the Agriculture Research Service (ARS). Visit www.usda.gov.

Attn: Federal Employees and Retirees

BETTER HEARING BEGINS HERE

Take advantage of your $2,500 hearing benefit.

Call Your Hearing Network at 877-696-5335 Federal Employees and Retirees may be eligible for a pair of Oticon OpnTM 3 hearing aids for $0 out-of-pocket.*

The first hearing device proven to make it easier on the brain.

Your Hearing Network gives you easy access to a network of carefully screened hearing care professionals and a wide selection of digital hearing aids.

Your brain works at incredible speeds to process sound. Finally there’s a hearing device that can keep up. Only Oticon Opn uses BrainHearingTM technology to process all the sounds around you exceptionally fast. Oticon Opn takes the work out of hearing, so you can enjoy a more effortless, natural hearing experience.

* Disclaimer: Your out-of-pocket costs may vary depending on plan benefits, eligibility, deductible, co-insurance, and model of device chosen. This is not a guarantee of coverage or payment. Benefit is not available through all insurance plans. Please consult your plan for coverage details.

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FLAT FRONT PANTS K8 NAVY STRIPE NAVY Ø3 SD GREY STRIPE Ø1 BLACK all these pants size combinations Ø7 CHARCOAL waist sizes 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 6T BLUE WINDOW PANE S (27-28) • • • • • • • • • • • • VESTS Satisfaction Guaranteed or Full Refund of M (29-30) • • • • • • • • • • • • to 90 days HOWafter receipt.

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Card # __________________________Exp.: ____/____ Name __________________________________________ Address _____________________________Apt. # ___ City ___________________State ______ Zip ________ Phone/Email ____________________________________

lengths

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PO Box 8 Warren, PA 16366-0008

FLAT-FRONT PANTS (SD)

7ØH –6163C

When you pay by check, you authorize us to use information from your check to clear it electronically.

Funds may be withdrawn from your account as soon as the same day we receive your payment, and you will not receive your check back from your financial institution.

SW Ø3 SD Ø1 Ø7

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