January/February 2022 NARFE Magazine by NARFE

A NARFE PUBLICATION FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND RETIREES

January/February 2022 VOLUME 98 ★ NUMBER 1

P. 22

Finding Your Family’s Roots

P. 30

Extreme Makeover: What Will It Take to Reform the Civil Service?

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Contents JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 COVER STORY PAGE 22

FEATURE PAGE 30

FINDING YOUR FAMILY'S ROOTS Discover how two amateur genealogists traced their families histories—and how you can, too.

EXTREME MAKEOVER: WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO REFORM THE CIVIL SERVICE? Large-scale changes for the civil service are long overdue. Read about the roadblocks and opportunities for reform.

Washington Watch

6 Pay Raises vs. Cost-of-Living Adjustments: What's the Difference?

7 Recruiting the Next Generation of Feds

8 What Can NARFE Advocates Expect in 2022?

9 2022 COLA 5.9% for CSRS, Social Security Benefits; 4.9% for FERS

Columns

4 From the President 20 Benefits Brief

A NARFE PUBLICATION FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND RETIREES

January/February 2022 VOLUME 98 ★ NUMBER 1

P. 22

Finding Your Family’s Roots

38 Managing Money Departments P. 30

16 Questions & Answers 40 For the Record

Extreme Makeover: What Will It Take to Reform the Civil Service?

ON THE COVER Illustration by TGD

42 NARFE News 46 Member Perks 48 The Way We Worked

Connect with us! Visit us online at www.narfe.org Like us on Facebook NARFE National Headquarters Follow us on Twitter @narfehq

NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 VOLUME 98 ★ NUMBER 1

REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENTS

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jenn Rafael

REGION I James C. Risner

SENIOR EDITOR Mabel Yu CREATIVE SERVICES MANAGER Beth Bedard ADDITIONAL GRAPHIC DESIGN TGD EXECUTIVE EDITOR Helen Mosher EDITORIAL BOARD Kenneth J. Thomas, Kathryn E. Hensley, Barbara Sido CONTACT US NARFE Magazine 606 North Washington St. Alexandria, VA 22314-1914 Phone: 703-838-7760 Fax: 703-838-7781 Editorial: communications@narfe.org Advertising Sales: Anita Nelson advertising@narfe.org 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 NFBNEWSLINE® service at 866-504-7300 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 OFFICERS

KENNETH J. THOMAS President; natpres@narfe.org KATHRYN E. HENSLEY Secretary/Treasurer natsectreas@narfe.org

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR BARBARA SIDO execdir@narfe.org

(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) Tel: 207-540-6233 Email: rvp1@narfe.org

REGION II Gary Roundtree Sr.

(Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) Tel: 443-929-7045 Email: groundtreesr@comcast.net

REGION III Clarence Robinson

(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands) CELL: 404-312-8028 Email: crobin8145@att.net

REGION IV Robert L. Helfrich

(Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin) Tel: 317-501-1700 Email: rlhelfrich@yahoo.com

REGION V Cindy Reneé Blythe

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 “My Account”

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

(Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota) Tel: 785-256-1450 Email: mrsdocbusyb@yahoo.com

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 Robert H. Ruskamp (California, Hawaii, Nevada and Republic of Philippines) Tel: 703-628-3234 Email: rvp8@narfe.org

REGION IX Linda L. Silverio

(Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington) Tel: 503-391-2963 Email: l.l.silverio.narfe@gmail.com

REGION X William Shackelford

(Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia) Tel: 703-830-6590, CELL: 703-201-6304 Email: rvp10@narfe.org

NARFE Magazine (ISSN 1948-4453) is published monthly except in February and July 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 $48. 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 © 2022, 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.

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

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From the President 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.

Looking Ahead: A New Year for NARFE

ince I assumed the office of national president in November 2018, NARFE has weathered the nation’s longest

government shutdown, a contentious presidential election and a global pandemic that has killed nearly 800,000 Americans and counting.

Through it all, our association has continued its efforts to protect and enhance earned pay and benefits for the federal family. Now, as I enter my final year of tenure, I have absolute faith that together we will overcome whatever challenges 2022 brings, and NARFE will grow stronger as a result.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN 2022?

This is a midterm election year, and every House seat and a third of seats in the Senate will be up for grabs. This is an excellent time to engage with candidates and advocate on behalf of NARFE: • Remind current lawmakers of promises made to active and retired federal employees and their families. • Ask them to become cosponsors of NARFEbacked legislation, such as the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82/S.1302, which would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). • Introduce NARFE’s legislative priorities to those seeking office and learn where they stand. NARFE’s grassroots advocacy staff can provide materials you can use to educate these potential lawmakers on the issues as we seek allies in the 118th Congress.

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

It’s also a NARFE election year, with the positions of national president, national secretary/ treasurer and regional vice president on the ballot. To those who are stepping forward to share their leadership skills with us, we thank you. You’ll find candidate statements and information about proposed bylaws and standing rule amendments at www.narfe.org as we receive them. Online balloting will start July 15, and members will have until August 31 to vote. Check future issues of NARFE Magazine and NARFE NewsLine for more details as we get closer to the election. Speaking of August, mark your calendars for FEDcon22, NARFE’s first in-person national event since 2019. We will gather August 21-23 at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, AZ. Nearly two years after the pandemic forced us to pivot to entirely virtual events, we at NARFE National Headquarters are especially eager to connect in person with our members and leaders again. I also appreciate that I will have a final opportunity to address our membership as national president—it has been the honor of a lifetime. Registration for FEDcon22 will open in February at fedcon.narfe.org, so be sure to keep an eye on your email inbox for your invitation. Please know that all NARFE leadership and staff join me in thanking you for all that you have done for NARFE, and I look forward to what we will achieve together in 2022. Here’s to a happy new year—stay safe.

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

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Washington Watch

Pay Raises vs. Cost-of-Living Adjustments: What’s the Difference?

common misconception among members of the federal community is that annual pay raises for federal employees and annual cost-of-living

adjustments (COLAs) for federal retirees are similarly determined. You may even hear the federal employee pay raise mistakenly referred to as a COLA. However, pay raises for employees and COLAs for federal retirees are calculated based on different economic indexes and implemented through different methods. Let’s examine the key differences between the two. Annual pay raises for federal employees are issued by either the president via an alternative pay plan and executive order, or by Congress as part of an appropriations bill. While the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990 (FEPCA) provides the framework for federal employee pay rate adjustments (covered in more detail below), it is ultimately up to the president or Congress to determine the rate. This allows political influence to play a part in pay raise debates, sometimes resulting in undue pay freezes or pay increases that are lower than what FEPCA directs. While this 6

is generally the process, some federal employees, like those in the U.S. Postal Service, have pay raises determined through

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

collective bargaining between the agency and employee unions. FEPCA provides the framework for federal employee pay rate adjustments by directing federal pay rates to rise by the average increase in privatesector pay, as measured by the Employment Cost Index (ECI), minus 0.5 percent. Locality pay changes may add to the effective increase. Pursuant to FEPCA, federal employees should have received a 2.2 percent increase in pay in January 2022 prior to any amount being provided for locality pay rate increases. This is 0.5 percent less than the 2.7 percent increase in wages

URGE YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO COSPONSOR THE EQUAL COLA ACT Current law unfairly reduces

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) cost-ofliving adjustments (COLAs) and fails to protect the earned value of FERS annuities. The Equal COLA Act, H.R. 304, would address this inequity by providing FERS retirees with the same annual adjustment as CSRS retirees. Use NARFE’s Legislative Action Center, located at www. narfe.org, to send a personalized message to your Representative urging him or her to cosponsor the Equal COLA Act.

MYTH VS. REALITY MYTH: The federal government immediately defaults when the statutory debt limit is reached. REALITY: The Treasury Department can use extraordinary measures to temporarily avoid default, such as suspending sales of State and Local Government Series Treasury securities, redeeming existing and suspending new investments of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, and suspending reinvestment of the Government Securities (G) Fund in the Thrift Savings Plan. These measures provide additional time before default occurs.

and salaries paid to workers in the private sector, as measured by the ECI. As of press time, President Biden had submitted a 2.7 percent average pay increase for federal employees in calendar year 2022—a 2.2 percent acrossthe-board increase with a 0.5 percent average increase to locality pay rates. Federal retirees, on the other hand, receive cost-ofliving adjustments that are determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and automatically implemented; no executive order or bill is

needed. While it may often seem like the COLA is too low, this automatic calculation is removed from the political process. Each year’s COLA is determined by comparing the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from year to year, based on the average of the third-quarter months of July, August and September. The 2022 COLA was 5.9 percent for Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuities and Social Security benefits, and 4.9 percent for

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuities. Notably, COLAs for FERS retirees are unfairly reduced and, therefore, fail to protect these fully earned annuities from the eroding effects of inflation. If the annual CPI-W increase is 3 percent or more, FERS COLAs are reduced by 1 percent. If the CPI-W increase is between 2 percent and 3 percent, FERS enrollees only receive a 2 percent COLA. When the CPI-W increase is under 2 percent, the COLA matches the price index increase. —BY SETH ICKES, GRASSROOTS ASSISTANT

Recruiting the Next Generation of Feds

n October 4, George Mason University hosted “How to Find and Recruit the Next Generation of Federal Employees,” an event organized by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA, in concert with Rep. Don Beyer, D-VA, and Office of Personnel Management Director Kiran Ahuja. The panel told the students in attendance that the federal government is in dire need of their generation’s skills and labor. Ahuja made it clear that the government is “facing a significant retirement wave,” as nearly 15 percent of current federal civil servants are over age 60. According to the Biden administration, the number of federal workers under age 30 has

decreased in every agency over the last decade. Ahuja believes that many of the older workers are “hanging around because of the pandemic, as they get to work from home.” Ahuja rationalized this as a blessing in disguise because it has bought the federal government some time before the retirement wave. Once these workers retire, Ahuja made it clear, “we want to not only treasure that institutional knowledge but also make sure that we are passing along everything that they’ve gained in their roles.” Rep. Connolly described the need for an overhaul of the federal government’s internship program, stating, “In the private sector, going from an

intern to being an employee is in the high double digits. In the federal government, it is in the single digits. We have failed utterly at striking an internship opportunity that serves for recruitment.” OPM has introduced some new policies to help with this, such as hiring students who are working on bachelor’s or master’s degrees to temporary appointments, with the capability to move these students to permanent positions within the same organizations when their studies are finished. Connolly also stated that he is currently working on legislation to enhance the federal government’s internship SEE RECRUITING ON P. 9 NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org

Washington Watch

NARFE GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY LEARN MORE about how you can take action to protect your earned pay and benefits by reviewing NARFE Grassroots materials at www.narfe.org/advocacy.

What Can NARFE Advocates Expect in 2022?

elcome to the second session of the 117th Congress. NARFE members committed to protecting their earned pay and benefits are probably wondering what to expect from Congress or what can be done differently in 2022 to finally get bills supported by NARFE pushed successfully through the legislative process. Last year, NARFE’s advocacy focused on increasing cosponsors of its priority bills, including the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82/S. 1302, a bill to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), and the Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act, H.R. 2337, a bill to reform the WEP. Because of member advocacy, these bills garnered significant support, as demonstrated by the total cosponsors for each bill: at press time, H.R. 82 had 237 cosponsors, S.1302 had 36, and the Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act had 183. These totals allow NARFE’s advocacy efforts to hit the ground running in 2022 to further increase the cosponsors of each bill. So, what’s ahead for advocates in 2022? Let’s start with the obvious. 2022 is a midterm election year, which means the entire

House of Representatives is up for re-election. Therefore, there will be ample opportunities to engage with incumbents as they spend more time in their districts working to gain your support.

2022 IS A MIDTERM ELECTION YEAR, WHICH MEANS THE ENTIRE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IS UP FOR RE-ELECTION.

An election year always provides good opportunities for NARFE members, especially advocacy leaders, to discuss NARFE’s priorities with a larger audience. Getting to know candidates for Congress while they are on the campaign trail helps determine where they stand on NARFE issues, while engaging with incumbents running for re-election allows advocates to establish new relationships or strengthen existing ones. If the incumbent doesn’t have a history of supporting NARFE’s legislative priorities, use this time to educate them. Collaborating with headquarters’ advocacy staff before attending candidate

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

events helps ensure that members have the right information to engage successfully. Stay informed on the issues by accessing up-to-date issue briefs, fact sheets and other resources on NARFE’s website at www.narfe.org. Lawmakers depend on constituents to share how policies affect them and the community. So, wellinformed, articulate advocates help lawmakers make better decisions while advancing NARFE’s priorities. Effective NARFE advocates are consistent, patient and proactive. They ensure that a message reaches its target by utilizing multiple communication channels when answering a NARFE call to action. For example, after visiting NARFE’s Legislative Action Center to send an email message to their lawmaker, advocates also post a tweet on the topic. Follow-up emails, tweets, Facebook posts and phone calls guarantee that their voices are heard. NARFE thanks you in advance for your advocacy and looks forward to a successful 2022. Contact us at advocacy@ narfe.org if you would like to learn more about how you can lend your voice to NARFE advocacy in 2022. —BY MARSHA PADILLA-GOAD, DIRECTOR, GRASSROOTS

2022 COLA 5.9% for CSRS, Social Security Benefits; 4.9% for FERS

ocial Security and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) annuity checks will increase by 5.9 percent in January, while Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuity checks will rise by 4.9 percent. This increase comes as a result of the 2022 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) announced in October 2021. The COLA is calculated by comparing the change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from year to year, based on the average of the third-quarter months of July, August and September. The September 2021 increase in the CPI-W was 6.19 percent, which, when added with the July and August numbers, averaged to a 5.9 percent increase over those three months compared with the three-month average in 2020. The CPI-W is based on data collected from 75 urban areas and roughly 23,000 retail and service establishments. Some of the goods tracked include food and beverage, housing, clothing, transportation, medical care, recreation, education and communication. This year saw

a major economic upturn as prices bounced back from a downturn in 2020. Many states experienced renewed economic activity as they began to reopen and resume business, spurred by a drop in COVID-19 cases and increase in vaccinations heading into summer 2021. The 2022 COLA is the largest increase in nearly 40 years. “Coming after years of low or no adjustments, this 5.9 percent COLA provides a buffer for seniors against recent inflation. With prices increasing significantly over the last year, the announcement highlights the value of tying the COLA directly to annual inflation by law. A statutory COLA provides reliable protection against loss of purchasing power,” NARFE National President Ken Thomas said after the announcement. It is important to note that the COLA for FERS retirees is unfairly reduced by 1 percentage point when the CPI-W increase is 3 percent or more, as in this year. As a result, FERS retirees will only receive a 4.9 percent increase in their federal annuities. FERS COLAs are also capped at 2 percent when consumer prices increase

between 2 and 3 percent. When the consumer price increase is under 2 percent, the FERS COLA matches the price index. NARFE supports the Equal COLA Act, H.R. 304, which would address this inequity by providing FERS retirees with the same annual adjustment as CSRS retirees. If Congress fails to act, FERS retirees will continue to see their annuities, earned through committed service to the American people, decrease in value year after year—exactly what COLAs are intended to prevent. Please contact your members of Congress by dialing 1-800456-8410 and selecting option 5, and ask for their support of H.R. 304. You can also send a message to your legislators through the Legislative Action Center on the NARFE website at www.narfe.org/advocacy. NARFE tracks the change in the CPI-W each month and lists updates on its website and in NARFE Magazine so members can stay in the know. Visit www. narfe.org/cola to see how the CPI-W is tracking towards your next COLA.

RECRUITING FROM P.7

effort that has happened in the federal government on these issues.” The event also heavily focused on how to use telework to the federal government’s advantage. While admittedly skeptical at first, Ahuja now sees telework as a recruitment tool. “We are hearing from our employees that they do not necessarily want to be in the office every day. For us to stay competitive, we need to lean into that a lot more.”

Ahuja went on to describe the current limitations in the law for telework and how OPM would “need to work through [it] to make it more expansive.” Connolly was the author of the Telework Enhancement Act, which was signed into law in 2010. He now sees that bill as something to build on as the federal government leans into telework.

program and said he is working with OPM on the details. Ahuja stated that “too many underserved communities have been underrepresented in the federal government.” She reminded the students that this summer, President Biden issued an executive order focused on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the federal government. She described this order as “the most expansive

—BY SETH ICKES, GRASSROOTS ASSISTANT

—BY JOHN ROBERT AYERS, POLICY AND PROGRAMS ASSISTANT NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org

Washington Watch

NARFE BILL TRACKER

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

BILL NUMBER / NAME / SPONSOR H.R. 3076/S. 1720: The Postal Service Reform Act / Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY / Sen. Gary Peters, D-MI Cosponsors: H.R. 3076: 53 (D) 39 (R) S. 1720: 14 (D) 12 (R) 1(I)

POSTAL REFORM

WHAT BILL WOULD DO Creates a new Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) program starting in January 2023. All postal employees and retirees would be moved to the new PSHB program, except Medicareeligible postal retirees who do not enroll in Medicare. Because retirees without Medicare tend to cost more to insure, this bill risks increasing premiums for federal employees and retirees enrolled in Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program plans.

H.R. 695/S. 145: USPS Fairness Repeals the U.S. Postal Service’s Act / Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR / prefunding requirement. Sen. Steve Daines, R-MT Cosponsors: H.R. 695: 218 (D) 59 (R) S. 145: 5 (D) 5 (R) H.R. 304: The Equal COLA Act / Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA Cosponsors: H.R. 304: 24 (D) 3 (R) H.R. 4315: The Fair COLA for Seniors Act / Rep. John Garamendi, D-CA FEDERAL ANNUITIES

Cosponsors: H.R. 4315: 41 (D) 1 (R) H.R. 4268: Federal Retirement Fairness Act / Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-WA Cosponsors: H.R. 4268: 12 (D) 10 (R)

DC STATEHOOD

NARFE CENTENNIAL

H.R. 51/S. 51 Washington D.C. Admission Act / Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC / Sen. Thomas Carper, D-DE

Cosponsors: H.Res. 131: 15 (D) 4 (R) S.Res. 76: 3 (D) 2 (R)

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (H.R. 695) / Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (S. 145)

Requires Social Security and 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 Reform, and Armed Services

Allows federal employees who started their careers in temporary positions before transitioning into permanent roles to retroactively contribute toward their retirement for the years they held a temporary position.

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform

Provides for the admission of the State of Washington, DC, into the Union.

Passed the House on April 22, 2021, by a vote of 216-208 / Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (S. 51)

Congratulates NARFE on the celebration of its 100th anniversary on February 19, 2021, and recognizes the vital contributions its members have made to the United States during the past 100 years.

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (H.Res. 131) / Agreed to in the Senate by unanimous consent on February 25, 2021 (S.Res. 76)

NARFE’s Position: 10

Advanced from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform by voice vote (H.R. 3076) / Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (S. 1720)

Provides Federal Employees Retirement Referred to the House System (FERS) retirees with the same Committee on Oversight annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and Reform as Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) retirees.

Cosponsors: H.R. 51: 216 (D) 0 (R) S. 51: 44 (D) 0 (R) 1 (I) H.Res. 131/S.Res. 76: Resolution Celebrating NARFE’s Centennial / Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA / Sen. Ben Cardin, D-MD

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Washington Watch

NARFE BILL TRACKER

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

FEDERAL PERSONNEL POLICY

BILL NUMBER / NAME / SPONSOR

WHAT BILL WOULD DO

H.R. 302: Preventing a Patronage Requires presidential administrations to obtain the agreement of Congress to System Act / Rep. Gerry reclassify competitive service positions Connolly, D-VA outside of merit system principles. Cosponsors: H.R. 302: 9 (D) 3 (R)

Advanced from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform in a 22-18 vote

Provides federal employees with a 3.2 percent average pay raise in 2022.

Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (H.R. 392) / Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (S. 561)

Extends paid leave to federal and postal employees for all conditions covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Approved by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform (H.R. 564) / Referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (S. 1158)

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

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means (H.R. 82) / Referred to Senate Committee on Finance (S. 1302)

Reforms the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) by providing a monthly rebate of $150 to current beneficiaries (age 62 or older before 2023) and creating a new formula to calculate benefits for future WEP-affected individuals (turning 62 in or after 2023).

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means

Fully repeals the Windfall Elimination H.R. 4788: Well-Being for Every Public Servant Act of 2021 / Rep. Provision for individuals whose combined monthly income from Julia Letlow, R-LA their non-Social Security covered government annuity and Social Security Cosponsors: benefits is $5,500 or lower, with H.R. 4788: 0 graduated implementation on benefits above that amount.

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means

H.R. 392/S. 561: The Federal Adjustment of Income Rates (FAIR) Act / Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-VA / Sen. Brian Schatz, D-HI Cosponsors: H.R. 392: 59 (D) 1 (R) S. 561: 12 (D) 0 (R) 1 (I) FEDERAL COMPENSATION

H.R. 564/S. 1158: Comprehensive Paid Leave for Federal Employees Act / Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-NY / Sen. Brian Schatz, D-HI Cosponsors: H.R. 564: 33 (D) 0 (R) S. 1158: 4 (D) 0 (R)

H.R. 82/S. 1302: The Social Security Fairness Act / Rep. Rodney Davis, R-IL / Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH Cosponsors: H.R. 82: 180 (D) 57 (R) S. 1302: 30 (D) 4 (R) 2 (I) H.R. 2337: The Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act / Rep. Richard Neal, D-MA GPO/WEP

Cosponsors: H.R. 2337: 183 (D) 0 (R)

NARFE’s Position: 12

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NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

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Questions & Answers

Q&A

THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS & ANSWERS were compiled by NARFE’s Federal Benefits Institute experts. NARFE does not provide legal, financial planning or tax advice or assistance.

EMPLOYMENT EARNINGS LIMIT

I’m planning to retire on October 31, 2022, and I will qualify for a Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) annuity supplement in addition to my FERS Basic Benefit annuity payable from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). I have my own business and am expecting to earn $16,000 in selfemployment income in November and December. Will this work income affect any portion of my annuity?

In addition to the basic retirement benefit, there is also a special retirement supplement payable to FERS employees who retire under age 62 with an immediate (i.e., payable within 30 days of your separation from federal employment), unreduced retirement. This supplement provides additional retirement income until you are old enough to receive Social Security. As you are aware, there is an earnings test applied to the annuity supplement (this will not impact your basic FERS annuity). Your post-retirement earnings will not reduce this benefit until after OPM receives 16

the report of your earnings. The first time you will be asked to report your post-retirement earned income will be in the spring of 2023. Based on that report, your supplement will be reduced (or potentially terminated) in July 2023. The FERS retirement payment you receive on August 1 is the July payment. Additionally, you may earn up to a limited amount without any reduction in the supplement. The 2022 earnings limit is $19,560. If you report income earned after you have retired that is higher than this amount, then your supplement would be reduced by $1 for every $2 that you earn above the limit.

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

Since you have estimated that what you earn will remain under this limit, your supplement will not be affected in 2023. The next time you will be asked to report earnings will be in the spring of 2024. The earnings limit is adjusted every year based on the rate of inflation, and OPM uses the same earnings limit that is used to adjust Social Security retirement benefits for those receiving benefits before their Social Security full retirement age (65 to 67, depending on your year of birth). Here are a few other things to know about this special supplement: • For those who retire under the special provision for law enforcement officers, firefighters, air traffic controllers and a few other groups that provide immediate retirement benefits earlier than the FERS minimum retirement age (MRA) (55 to 57, depending on your year of birth), the supplement is not subject to a reduction for

excess earnings until after you have reached your FERS MRA. • Federal salary and lump-sum payments for unused annual leave that were earned prior to your retirement date won’t cause a reduction to the supplement. • Once you reach your 62nd birthday, your FERS special retirement supplement stops, regardless of whether you decide to apply for Social Security at that time.

SERVICE COMPUTATION DATE

Can I use the service computation date (SCD) that is reflected on my Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) when computing the length of service that will be used in the computation of my future retirement annuity under FERS? This SCD matches with the SCD on my SF-50 - “Notification of Personnel Action” forms that are filed in my Official Personnel Folder (OPF).

Keep in mind that there are SCDs used to compute your length of service for different purposes. The SCDs on your LES and your SF-50s are used by your agency payroll office to determine when you should move from earning four to six to eight hours of annual leave per pay period. The retirement SCD is used to determine your creditable service for retirement eligibility and computation of future retirement benefit under FERS (or the Civil Service Retirement System - CSRS). This date for retirement may be different than the date used for determining leave accrual. For example, for certain service to be creditable

for retirement, you may need to make a service credit deposit even though the same service is creditable for leave accrual without making such a payment. For retirement planning purposes, it is recommended that you contact your agency retirement office to confirm that all your federal service is creditable for retirement. Service that was not covered by retirement contributions, such as seasonal employment and temporary appointments under CSRS or FERS, may not be creditable without a deposit. Nondeduction service (civilian federal service not covered by retirement deductions) performed after 1988 is not creditable under FERS, and there is no option to make a service credit deposit. Military service generally also requires a military service deposit to be credited towards your retirement.

SOCIAL SECURITY SURVIVOR BENEFIT

I’m divorced after 15 years of marriage, and I have never remarried. I am currently employed under CSRS, and I’m approaching my full retirement age for Social Security this year. My former spouse died several years after our divorce, but I recently heard that I might still be entitled to a widow’s benefit from Social Security based on her work record. Is this true? Can you explain the Government Pension Offset (GPO)? I’ve heard that this may affect my ability to claim Social Security from my former spouse.

Even though you are still working, once you reach your full (sometimes referred to as “normal”)

retirement age for Social Security (65 to 67, depending on your year of birth), the earnings test no longer applies. While your former spouse died years after your divorce, you are still potentially eligible for a widower benefit based on her Social Security work record, since you were married to her for more than 10 years and you didn’t remarry before age 60. You will not be subject to the GPO until you retire from federal service under CSRS. While you continue your federal career beyond your full retirement age, you are eligible to apply for and receive the widower benefit based on your former spouse’s earnings record. However, once you retire from federal service, the GPO will reduce (and often eliminate) your entitlement to this benefit. The offset reduces entitlement to Social Security spousal and survivor benefits by two-thirds of the CSRS retirement benefit. In most cases, the only benefit you may receive from Social Security is the one you may have earned based on your own work record (subject to a modified benefit formula due to another provision of the law called the Windfall Elimination Provision – WEP). NARFE has supported the elimination and/or modification of these two provisions and continues to support legislation aimed at reducing their impact on those who receive pensions from work not covered by Social Security, such as employees under CSRS. Retirees covered by FERS or CSRS Offset are generally not affected by the GPO (as long as they were covered under Social Security NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org

Questions & Answers

for at least the last five years of their federal career).

RETIREMENT RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS

How does the money that I have already contributed to the retirement fund under FERS, which has already been taxed, affect the federal taxation of my annuity?

Since you already paid federal income tax on your retirement contributions while employed, you are entitled to receive an amount equal to those contributions as tax-free income when you are retired. According to IRS Publication 721, Tax Guide to U.S. Civil Service Retirement Benefits, a portion of each monthly FERS (or CSRS) payment is tax-free and represents the recovery of your previously taxed contributions. The remaining portion of each monthly payment is fully taxable. You continue to claim this tax-free amount until the total tax-free amount claimed is equal to your retirement contributions. At that time, your benefit becomes fully taxable. This amount is typically provided to you when you receive your final adjudication booklet from OPM shortly after you retire from federal service. IRS form 1099-R – “Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc.,” which OPM provides to you each January, should also include information regarding the total amount of annuity that was distributed to you during the

previous tax year and the total amount that was taxable.

RETIREMENT PROCESSING

Q A

I retired on December 31, 2021. How long does it typically take for OPM to process my retirement application? Once you submit your retirement application, a human resources retirement specialist at your agency will initiate the first steps of processing your retirement claim by compiling the documents needed by OPM to verify your insurance and service history. He or she will also prepare a Certified Summary of Federal Service and a final annuity estimate for your retirement date. Your agency’s payroll office generally sends your application to OPM within 30 days of your separation from federal service. This allows time for your final paycheck to be processed and the final accounting of your retirement contributions to be sent to OPM. Your payroll office also will notify the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) of your separation, allowing you to request post-separation withdrawals from the TSP. OPM’s Retirement Services strives to complete the adjudication of retirement claims within 60 days from the date that they receive the retirement application package from your agency. During 2021, however, claims were taking, on average, around 80 days to process. Throughout the pandemic there have been delays at agencies and OPM that have caused minor and, in some cases, major delays. Your retirement claim may also take longer to process if OPM

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

needs additional information from you or your agency. Other processing delays may be the result of: • Court orders dividing benefits with a former spouse or providing survivor benefits. • Part-time service. • Special considerations for law enforcement officers, firefighters and air traffic controllers (these groups require specialized processing). • Unpaid service credit deposits that take time to allow the retiree to make payment prior to the final adjudication of the benefit. • The former employing agency leaving out information needed for processing. • CSRS Offset claims that may require additional information from the Social Security Administration to complete the processing. OPM provides data on a rolling two-year window of average processing times. You can find this information at www.opm.gov/about-us/budgetperformance/strategic-plans/ retirement-processing-status.pdf.

COLA

In July 2021, I retired under FERS with a disability. Even though I’m younger than 62 (currently 54), unlike regular FERS annuitants who must wait until after they reach age 62 to receive a cost-ofliving adjustment (COLA), I was told that I would receive COLAs at the end of each year for my type of retirement. There wasn’t any COLA in the payment I received on January 1, 2022. Was I given accurate information?

Under FERS rules, disability annuitants do not receive a COLA when they are in receipt of 60 percent of their high-3 average salary, which is the amount paid in the first year of your disability retirement benefit if you retire younger than age 62. Your FERS disability retirement will be recomputed from 60 percent to 40 percent of your high-3 average salary beginning with the 13th month of your disability retirement, so you should expect to see your first COLA effective December 1, 2022, payable in January 2023. When you reach age 62, your annuity will be

recomputed using an amount that essentially represents the annuity you would have received if you had continued working until the day before your 62nd birthday and then retired. For employees who are disabled after reaching age 62, they receive their annuity based on the general FERS annuity computation.

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

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.

CALL NARFE AT

800-456-8410, OPTION 2

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Benefits Brief

Postponed vs. Deferred Retirement here is often confusion about postponed versus deferred retirement. While the definitions are similar, they have very different meanings for a Federal Employees

Retirement System (FERS) Basic Benefit retirement. Postponed retirement is for employees who leave retirement-covered positions and are eligible for immediate benefits but want to avoid some of the possible age-related reductions to their annuity. An immediate retirement is one that could start within 30 days of separation. For a postponed retirement, you need to meet the age and creditable service requirements—reaching minimum retirement age (MRA) and having at least 10 years of creditable service, including five as a civilian—to be eligible. Examples of this include: • MRA to age 59 with at least 10 years of service and less than 30 years. • Ages 60 or 61 with at least 10 years and less than 20 years. The Basic Benefit is calculated on the average high-3 salary while employed and the length of creditable service, plus any unused sick leave at the time of separation. The annuity is reduced by 5 percent for each year the individual is under age 62 (prorated on a monthly basis). To learn about eligibility and the MRA, visit www.opm. gov/retirement-services/ fers-information/eligibility/. The best advantage of the postponed retirement is the

opportunity to enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI), and Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance (FEDVIP) once the annuity commences. Deferred retirement is available to employees who leave retirement-covered positions before they are eligible for an immediate retirement and have kept their contributions in the retirement system. The FERS Basic Benefit is calculated like the postponed retirement without the unused sick leave component. The annuity may be reduced 5 percent for each year an individual is under the age of 62 (prorated on a monthly basis). Deferred retirement eligibility can begin when one of the following conditions are met: • MRA with 30 years of service (no reduction). • Age 60 with 20 years (no reduction). • Age 62 with five years (no reduction). • MRA with 10+ creditable years. A huge disadvantage of the deferred retirement is that those who use it lose access to the FEHB program, FEGLI or FEDVIP in retirement. Also, sick

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

leave does not count toward the annuity calculation. Benefits are effective no later than your 62nd birthday. It will be retroactive if you apply at a later time. For additional details, see OPM’s pamphlet, “Applying for Deferred or Postponed Retirement Under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS)” at www.opm.gov/ retirement-services/publicationsforms/pamphlets/ri92-19a.pdf. For form RI 92 -19 – “FERS Application for Deferred or Postponed Retirement,” visit www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/ ri92-19.pdf. Under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), former employees may be eligible for a deferred retirement if all conditions below are met: • Age 62 or older with at least five years of creditable service (CSRS or CSRS Offset); • Covered under CSRS for at least one out of the last two years prior to the separation upon which the eligibility is based; and • Did not take a refund of retirement deductions covering the final period of service. If these requirements are met, submit form OPM 1496A – “CSRS Application for Deferred Retirement,” which can be found at www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/ opm1496a.pdf. —MICHELE BOLLIER IS A RETIREMENT AND BENEFITS SPECIALIST WITH RETIRE FEDERAL.

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Dig Into Genealogy to Learn About Your Heritage BY EVERETT A. CHASEN

NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org

A 1908 engagement photo of Fred Froimovitz and Sarah Askenas, Steve Steinberg’s grandparents.

Chaim and Chana-Leah Froimovitz, Steve Steinberg’s great-grandparents, at the wedding of their oldest son, Fred, to Sarah Askenas in New York City in 1908.

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

teven Steinberg became an amateur genealogist because he had long gathered information and stories about his family, and he wanted a project before he started the “next act” of his retirement. Ed Meagher turned to genealogy because he and two of his brothers hoped to buy a home in Ireland that they could use both individually and as a family, and they needed to prove their Irish ancestry before they could purchase property in the country. Both became hooked on tracing their family’s histories—a passion they share with millions throughout the world. In 1976, Alex Haley wrote Roots: The Saga of an American Family, a book and two subsequent television series that many credit for the resurgence of interest in family history in the United States. Roots traced Haley’s family’s story back to Kunta Kinte, an African man who was abducted and brought to this country as an enslaved person in the 18th century, and who fought his enslavement throughout his life. Haley later wrote that “young and old alike find that knowing one’s roots, and thus coming better to know who one is, provides a personally rewarding experience. But even more is involved than uncovering a family history, for each discovered United States family history becomes a newly revealed small piece of American history. … It is only through an unfolding of the people’s histories that a nation’s culture can be studied in its fullest meaning.” While Steinberg and Meagher’s families had a very different experience from Haley’s, each have interesting tales to tell. Steinberg recalls sitting at Passover Seder meals listening to his grandfather lead the service. Somehow, the traditional tale of Moses guiding the children of Israel out of Egypt morphed into a story about his grandfather being smuggled out of Romania at the bottom of a hay wagon. “As a little boy,” he recalls, “I couldn’t figure out how Moses rescued my grandfather!” Another tale from Romania told at the Seder involved the time one of Steinberg’s ancestors opened the door of the home to welcome the prophet Elijah—as Jewish families around the world

traditionally do—and the family cow walked in. “This led to a whole series of stories,” Steinberg says, “about how all the children loved the cow. And then they talked about how, and when, those children came to America. “First, my grandfather came. Then, six months later, he brought his father, sister and brother-inlaw. The following year, he brought his mother, his married sister and her one-year-old child, and his younger brother and sister. When the last group of children came over with my great-grandmother, she told them they could each bring one thing with them, and that was it. The younger sister wanted to bring a cowbell—because everybody loved that cow.” When Steinberg wrote the history of his family, he included those stories. “They bring everything to life,” he explains. Meagher, who worked for the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs before he retired, tells the story of James Mulhall, his great-grandfather on his mother’s side. “He was quite the guy,” says Meagher. “I found extensive court records on him in Ireland. “He was sentenced to two years in jail because on a particular day, on a particular bridge, he said ‘To hell with Queen Victoria.’ But in tracking this guy, I found he had two separate families: one in which he had six children, and another in which he had five. He’s in court an amazing amount of times; either he is suing someone or he’s being sued, or he’s been arrested for public drunkenness or for brawling. “It took me a long time to conclude that it was the same guy with a double life, not two different guys. It’s kind of amazing he fit all of this into 67 years. In my family, the Mulhalls were thought of as kind of boring. Well, not so much!”

Genealogy Services Both Steinberg and Meagher cited Ancestry (www.ancestry.com) as a starting point for their family research. One of the biggest names in genealogy, Ancestry is a subscription website with more than 27 billion records and 100 million family trees. Access to all U.S. records costs $24.99 a month; access to records throughout the world (the site’s World Explorer package) is $39.99 a

Anna Froimovitz Karp and her brother Harry Froimovitz, Steinberg’s great-aunt, in a photo taken a few years after they arrived in the United States with their parents Chaim and Chana-Leah Froimovitz. Anna opened the door to a cow during a Passover Seder in Romania.

“One of the things I found was information about my great-grandparents. They were born in Romania when Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States. When you tie your history to the bigger world history, it takes on real resonance.” – Steven Steinberg NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org

Ed Meagher’s great-grandfather Michael “Papa” Riordan, surrounded by his three children (l to r: Margaret Riordan Howard, Michael Riordan Jr. and Mary Elizabeth Riordan Meagher, Ed’s grandmother.) The elder Riordan was born in Tralee, Ireland, in 1871 and drove a horse-drawn wagon for a living. The photo was taken in 1951 in Brooklyn just before his death at the age of 80.

month; and an-all access membership, which includes access to a database of old newspapers and to www.fold3.com, a historical military records website, costs $49.99 a month. The website www.23andme.com offers an analysis of your genetic makeup based on your DNA for $99. The analysis can tell you your geographic regions of origin, provide you with a list of people whose DNA indicates they may be related to you, and help you develop a family tree based on your genes. For an additional fee, you’ll get information about your health based on your genetic data. At www.familytreedna.com, you can find testing options to identify your ancestors’ migration paths. Their basic package is $79, and a full sequence of DNA testing costs $159. Familysearch.com is a free website that helps people discover their family’s history through its site, mobile app and in-person help at more than 5,000 local history centers. While the webpage is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the resources are open to all, and users don’t need to adhere to the group’s beliefs. Meagher made extensive use of Irish national genealogy records, which are free for everyone to use. Users on irishgenealogy.ie/en/ can access the 1901 and 1911 census in Ireland and fragments and substitutes of census records from 1821 through 1851; indexes to registers of births, deaths and marriages; American immigration records; and other sources. Meagher also had his DNA analyzed, 26

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

which led him to find a cousin he had never met. Because Steinberg’s family is Jewish, he used www.jewishgen.org, the global home for Jewish genealogy, which provides extensive informational, educational and historical offerings to help Jewish people find their roots. Use of the site is free, but the Museum of Jewish Heritage, with whom the site is affiliated, welcomes donations. Some other genealogical research sites include www.myheritage.com, which provides access to more than 15 billion historical records. The site can colorize and enhance your historical photos and scan your family tree for inaccuracies at a cost of between $129 and $299 per year. There’s also a limited free option. For $9.99 a month, you can have www.archives.com quickly scan more than 11.6 billion photos, newspapers and vital records to get information about your ancestors. The National Genealogical Society has a webpage listing a number of free websites that can aid your research: www.ngsgenealogy.org/free-resources/websites/. Steinberg uses a service called www.findagrave. com, which allows you to find the final resting places of ancestors and create virtual memorials to the deceased. While the service is free, the site accepts contributions. In 2020, Family Tree magazine compared what they called the “Big Four” of genealogy websites: Ancestry, FamilySearch, FindMyPast and MyHeritage. According to the magazine, “the ‘Big Four’ are a head above other sites in supplying the billions of historical records, extensive family trees and genetic connections that power this new era of [genealogical] discovery.” The magazine suggests researchers use Ancestry for directories and special U.S. censuses, and both Ancestry and MyHeritage for yearbook information. Ancestry and FamilySearch both have excellent obituary databases, and all four sites have many searchable digitized books. While FamilySearch does not offer DNA testing, explains the article, the other three sites do, providing lists of your DNA matches and reporting the total amount of DNA shared with each match. All four sites have sophisticated family treebuilding platforms on their websites. Most sites allow others to collaborate with you to build

The National Genealogical Society has a webpage listing a number of free websites that can aid your research: www. ngsgenealogy.org/ free-resources/websites.

Ed Meagher with his grandparents, Philip Paul Meagher and Mary Elizabeth Riordan Meagher, on the occasion of Ed’s first Communion in May 1953.

a tree only with permission, but the tree for FamilySearch makes all information entered about deceased persons public, viewable and editable by anyone. The idea, the magazine says, “is that multiple descendants entering information about the same person can compare notes and build upon each other’s discoveries.”

Getting Started What makes a good genealogist? Both Steinberg and Meagher point to one specific trait. “I grew up on mystery stories,” Steinberg tells us. “My favorites as a kid were the Hardy Boys. And then as I got older, I read all kinds of mysteries. That’s pretty much how I got started, and why I continue.” “I always thought my name [pronounced Ma Har] was pretty rare,” says Meagher. “In America it’s not a common name, but in Ireland and Australia it’s very common. My [maternal] grandfather’s name is Michael Riordan, and there are dozens and dozens of Michael Riordans. Surprisingly, several of them were born in around the same year and around the same place. Trying to figure out which was the right one is really like detective work—and it takes a lot of intuition.” Like Steinberg, Meagher also loved the Hardy Boys mysteries, and he has copies of all 58 original books in the series. Meagher now has a family tree dating back 200 years. “I go back four generations to a fellow by the name of Pate Meagher. I have the baptismal certificate for his son, which lists Pate and his wife, and says that Pate was born in 1822. The documentation gets very thin much beyond that. Everything before that was written in Gaelic [the Irish language], and they had some very sloppy handwriting, which even the best artificial intelligence computers are unable to decipher.

Michael “Papa” Riordan, Ed Meagher’s great-grandfather, surrounded by members of his extended family, including Ed.

NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org

“The best resource everyone has in their own families are wedding albums, and, if they are Jewish, bar mitzvah albums.” – Steven Steinberg A restored and colorized wedding photo from 1908 of Steve Steinberg’s grandparents, Fred Froimovitz and Sarah Askenas.

“My family tree, in total, has 196 people. I centered it around my grandparents, a Meagher and a Riordan, and I worked it up and down like an hourglass shape. It’s pretty fascinating, the impact these two humble people had on the 166 lives below their names. I just found it so endearing.” “One of the things I found was information about my great-grandparents in Romania,” Steinberg says. “I looked at the dates they were born and when they were married, and I said, ‘My God. They were born in Romania when Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States.’ When you tie your history to the bigger world history, it takes on real resonance.” Meagher’s family tree, he believes, marks the end of his career as an amateur genealogist. “I did take a look at my wife’s background. But her family’s records are in Italian, and the Italian states were not unified until 1870. I think it would be tremendously frustrating to create a tree for her if you didn’t speak Italian.” Steinberg, on the other hand, is developing what he calls a “cottage industry” in genealogical searching. “What has happened is that many family members have said, ‘Gee, you did such a great job with our family, could I hire you to do my wife’s family?’ At this point, I’ve done close to 50 projects for clients. The largest one I’ve ever done was 282 pages long.” “I don’t advertise,” he continues, “because if I advertised, I would be overwhelmed by the numbers. I was always a professional writer, and I love writing the histories because they’re done in narrative form, rather than like a history book.” 28

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

Steinberg offers this advice to those interested in starting a genealogical research project: “Start by writing down everything you know about your family. Who was your father? When was he born, and when did he die? What were the names of his parents and his siblings? Were his siblings married, and did they have children? “What about his grandparents—your greatgrandparents? Do you remember if they had siblings? Who did they marry? Then start gathering old photos. The best resource everyone has in their own families are wedding albums, and, if they are Jewish, bar mitzvah albums. They take group photos at those events, and usually people remember who the people are, or some of them at least. Then you can start plugging that information into a structure, and start researching the paperwork that goes with that.” When he’s working on a study for someone else, “it never fails. People say, ‘I didn’t realize I knew that much, but let me call my sister, she’s a historian, or I think I know that picture, or I remember a story.’ And once people get talking, they usually go for more than an hour, so that gives you the bulk of your information to start with, and you just follow certain trails.” Meagher is glad he did the work himself, even though the work was time-consuming. “You can hire people to do this for you, but I said, ‘How hard could it be?’ And I had the time. It’s been fascinating.” He has one regret, though. “I waited too long.” “Because if I had started 10 years ago, I would have asked questions of my mother and my aunts, and several other people who had living memory of some events. The sooner you start, the better! “I enjoyed it tremendously,” he concludes. “It’s a hobby that can become an obsession, if you let it run its course.” —EVERETT A. (EV) CHASEN, IS A WRITER AND COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT IN THE WASHINGTON, DC AREA. HE IS RETIRED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AFTER 35 YEARS OF SERVICE.

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EXTREME MAKEOVER: WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO REFORM THE CIVIL SERVICE? BY DAVID TOBENKIN

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

he year was 1978. Disco was all the rage, Superman and Grease were big at the box office, as was Laverne & Shirley on TV. Clouds were gathering as inflation began a disturbing rise. This was the last time that comprehensive civil service reform legislation was adopted, as embodied in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA).

NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org

“Over time, the alignment between the government’s mission, strategy and tactics on one hand, and the capacity of its workforce on the other, has fallen further out of sync.” No Time to Wait, Part 2: Building a Public Service for the 21st Century.

Now, many federal HR and agency oversight policy leaders state that a failure to update the structure and methods by which federal agencies are managed, as well as how employees are hired, tasked with duties, compensated and evaluated, is greatly harming federal agency performance. The negative effects include an inability to recruit, retain and develop needed talent; agency inefficiencies that increase program costs and reduce effectiveness; information technology systems that lack the advances common in the private sector; federal agencies’ deficiency in learning from each other’s successes and failures; and an inability to lead the nation in efficient responses to rapid-moving, complicated and cutting-edge challenges. “Over time, the alignment between the government’s mission, strategy and tactics on one hand, and the capacity of its workforce on the other, has fallen further out of sync,” stated a 2018 National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) report, No Time to Wait, Part 2: Building a Public Service for the 21st Century. “The result has been an accumulating series of program failures that have grown into a genuine national crisis.”

No Legislative Fix Likely As has been the case for many years, there is currently no major legislative civil service reform legislation likely to be enacted by Congress. That reflects political division on the issue as 32

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

well as higher priority crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic, crowding out attention to it. One piece of legislation, H.R. 3000, the Inspire to Serve Act of 2021, was introduced in May 2021 by Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-CA. While largely focused on the military, it includes an expansive set of proposed civil service reforms, including ones for recruitment, benefits, employee reskilling and examination of alternate employment systems, but the bill is unlikely to move forward, says Jessica Klement, who was NARFE’s staff vice president of policy and programs through November 2021. “If you talk to the people on the right, and say, ‘Do we need civil service reform?’ they will tell you, ‘Absolutely—we need fewer of them, they’re overpaid. And we need to be able to fire them, because there are so many bad ones,’ ” says Jeffrey Neal, a former U.S. Department of Homeland Security chief human capital officer and now a principal at ChiefHRO LLC. “If you go to the people on the left and ask them if we need civil service reform, they will say, ‘Absolutely. We have too many federal employees who are underpaid. We need to make it easier to hire people.’ So, they both probably would agree that we need civil service reform. But just like everything in this country now, they don’t agree on what it should be.” “The U.S. federal government is one of the largest organizations in the world, and the fact that Congress spends so little time ensuring it operates well is really disappointing,” says John Hatton, NARFE’s new staff vice president of policy and programs.

that any flexibility granted to one agency is available to all agencies, the NAPA report noted. A separate March 2021 NAPA report on OPM reform, Elevating Human Capital: Reframing the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Leadership Imperative, stated that OPM has been a reactive organization focused on compliance rather than a leader helping agencies improve their staffing and operations. “It has been a culture of ‘no’ at OPM,” says one influential congressional staffer working on federal agency oversight and reform. “Right now, much of our focus is on rebuilding OPM and getting it to lead.” OPM issued a report in September noting that OPM Director Kiran Ahuja expressed “broad agreement” with NAPA’s recommendations and agreed to put responsive actions in the agency’s strategic plan. “OPM is committed to the policy changes and investments necessary to strengthen OPM’s role as the strategic human capital leader for the federal government,” Ahuja said. Prior to that, notes Neal, OPM has shown greater flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic by issuing guidance on telework and remote work that allowed employees flexibilities to address COVIDrelated challenges and still get their jobs done. Many state that much more could be done to socialize good governance and HR practices through more aggressive and coordinated action by the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Council. A congressional staffer notes that one proposal under consideration would ensure that the CHCO Council produces and provides HR recommendations to

Hopes for a More Proactive OPM Much reform could be led by the Office for Personnel Management (OPM), a federal agency that has considerable statutory authority to guide federal workforce policy. But, notes Klement, OPM has failed to lead in this area and make use of existing statutory workforce authorities to implement limited reforms to the system that reduce the need for new legislation, such as providing for expedited and more flexible hiring and varying position compensation levels. It also has not led a coordinated approach to addressing many common federal agency workforce problems or to ensuring NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org

OPM and that OPM responds on an annual basis through independent public reports.

Agency Management Agencies themselves are often not agile enterprises that adjust to changing needs, unlike some top-performing private-sector operations. A large number of political appointees sit atop agencies, many of whom are not appointed until well into new administrations, leaving agencies rudderless. And a sizable portion of these appointees do not know agencies’ missions and operations as well as senior executives, the highest rung of civil servants, and/or lack managerial experience, notes Jason Briefel, director of policy and outreach at the Senior Executives Association. He believes the number of political appointees should be limited. Many agency leaders have been hesitant to undertake major initiatives that could improve operations for a variety of reasons: the large effort that major structural changes require and the danger of temporarily reducing agency performance while under the stress of such efforts; the money needed for some reforms may not be appropriated by Congress; and political winds could cause reversal of major reforms before or after they are completed. Some problems rest at Congress’s doorstep, such as continuing resolutions—shortterm funding authorities—that lead to shutdowns and near shutdowns, which can thwart good planning and deter large agency initiatives. Agencies need to work with OPM to develop their own civil service systems that best work with their missions, while retaining certain government-wide protections like merit system

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

principles and prohibited personnel practices to shield against politicization of the workforce and discrimination, says Ronald Sanders. A former executive at several federal agencies, Sanders is a consultant on civil service reform and staff director of the Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida. Better hiring, training and standardized best practices for managers across civilian federal government is also needed, with many noting that the quality of management varies widely between and within agencies. The NAPA No Time to Wait report asserts that the vast increase in the data available to government officials should make a trust-but-verify approach to management (rather than one driven by regulation compliance) possible on a scale that would have been impossible only a few years ago. In addition, part of the solution may be greater oversight, Briefel says, such as by OPM or Congress, to make sure agencies follow existing laws, as many statutorily required actions are not followed or are given lip service.

Hiring, Development and Shaping the Workforce Employee classification systems that track position assignments are out of date, impeding federal human capital management and employees’ ability to improve their skills. The NAPA No Time to Wait report called for classification systems to shift to organization around skills rather than job titles, a line-of-work approach tied to career ladders and demonstrated competencies. This could enable easier mapping of skills to jobs, movement between jobs and agencies, better skills development and more promotion opportunities. To increase flexibilities, OPM can work with the President’s Pay Agent to determine that specific occupations—or groups of occupations— in one or more agencies should not be classified under the General Schedule (GS) system and may establish one or more special occupational pay systems to use in lieu of the GS. Also, the U.S. statutory Title 5 provision that authorizes “direct hire” permits OPM to delegate to agencies

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Federal hiring is often too slow, causing agencies to lose talent to the private sector. the determination of when a severe shortage or critical need exists. To date, OPM has not chosen to do so, but, the NAPA report noted, administrative change should be pursued. The types of employees needed continues to evolve, with predictions that the trend will continue to move toward more educated and more tech-savvy employees who can better interpret data produced by increasingly powerful IT applications as well as those apt at exercising discretion to make decisions and improve programs. Better training and upskilling for existing employees is an enormous need, the NAPA report stated. Neal notes that DOD excels at training and could provide a federal agency example, in part because of its military side’s emphasis on training. Employees with good digital skills are in high demand everywhere. Federal hiring is often too slow, causing agencies to lose talent to the private sector. Some special hiring authorities at specific agencies allow them to fill positions more swiftly. But a 2016 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that federal agencies used just 20 out of the 105 available hiring authorities, and a 2018 study from OPM reached a similar conclusion. More generally, the federal workforce vastly trails the private sector in the percentage of employees under age 30. There are some efforts to codify and scale up an existing internship 36

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

program as a pathway to federal recruitment. One recent successful talent onboarding program was a U.S. Digital Service six-month pilot program in 2019 that used subject matter experts to hire IT specialists at the Health and Human Services Department and National Park Service that yielded a hiring rate well above the federal norm. OPM and OMB are seeking to bring the program to more federal agencies.

A Different Model for Federal Employment It is likely that in the future there will be a smaller cohort of employees who serve the federal government for their entire careers, Sanders says. NAPA has encouraged creation of short-term cadres of experts that would cycle in and out of federal government. Many policy experts criticize aspects of the GS system that reward time in service through regular step increases and do not tie increased compensation to performance evaluations. Past efforts to make the civil service construct more flexible by allowing greater agency shaping of workforce composition and better tracking of performance have been stymied by union opposition or flawed agency rollouts of reforms that led to union criticisms of discriminatory and inconsistent treatment of federal employees, or adverse court decisions. However, pay for performance has been successfully implemented in some agencies, such as the intelligence agencies and the Securities and Exchange Commission, after including stakeholders (e.g., unions) in the development of such constructs and after lengthy efforts to ensure such programs are well designed and run smoothly. Many unions have opposed various civil service reform proposals, viewing them as reducing employee civil service protections and their rights to negotiate and improve the terms and conditions of federal employment. Critics contend the unions are blocking fundamental reforms necessary to modernize and improve the existing civil service system. The two largest federal employee unions declined to participate in this story. —DAVID TOBENKIN, IS A FREELANCE REPORTER BASED IN THE GREATER WASHINGTON, DC AREA.

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alas, the law doesn’t allow that to happen. The TSP, like other retirement plans (except for Roth IRAs), is subject to required minimum distributions (RMD), which forces TSP participants to withdraw a bare minimum amount each year. Although Roth IRAs are not subject to RMDs during an owner’s lifetime, Roth accounts in employer-based retirement plans (including the Roth TSP) are. Thanks to the TSP Modernization Act, however, TSP participants may choose to satisfy their Roth TSP RMD by electing to have a withdrawal come 100 percent from their traditional TSP balance. While this may be helpful for participants wishing to preserve their Roth TSP balance, it’s still not as beneficial as a Roth IRA with no RMD requirements. TSP participants who would like to avoid an RMD based on their Roth TSP balance entirely may do so by transferring their Roth TSP balance to a Roth IRA prior to the year they must take their first RMD. RMDs generally start the year an owner turns 72, but the drop-dead date—known as the required beginning date (RBD)—for taking the first RMD is April 1 following the year a TSP participant turns 72. It’s important to point out that participants waiting until the following year to take their first RMD are merely delaying the first year’s RMD and not

avoiding it altogether. In other words, they will have to take two RMDs in single year—one for the year they turned 72 and a second

THANKS TO THE TSP MODERNIZATION ACT, TSP PARTICIPANTS MAY CHOOSE TO SATISFY THEIR ROTH TSP RMD BY ELECTING TO HAVE A WITHDRAWAL COME 100 PERCENT FROM THEIR TRADITIONAL TSP BALANCE. RMD by December 31 of the year they turn 73. Those still working when turning 72 may be able to delay RMDs due to what’s referred to as the “still-working exception.” This exception applies only to the current employer’s retirement plan and allows an individual still working to delay RMDs until the year of separation, with a required beginning date of April 1 following the year of separation.

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

While the still-working exception appears straightforward, some participants retiring on December 31 may be surprised about the date that their first RMD must be distributed. For example, let’s assume a 73-year-old federal employee retires on December 31, 2021. To determine the first RMD, the IRS will apply the same deadline to everyone who separates from service during 2021, including those doing so on December 31. Regardless of whether the employee worked one hour, eight hours, or 16 hours on that date, the IRS considers 2021 to be the year of separation, which means the first RMD year is 2021 with an RBD of April 1, 2022. Although the still-working exception applies only to the current employer’s retirement plan, a federal employee who has other retirement plans and wishes to delay RMDs related to those other plans may do so by transferring them into the TSP. Otherwise, a federal employee working past age 72 will still have to take RMDs from those other retirement plans (except for Roth IRAs). Calculating an RMD is a straightforward process; simply divide the account balance as of the end of the previous calendar year by the distribution period as defined in the IRS’s Uniform Lifetime Table. For example, a federal employee who turns 72 in 2022 will divide his or her December 31, 2021, TSP balance

BENEFITS RESOURCES NARFE OFFERS MEMBERS a wide range of information on federal benefits. Visit www.narfe.org/federal-benefits-institute.

by 25.6 (the distribution period for a 72-year-old according to the Uniform Lifetime Table). Failing to take an RMD can be a painful experience, as the IRS imposes a 50 percent penalty on any RMD amount not taken in a timely manner. But fear not, because the TSP has procedures in place to prevent participants from suffering this penalty. For example, if it’s a participant’s first RMD, the TSP will kick out an automatic payment on March 1 following the year the participant turned 72 (or the year after separation, if later) if the RMD wasn’t satisfied by then. For all subsequent RMDs, the TSP will send the automatic payment each December if the

TSP participant hasn’t satisfied the RMD by that time. For additional details, including TSP withdrawal options, satisfying the TSP RMD, and the Uniform Lifetime Table, see publications TSP-775 – “Important Tax Information About Your TSP Withdrawal and Required Minimum Distributions” and TSPBK02 – “Withdrawing From Your TSP Account for Separated and Beneficiary Participants.” 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.

Enter the Silver Circle With a Contribution Today The Silver Circle donor recognition program supports the direct work of NARFE: providing information and advocacy you rely on. Your donation to the association’s general fund ensures that NARFE has the resources to continue to fight for the financial security and earned benefits for you and the federal community. Member dues alone cannot support this mission.

Donate now to the Silver Circle at www.narfe.org/silvercircle. With NARFE’s thanks, you will receive: • •

A Silver Circle pin and recognition on www.narfe.org with a donation of $100 or more. A Silver Circle pin, your name plate placed on the Silver Circle plaque at NARFE Headquarters, recognition on www.narfe.org and recognition at the NARFE yearly conference with a donation of $1,000 or more.

For details on making a tribute gift in honor of, or in memory of, an outstanding NARFE member, and to learn more about the Silver Circle donor recognition program, please visit www.narfe.org/silvercircle or send an email to donatenow@narfe.org. To donate by check, please see the coupon on Page 41.

NARFE MAGAZINE www.NARFE.org

For the Record

THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN FUND RETURNS

2021

OCTOBER

G FUND

F FUND

C FUND

S FUND

I FUND

0.13%

-0.04%

7.00%

5.43%

2.46%

SEPTEMBER

O.11%

-0.86%

-4.65%

-4.00%

-2.81%

AUGUST

0.11%

-0.18%

3.03%

2.00%

1.76%

YTD

1.12%

-1.44%

24.02%

17.73%

11.23%

1 YEAR

1.26%

-0.33%

42.88%

49.31%

34.48%

3 YEAR*

1.61%

5.67%

21.42%

21.82%

11.89%

5 YEAR*

1.98%

3.21%

18.89%

18.55%

10.16%

10 YEAR*

1.94%

3.23%

16.24%

15.52%

7.86%

L INCOME

L 2025

L 2030

L 2035

L 2040

OCTOBER

1.28%

2.33%

3.14%

3.43%

3.72%

SEPTEMBER

-0.87%

-1.78%

-2.37%

-2.61%

-2.85%

AUGUST

0.63%

1.16%

1.50%

1.63%

1.77%

YTD

4.85%

8.89%

11.31%

12.31%

13.33%

1 YEAR

9.15%

18.66%

23.68%

26.08%

28.52%

3 YEAR*

5.58%

N/A

11.94%

N/A

13.89%

5 YEAR*

5.11%

N/A

10.66%

N/A

12.26%

10 YEAR*

4.55%

N/A

9.51%

N/A

10.76%

L 2045

L 2050

L 2055

L 2060

L 2065

OCTOBER

3.97%

4.22%

5.12%

5.11%

SEPTEMBER

-3.05%

-3.25%

-3.87%

1.88%

1.99%

2.42%

2.41%

YTD

14.19%

15.08%

18.41%

1 YEAR

30.66%

32.84%

40.68%

3 YEAR*

N/A

15.54%

N/A

5 YEAR*

N/A

13.66%

N/A

10 YEAR*

N/A

11.85%

N/A

AUGUST

*ANNUALIZED.

TSP FUND PERFORMANCE UPDATES ARE MOVING ONLINE November Thrift Savings Plan Fund performance charts were not available by press time. TSP performance information will not be published in future issues of NARFE Magazine. Please visit the NARFE website at www.narfe. org/tsp-funds for updates. TSP Contribution Limit for 2022 The 2022 contribution limit for the Thrift Savings Plan is $20,500. If you are age 50 and older, you can make an additional $6,500 catch-up contribution. RETURNS are net of the effect of accrued administrative expenses and investment expenses/costs. Source: TSP 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.)

COUNTDOWN TO COLA The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 0.92 percent in October 2021. To calculate the 2023 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), the 2022 third-quarter indices will be averaged and compared with the 2021 third-quarter average of 268.421. The percentage increase determines the COLA. October’s index, 271.552, is up 1.17 percent from the base. The CPI represents purchases of food and beverages, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education and communication, and other goods and services. For FECA COLA updates, visit narfe.org and search for FECA.

OPM RETIREMENT CLAIMS PROCESSING STATUS

2021

2020

Claims Received

OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER

8,323 5,876 5,135 13,850 7,495 9.664 9,414 7,684 7,264 8,922 8,976 7,589 8,006

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

19.605 20,022 19,687 26,968 26,460 27,638 25,386 24,619 24,999 27,001 28,565 28,810 26,105

77 74 74 85 77 69 71 70 78 91 93 94 95

77 76 75 78 78 76 75 74 75 76 78 79 95

FOR THE NUMBER of new retirement cases the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) receives each month by agency and the percent with errors that it returns to those agencies, go to www.opm.gov/retirement-services/. l Source: OPM 40

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

MONTH

CPI-W

OCTOBER 2021

271.552

NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY 2022 FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER

Monthly % Change

0.92

% Change from 268.421

1.17

Donate

to NARFE programs

Join the Silver Circle

Enclosed is my NARFE Silver Circle Contribution: $ ________

MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO: NARFE (write Silver Circle on memo line)

Name: ___________________________________________________________

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

PLEASE MAIL COUPON AND CHECK TO: NARFE / 606 N. Washington St. / Alexandria, VA 22314 or donate online at www.narfe.org/ silvercircle With NARFE’s thanks, you will receive: • A Silver Circle pin and recognition on narfe.org with a donation of $100 or more. • A Silver Circle pin, your name plate placed on the Silver Circle plaque at NARFE Headquarters, recognition on narfe.org and recognition at the NARFE yearly conference with a donation of $1,000 or more.

Address: _________________________________________________________

Silver Circle contributions are NOT tax-deductible.

Name: (please print) _______________________________________________

City:_____________________________________________________________ State:______________________________ ZIP: _________________________

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Security Code: ______________

Signature: ___________________________________ Date: ____ / ___/____

Support Alzheimer’s Research NARFE members contributed for Alzheimer’s research: $15 Million Fund $14,101,695.14* *Total as of October 31, 2021. 100 percent of all contributed funds go to Alzheimer’s research. If you have any questions, write to: National Committee Chair Olivia Williams 22 Garden Springs Road Columbia, SC 29209 OR EMAIL: oeashf3@gmail.com MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO: NARFE-Alzheimer’s Research (write your chapter number on memo line)

Enclosed is my NARFE-Alzheimer’s contribution: $ ________ Every cent that is contributed is used for research. Name: ___________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________ City:_____________________________________________________________ State:______________________________ ZIP: _________________________ Chapter number: __________________________________________________

PLEASE MAIL COUPON AND CHECK TO: Alzheimer’s Association 225 N. Michigan Ave., 17th Floor Chicago, IL 60601-7633

Credit Card Information: q M/C q VISA q Discover q AMEX

Your charitable contribution is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Signature: ___________________________________ Date: ____ / ___ / ______

Give to the

NARFE-FEEA Fund MAKE CHECK PAYABLE TO: NARFE-FEEA Fund PLEASE MAIL COUPON AND CHECK TO: FEEA 1641 Prince St. Alexandria, VA 22314

Your charitable contribution is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Card Number: ____________________________________________________ Expiration Date: ______ (mm)/ ____(yy)

Security Code: _______________

Name: (please print) _______________________________________________

The NARFE-FEEA Fund supports NARFE members during disasters; provides scholarships to their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and funds other programs to support NARFE members at the direction of NARFE and FEEA. Enclosed is my NARFE-FEEA Fund Contribution: $ ________ Name: ___________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________ City:_____________________________________________________________ State:______________________________ ZIP: _________________________ Email: ___________________________________________________________

To make credit card or e-check contributions, visit www.feea.org/givenarfe.

NARFE News NARFE MAGAZINE 2022 SCHEDULE

Members Are Talking on FEDHub—Are You Part of the Conversation?

ince launching in November, FEDHub, NARFE’s exclusive online member community, has seen a lot of activity. Members are connecting and discussing a myriad

of subjects, including NARFE itself—one of the key topics of conversation has been NARFE membership and how to reach and attract active federal employees. We love when our members share ideas for growing NARFE. Here are a couple excerpts from this discussion thread: Clint McSherry, Durham, NC: “What ideas might you have for engaging and eventually recruiting current Feds to this valuable and important association?” Pauline Jue, San Francisco, CA: “Most employees say…[they] have many years to go before retirement. So, they’re thinking NARFE isn’t for them. I’ve also tried to work through our local Federal Executive Board. They’ve

been kind enough to allow us time during their preretirement training sessions but haven’t been willing to send us their agency addresses or information so we can do direct outreach.” What do you think? How can we bring NARFE’s message to current federal employees? And what can we do to overcome the notion that NARFE is only for retired Feds? Visit FEDHub to share your ideas.

As a reminder, this is a combined January-February issue of NARFE Magazine. There will not be a separate February issue.

And remember, FEDHub is not just for discussions, but also for sharing resources that can be helpful to active and retired Feds. Your fellow members are posting articles and blog posts in FEDHub’s libraries—articles on topics like how much cash you need in retirement and how to keep more of it from going to the IRS. There’s a lot of great information and ideas being exchanged on FEDHub. What questions do you have about NARFE, your federal benefits or financial planning? Find answers at FEDHub. Visit www.narfe.org and click the FEDHub link or go directly to fedhub.narfe.org and join the conversation today. —BY DAVE BOWMAN, SENIOR DIRECTOR, MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

2022 FEDERATION MEETINGS

SAVE THE DATE: FEDCON22

INDIANA: April 21, 2022, Indianapolis

Make plans to attend FEDcon22, August 21-23 in Scottsdale, AZ. Get ready for thought-provoking speakers, comprehensive education on federal benefits and financial planning, and opportunities to connect with fellow NARFE members and federal colleagues. Details will be available in future issues of NARFE Magazine and in NARFE NewsLine, NARFE’s weekly newsletter. Email events@narfe.org with questions.

MISSISSIPPI: April 7-9, 2022, Louisville

2022 FEDERATION ELECTIONS MISSOURI: Ballot is in the December newsletter. Vote through January 26 by mail c/o Michele Brown, P.O. Box 38424, St. Louis, MO 63138, or by email at monarfevoting@gmail.com.

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

NARFE MEMBER BENEFITS • Access the NARFE Federal Benefits Institute for powerful resources to help you fully understand and manage your benefits.

Active and Retired Federal Employees ... Join NARFE Today! The only organization dedicated solely to protecting and preserving the benefits of all federal workers and retirees, NARFE informs you of any developments and proposals that affect your compensation, retirement and health benefits, AND provides clear answers to your questions.

Who Should Join NARFE?

If your future security is tied to federal retirement benefits—federal retirees, current employees, spouses and individual survivors—you should join NARFE.

• Visit the Legislative Action Center to contact your representatives about bills affecting federal benefits. • Get NARFE Magazine with news and insights for the federal community. • Save time, hassle and money with NARFE Perks. • The opportunity to get involved at the local level by joining a chapter in your area. 1Q6

NARFE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION YES. I want to join NARFE for the low annual dues of $48.

q Mr. q Mrs. q Miss q Ms.

q MasterCard

______________________________________________

Full Name

______________________________________________

Street Address Apt./Unit

______________________________________________

City

State

ZIP

______________________________________________

Phone

______________________________________________

I am a (check all that apply) q Active Federal Employee

q Active Federal Employee Spouse

q Annuitant Spouse

q VISA

q Discover

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___________________________________________ Card No. Expiration Date _____ /________ mm

______________________________________________

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PAYMENT OPTIONS q Check, Money Order or Bill Pay (Payable to NARFE) q Bill me (NARFE membership will start when payment is received.) q Charge my:

yyyy

___________________________________________ Name on Card ___________________________________________ Signature ___________________________________________ Date

TOTAL DUES $48 Annual Dues X ___________ = ___________ Per Person # Enrolling Total Dues Dues payments are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

q Survivor Annuitant

q Please enroll my spouse _________________________________________

Spouse’s Full Name

LOOKING TO MEET OTHERS in the federal community and participate in NARFE at a local level? Call 800-456-8410 to learn about a NARFE chapter in your area.

_________________________________________

Would you like to receive a FREE one-year chapter membership? Choose one: q Chapter closest to home OR q Chapter #____________

THREE EASY WAYS TO JOIN

MAY WE THANK SOMEONE? Did someone introduce you to NARFE? Please provide their Name and Member ID.

Spouse’s Email

1. Complete this application and mail with your payment to NARFE Member Services / 606 N Washington St / Alexandria, VA 22314-1914.

2. Join online at www.NARFE.org. 3. Call 800-456-8410, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

___________________________________________ Recruiter’s Name ___________________________________________ Recruiter’s Membership ID NARFE respects the privacy of our members. Personal information is used to provide content and relevant communications to our members, and will not be sold or rented to third parties. (01/21)

NARFE News

Silver Circle Recognizes Dedicated NARFE Donors NARFE offers members a way to give to the association’s general fund through its donor recognition program, the Silver Circle. Your contribution to the Silver Circle directly supports NARFE’s work as we continue to provide the resources and advocacy that you rely on and which member dues alone cannot support. When you donate to the Silver Circle, you’re ensuring that NARFE can continue to fight for your financial security and earned benefits. NARFE appreciates any financial support you’re able to provide and would like to acknowledge your generous contributions to our cause. Donate now to the Silver Circle at www.narfe.org/ silvercircle. With NARFE’s thanks, you will receive:

• With a donation of $100 or more: A Silver Circle pin and recognition on www.narfe.org. • With a donation of $1,000 or more: A Silver Circle pin, your name plate placed on the Silver Circle plaque at NARFE Headquarters, recognition on www.narfe.org, and recognition at the NARFE yearly conference. Groups of donors may choose to honor an outstanding NARFE member with a tribute gift. For details on making a gift in honor of, or in memory of, an individual, and to learn more about the Silver Circle donor recognition program, please visit www.narfe.org/ silvercircle or send an email to donatenow@narfe.org.

New Staff at NARFE HQ

ohn Robert Ayers has joined the policy and programs team as the policy and programs assistant. A South Carolina native, John Robert is a recent graduate of Clemson University, where he earned a degree in political science with a minor in legal studies. During his time at Clemson, John Robert completed congressional internships, worked on congressional campaigns and helped found the student

organization Clemson Students Against Alzheimer’s. At NARFE, John Robert will split his time between supporting the advocacy department and the Federal Benefits Institute by assisting members and writing for NARFE Newsline and NARFE Magazine.

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

Enter NARFE’s 2022 Photo Contest

apture the image that conveys your interpretation of the phrase “America in Focus” and submit it to the 2022 NARFE Photo Contest. Winning photos will be featured in the 2023 NARFE Calendar. Submissions will be accepted by mail from now through February 28, 2022. All NARFE members in good standing, except for those who are professional photographers, are eligible to enter, even if they’ve already had a photo appear in past calendars.

CONTEST GUIDELINES

• Photos must be horizontal and 8 x 10 or 8-1/2 x 11. • No photos of children or pets, please. • No Polaroids. • Photos will not be returned. For full guidelines, visit at www.NARFE.org/photocontest. Photos for the 2023 calendar will be selected and winners notified by the end of June 2022. Send photos to NARFE Photo Contest, Attn: C. Marwitz, NARFE, 606 N. Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314.

GUIDE TO GIVING

NARFE GENERAL FUND Donations support the educational resources and advocacy efforts that our members rely on; membership dues alone are not sufficient to sustain NARFE. When you donate to fundraising initiatives such as the Century Club, Silver Circle Program, note pads, occasional cards, calendar and holiday cards, you ensure NARFE has the means to continue to fight for financial security and earned benefits on behalf of the federal community. Your contribution is not deductible for federal income tax purposes.

NARFE relies on your donations to accomplish its many goals, such as developing educational resources about benefits, helping elect Fed-friendly lawmakers, supporting Alzheimer’s research or providing scholarships and other financial assistance to NARFE members and their families. Here are four ways you can support NARFE and its affiliated programs.

Contributions to NARFE-PAC help elect Fedfriendly lawmakers who defend the earned pay and benefits of the federal community. The PAC strengthens relationships with congressional allies by providing opportunities for NARFE members and staff to connect with lawmakers and discuss NARFE’s most pressing concerns. The PAC is a separate fund of NARFE and is funded solely through direct contributions from NARFE members. Contributions are not tax deductible.

Donate online at www.narfe.org/ donatenow or reply to the coupon you receive in the mail.

Donate now at members.narfe.org/Support-NARFE/Support-PAC, mail a contribution using the PAC giving form in NARFE magazine, or go to narfe.org/PAC-sustainer to give monthly through your federal annuity.

NARFE’S ALZHEIMER’S FUND Since 1985, NARFE members have played a major role in seeking a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Through its partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, NARFE supports research into the causes, prevention, detection and effective treatment of Alzheimer’s and all other types of dementia. Your contribution is deductible for federal income tax purposes. Donate online at www.alz.org/narfedonate or mail your contribution with the form on the Donate to NARFE Programs page in NARFE Magazine.

NARFE-FEEA FUND Donations support NARFE members during disasters; fund scholarships for children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of members; and provide other financial help to members as directed by NARFE and the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund. Your contribution is deductible for federal income tax purposes. Donate online at www.feea.org/givenarfe or mail your contribution with the form on the Donate to NARFE Programs page in NARFE Magazine.

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2020_02_NARFE_Apr_HHoriz.indd 1

2/12/20 9:51 AM

USE YOUR NARFE PERKS AND YOUR MEMBERSHIP WILL MORE THAN PAY FOR ITSELF!

PRODUCTS........................................................................................................................................... ADT Home Security | 844-892-3513 | https://Partners.ADT.com/SSE-P1

Get your ADT-monitored home security system today for $28.99 a month with AND $100 Visa reward card from Protect Your Home ADT Authorized Premier Provider. *New customers only. Visit website for full details of offer.

GE Appliances Store | Use the link below to start shopping!

Save with NARFE members-only access to the GE Appliances Store! You will enjoy up to 25% off MSRP every day on the latest in high-quality appliances. *Orders can not be shipped to P.O. boxes, APOS, Canada, Puerto Rico, HI, AK or U.S. Territories. https://www.myapstore.com/GEStore/Appliances/ Registration?AuthCode=MONARFE21

LegalShield | 410-419-7130 | www.legalshield.com/info/narfe

Whether it’s big, small or somewhere in between, you have affordable legal help when you need it. Members receive the discounted rate of $16.95 for individuals and $18.95 for families of 10 (two adults and up to 8 children).

Office Depot | 855-337-6811 x 2897 | www.officediscounts.org/narfe

Because you’re a member of NARFE you have access to exclusive, members-only discounts at Office Depot and OfficeMax. With your NARFE membership, you can save up to 75% off regular prices (as listed on officedepot.com) on our Best Value List of preferred products. Create an account and browse through our discounts, or shop in-store by printing your FREE Store Purchasing Card. Visit https:// officediscounts.org/narfe for details and more! *Tech, software and select furniture items are not part of the discount program.

Purchasing Power | www.PurchasingPower.com/NARFE

While not a discount program, Purchasing Power is an exclusive purchase program helps members buy brand-name computers, electronics, appliances and furniture via annuity allotment when cash is not an option. No credit check or down payments.

INSURANCE........................................................................................................................................... NARFE Insurance Services | 800-233-5764 | www.narfeinsurance.com

Designed exclusively for NARFE members, (plans administered by Mercer) Senior Age Whole Life Insurance, Senior Term Life Insurance, Hospital Income and Short Term Recovery Insurance, Dental Insurance, Vision Insurance, AssistPlus, Discount Prescription Plan and Pet Insurance.

Member Options | 833-378-8224 | https://www.member-options.com/narfe

Member Options Auto and Home Insurance Program - Save Money with Multiple Quotes! Get quotes from top-rated insurance carriers on Auto, Home, Renters, Pet insurance and more in a matter of minutes. Answer a few simple questions online or over the phone with our licensed insurance experts to compare multiple options that meet your specific needs. To review and choose what’s best for you, go to the link above or call 833-378-8224.

PRE-PLANNING................................................................................................................................... Neptune Society | 800-NEPTUNE (637-8863) | www.neptunesociety.com

Our prearranged 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 members. *Discounted offer is not valid for residents of Louisiana, Tennessee and Kentucky. Void Where Prohibited.

MOVING SERVICES................................................................................................................................... Coleman Allied | 850-375-0917 | jack.jacobs@colemanallied.com

With over 300 agency partners and an entire team dedicated to a quality move experience, Coleman Allied provides customized discount levels for all NARFE members for Interstate moves. *The NARFE pricing only applies to moves that leave the state you currently reside in.

Wheaton World Wide Moving | 800-248-7960 | narfe@wvlcorp.com

At Wheaton, we know interstate relocation is much more than trucks and boxes. With a network of top-quality agents throughout the United States, Wheaton provides peace of mind with every relocation.

TRAVEL AND TRANSPORT.................................................................................................................... Choice Hotels International | 800-258-2847 | www.choicehotels.com

With 6,400 hotels throughout the world, Choice Hotels offers something for everyone. As a member, receive 20% off your next stay at participating hotels when you use Special Rate ID 00801967.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car® | Book Now! | https://partners.rentalcar.com/narfe

When you’re ready to go, Enterprise Rent-A-Car makes it easy. We offer everyday low rates on a great selection of cars, trucks and vans and customers are picked up at no extra cost*. See website for exclusions.

Hotel Engine | https://members.hotelengine.com/join/narfe175

Hotel Engine, a private booking platform, connects organizations and their members to deeply discounted hotel rates.

National Car Rental® | 800-CAR-RENT | www.nationalcarrental.com

NARFE members receive great rates with National Car Rental! At National, we pride ourselves on always providing you with unsurpassed convenience and choice. https://partners.rentalcar.com/narfe

Wyndham Hotels | 1-877-670-7088 | http://bit.ly/WYNDHAM_NARFE

NARFE members receive up to 20% off the “Best Available Rate” at participating Wyndham Hotel Group locations worldwide. To receive discount, book online or call our special member benefits hotline at 1-877-670-7088 and give the agent your special discount ID number 1000007874 at time of booking. For online bookings, your discount ID will automatically be entered and your discount displayed.

WELLNESS.................................................................................................................................................... Brookdale Senior Living Communities | 877-713-2762 | www.brookdale.com/narfe

As the largest operator of senior living communities in the US, Brookdale has over 1,000 locations all across the country. Members are eligible for 7.5% discount at Brookdale Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care communities and 10% discounts on Brookdale Private Duty Home Care. Discounts are for new move-ins/customers only. R

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 state-of-the-art ultrasound technology in your neighborhood. Operator code BKHN075.

ADDITIONAL PERKS.................................................................................................................................

SEE HOW MUCH YOU CAN SAVE AT

www.NARFE.ORG/memberperks

The Way We Worked

USDA’s Outreach Efforts In the early 20th century, the Department of Agriculture began using home extension agents to provide outreach on developments in agriculture, home economics, public policy, leadership, economic development and other subjects. In 1910, Ella Agnew became the first female home extension agent. Agnew, a pioneer in rural education, undertook activities such as organizing tomato growing and canning clubs in Virginia. In 1914, Agnew was named an agent for Virginia Polytechnic Institute, the primary USDA land-grant institution in Virginia. Today, all of USDA’s extension activities are run through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. PHOTO from the Records of the Extension Service, 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.

NARFE MAGAZINE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

DID YOU KNOW? The National Institute of Food and Agriculture administers federal funding to address food and agricultural issues. Learn more at https://nifa.usda.gov/

5 Great Reasons

Why Oticon MoreTM could be the answer to your hearing problems.

1 Oticon More with Brain HearingTM technology

A revolutionary hearing aid that gives the brain more of the relevant information it needs to make better sense of sound. So you can get better speech understanding with less effort and the ability to remember more.

Connectivity made easy

Never change a battery again

Simple, wireless connectivity to your favorite devices via Bluetooth®. Make hands-free calls, stream music, connect to smart devices and more!

A trouble-free rechargeable solution allows you to recharge at night for a full day of hearing. FREE charger included!1

The hearing aid with built-in intelligence

Take advantage of your $2500 benefit

Works more like how the brain works because it learned through experience. Clinical studies prove Oticon More delivers 30% more sound to the brain and increases speech understanding.2

Exclusive pricing for NARFE members. Your insurance may cover all or part of the cost. Call for more information.3

This special offer for federal employees and retirees is available only at Your Hearing Network locations. To find your location call

877-696-5335

Lithium-ion battery performance varies depending on hearing loss, lifestyle and streaming behavior. 2Compared to Oticon Opn STM, Santurette, et al. 2020. Oticon More clinical evidence. Oticon Whitepaper. 3Your 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 call us to verify your coverage. 1

Members,

Pay $0

out-of-pocket! Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan members may be eligible for two fully covered hearing aids with zero out-of-pocket cost on many models when applying your hearing aid benefit*. HearUSA offers all these features and follows all safety protocols for our customers and employees. Call 1-855-252-0025 to discover more or visit www.blue365deals.com/hearusa. EXPERIENCE - HearUSA has been changing lives through better hearing since 1987 and a proud NARFE Circle Sponsor since 2016. CHOICE - All major hearing aid brands and styles available, including completely-in-the-canal, the smallest custom hearing aids on the market. TECHNOLOGY - Smart technology helps you hear more clearly and eliminates annoying feedback “whistling”. RECHARGABLE - Most models have rechargeable options; no need to ever replace batteries! Plus, many models connect with your cell phone! TELEHEALTH - Take advantage of HearUSA Telehealth Services where you obtain quality care at home. Telehealth appointments are available.

Three-year manufacturer’s warranty covers repairs Three-year loss and damage coverage provides peace of mind One-year of FREE batteries eliminates an extra expense One year of FREE in-office service will get you off to a great start!

Call 1-855-252-0025 to schedule a FREE in-person or telehealth hearing appointment today! *The Service Benefit Plan will pay a hearing aid benefit for Standard and Basic Option up to $2,500 total every 5 calendar years for adults age 22 and over, and up to $2,500 total per calendar year for members up to age 22. FEP Blue Focus does not have a hearing aid benefit. Do not rely on this communication piece alone for complete benefit information. All benefits are subject to the definitions, limitations, and exclusions in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan brochure. Blue365® offers access to savings on health and wellness products and services that members may purchase from independent vendors, which are not covered benefits under the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program, Blue Cross Blue Shield FEP Dental and/or Blue Cross Blue Shield FEP Vision. These products and services will be offered to you through the entire benefit year. During the year, the independent vendors may offer additional discounts on these products and services. To find out what is covered under your policy, contact the customer service number on your member ID card. Any disputes regarding your health insurance products and services may be subject to your plan’s grievance process. BCBSA may receive payments from vendors providing products and services on or accessible through the Site. Neither BCBSA nor any Blue Company recommends, endorses, warrants, or guarantees any specific vendor, product or service available under or through the Blue365 Program or Site.

January/February 2022 NARFE Magazine

Articles inside

The Way We Worked

Managing Money

From the President

Pay Raises vs. Cost-of-Living Adjustments: What's the Difference?

Member Perks

NARFE News

Recruiting the Next Generation of Feds

What Can NARFE Advocates Expect in 2022?

2022 COLA 5.9% for CSRS Social Security Benefits; 4.9% for FERS