NARFE, Nashville Chapter 0227, and You
NARFE's mission has remained the same since 1921, to protect and improve the retirement benefits of federal retirees, employees and their families.
Every Month is NARFE-PAC month,
look for articles in the NARFE Magazine |
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Click here -->> NARFE-PAC: Mission and Urgency
August, for NARFE, is Grass-roots Advocacy Month.
On July 31st, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives leftWashington for their hometowns to mix family vacations, representative functions (Town Hall Meetings and parades) and re-election politics. The ever ambitious agenda of President Obama to have House and Senate votes on a major health care overhaul has been postponed until after Labor Day at the earliest. Committees in both chambers struggle to negotiate such key provisions as health care cost containment and how to pay for health care reform.
NARFE has taken NO position on the health care reform legislation currently receiving serious consideration in the House and the Senate. That’s because the status of the leading bills is extremely fluid and is subject to change. Neither the House nor the Senate bills would open the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) to non-federal civilians nor would FEHBP be offered as the proposed public health care plan. More in depth analysis on the legislation will appear in the SeptemberNARFE magazine and will be sent to NARFE members by e-mail via GEMS.
Many NARFE members have contacted the Legislative Department regarding e-mail they have received which make various claims about the health care reform bills. We advise members to carefully scrutinize such messages because some of them in current circulation provide misleading or false information. For NARFE members who are interested in receiving accurate, nonpartisan analysis about the major health care reform bills, including the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Education (HELP) Committee and the House Tri-Committee proposals, visit the Kaiser Family Foundation side-by-side bill comparison web site at: http://www.kff.org/healthreform/sidebyside.cfm . The Kaiser Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.
Another unresolved matter -- civil service issues in the separate House and Senate Defense Authorization bills (H.R. 2647 and S. 1390). NARFE President Margaret L. Baptiste, wrote named Senate and likely House conferees to argue on behalf of the Senate passed provision to allow federal agencies to re-employ federal retirees on a limited, part-time basis without offset of annuity from salary AND the House passed provisions to allow FERS employees to credit their unused sick leave towards retirement and to provide for locality pay equity for Federal employees in Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. Territories (S. 507).
The delayed floor consideration of massive health care reform means NARFE’s carefully planned use of August as Grass-Roots Advocacy Month will compete with deep-pocketed, strident campaigns for and against aspects of the pending legislation.
Since early June, Region Vice Presidents and their federation presidents and national legislative officers have been organizing and coordinating with District and Chapter Officers to prepare for NARFE Grass-Roots Advocacy Month. Grass-Roots Advocacy Month (see June magazine pages 16 and 18) is designed to use the summer recess, August through Labor Day, September 7, to conduct face-to-face visits with every Representative and every Senator. Complete information packets about the August Grass-Roots Advocacy Month were sent to federation and chapter presidents and legislative officers and are available on the NARFE website:http://www.narfe.org/departments/legislation/articles.cfm?ID=1803
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NARFE, Nashville Chapter and You
The National Active and Retired Federal employees (NARFE) www.narfe.org supports those who now and in the past have served the nation through their federal employment. NARFE is the only association dedicated to protecting the earned retirement benefits of federal employees, retirees and their survivors. NARFE is committed to securing the future that federal employees have worked to achieve for themselves and their families. NARFE has more than 400,000 federal workers, retirees, spouses and survivors united to preserve the economic security and well being of federal employees on the job and in retirement. At the field level, NARFE has 1,650 chapters in the 50 state federations, the District of Columbia, Panama, the Philippines and Puerto Rico. There are 41 active chapters in Tennessee. NARFE's monthly magazine, NARFE For Retired and Current Federal Employees keeps members up-to-date on issues such as federal, state and local legislative development, judicial actions and regulatory changes. NARFE's Retirement Benefits Services Department, chapter service officers and 125 community-based service centers provide advice and assistance in resolving federal retirement and health benefit matters for civilian federal annuitants and their survivors. NARFE cuts through red tape to help members obtain the benefits they have earned and deserve. In addition to solid legislative representation and professional retirement and health care benefits assistance, NARFE membership includes special savings and discounts on a variety of products and services. |
PRESERVING YOUR RETIREMENT BENEFITS
Federal employees earn retirement benefits. NARFE works to protect them. The Association's objectives are to:
-Sponsor and support legislation to protect the earned benefits and general welfare of its members;
-Oppose legislation which adversely affects member retirement and health benefit programs;
-Foster public recognition and appreciation of government service;
-Cooperate with other organizations seeking to accomplish similar legislative goals;
-Inform members about legislative issues that impact their lives, primarily retirement income, health care benefits, taxation and COLAs;
-Strengthen the political influence of current and future federal retirees through NARFE-PAC, a political action committee;
-Work in partnership with the Office of Personnel Management to answer questions related to retirement benefits, and
-Contribute to the well being of local communities through volunteer service. |
HISTORY
NARFE has been active in improving and defending federal retirement benefits since 1921. One need only look at the history of the system to appreciate NARFE's impact on the retirement program
1921 - The National Association of Retired Civil Employees, renamed the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) in 1971, and renamed the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) Association in 2005, was organized by 14 federal workers. The primary goal of the charter members was to seek improved retirement benefits.
1926 - Congress increased annuities to a maximum of $1,000 per year.
1942 - Congress established age and years-of-service requirements allowing 55-year-old employees to retire with 30 years of service.
1943 to 1961 - Retirement eligibility requirements and benefits were liberalized, and Congress approved periodic increases in annuities.
1959 - Congress enacted the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) to provide health insurance for federal workers and their families. Today the FEHBP insures over nine million individuals and is considered by many to be the nation's model group health insurance program.
1962 - Automatic cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) based on the consumer Price Index went into effect.
More Recently..Persuaded Congress to reject the proposal to delay payment of COLAs by three months.. Won a long battle to enact legislation prohibiting states from "source-taxing" the retirement income of former resident s...Played a strategic role in developing a new "Fair Share" premium formula for the FEHB.. Deleted a proposal from the House budget resolution that would have shifted new FEHBP premiums to employees and annuitants.
Most Recently.. NARFE was recognized at the White House as the lead organization in drafting, promoting and shepherding into law the Long-Term Care Security Act of 2000. As the first government-wide federal benefit program enacted in 40 years, the new law will offer affordable long-term care to over 13 million active and retired civilian and military personnel. |
NARFE, The largest federal employee/retiree organization, represents the retirement interests of nearly 5 million current and future federal Annuitants, spouses, and survivors.
Last Modified: August 1, 2009
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