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Member of Tennessee Federation of ChaptersNashville Chapter - 0227Protecting the Future for Retired and Current Federal Employees |
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Every Month is NARFE-PAC month, look for articles in the NARFE Magazine |
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Click here -->> NARFE-PAC: Mission and Urgency
MESSAGE FROM NARFE PRESIDENT JOSEPH A. BEAUDOIN “The bad scenario for current and future federal employees and retirees continues to play out in Congress. Not satisfied with savings from a two-year pay freeze and higher retirement contributions from persons hired after 2012, House leaders are still considering proposals to fund highway construction on the backs of the federal community.” 1) MEET YOUR LEGISLATORS; WHERE IS THE SHARED SACRIFICE? The Easter/Passover recess, the first two weeks of April, is an opportunity NARFE members must utilize. Face-to-face meetings should be requested by federation, district and chapter leaders. In addition to “Contact Me” web forms on congressional websites, the legislative staff can prepare a letter requesting a meeting for any NARFE leader or activist. Federation officers should take the lead to request meetings with senators. The Protect America’s Heartbeat Toolkit has a sample letter. To use the “template meeting request letter,” click on: http://www.narfe.org/doc/NARFE_Sample%20Request%20Letter.doc 2) HARM DONE IN PAYROLL TAX HOLIDAY LAW The Payroll Tax Holiday Extension (P.L. 112-96) requires that new federal employees hired after Dec. 31, 2012, pay 3.1 percent of their basic salary toward the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), a 2.3 percent increase over the 0.8 percent FERS employees now pay into FERS, a fully funded system. Corresponding increases in employee contributions would be made for individuals entering the CIA and Foreign Service pension systems. 3) SEND AN EMAIL TODAY: CIVIL SERVICE REMAINS TARGET; EMPLOYEES NOW, RETIREES NEXT? President Joseph A. Beaudoin urges NARFE members to add their voices to those who have already generated over 6,000 messages to President Obama and their congressional delegation. The House leadership still wants to pay for the highway bill (H.R. 7), with a further pay freeze, altering the retirement formula and higher contributions to retirement. Furthermore, there is precious little sign of shared sacrifice coming from either end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Current employees’ pay and benefits are under siege. If this unfairness is allowed to happen, retirees will be next. NARFE’s Legislative Action Center allows you to send our updated message to both Congress and the president. CLICK HERE to Tell Washington Shared Sacrifice, Not Civil Service Scapegoating. http://capwiz.com/narfe/issues/alert/?alertid=60983206 4) USE NARFE’S LEGISLATIVE ACTION CENTER TO FIND CANDIDATES Our website’s Legislative Action Center has an Elections and Candidates module that allows you to easily find all the candidates running for Congress in your state. The gateway address is https://narfe.capwiz.com/election/home/ There, by scrolling down, you can insert your street address and ZIP Code and display photographs of all the House and Senate candidates. Profiles and contact information is provided for each candidate. OBTAINING THE HOTLINE: Thank you for using the Hotline. This weekly legislative message is available to telephone callers (703-838-7780 and toll-free at 877-217-8234); posted on the NARFE website, www.narfe.org; made available to NARFE-Net Leaders; and sent to over 70,000 GEMS email addresses. Each delivery channel is a service of NARFE, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. The Federal Ostrich is an endangered species. It spends most of the time with its head in the sand and its butt in the air. They assume that the avoidance of participation in their own survival will not be a problem in the protection and retention of their earned benefits. They don't attend meetings, they don't participate in being a citizen lobbist and contact their Members of Congress to let them know of their concerns and needs as an Active or Retired Federal Employee. And most don't join NARFE. Are you a Federal Ostrich? If you are, get your head out of the sand, join NARFE if you not already a member. Attend the meetings and get involved in your own survival by contacting your Members of Congress (Both Senators and the Representive for your Distirct). Become a part of the solution to protecting and retaining our earled benefits. Help other Federal Ostriches get their head out of the sand and get involved. United we must stand together, or if not our earned benefits will slowly evaporate, because Congress will think they can do what ever they want since we don't care enough to contact them.
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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: March 5, 2012 |
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