Points to Ponder #04-01

POINTS TO PONDER
Issue 04-01

From CSFC President Helen Zajac

CATEGORY:  Membership       July 19, 2004

Subject:  Purpose and Reason for NARFE

Especially now, with the recent dues increase, questions are being raised about the purpose of NARFE, and what NARFE can do for its members. Some members feel that the NARFE dues are now too much to afford; yet membership in NARFE is essential to maintaining our EARNED benefits - the ones we earned during our 20 - 30 or 40 years of service to the Federaal Government.  Some members are upset because they did not support the dues increase, and therefore think that their opinion was not considered.  Some members still do not fully understand what NARFE does for them.

NARFE was founded in 1921 to establish equitable pensions for federal civil service workers.  Today, NARFE is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of nearly 400,000 federal employees, retirees, spouses and survivor annuitants united to preserve the economic security and well-being of federal employees on the job and in retirement.  NARFE is the ONLY association dedicated to protecting the earned retirement benefits of federal employees, retirees and their survivors.

NARFE's objectives are to: 

--Sponsor and support legislation to prottect the benefits and general welfare of its members on issues such as health benefits, retirement, etc;
--Inform members about legislative issuess, primarily retirement income and health care benefits, taxation and COLAs;
--Strengthen the political influence of ccurrent and future federal  retirees through NARFE-PAC, a political action committee;
--Cooperate with other organizations seekking to accomplish similar legislative goals;
--Work in partnership with the Office of Personnel Management to answer questions related to retirement benefits;
--Foster public recognition and appreciattion of government service, and                        --Contribute to the well-being of local ccommunities through volunteer
service.

The most recent victory for NARFE, through our legislative friends on Capitol Hill, kept our benefits from being drastically cut by the Government Reform Committee through a Budget Resolution which would have cut mandatory spending by $39 Billion over ten years.  This was targeting only civil service retirees and employees; and did not affect those under social security.  While the Budget Committee made no specific assumptions to achieve $39 billion in cost savings, the only large mandatory programs under the Government Reform Committee's jurisdiction are federal civil service retirement and the FEHBP.  That meant programs not seriously considered since the 1980s and 1990s to freeze annuity COLAS, reduce the government share of FEHBP premiums, increase employee retirement contributions and reduce the survivor annuity calculation formula would have been enacted.  The impact of these changes would have been devastating on our retirees and even our current employees. Your membership in NARFE is one way to keep a watchful eye on Congress and what they may try to do to federal retirees and employees.  There is no better insurance policy than your NARFE membership - at about 9 cents a day - you receive the latest information about actions being considered by Congress which may impact our benefits.  That 9 cents a day is based on becoming a dues withholding member - and with the recently passed national dues increase, you will receive a better membership rate of $24.60, plus your local chapter dues, which in this case was considered to be $9.00.  Contact your Chapter Membership Chair for more details on dues withholding. 

There is strength in numbers and we need that strength to insure that Congress does not take away our EARNED benefits. 

Remember, you need NARFE and NARFE needs you!