Legislative issues put on hold
The September 11 tragedy is still on all our minds and I ask all PEF Retirees to pray for our brothers and sisters whose lives were lost in this act of terrorism. The PEF office on Church Street in Manhattan remains closed and services are being provided from temporary quarters in Brooklyn.
At the September meeting of the PEF Retirees Executive Board, four speakers addressed subjects of importance to retirees. Matthew Shebar, director of NYS retirement information and outreach, and Jeff Swain, deputy state comptroller for state and local retirement systems, were from the Office of the NYS Comptroller.
Swain talked about the problems in determining benefits to the legatees of the great number of people missing as a result of the attack on the World Trade Center. He and Shebar said legislative efforts pertaining to pension COLA improvements are on hold.
Frank Stella, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) director of retiree affairs, said a retirees’ conference scheduled for September 14-16 in Washington was rescheduled for January.
Stella also spoke to us about the Alliance of Retired Americans (ARA) — a new initiative of the national AFL-CIO. Generally, it will consolidate all labor retiree organizations, so they can speak with one voice.
Stella said AFT’s efforts regarding federal legislation affecting retirees also are on hold temporarily because of the WTC tragedy. Even the issues of prescription-drug coverage under Medicare and the ability to sue HMOs are on hold.
The fourth speaker was Nels Carlson, who reviewed the changes in the dental program available to our members. He is willing to attend our chapter meetings to explain these changes.
The state Office for the Aging produces a quarterly publication called Aging News. It has many interesting articles on topics important to retirees.
To receive this free publication, call 1-800-342-9871.