Benefits Committee Report

Benefits Committee Report

By: Rhonda Pope

The Dental benefit Plan through J.M. Marketing is available to all members in ALL states. If a person is going on line to check out the Dental Plan and then going in to pull up an application please read it carefully. There are other insurance plans that might not be available in some States. The Dental Plan is available to every state and every member. It is a very good plan for the premium you pay. Remember the deadline for open season to signup for the Dental Plan is August 1 through September 30, 2007. If you have any questions, please contact me or Jim Mace or his office staff at 1-800-330-6223.

NoCASCOE President Pam Pollard thanks Jim Mace for his contribution to our 2007 Convention.

Financial Education eLetter

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Retirement Financial Education eLetter will be posted bi-monthly at www.opm.gov/benefits. Each issue will contain information about retirement financial education you can use and can pass on to others. Don’t think retirement financial education is only for long time employees or those close to retirement. It’s for everyone. Retirees have some significant challenges to face so waiting until just before retirement to start planning is often "too little, too late."

The Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS), and the availability of the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) for both FERS and Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) employees, changed the planning horizon. Employees should begin making decisions about their retirement goals as soon as they start their Federal careers—and that’s what this eLetter is designed to do. It will help you to set your own retirement goals and develop a plan to achieve them.

Develop a financially rewarding habit of reading the OPM Retirement Financial Education eLetter bi-monthly. It's a great tool in becoming better informed in making the best choices possible for your retirement.

Also: Helpful Links

Check it out! www.MyMoney.gov. MyMoney.gov is the U.S. government's website dedicated to teaching all Americans the basics about financial education. Whether you are planning to buy a home, balancing your checkbook, or investing in your 401k, the resources on MyMoney.gov can help you do it better. Throughout the site, you will find important information from 20 federal agencies government-wide.

Listed below are additional web-site links for information on Federal benefits and retirement financial education:

OPM Information for Federal Benefits Officers http://www.opm.gov/benefits

OPM Insurance Services Information http://www.opm.gov/insure

OPM Retirement Information & Services http://www.opm.gov/retire

Federal Long Term Care Insurance http://www.ltcfeds.com

Federal Flexible Spending Accounts https://www.fsafeds.com/fsafeds/index.asp

Federal Employee Dental and Vision http://www.opm.gov/insure/DentalVision/index.asp

U.S. Financial Literacy & Education Commission www.MyMoney.gov

Social Security Administration www.ssa.gov

Federal Thrift Savings Plan www.tsp.gov

INFORMATION ON CELL PHONE DISCOUNTS

NOTE - Some Members are finding they already have a discounted plan with their cellular provider and cannot be combined with another discount (aka double dipping). Compare member discount with your existing plan to determine your best options.

ALLTEL – NASCOE Members please contact your State Benefit Chairperson for contact information.

Discount available:

15% monthly rate plan discount

Waived Activation fee

Discounts for new Motorola E815 flip phone

Available on all plans of $39.99 and higher. Available to new, current and renewing customers

CINGULAR – NASCOE members must use FAN # 16239 to sign up for a 12% discount. You may visit your local Cingular store or www.cincular.com/discounts

While online, you may encounter a prompt that asks if you are an employee of the Forestry Service. This is a known glitch in the system and hopefully has been corrected. If not, answer "yes" and continue with your request.

U.S. Cellular – So far a discount has not been negotiated with U.S. Cellular. Information will be forwarded ASAP should a discount be offered.

DISCOUNT FOR ALL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

Verizon – contact your customer service 800 number – plan must be in Government Employee’s name. If not I believe they will help you with that. This discount should be 15% - 17%. You should also be able to go online to sign up at www.verizonwireless.com/ryl.

Sprint/Nextel – Offer of a discount to government employees, which currently include 27% off on phones and 10% off on accessories with 15% off on plans. The number I was given is 1-866-805-9889 ask for a sales representative. If this does not work in your area my only suggestion is to contact your customer service 800 numbers on your statement, or go on line to check it out.

T-Mobile – Offers a 14.3% discount off of their service plans for government employees. The number used was 1-866-646-4688. If this does not work I only can suggest contacting T-Mobile through your 800 customer service number on your statement or trying online.

OTHER DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE FOR ALL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES

Apple offers Government Employees 17% off. For more information call 1-800-MY-APPLE or www.apple.com/r/store/government/epp.html

There is a website and program for USDA employees for purchasing many items and using payroll deduction to pay. No Credit checks! This site has specials and you will want to continue to check out their specials to see what would benefit you. Site is www.gov.purchasingpower.com