NEREA - Navy Exchange Retired Employees Association

The pension plan investments achieved a total return of 1.72% in December 2009. This return was slightly better than the Policy Index objective of 1.42%.

Real Estate returned 6.57% followed by Domestic Equities, 3.06%, International Equities, 2.39%, and lastly Domestic Fixed Income, -.92%. Comparable Index returns were 6.93%, 2.70%, 2.13% and -1.56%, respectively. As can be seen from the foregoing, all of the asset classes, with the exception of Real Estate, outperformed its' respective Index.

Despite the total fund having negative returns in 3 months of calendar year 2009, overall the total return for the year was excellent, being 27.04%, exceeding the Policy Index objective of 25.80%. International Equities returned 40.89% followed by Real Estate 30.54%, Domestic Equities 27.09% and Domestic Fixed Income 13.34%. Domestic and International Equities trailed their respective Indices returns of 28.30% and 42.14%. Real Estate and Domestic Fixed Income exceeded their respective Indices returns of 29.20% and 5.93%.

Unfortunately, it appears that the total fund return for January 2010 will be in negative territory. As of the close of the 26th of the month, the major international and domestic indices are negative. Hopefully things will be different in February.

********************************************************************************************

Membership Highlights
Would you believe we have NEX retirees living in 49 of the 50 states, in Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and several countries over-seas? Many states have multiple retirees residing in multiple geographic areas all across their state, other states have a hand full of retirees living in a few geographical areas. There are great opportunities for retirees to get together and fellowship over coffee or an occasional lunch. The NEREA membership committee has information on retirees residing near you. If you would be interested in occasionally fellow shipping with NEX retirees in your neck of the woods, let the membership committee know by dropping us a note at our PO Box. We would welcome your assistance in developing relationships, in educating non-member retirees on NEREA and in helping us grow our membership rolls.

You are encouraged to review the year printed on your NEREA NEWS newsletter mailing label. If you see a 2008 or 2009 printed behind your last name, you are behind on due’s payments. Your dues are current if you see 2010.

Navy Exchange careers are a family matter in a variety of ways. One way is having both husband and wife retire from the NEX, and both be members of NEREA. We currently have 18 sets of husband and wife members of NEREA.

500 retirees who are currently non NEREA members living in and around the San Diego area have received a letter inviting them to a luncheon that is a scheduled function of the annual convention being held in San Diego the end of April. The luncheon will provide opportunity to form new friendships, rekindle old relationships and hopefully gain new members for NEREA as well.

A. The quarterly meeting was held on September 15, 2009 in the main conference room, in the NEXCOM Headquarters building in Virginia Beach, VA. In attendance were: Bill Harper (president), Herb Friedland (vice-president), Nancy Collette (secretary), Tom Cunningham (treasurer), directors John Brown, Robert Elszy, Jane Hoffmann, George Horey, Tom Rowe and J. Van Heiningen, and Ex-Officio members Bill Butler and Bill Ferguson. Absent were directors Rudolph Godfrey and Peter Peugeot, and Ex-Officio member Pat Byrne.

B. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by President Bill Harper. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.

1. Bill Harper presented the nominations of Mario Canu and Michael Paolantonio to replace and complete the terms for directors Herb Friedland (new VP) and Bill Ferguson (who resigned as director and is now an ex-officio member). Bill Ferguson made motion to proceed with the selections. Bill Harper handed secret ballots to the 12 members present. Both candidates were selected by the majority, with one vote abstaining. Bill Harper brought the new members to the assembly room, and they were welcome by all present.

2. Bill Harper proceeded to introduce Peggy Vitola, H/B Associate Director at NEXCOM, as one of our guests of honor. Peggy shared some of the projects her office is working on at this time. One is the auditing of Aetna plan for dependants coverage – many have been dropped with significant savings to NEXCOM. She informed us that there is going to be an increase in medical and dental on Aetna plans for 2010 (no figures available yet). She said that retiree members need to keep their beneficiaries updated. The number to contact is 1-888-NEX-BENE (639-2363), not a 24/7 number, but it is a working number. Several members asked questions regarding areas of coverage, and Ms. Vitola took notes to get back to them with answers.

George Horey asked of Ms. Vitola for assistance in recruiting donations for the scholarship fund. She recommended that we look into becoming part of CFC.

Bill Harper asked Ms. Vitola to have an HR member come to talk at our convention. She suggested that we contact HR Director through e-mail to request this participation.

3. Bill Harper introduced our second guest of honor, Art LaValle. Art gave a brief on the origins of the pension plan, and how it was implemented. He spoke of the responsibilities of the trustees, and that they meet every three months. Art had prepared handouts on the NEXCOM Investment Performance Analysis through July 31, 2009, for all to review. The plan performance has improved overall, and the indexes are positive.

5. Tom Cunningham gave the treasurer’s report. He passed two separate handouts: Statement of Financial Income and Expense 1/1/09 to 9/8/09 (with the 2008 figures for comparison), and the Quarterly Statement of Funds 6/16/09 to 9/8/09. As of 9/8/09 the checking account balance is $218.98, and the savings account balance is $31,211.61. The treasury audit is to take place in December 2009.

Tom Cunningham suggested that we consider increasing the yearly dues to $15.00 (from $10.00), with the additional $5 going to the scholarship fund. No vote was taken on this proposal. Members voiced various options to help increase donations to the organization: pledges, voluntary donations, coupons, etc. More on this to be discussed at the December quarterly meeting.

6. New secretary selection – Bill Harper is to meet with Tidewater’s Chapter President Dixie Earhart for the purpose of recruiting a replacement for Nancy Collette, who is becoming the editor of NEREA Newsletter.

7. John Brown handed out copies of the Constitution and By-Laws, and recommended that all members read them again. He presented changes that are needed in the wording of the By-Laws for the NEREA Scholarship Constitution – Article II Section 1. He stated that a subsidiary should not dictate to the organization what to do.

George Horey presented that an exclusionary clause is already in place with the scholarship application and requirements form, which goes to all who request it. The exclusionary clause is also going to be included in the Global Exchange publication.

8. Scholarship Fund - George Horey stated that since its inception the Scholarship Fund has awarded around $250,000 in scholarships. He is going to send a letter to prior recipients requesting their professional input and the impact that the scholarship award has had in their careers, so he can notify NEREA members.

9. Committee membership – Bill Butler presented his view of forming committees that can cohesively work together. He is writing the POAM guidelines for a three year plan to be followed by each committee. He hopes to have a draft to Bill Harper for the December meeting. Bill Harper says that each committee should have a “leader” decided by its own members.

John Brown suggests that the Administration and Ethics Committee be combined as one.

10. Convention 2010 – Bill Harper has contacted Barbara Montoya in San Diego. He also said that Casey from Military Reunion Planners (MRP) requests that everything regarding the convention be “locked-up” by EOM October. The convention registration fee will be $20.00.

Next meeting: Wednesday, December 2, 2009 (to coincide with the HR-ALA Luncheon on 12/3/09).

DOD Retiree ID card approved

Navy Exchange retirees can now be issued the standard DoD Common Access Card (CAC) Identification Card. This ID card will facilitate retirees accessing DoD installations and MWR facilities and should resolve the problem many retirees have getting on base.

Any Navy Exchange System retiree can get a CAC card – regardless of years of service with the Exchange System. The CAC card can be used for base access and access to MWR facilities. Retirees with shopping privileges must still present the Exchange shopping card to access base exchanges.

Dependents of retirees cannot receive CAC cards at this time, and DoD has noted that the CAC ID card does not guarantee base access and access to MWR facilities. Installation Commanding Officers have the discretion to restrict access for reasons such as local demand, facility capacity, and security concerns.

To get a CAC card, retirees must go to a DoD CAC issuing office, with 2 forms of identification, at least one of which must be a photo ID. A list of all DoD CAC issuing offices and telephone numbers is on the internet at:

www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl/owa/home

Many CAC sites strongly prefer and may require that appointments be made on-line ahead of time. Internet links to the appointment scheduling system of most CAC sites

are at:

https://es.cac.navy.mil

Because this process is very new, and different CAC offices may have different requirements, it is recommended that retirees call ahead of time to verify the appointment and ID requirements - especially if traveling a long distance to get the ID card. In the unlikely event a retiree is not in the CAC office database necessary to issue an ID card, they can contact Susan Mirabella in NEXCOM Human Resources for assistance at 757-440-4767.

TOP

Every year NEREA receives letters from many NEX retirees asking basically two questions. (1) Do I owe dues and if so how much, and (2) Why doesn’t NEREA send out notices when dues are owed! Let’s take #2 first. To send out dues notices to all NEREA members, postage alone would be approximately $1,000, plus the printing and labor involved. Now for #1: As for dues owed information, you receive that information four times a year when you receive the quarterly NEREA NEWS newsletter. On the back page in your mailing address there will be a figure after your name and it will look like this; Mary M. Retiree-09. The 09 indicates your dues are paid through the year 2009. If it was -07 or -08, it would be years 2007 and 2008, respectively, and also would mean you are in arrears in your dues. Dues are $10.00 annually, and are due in January each year.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT Every year NEREA reviews all member’s dues status. Your dues are very important to the Association. Without your dues there would be no quarterly NEREA NEWS, and, in addition, 25% of your dues goes to the NEREA Scholarship Fund and is used to financially assist a youngster of a retiree on his or her way to their first year of college. When a member’s dues are in arrears, (remember your mailing label will reflect your current dues status) the member is subject to being dropped from the NEREA Association as well as the mailing list. The question becomes “How can NEREA continue its Newsletter mailings to those members that are no longer paying dues?” Please don’t let that happen to you. If you are behind on your dues please make an effort to get them current by 1 October before the annual dues survey is conducted. NEREA needs you and you need NEREA as it is the only association that watches out for the Navy Exchange retiree.

QUESTION 1:
Is the retiree required at date of retirement to elect his/her spouse for Survivor Benefits or is there a grace period after retirement that the decision can be made, and if so, how long?

ANSWER:
A married retiree is not required to elect a survivor benefit. However, the decision to elect or waive the spouse survivor benefit must be made before the retirement benefit becomes payable.

QUESTION 2:
If a retiree had elected a 10% reduction in his/her annuity to provide a Survivor Benefit to their spouse, and they are subsequently divorced and the retiree remarries, can the new spouse be eligible for Survivor Benefit?

ANSWER:
Yes. If a retiree divorces and remarries, he/she may elect a survivor benefit to the new spouse providing he/she notifies NEXCOM within one year of the remarriage.

QUESTION 3:
To the above question, what happens to the 10% monies deducted prior to divorce?

ANSWER:
The retiree's annuity is restored to its full amount including accumulated cost of living adjustments. There is no refund for the 10% reduction withheld prior to the divorce.

QUESTION 4:
If a retiree has named his spouse the beneficiary for Survivor Benefits and the 10% reduction has been taken from his annuity for several years and spouse dies before the retiree what happens to the 10% that has been deducted over the years.

ANSWER:
See Answer to Question 3 above.

QUESTION 5:
If a retiree was not married at the time of official retirement date and had never named a Survivor Benefit and subsequently married years later will the spouse be eligible for Survivor Benefit?

ANSWER:
Yes. A retiree who marries after the retirement has one year from the date of his/her marriage to elect the survivor benefit.

QUESTION 6:
Does the Survivor Benefit beneficiary have to be the retirees' spouse, or can another person be named?

ANSWER:
A single retiree may elect a survivor benefit to a named person with an insurable interest. The retirement benefit is reduced by 10% with an additional 5% reduction for each full five years by which the named person is younger that the retiree.
A married retiree can only elect a survivor benefit to his/her spouse.




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		LATEST NEWS December 2009 Investment Returns The pension plan investments achieved a total return of 1.72% in December 2009. This return was slightly better than the Policy Index objective of 1.42%. Real Estate returned 6.57% followed by Domestic Equities, 3.06%, International Equities, 2.39%, and lastly Domestic Fixed Income, -.92%. Comparable Index returns were 6.93%, 2.70%, 2.13% and -1.56%, respectively. As can be seen from the foregoing, all of the asset classes, with the exception of Real Estate, outperformed its' respective Index. Despite the total fund having negative returns in 3 months of calendar year 2009, overall the total return for the year was excellent, being 27.04%, exceeding the Policy Index objective of 25.80%. International Equities returned 40.89% followed by Real Estate 30.54%, Domestic Equities 27.09% and Domestic Fixed Income 13.34%. Domestic and International Equities trailed their respective Indices returns of 28.30% and 42.14%. Real Estate and Domestic Fixed Income exceeded their respective Indices returns of 29.20% and 5.93%. Unfortunately, it appears that the total fund return for January 2010 will be in negative territory. As of the close of the 26th of the month, the major international and domestic indices are negative. Hopefully things will be different in February. Art LaValle, Chairman Pension Trust Fund ****************************************************************************************** Membership Highlights Would you believe we have NEX retirees living in 49 of the 50 states, in Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and several countries over-seas? Many states have multiple retirees residing in multiple geographic areas all across their state, other states have a hand full of retirees living in a few geographical areas. There are great opportunities for retirees to get together and fellowship over coffee or an occasional lunch. The NEREA membership committee has information on retirees residing near you. If you would be interested in occasionally fellow shipping with NEX retirees in your neck of the woods, let the membership committee know by dropping us a note at our PO Box. We would welcome your assistance in developing relationships, in educating non-member retirees on NEREA and in helping us grow our membership rolls. You are encouraged to review the year printed on your NEREA NEWS newsletter mailing label. If you see a 2008 or 2009 printed behind your last name, you are behind on due’s payments. Your dues are current if you see 2010. Navy Exchange careers are a family matter in a variety of ways. One way is having both husband and wife retire from the NEX, and both be members of NEREA. We currently have 18 sets of husband and wife members of NEREA. 500 retirees who are currently non NEREA members living in and around the San Diego area have received a letter inviting them to a luncheon that is a scheduled function of the annual convention being held in San Diego the end of April. The luncheon will provide opportunity to form new friendships, rekindle old relationships and hopefully gain new members for NEREA as well. Submitted by Tom Cunningham, NEREA Treasurer Minutes of the NEREA Executive Board meeting – September 15, 2009 A. The quarterly meeting was held on September 15, 2009 in the main conference room, in the NEXCOM Headquarters building in Virginia Beach, VA. In attendance were: Bill Harper (president), Herb Friedland (vice-president), Nancy Collette (secretary), Tom Cunningham (treasurer), directors John Brown, Robert Elszy, Jane Hoffmann, George Horey, Tom Rowe and J. Van Heiningen, and Ex-Officio members Bill Butler and Bill Ferguson. Absent were directors Rudolph Godfrey and Peter Peugeot, and Ex-Officio member Pat Byrne. B. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by President Bill Harper. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all. C. Order of Business 1. Bill Harper presented the nominations of Mario Canu and Michael Paolantonio to replace and complete the terms for directors Herb Friedland (new VP) and Bill Ferguson (who resigned as director and is now an ex-officio member). Bill Ferguson made motion to proceed with the selections. Bill Harper handed secret ballots to the 12 members present. Both candidates were selected by the majority, with one vote abstaining. Bill Harper brought the new members to the assembly room, and they were welcome by all present. 2. Bill Harper proceeded to introduce Peggy Vitola, H/B Associate Director at NEXCOM, as one of our guests of honor. Peggy shared some of the projects her office is working on at this time. One is the auditing of Aetna plan for dependants coverage – many have been dropped with significant savings to NEXCOM. She informed us that there is going to be an increase in medical and dental on Aetna plans for 2010 (no figures available yet). She said that retiree members need to keep their beneficiaries updated. The number to contact is 1-888-NEX-BENE (639-2363), not a 24/7 number, but it is a working number. Several members asked questions regarding areas of coverage, and Ms. Vitola took notes to get back to them with answers. George Horey asked of Ms. Vitola for assistance in recruiting donations for the scholarship fund. She recommended that we look into becoming part of CFC. Bill Harper asked Ms. Vitola to have an HR member come to talk at our convention. She suggested that we contact HR Director through e-mail to request this participation. 3. Bill Harper introduced our second guest of honor, Art LaValle. Art gave a brief on the origins of the pension plan, and how it was implemented. He spoke of the responsibilities of the trustees, and that they meet every three months. Art had prepared handouts on the NEXCOM Investment Performance Analysis through July 31, 2009, for all to review. The plan performance has improved overall, and the indexes are positive. 4. The minutes for the June 15th EBOD meeting were approved by all present. 5. Tom Cunningham gave the treasurer’s report. He passed two separate handouts: Statement of Financial Income and Expense 1/1/09 to 9/8/09 (with the 2008 figures for comparison), and the Quarterly Statement of Funds 6/16/09 to 9/8/09. As of 9/8/09 the checking account balance is $218.98, and the savings account balance is $31,211.61. The treasury audit is to take place in December 2009. Tom Cunningham suggested that we consider increasing the yearly dues to $15.00 (from $10.00), with the additional $5 going to the scholarship fund. No vote was taken on this proposal. Members voiced various options to help increase donations to the organization: pledges, voluntary donations, coupons, etc. More on this to be discussed at the December quarterly meeting. 6. New secretary selection – Bill Harper is to meet with Tidewater’s Chapter President Dixie Earhart for the purpose of recruiting a replacement for Nancy Collette, who is becoming the editor of NEREA Newsletter. 7. John Brown handed out copies of the Constitution and By-Laws, and recommended that all members read them again. He presented changes that are needed in the wording of the By-Laws for the NEREA Scholarship Constitution – Article II Section 1. He stated that a subsidiary should not dictate to the organization what to do. George Horey presented that an exclusionary clause is already in place with the scholarship application and requirements form, which goes to all who request it. The exclusionary clause is also going to be included in the Global Exchange publication. The re-writing of the By-Laws will be address at the December meeting. 8. Scholarship Fund - George Horey stated that since its inception the Scholarship Fund has awarded around $250,000 in scholarships. He is going to send a letter to prior recipients requesting their professional input and the impact that the scholarship award has had in their careers, so he can notify NEREA members. 9. Committee membership – Bill Butler presented his view of forming committees that can cohesively work together. He is writing the POAM guidelines for a three year plan to be followed by each committee. He hopes to have a draft to Bill Harper for the December meeting. Bill Harper says that each committee should have a “leader” decided by its own members. John Brown suggests that the Administration and Ethics Committee be combined as one. 10. Convention 2010 – Bill Harper has contacted Barbara Montoya in San Diego. He also said that Casey from Military Reunion Planners (MRP) requests that everything regarding the convention be “locked-up” by EOM October. The convention registration fee will be $20.00. Meeting was adjourned at 10:10 PM Next meeting: Wednesday, December 2, 2009 (to coincide with the HR-ALA Luncheon on 12/3/09). Nancy Collette Secretary TOP DOD Retiree ID card approved Navy Exchange retirees can now be issued the standard DoD Common Access Card (CAC) Identification Card. This ID card will facilitate retirees accessing DoD installations and MWR facilities and should resolve the problem many retirees have getting on base. Any Navy Exchange System retiree can get a CAC card – regardless of years of service with the Exchange System. The CAC card can be used for base access and access to MWR facilities. Retirees with shopping privileges must still present the Exchange shopping card to access base exchanges. Dependents of retirees cannot receive CAC cards at this time, and DoD has noted that the CAC ID card does not guarantee base access and access to MWR facilities. Installation Commanding Officers have the discretion to restrict access for reasons such as local demand, facility capacity, and security concerns. To get a CAC card, retirees must go to a DoD CAC issuing office, with 2 forms of identification, at least one of which must be a photo ID. A list of all DoD CAC issuing offices and telephone numbers is on the internet at: www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl/owa/home Many CAC sites strongly prefer and may require that appointments be made on-line ahead of time. Internet links to the appointment scheduling system of most CAC sites are at: https://es.cac.navy.mil Because this process is very new, and different CAC offices may have different requirements, it is recommended that retirees call ahead of time to verify the appointment and ID requirements - especially if traveling a long distance to get the ID card. In the unlikely event a retiree is not in the CAC office database necessary to issue an ID card, they can contact Susan Mirabella in NEXCOM Human Resources for assistance at 757-440-4767. TOP NOTE: IMPORTANT DUES INFORMATION Every year NEREA receives letters from many NEX retirees asking basically two questions. (1) Do I owe dues and if so how much, and (2) Why doesn’t NEREA send out notices when dues are owed! Let’s take #2 first. To send out dues notices to all NEREA members, postage alone would be approximately $1,000, plus the printing and labor involved. Now for #1: As for dues owed information, you receive that information four times a year when you receive the quarterly NEREA NEWS newsletter. On the back page in your mailing address there will be a figure after your name and it will look like this; Mary M. Retiree-09. The 09 indicates your dues are paid through the year 2009. If it was -07 or -08, it would be years 2007 and 2008, respectively, and also would mean you are in arrears in your dues. Dues are $10.00 annually, and are due in January each year. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT Every year NEREA reviews all member’s dues status. Your dues are very important to the Association. Without your dues there would be no quarterly NEREA NEWS, and, in addition, 25% of your dues goes to the NEREA Scholarship Fund and is used to financially assist a youngster of a retiree on his or her way to their first year of college. When a member’s dues are in arrears, (remember your mailing label will reflect your current dues status) the member is subject to being dropped from the NEREA Association as well as the mailing list. The question becomes “How can NEREA continue its Newsletter mailings to those members that are no longer paying dues?” Please don’t let that happen to you. If you are behind on your dues please make an effort to get them current by 1 October before the annual dues survey is conducted. NEREA needs you and you need NEREA as it is the only association that watches out for the Navy Exchange retiree. TOP DID YOU KNOW?** SURVIVOR BENEFIT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS QUESTION 1: Is the retiree required at date of retirement to elect his/her spouse for Survivor Benefits or is there a grace period after retirement that the decision can be made, and if so, how long? ANSWER: A married retiree is not required to elect a survivor benefit. However, the decision to elect or waive the spouse survivor benefit must be made before the retirement benefit becomes payable. QUESTION 2: If a retiree had elected a 10% reduction in his/her annuity to provide a Survivor Benefit to their spouse, and they are subsequently divorced and the retiree remarries, can the new spouse be eligible for Survivor Benefit? ANSWER: Yes. If a retiree divorces and remarries, he/she may elect a survivor benefit to the new spouse providing he/she notifies NEXCOM within one year of the remarriage. QUESTION 3: To the above question, what happens to the 10% monies deducted prior to divorce? ANSWER: The retiree's annuity is restored to its full amount including accumulated cost of living adjustments. There is no refund for the 10% reduction withheld prior to the divorce. QUESTION 4: If a retiree has named his spouse the beneficiary for Survivor Benefits and the 10% reduction has been taken from his annuity for several years and spouse dies before the retiree what happens to the 10% that has been deducted over the years. ANSWER: See Answer to Question 3 above. QUESTION 5: If a retiree was not married at the time of official retirement date and had never named a Survivor Benefit and subsequently married years later will the spouse be eligible for Survivor Benefit? ANSWER: Yes. A retiree who marries after the retirement has one year from the date of his/her marriage to elect the survivor benefit. QUESTION 6: Does the Survivor Benefit beneficiary have to be the retirees' spouse, or can another person be named? ANSWER: A single retiree may elect a survivor benefit to a named person with an insurable interest. The retirement benefit is reduced by 10% with an additional 5% reduction for each full five years by which the named person is younger that the retiree. A married retiree can only elect a survivor benefit to his/her spouse.