T R E N D (Thinking Retired Employees Need Direction)

Retired Employees of Kern County

Volume MMIV-V September-October 2004 www.reokc.org

Norman Briggs, President (661) 834-5721 Vicki Stronach, Editor (VStronach@bak.rr.com)

Here are Dave’s comments:

“On July 13th I received a late night phone call about changes to the Kern County Medical and Pre-scription Benefits plan. The critical date for a deci-sion by a retiree was July 30th. The changes were no real surprise since Bill Douglas spoke to us about them many months ago. The implementation, I be-lieve, was contingent upon union contract talks. I am concerned about the entire notification process of those retirees under age 65 who will be impacted by the changes. Since that phone call I have followed this notification process with some interest, and July 30th has come and gone.

I have questioned retirees who are under age 65 and members of the Kern County Medical and Pre-scription Benefits plan. Very few, about 50%, re-ceived the large package mailed by Schaller Anderson that included a partial list of participating physicians and the dates and locations of several meetings to ex-plain the changes to the current employees. Retirees who didn’t get notified didn’t know about the meetings or the important changes. Decisions were required by July 30th.

I waited for my package in the mail. It didn’t ar-rive. I tried the web site and couldn’t get in. I called Health Benefits and learned that they had my old zip code. I knew Schaller Anderson had the correct zip code because I get EOB forms from them. I waited and received a letter from Health Benefits in late July stating that the deadline had been extended to August 6, 2004 for sign up and Continuity of Care Forms… still no package. My package arrived August 13, 2004! I am fortunate because I heard about it and met the deadlines. Those who didn’t get the word are in for a shock.

If half the retirees under 65 never got notified that means they have not designated a Primary Care Phy-sician (PCP) by the July 30th or August 6th deadline. Therefore a PCP has been assigned to them. I seri-ously doubt anyone would be denied medical care. I do believe the shock of going to whom you thought was your doctor, billing, and subsequent re-assignment process would be time consuming for both the patient and Health Benefits.

Another requirement of the new plan is the approval of your PCP for referrals to specialists. Included in the mailed package was Continuity of Care Form. This form needed to be filed with Schaller Anderson

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Dear Retirees - Summer is almost gone, my oldest son starts school the 16th of this month, the youngest the 30th. Where does the time go? The July free bar-beque was well attended and the burgers were great, cooked by myself and John DeMario, the modest cooks. The music was awesome and everyone I be-lieve enjoyed the day. Thanks to all those who vol-unteered their time and efforts to make this event possible. We have an election of new officers and board members coming up for next year. We will be appointing a nominating committee at our next Board meeting who will be looking for candidates for our slate. So, if you are interested in being in-volved in the management of our association please let us know. It doesn’t pay well but you will be re-warded by the thanks of our members for being in-strumental in supporting the goals of the Association. Our legal counsel is preparing a legal opinion as to where, what and how we can participate in the politi-cal process that so affects our future and our ability to make a difference in our present and future bene-fits. Speaking of benefits, our past president and a continuing dedicated member of our Board, Dave Merritt, provided the following regarding the latest changes in health benefits applicable to those of you under the age of 65. It appears to be an example of being overlooked and not acknowledging our right of proper notification of changes in our health cover-age’s in a timely manner. Another example of why we need to take a more assertive posture in regards to our rights and needs as retirees.

prior to August 6th if you had a pending appointment with a specialist that was after September 1st and be-fore November 30th. Miss that deadline and you will have to go to your PCP for referral approval. Again, confusing, time consuming, etc.

Prescription program changes September 1st in-clude increased co-pays and how you receive your medications. It may be necessary to contact your PCP immediately in order to obtain medications or quanti-ties that conform to the new plan. If you take medica-tion for chronic problems you need to get this matter resolved right away.

The bottom line is the change notification was a dis-aster as far as retirees under 65 are concerned. We all know that medical care is costly for both employ-ers and employees and changes happen. The ball got dropped on this one. “ ~David Merritt

Please if you have any issues that may ad-versely affect you with these changes please let us know. We have an election coming up in November and we have an opportunity to not only vote but also support those we feel will be supportive of our causes regarding our welfare. Last election for the 30th Assembly District we supported Dean Gardner and once again we have the opportunity of being supportive of his candidacy for the 30th Assembly District seat. Mr. Gardner has requested our contin-ued support in the upcoming November election and will be meeting with your Board on September 14th to to personally ask for our endorsement of his candi-dacy. Hopefully he will be able join us for lunch. It’s your opportunity to meet Mr. Gardner and ask him how he will help our Association and ask him ques-tions of interest to you. Besides who can pass up a deep pit beef lunch! See you there.

~Norman R. Briggs, President

Your Retirement Board

During this reporting period, your Board of Retirement continued to work on the selection of a Hedge Fund Manager. The current asset allocation that the Board is operating

under, calls for a 3% allocation to Hedge Funds, and the Board has for the last year, talked about, re-ceived educational presentations, and are now rank-ing the top five mangers that responded to the RFP. If the selection process and the Due Diligence can be completed by the first of 2005, the Board will fund

its first venture into Hedge Funds. The Board of Retirement did not meet July 28 or August 11, as a quorum could not be ob-tained. With the summer vacations, unexpected illness, and Board vacancies, the Board has a diffi-cult time with a quorum, and to make things even worse, Mike Bradley the safety alternate is retiring this month (August). Although we at REOKC wel-come Mike and know that he has earned his retire-ment, the Board of Retirement will miss his knowl-edge and his humor. Mike will be hard to replace and he will be sorely missed by all member be they active or retired. The Board will soon make the decision to hold a special election, to coincide with the regu-larly scheduled election, to fill the alternate safety member (created by Mikes retirement) in Novem-ber 20004. This regularly scheduled November election would normally be held to elect a retiree representative, an alternate retiree representative, and a general active representative; it will now be expanded to include the alternate safely represen-tative as well. The SRBR III calculation have been com-pleted, those retirees that will be receiving an in-crease have been noticed, while the rest of us re-ceived a letter stating that we have yet to qualify for the benefit at this time. To remind you what SRBR III is, each year the Retirement Administration per-forms a calculation to see is any retiree has lost more than 20% of his base retirement amount due to inflation creep, if they have then SRBR III is paid to the retiree in an amount that will bring him back to the 80% of his base retirement amount. PLEASE REMEMBER, all of the SRBR benefits are not vested and are paid only as long as there is funding for those benefits. Based on the latest actuarial report, all SRBR benefits are funded for the next 20 years, after that we will have to see. The Ventura II calculations are now 92% complete; Retirement Administration expects that they will be completed with Ventura II by the begin-ning of 2005 and will move on to updating all the retirement programs for the new benefit level of 3% at 60 for the general members which the County and there unions just approved.

If you have any questions or need help with a retirement problem, you can contact me via the Internet at jjdmario@aol.com.

I hope to see you at one of the Retirement Board meetings; they are held the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month starting at 8:00 am on the 3rd floor of the County Admin. Building at 1115 Truxtun Ave. in Bakersfield, Ca.

~John DeMario 2

Sept 14 REOKC Board Meeting 10:00 am Wilson Road Vets Hall Sept 14 REOKC General Mtg 12:00 pm Wilson Road Vets Hall *Guest - Barry Zoeller* Sept 15 KCERA 8:00 am County Admin. Bldg. Sept 29 KCERA 8:00 am County Admin. Bldg. *** Oct 12 REOKC Board Meeting 10:00 am Wilson Road Vets Hall Oct 12 REOKC General Mtg 12:00 pm Wilson Road Vets Hall *Guest - Roy Ashburn* Oct 13 KCERA 8:00 am County Admin. Bldg. Oct 28 KCERA 8:00 am County Admin. Bldg.

COMING EVENTS

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Point of Interest on the W.W.W. www.kerncountyfair.com

With the great Kern County Fair right around the corner surf on over to their official website for loads of information.

LUNCHEON MENU

Sept 14, 2004 Pit Beef with BBQ Sauce Santa Maria Beans Cole Slaw Fresh Fruit Bowl Garlic Bread Carrot Cake w/Icing Coffee and Ice Tea

Oct 12, 2004 Baked Meatloaf Whipped Potatoes w/Brown Gravy Green Beans Green Salad Rolls w/Butter Peach Cobbler Ice Tea & Coffee & Water

Community Service

Summer is almost here. Some of us will be planning vacations and expecting family visits. Volunteers unable to work their regular shifts or who would like to trade for a different week should contact Mary Lou Bennett, 871-5270, as soon as possible to enable timely scheduling.

Also, we would like to enhance the volunteer program

with a list of retirees who can be floaters to fill in for the regu-lar volunteers needing time off. Anyone interested in helping and becoming a volunteer, either a floater or regular, should contact Mary Lou at the above number.

Regular volunteers only work 3 to 6 hours per month

at the County Administration Building’s information booth. Floaters would only work occasionally when regular volunteers were absent. It’s a rewarding experience so please help us out and call Mary Lou at 871-5270. Our thanks to all who are helping so many people each month find their way around the Administrative complex. A job well done!

~Mary Lou Bennett

Host/Hostess Program

During the month of June 37 volunteers worked 113 hours assisting 1451 visitors at

the County Administrative Building.

During the month of July 31 volunteers worked 95 hours assisting 1085 visitors at

the County Administrative Building.

A job well done!

If you would like to help out at the Kern County Fair Sept 17-21

just call Jeanne Berkshire 589-3744.

DO YOU HAVE INTERNET ACCESS?

TREND EMAIL LIST IS GROWING

Thanks to all of you who have signed up for membership in the Trend Email list. We now have

95 members who collectively are now saving the association over $450.00 per year!

We need to keep this "trend" going so

if you have internet access please email Norman Briggs to sign up and help our budget.

To receive the TREND newsletter electronically: Send an email to nbriggs@bak.rr.com with your name and email address. (Subject: TREND mailing list).

OR

Send a letter with your name and email address to: REOKC P.O. Box 3022 Bakersfield, CA 93385

Fire Sheriff Sheriff Human Services Beneficiary Probation Human Services Risk Management Auditor Controller Human Services Info Tech Services Fire KMC KMC KMC Fire Assessor Parks and Recreation Beneficiary Beneficiary

PAYROLL DEDUCTION FOR MONTHLY LUNCHEON

SAVE A BUCK!!

If you sign up for payroll deduction for your

luncheon cost, you will only be charged $4.00 If you buy a ticket at the luncheon, it will cost $5.00.

AUTHORIZATION FOR DEDUCTION

RETIRED EMPLOYEES OF KERN COUNTY, INC. MEMBERSHIP DUES

I hereby authorize and direct you to deduct five dollars ($5.00) per month from my pension warrant as an additional elective payment to the Retired Employees of Kern County, Inc. This deduction shall commence with the next pension payment. I understand that this authori-zation and membership in the Retired Employees of Kern County, Inc. organization is voluntary and may be revoked by me, in writing, at any time in the future.

_____________________________________________ Name Social Security # _____________________________________________ Signature Date signed

Application for Membership in REOKC and Authorization for Deduction of Dues

I receive a retirement and/or survivor’s al-lowance from Kern County. I hereby authorize the Kern County Employees Retirement Associa-tion to deduct from my monthly retirement bene-fits, dues of one-dollar ($1.00) per month for my membership in REOKC, and to pay such deduc-tions monthly to that organization. Name (print)_____________________________ Address_________________________________ City____________________________________ State____________________ Zip___________ Telephone ( )__________________________ SSN____________________________________ Signature___________________ Date________

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“WELCOME!”

NEW MEMBERS OF THE RETIRED EMPLOYEES OF

KERN COUNTY

Const. Services - Dick Stark DA Family - Lau-

rel Leishman Deferred - Karen Berk, James

Eiland, Michael Lewis, Sue Sweeney DH&S -

Ann Hirose Fire - Joseph Pineda, Jose Sepul-

veda Kern Mosquito - John Hunt KMC - Vir-

ginia Ontiveros, Mindy White Probation - Gail

Anderson, Verlin McGehee Sheriff - Thomas

Jones, Sarah Kenney Veterans Services - Fre-

derick Powers Beneficiaries - Evelyn Arias,

Donna Church, Jeanine Cintron, Arlene Colson,

Gay Fowler, Edith Gilman, Edna Jones, Susan Le-

Hagiwara, Betty Mitchell and Marvin Swaim.

Walter Anderson Betty Banks

Charles Church Lewis Colson Helen Cornell

Colleen Creech June Etcheverry

Donald Fowler Jean Green

Leo Hagiwara Wilma Hall

S. Jones Alma Killebrew Ruth Northway Angie Ornelas

William Plympton Alice Presley

Gene Sprayberry Gerald Swam Ruth Wallace

WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER Deceased KCERA Members

Tax Bites IRAs

IRAs – Individual Retirement Arrangements. Tax deferral strategy and important reminders. This month I want to point out a potential long-term tax savings strategy and significant extension of time for tax deferred income and tax-free with-drawals involving your Traditional IRA. Many of you have Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. There are two main differences between them. Traditional IRA withdrawals are usually tax-able, whereas Roth IRA withdrawals are not. You must begin making withdrawals from your Tradi-tional IRA by April 1st of the year after you turn 70 ½ years of age. You and your spouse never have to make a withdrawal from your Roth IRA. Therein lies the strategy. For those of you who have enough retirement income from other sources, you should consider converting your Traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs. The following example will illustrate the long-term benefits: You are 65, your spouse is 55 and you have two grown children. Your retirement income from sources other than your Traditional IRA is suffi-cient. Your spouse is the primary beneficiary of your Traditional IRA, and you don’t expect your spouse to need the income. You would like to leave the IRA assets to your children (or any other heir). You should consider converting your Tradi-tional IRA to a Roth IRA, now, at age 65. Yes, you will have to pay income tax on the amount con-verted, but look at how long the Roth IRA will sur-vive tax-free! Using the IRS tables in Publication 590, you have a life expectancy of 21 years and your spouse 30 years. Your heirs (children) have 5 years after inheriting the Roth IRA before they must withdraw all of the assets. Therefore your Roth IRA can potentially live, tax-free for the next 35 years or longer (30 years for the life expectancy of your spouse and 5 years before the heirs must liquidate the account). And, since you pre-paid the income tax upon conversion 35 years earlier, your children never have to pay income tax on the with-drawals! To make this work, your spouse must be

the sole beneficiary of your Roth IRA and she must treat the Roth IRA as her own after she inherits it (as opposed to keeping it in your name and remain-ing the beneficiary – only a surviving spouse has the right to rename an inherited IRA and be consid-ered the original owner). She then can name your children as the primary beneficiaries. Consult your estate planning professional to see if your individ-ual facts and circumstances can benefit from this strategy. Important reminders about your IRAs: If you have multiple beneficiaries on one account,

create separate accounts for each beneficiary. It is far less complicated for your heirs to be the sole beneficiary of an IRA account rather than one of many beneficiaries of one account. This applies to Traditional and Roth IRAs.

You are required to make a minimum withdrawal from your Traditional IRA by December 31st of the year you turn 70 ½ years of age. You are given an automatic extension until April 1st of the following year. This extension is only available for the year you turn 70 ½, you must make all succeeding mini-mum withdrawals by December 31st of each year. However, if you take advantage of the extension, you must also take your second minimum with-drawal by December 31st of the same year, thereby increasing your taxable income needlessly. I rec-ommend taking your first minimum withdrawal by December 31st of the year you turn 70 ½.

Roth IRAs do not require minimum withdrawals by original owners.

In 2002 the IRS finalized the minimum withdrawal rules for Traditional IRAs. The new rules assume that your beneficiary is 10 years younger than you, which results in smaller required minimum with-drawals. In the event that your spouse is more than 10 years younger than you, you are allowed to use a separate table to calculate an even more favorable joint life expectancy divisor. IRS Publication 590 provides the rules and tables necessary to calculate the required minimum withdrawals. You can find the publication on the IRS website at: www.irs.gov

If you fail to withdraw the required minimum amount by December 31st, you will owe a 50% ex-cise tax penalty on the shortfall!

Thomas P. McCarthy, Jr., CPA, MST 5

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CRCEA Report

CRCEA’s Fall Conference will be held in Fresno October 18-20, 2004 at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel. This conference

will celebrate CRCEA’s 35th Anniversary and promises to be one of our best. We will look back on the history of CRCEA with a Power Point Presentation that will feature photos of past Presidents as well as those recent and current. The agenda now being formalized will include a tribute to Helen Vaux, Fresno county retiree’s delegate who served for so long in CRCEA. The keynote address will be given by popular San Diego radio personality and writer and we will meet Alan Autry, Mayor of Fresno, who you knew as :Bubba” on the TV show “In the Heat of the Night” with Carroll O’Connor. On Tuesday, normally our busiest day of the conference, we will start off with a panel dis-cussion on Association Recruiting, followed by a presentation by our own Dave Merritt, REOKC’s Past President who will tell us about his involvement in the “Race Across America”. After the coffee break, we will hear a presenta-tion on Association Legal Issues followed by a Sacramento update on any new legislation. The afternoon session will have a motivational speaker, concluding with a presentation by a professor from Fresno State University on “Adventures in Aging”. This will be a great conference and we encour-age Kern County retirees to come and attend all the functions, meet some great retirees and become a little more understanding of the workings of the 37 Retirement Act. The cost for attendance is only $15.00 and includes the hospitality hour. If you wish to come to this conference, send me your name, address and ZIP either by e-mail (ejay@bak.rr.com) or call me at 836-0649 and I will see to it that you get a registration form as well as an agenda and directions to the hotel.

A Bill of special interest to our members-

AB 979 was supposed to be on the Gover-nor’s desk in Mid-February, however, there were some amendments to the language which delayed the bill until now. If the Leg-islature goes back to work on Monday Au-gust 16th the bill should pass out of the As-sembly and be on the Governor’s desk by Friday August 20th. So far there has been no opposition to this bill. Here is what this Bill will do for retirees:

1. Allows retired members of the 37 Act Retirement Systems, who marry after retirement, to purchase op-tional survivor benefits for their new spouse, at no cost to the Retirement System.

2. Codifies the rights and privileges that are currently provided by some 37 Act Systems to Alternate Mem-bers of the Retirement Board includ-ing training and compensation.

3. Authorizes the Board of Retirement to elect to provide a post retirement death benefit through a group life in-surance policy if the cost of that pol-icy to the system, county or district is equal to or less than the cost of other methods of providing the benefit.

This Bill does everything we want it to and it is felt that in as much as there is no cost or obli-gation to the State, the Governor will have no trouble signing it.

~Everett Julkowski Delegate

For your Funny Bone

A Personal entitled Vitamins

If there are others out there who also take twenty-three pills at a time four times every day, please contact me through the personals. We can help each other force them down. I will say they are tiny sandbags keeping things on course. You'll reply they are the flow itself, the tao. We will look shyly at each other. We will start to kiss. Together we will feel them ooze and sidle in teams through the digestive tract like synchronized swimmers. Who else will know your insides like me? The warm flush of waves when that orange horse pill hits the blood like a boulder. The fizz of cartilage holding itself together for another six hours. Time release capsules for dry bones, bleached desert rats gulping down canteen after canteen. What couple could have more in common than a continual dissolving? I am a young seventy-nine. Looking for a minimum taker of sixty pills daily. Call me if you want to twist some tops off. Lets rattle the bottles till they're gone. James Doyle

You know you’re getting old when

You look forward to a dull evening. Everything hurts, and what doesn't hurt doesn't work. You feel like the morning after and you haven't been anywhere. You sink your teeth into a steak, and they stay there. You're 17 around the neck, 42 around the waist, and 96 around the golf course.

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Healthy Notes Over 65? Keep Exercising! How can older adults add to their years of independent living? Add strength training to your exercise routine, the CDC says.

This isn't about six-pack abs or competition weight lifting. It's about life. Seniors who exercise are healthier, suffer fewer falls and fractures, and -- most importantly -- live more independent lives. Yet only 11% of the over-65 set does strength-building exercises the recommended two or more times per week, according to CDC data. The report appears in the Jan. 23 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The national health goal is to up this number to 30%. If that sounds hard, the CDC numbers provide a clue: Nearly 25% of active seniors meet the strength-building objective. Being active means moving your butt -- what the CDC calls "moderate-intensity physical activity" -- for at least 30 minutes a day, at least five days a week. Or you can do more vigorous exercise for at least 20 minutes a day, at least three days a week. Not sure which exercises are best? The National Institute on Aging has an online guide -- complete with an exercise video. Look for the exercise guide at the NIA web site, http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/growing_stronger.pdf. The CDC calls for churches, community centers, senior centers, schools, and fitness centers to offer exercise programs for older adults. These programs should:

• Increase awareness of fitness benefits • Be affordable. • Be friendly to people with physical

limitations. • Offer transportation. • Address the fear of injury.

~By Daniel DeNoon (www.webMD.com)

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Actual Jan -June Budget Jan-June Difference Income Contribution - Homeless Shelter 121.00 120.00 1.00 Dues Administrative 10,869.00 9,000.00 1,869.00 Special Fund 10,869.00 9,000.00 1,869.00

Interest Income Checking 14.25 12.00 2.25 Money Market 75.67 90.00 -14.33 Savings 1.37 9.00 -7.63 Special Fund 295.37 300.00 -4.63

KFCU Reimbursement 1,423.38 1,050.00 373.38 Lunch Tickets Door Sales 1,819.00 2,040.00 -221.00 Payroll Deduction 1,152.00 1,008.00 144.00

Misc. Income 162.02 30.00 132.02

Total Income 26,802.06 22,659.00 4,143.06

Expense Administrative Admin. Postage -190.91 -60.00 -130.91 Admin. Printing Cost -107.25 -480.00 372.75

CRCEA Conference Expense -882.38 -1,500.00 617.62 Dues -1,414.00 -1,450.00 36.00

Insurance 0.00 -1,000.00 1,000.00 Liaison Presidents -31.05 -450.00 418.95 Program Setup -240.00 -270.00 30.00 Public Relations -97.10 -150.00 52.90

Luncheon Expense Bar-B-Que 0.00 0.00 0.00 Christmas 0.00 0.00 0.00 Monthly -4,010.27 -3,900.00 -110.27

Memorial/Gifts/Contributions -124.35 0.00 -124.35 Office Supplies -104.83 -150.00 45.17 Rental-Meeting Hall 0.00 -90.00 90.00 Web Site Expense -82.35 -250.00 167.65 Stipends Luncheon Admin. -450.00 -450.00 0.00 Programs -390.00 -600.00 210.00 Treasurer's -1,050.00 -1,050.00 0.00 Trend Editor -525.00 -525.00 0.00

Trend Cost Postage -2,530.00 -3,000.00 470.00 Printing -3,877.08 -3,900.00 22.92

Misc. -166.54 0.00 -166.54

Total Expense -16,273.11 -19,275.00 3,001.89

Net Income/Loss 10,528.95 3,384.00 7,144.95

REOKC Six Months Actual VS Budget FY 2004

Retired Employees of Kern County PRST-ST P.O. Box 3022 U.S. POSTAGE PAID Bakersfield, CA 93385 BAKERSFIELD, CA PERMIT NO. 349

Sep/Oct Time Dated Material Official Newsletter of The Retired Employees of Kern County Inc.

October Luncheon Reservation

October 12, 2004 at Noon, Southwest Veterans Hall, 1095 Wilson Road. If you wish, you may use this form to order tickets for this luncheon. Please send your check, made payable to REOKC, together with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Doris Smith, 2500 Drake, Bakersfield, CA 93301. Deadline for reservations is the Wednesday prior to the luncheon. Phone reservations are not accepted. You may cancel your reservations by calling Doris at 321-9344 prior to the deadline. Cancellations after the deadline cannot be refunded. Member’s name ($5.00)________________________ Spouse ($5.00)________________ Guest ($7.00)_________________ Total tickets_____ Amount enclosed $_____________

September Luncheon Reservation

September 14, 2004 at Noon, Southwest Veterans Hall, 1095 Wilson Road. If you wish, you may use this form to order tickets for this luncheon. Please send your check, made payable to REOKC, together with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Doris Smith, 2500 Drake, Bakersfield, CA 93301. Deadline for reservations is the Wednesday prior to the luncheon. Phone reservations are not accepted. You may cancel your reservations by calling Doris at 321-9344 prior to the deadline. Cancellations after the deadline cannot be refunded. Member’s name ($5.00)________________________ Spouse ($5.00)________________ Guest ($7.00)_________________ Total tickets_____ Amount enclosed $_____________