Alumni Association Facts & Meeting

[Carl Shawver]

The HCSO Alumni Association has two classes of membership.

Regular members are people who have retired from HCSO under FRS, or are in the DROP program, regardless of whether they were sworn or civilian employees.

Associate members are family members of regular members OR former HCSO employees who did not retire from HCSO, regardless of whether they were sworn or civilian employees.

There are no dues or other charges although a one-time $10 contribution is appreciated.

The Alumni Association has quarterly meetings at which full meals, at no cost to members, are provided.

The next quarterly meeting will be held on Thursday, January 28, 2010, with dinner served at 6:00PM and the meeting at 7:00PM. If you are eligible either as a regular or associate member you are sincerely invited to attend. I urge you to come and socialize with old friends.

The dinner menu includes spaghetti & meatballs, pasta primavera, vegetables, cold cuts, assorted breads and chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. Remember, at no cost to you!

The location is J.J. Taylor Distributing meeting room, 5102 S. 16th Avenue, Tampa 33619. This is just off of 50th Street South on S. 16th Avenue.

THAT'S THIS THURSDAY. JOIN US!!!

[Average Joe]

It is a shame that you do not invite those approaching their retirement so that some of those that have been through the process can shed some light on the many options that are facing some of us. Might I make a suggestion that we might like to speak to some of you for guidance....

It is a shame that you do not invite those approaching their retirement so that some of those that have been through the process can shed some light on the many options that are facing some of us. Might I make a suggestion that we might like to speak to some of you for guidance....

Thats a great idea.....I totally agree with this idea Carl?

[Carl Shawver]

It is a shame that you do not invite those approaching their retirement so that some of those that have been through the process can shed some light on the many options that are facing some of us. Might I make a suggestion that we might like to speak to some of you for guidance....

Thats a great idea.....I totally agree with this idea Carl?

I agree such contacts would be helpful to those nearing retirement.

I'll take the suggestion to the advisory council.

Remember that you can get the basic information regarding your options from Human Resources, but I think you would also benefit greatly from hearing from retirees about the decisions they made, why they made the choices they did and the outcomes of these choices.

In my case, when DROP was created and the annuities salesmen came around I was totally indifferent to annuities but now I am almost totally invested in annuities. My investments are tied to various stock market averages around the world and I am guaranteed a minimum percentage or the average of the stock market averages, whichever is greater. This is far safer than simply being in the stock market and I am now at the age that I am risk adverse.

Also, remember that there is now an IRS provision for retired Public Safety Officers that allows up to $3000 of your income to be reported as pre-tax (nontaxable) income if it is paid directly to your health insurance company by your retirement agency if particular conditions are met. See page 25 of the IRS 1040 guide for details.

Can you be a little more specific about what kind of presentation you would like? Perhaps HR could start with an overview of the retirement options and then we could have a panel of retirees to respond to specific questions.

Perhaps we can pull something together for our next quarterly meeting.

Also, maybe some general questions could be posted here and we could get some responses from retirees.

Carl

Hey Carl did you see the article in the Tribune regarding benefits for Hillsborough County employees being cut? See my post. Mark Sharpe thinks we have a "Cadillac Plan" and wants to look into having the county try to opt out of the state pension plan.

It's now time to vote Mark Sharpe out of office in the next election, 'Nuff said !!! :devil: And if you need the police or fire rescue Mark, don't call, we're working on our Cadillac!!

[Carl Shawver]

Hey Carl did you see the article in the Tribune regarding benefits for Hillsborough County employees being cut? See my post. Mark Sharpe thinks we have a "Cadillac Plan" and wants to look into having the county try to opt out of the state pension plan.

A few years ago I served as a member of the County's Retiree's Health Benefits Committee. It was a sort of sub-committee to the County Health Benefit Committee which makes recommendations to the County Commission.

It was here that I learned that the Commission was terrified of the downturn in the economy and was very protective of our financial resources because low reserves affected the county's bond rating and ability to get low interest loans. They wanted to do anything they could to cut expenses.

It became my perception that the main committee was convinced that we retirees were the biggest expense to the health insurance program and their main effort was to find ways to convince retirees to leave the program. Once you leave the program you cannot return.

They thought that they frankly couldn't afford the premiums to support us, although state law required them to keep us in the program unless we left voluntarily.

Now apparently they want to change the retirement system for active employees -- not just HCSO, but for all county employees, as a budget cutting measure. The last communication I received from FRS said that even in this economy the FRS is solvent and strong. If I were still active duty I certainly wouldn't want to see a plan that would diminish or remove my FRS program.

Mark Sharpe, upon being told that state law requires the counties to participate in FRS, reportedly suggested that they could "talk to" state officials about letting Hillsborough County withdraw. If it's a law it would take another law to change.

Affected people might want to start a publicity campaign (letters to the other Commissioners; letters to the Tribune; letters to your congressmen, etc.) if it looks like Commissioner Sharpe's proposal sparks any interest anywhere. It's always been my belief that he is sincere in thinking that things he proposes are good for the county, but I also often don't agree with his ideas.

Incidentally, if Mr. Sharpe referred to the FRS as a Cadillac Plan he misspoke. The term is NOT applied to retirement plans it refers to the cost to the employer for health insurance plans and has specific defined monetary amounts to have the plan be considered Cadillac plans. The definition, from Forbes magazine, is "But to congressional leaders working on health care reform, the perks are not as important as cost, and legislators have defined Cadillac plans by their price tags. The goal is to fund reform and curb runaway spending by imposing an excise tax--35% or more--on total coverage worth $8,000 for an individual and $21,000 for a family (in 2013 dollars). This year, the average cost for insuring an individual and family was $4,824 and $13,375, respectively."

Best wishes to all,

Carl

[Average Joe]

I seriously doubt that those serving in Tallahassee would vote to allow an entity to drop out as that would leave a smaller pool to draw from.

I am anti union, but this would be a good reason to have one. This is something I would not trust an agency head to be looking out in my best interest.

I seriously doubt that those serving in Tallahassee would vote to allow an entity to drop out as that would leave a smaller pool to draw from.

I am anti union, but this would be a good reason to have one. This is something I would not trust an agency head to be looking out in my best interest.

This goes well beyond having a union in HCSO. It affects every county employee.

If it looks like Sharpe wants to continue down the road then every affected person and their families should mobilize against the idea. It's not too early to start the opposition with a letter to the editor of the Tribune.