retired employees of san bernardino county the only … · 2020-03-23 · prime time volume 38,...
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PRIME TIME Volume 38, Number 6 March 2020 [email protected]
RETIRED EMPLOYEES OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
The only officially recognized organization representing SB County Retirees
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN by Deborah Barmack
RESBC has been enlisting a lot of new members these past few months. I want to wel-come all our new members and suggest that you become actively involved in our organi-zation. We are here to keep you abreast of issues effecting your retirement funds, to pro-vide helpful information for re-tirees, and to provide you with opportunities to keep in touch with friends made during your tenure in the public sector. In the next few months, RESBC will be offering some different types of events that
are designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of our mem-bers, both new and seasoned. Our normal meetings have in-cluded holiday and social luncheons, as well as informa-tional meetings on issues criti-cal to retirees; i.e., Medicare, insurance options, invest-ments, and other helpful top-ics. But, in the coming months, we’ll be shaking things up a bit. In June, we will be electing of-ficers for the coming two years, and we want to have a lot of our members in atten-dance. So, what better place to do that than at a baseball game! That’s right, we’ll be taking you out to the ball game at the Quakes Stadium in Ran-cho Cucamonga where they will be playing the Inland Em-pire 66ers of San Bernardino. We will start with an “all you can eat” pulled pork, chicken, and macaroni and cheese buf-fet in the covered picnic area, followed by our own section in the stadium to watch our rival County teams square off. It will be a fun night to visit with friends, as we bring our June event to the West End of San Bernardino County. Coming right up in April, RESBC is planning a casino night at the American Legion
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QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS REGARDING MEMBERSHIP OR ADDRESS CHANGES, PLEASE CONTACT: Doug Brogdon Membership Chair [email protected] 909-725-7055
PLEASE JOIN US!
Monday April 27, 2020
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
CASINO AND GAMING NIGHT!
American Legion
Post 106 814 West Colton Ave.
Redlands
Please find reservation form
and additional
information on Page 9
HOPE TO SEE YOU
THERE!
RESBC Officers — 2018-2020 Deborah Barmack, President
Virginia Adams
A.B. Brand
Argie Brogdon
Doug Brogdon
BJ Cruz
Wes McDaniel
John Michaelson
Rhett Rehage
Vicki Watson
Hall in Redlands. It will also be an evening event, offering blackjack, a roulette table, and craps, along with a taco bar to satisfy your appetite. The no-host bar will be serving up your favorite spirits and specialty cocktails. And, you’ll be excited to see our grand prize for the evening. You won’t want to miss this evening of tacos and tequila! So, call your friends and bring a guest! Come out for our eve-ning events as we turn our Spring meetings into fun out-ings. Look for registration de-tails on Page 9 in this edition of PRIME TIME!
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“A friend is someone who helps you up when you’re down, and if they can’t, they lay down beside you and listen.”
~~Winnie the Pooh
Editor’s Note:
If you have recently joined RESBC and do not see your name, please keep watching. There is a time lapse between when you submit your payroll deduction paperwork and when we are notified you have joined us. If you don’t see your name after two months, please let us know.
Questions/Comments for the RESBC Board?
The RESBC Board is always interested in hearing from members. Please do not hesi-tate to contact us with ques-tions, or share comments with the board. Should a question/answer be one helpful to all members, we will share them in future issues of PRIME TIME.
Contact information may be found on the back page of each and every issue of PRIME TIME.
We look forward to hearing from you!
BEYOND RETIREMENT (through January 19, 2020)
Roy Bader Thomas G. Barnes Richard Bathurst
Margaret Bierschbach Cynthia H. Burgraff
Rodney Conder Douglas A. Crawford
Frederick Eckley Elizabeth Fielding
David Harps Bruce Howard
Jerry Jones Joan Landry Doris Lautz
Ronald Morden Lawrence Noelker
Dorothy Ortiz William F. Rahn
Harold Roberts, II Jane Smith Frank Tate
Larry Templeman Donna Whitsell Stanley Wisdom
Sharon Zelle
Sunday, March 8, 2020
PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 2
Those we love don’t go away. They walk be-side us everyday. Un-seen, unheard, but al-ways near. Still loved, still missed, and very dear.
RESBC has an email address:
Please do not hesitate to
contact us. We would like to hear from you!
SYMPATHY CARDS are sent
to families of our members whenever we are notified of a death. GET WELL CARDS are also sent to our members who are experiencing health prob-lems. Please call Argie Brogdon at 909-864-0793, or email her at [email protected] if you know of someone who would be cheered by receiving a card from RESBC.
COLA News by Dawn Stafford
Retirement Board of Trustees Elected by Retirees
Tax season can make April a month to be feared, but there is one bright spot to look forward to: a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to your monthly SBCERA benefits. The COLA is a vested compounding bene-fit, but since the amount of the COLA depends on the regional Consumer Price Index (CPI), it often varies from year to year. At its February 6 meeting, the SBCERA Board of Retirement approved a staff recommenda-tion to grant a 2020 retiree cost-of-living adjustment of 2% effec-tive April 1, 2020, and to add 1% to each retiree’s accumu-lated COLA bank. SBCERA members and eligible benefici-aries who have a benefit effec-tive date on or before April 1, 2020 should see the COLA “bump” beginning in their April 30, 2020 benefit payment. Not sure what a COLA “bank” is? It’s a mechanism that is used to smooth out the annual changes that take place in the cost-of-living. The SBCERA COLA is driven by changes in the regional Consumer Price Index calculated by the govern-ment, but the associated benefit increase is capped at 2% per year. If the CPI change is higher than 2%, then the “extra” goes into the COLA bank for use in a future year when the CPI change is less than 2%. For example, if one year has a 4% CPI increase and the next year sees no change in the CPI, the bank allows SBCERA to
provide a COLA of 2% for both years. If the annual CPI index is nega-tive and the accumulated or “banked” amount is already negative or zero, your monthly benefit does not go down but the negative CPI figure will be accumulated or “banked” and offset against positive increases in the CPI in future years. In this situation, the retired mem-ber would not receive a COLA in the current year and would not receive a COLA in future years until their accumulated or “banked” balance is positive. The current amount in a mem-ber’s COLA bank depends on the member's retirement date. A table showing the COLA bank amounts based on the year an employee retired can be found on SBCERA’s website. The 2% SBCERA COLA was created on June 6, 1983, when the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors adopted California Government Code (GC) section 31874 and imple-mented an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for every SBCERA retirement allowance, optional death allowance, or an-nual death allowance, not to ex-ceed 2% per year in accor-dance with GC section 31870. Government Code (GC) section 31870 requires the cost-of-living adjustment be calculated by rounding, to the nearest one-half percent, the percentage of annual increase or decrease in the cost-of-living as of January 1 each year, as shown by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Con-sumer Price Index of All Urban
PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 3
Consumers (CPI) for the Riv-erside-San Bernardino-Ontario area. The resulting COLA is provided at a maximum of 2% per year. Segal Consulting, SBCERA’s independent actuary, has de-termined the CPI change in accordance with section 31870 to be 3% as of January 1, 2020. The COLA is calculated by comparing the region’s value for the past two November CPI indexes. The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area index began December 2018 and is measured at each odd month. The value of the index was 106.573 in 2019 and 103.616 in 2018. GC section 31870 indicates that the resulting per-centage change of 2.85% should be rounded to the near-est one-half percent, which is 3%. So starting April 1, your bene-fits will increase by 2% and 1% will be added to your COLA bank for use in a future year. Finally, something be-sides the tax deadline to look forward to in April!
ADVENTURES
IN RETIREMENT
by Anne C. Birge
Hi! I’m Anne C. Birge, a retired DA Investigator. After living through hot Palm Desert, CA sand storms, Ray and I fled to Lincoln, CA, a 55+ community. Lincoln sits near the Feather, Yuba, Sacramento and American Rivers and many wetlands, brooks and ponds. It’s adjacent to the Gold Country and two hours from Tahoe, the Bay area and the Napa Valley. Spring brings wildflowers; summer - ripened wild figs and blackberries. Deer, wild turkeys, Pere-grine Falcons, Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks, owls and many other critters abound. We’ve had a Gray Fox vixen and her kit in our backyard. The resident population of Canadian geese and their goslings, parade on the golf courses. Best of all, we’re in the middle of the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds from the Arctic, Alaska, Canada and the northwest U.S! NorCal has over 925,000 acres of rice fields. Instead of burning the stubble after the Oct-Nov har-vest, as before, the fields are flooded to attract the millions of Canadian geese, Snow geese, Swans, Sand Hill Cranes and many other migratory birds. They rest and forage in the fields and numerous wildlife refuges. Then, fly as far south as Patagonia, to breed or winter. When our annual winged Christmas present arrives soon, we’ll hear the barking Snow Geese and their honking Canadian cousins. Then, we’ll witness thousands of birds explode as one, as they take wing to their new destination. Luckily, along with a new home, we invested in new binoculars!
PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 4
CASINOS AND QUAKES by Wes McDaniel, Past President, RESBC
RESBC members will remember the boring old days when we held repetitive monthly general meet-ings at the Employees Association building in downtown San Bernardino, with a speaker or program plus refreshments (now, that wasn’t too bad!) and a book fair. Then a couple of years ago (when the Teamsters took over and we got bounced!) we announced a bright new day, where we would move around the County and try to offer a broader array of offer-ings. And, we’ve been doing pretty well with that, and a rising attendance. But, now we’re going to go one better, as witness:
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April 27 – Casino Night at the American Legion in Redlands followed by …. June 29 – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes vs San Bernardino 66ers baseball game (preceded by
picnic dinner/meeting) in Rancho It’s also our biannual election time, so this gives us a chance to present the new slate of officers and any Bylaws changes to the membership in April (you can bet on it!) and hold the actual approval while quaking in June! So, sign up for Casino Night in this edition of PRIME TIME, and watch for more information about the baseball night in the next edition.
Dianna M. Caudillo Adriane Yvette Chaney
Amy Chartier Bonnie C. Chastain Raquel L. Chavira
Penny B. Chua Claire A. Ciresa
Rosemary Cisneros Carol Clark
Phyllis A. Clark Janice L. Clayton
Betsy H. Cline Heidi L. Coalter
Ronald E. Cochran Todd B. Cole
Christopher Collom Joy Colly
Debbie G. Cooper James Coronado Diane L. Corral Michael Crane Jolyn Creager
Cynthia Curbow Patrick Dailey Maria A. Davis
Marlene D. Davis Rudy De Los Santos
Peter Deeley Rosa M. Diaz
Dean Dickover Larry S. Dietz Jerry A. Diffee
Marilyn J. Dixon Kristie Dougan
Lee Ann Drouault Jennifer A. Dudzinski
Carol A. Ellis Carl Elser
PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 5
NEW MEMBERS (through January 31, 2020)
Sam Ndu Achor Edsel C. Adkins
Nancy E. Alexander Cheryl Allen
Patricia A. Annema Lonnie D. Bailey Sandra L. Bailey
Darlene F. Barker Flordeliza Barrett Edna R. Beach
Russell E. Bennett Mark R. Bergthold Daniel C. Biehler
Larry D. Bird Marlene Bixenman
Jo Lynn Blanke Joseph Bodnar, III
Jeneen Bol Deborah J. Brooks
Deborah Brown Jan K. Brown Kim E. Brown Patty Brown
Randolph Brown Cynthia R. Brownell
Paul Bulluck Terry L. Burden Kevin W. Burke Gary C. Burton
Gary Bush Cathy L. Butler
Rod Butler Teodulo P. Cabel Bobby Caldera
Yolanda Campos June M. Card
Donna S. Estes Diane L. Ewing
William R. Fawke Janice Fitzsimmons
Jayne Flaherty Elaine Fleming
Sandra S. Fossler Elizabeth A. Foster
Maxine Foster Paul R. Franklin
Carmen S. Funches Jacqueline Gaines
Peggy A. Gallo Estella Garcia
Thelma M. Garibaldi Noe R. Garnica John M. Ginter
Audry Gonsalvez Raulinda Gonzales
Janet Gordon Lora A. Goritz
Kathleen Gotch Susan L. Hall
Patricia Hamilton Martha E. Hancock
Linda Hanley Jean E. Hargrove Lorraine M. Harris Ronald T. Harvey
Michael Hays Aida Hennings William Hess
Kathleen R. Hilliard Delores Maxine Hollaert
William. L. Holloway Samuel D. Hudspeth Diana Sue Jay-Moran Timothy L. Johnson
William Joseph Johnson
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Christa V. Keach Joy Keen
Barbara L. Kiley Linda King
William R. Kirk Lorrie Koahou
Henryk S. Koltunczyk Marilyn Krichbaum Chiang Kuo-Lung
Tina Tomaso Kundig Maria Kyle
William La Haye Aleta J. Laurence
Patricia Leary Sandra G. Lemus Fred E. Lettice, III Debora K. Leuer Kathleen Liddle
Tzeng-Shwu Lieu Ralph H. Lind Paul A. Lopez
Pamela J. Lundgren Debra L. Lunt
John W. Luther Scott D. Mackie
William F. Maddox Patricia Maitre
Katherine Marshall Donald G. Martin
Laura Seasholtz Martinez Sylvia Martinez
Timothy Masters Everett R. McClellan Craig L. McConnell Jacklyn A. McKee
Julia McMath Shizue McNay
Sandra M. Medina Berend Meelker Lana G. Miller Mark M. Miller Viola Millner
Lynette A. Moore Kathey D. Monson Michael R. Moore Roscoe R. Moore
Donna Mueller Rebecca Najar Anna M. Najera George A. Nash
Tommie Neal
Jack W. Nye Samuel Ocasio
George A. Olivares Joseph N. Oliver Christine Owens
Jonathan D. Pacewiczh Deana Pallante Kirby D. Palmer
Sofia Perez Larry Perkins Patrick Petre
Rhonda F. Philson Sandra V. Piva Marco A. Polo
Ana Ponce Glen E. Porter
Eddie L. Powell Edward M. Powell
Donna Pugh Carlos M. Quezeda Joseph J. Quinones
Barbara Radle James P. Ralston Judith A. Ranard Barbara Redding Clarissa Redsar
Diana Sheila Richard Rosemary Richter Cynthia Ricordati
Roberta Rios Mahury Roach
Prea Robinson-Eshenbrenner Christobal Rodriguez-Torres
Anna M. Roque Don R. Roquerre
Lori A. Ryan Gerald Sandoval
Carolyn J. Santiago James K. Schooley
Renee Scott Kathleen Sellers
John Shahan Leslie B. Shambaugh
Mary Shearer Margret Sheats
Steven A. Sillings Beverly J. Smith
Stephanie Snyder Gary L. Stater
Carol M. Stevenson
Glenda F. Stewart Mary A. Stoever
Patricia Studdard George Sweikis
John B. Swenson Richard W. Swigart
Marcia Taack Pilar R. Taylor
Maria Elena Thompson Selena M. Thornhill-Moody
Brad S. Toms Donald W. Trapp John T. Turner Doreen Vara
Bernardo Vargas Maria De Jesus Vargas
Jose Velasco Donna Venardos Aurora A. Ventura Donna S. Waddell
Walter R. Ware Sheila D. Watkins Vicki L. Watson Dennis L. West
Renee N. Wetzel Bonnie White
Alyson M. Williams Regina A. Williams
Dorothy E. Wolf Samuel H. Woody, III
Russell Woolston Tonia Star Wright
Johnna Wyant Frederick Zamora
PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 6
“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as painful as
staying stuck some-where you don’t belong.”
~~author unknown
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BENEFIT BITS by John Michaelson
COLA Approved The Board of Retirement ap-proved a 2% COLA for all who retired prior to April 1, 2020. You will see the increase in the check you receive the end of April this year. The computa-tion of the COLA is set in state law, so the Retirement Board has little discretion other than to grant what the formula allows. The Board cannot grant more than the 2% even if the Cost of Lliving goes higher than 2%. If it does go higher than the 2%, the amount above the COLA is added to your COLA Bank. If the formula goes below 2%, the difference will be taken from your COLA Bank, providing you have enough in your bank. The local Consumer Price In-dex, or CPI, that the law re-quires be used was 2.8%. The law also requires it be rounded to the nearest ½ of a percent, or in this case 3%. So, the differ-
ence between the 2% you will get and the rounded CPI of 1% will be added to your COLA Bank. For more detail on the COLA and the COLA Bank go to the SBCERA website, which is, www.sbcera.org. On the web-site there should be a short arti-cle on the COLA with more be-hind it. For a chart that shows your COLA Bank balance go to COLA Frequently Asked Ques-tions and go down past the first chart to about the third page and look at the column for the year you retired and then across to the far right to see the amount in your Bank. On my computer it insisted on downloading this information, but on my wife’s, it opened right up. CAFR (Comprehensive Finan-cial Report)
Did you know that our Retire-ment System annually produces a very detailed report (just un-der 130 pages). If you are into
PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 7
digging in the financial weeds, this report will do that. Did you know there are a little over 40,000 members of our system, counting retirees and current employees in 18 different agen-cies? The document includes reports on employer and employee con-tributions, Administrative ex-penses, investment expenses and more. Want to find out the average retirement monthly pay-out to retirees? It’s there. To find the report go to www.sbcera.org and towards the upper right type in the ‘find ‘ box CAFR 2019. Then click on CAFR 2019. Then it should download the full report to your computer. The average monthly retirement check in our system last year was $3,571.
Questions or comments to [email protected] or cell 909-821-2279.
Save The Date! Monday, June 29, 2020
Quake Stadium 6:00 PM BBQ 7:00 PM Game
$28 All You can eat buffet (pulled pork, chicken, mac & cheese, cookies, soda)
$10 Game Ticket Only
More Information in next issue of PRIME TIME!
Quakes vs. 66ers
QUESTIONS FOR THE BOARD OF RETIREMENT?
Any questions you may have concerning your pension, or re-tirement, must be answered by SBCERA (Retirement Board). Please call 909-885-7980, or toll free 877-722-3721. There is also information on the SBCERA website: www.sbcera.org
Address is: 348 W. Hospitality Lane, 3rd Floor, San Bernar-dino, CA 92415-0014.
There are always many things to do when you move to a new address. One of the most im-portant is to let the Retirement Board know your new address so you won’t miss receiving your pension check. On their change of address form is a place for you to sign that au-thorizes them to release your new address to RESBC. It would also be wise to send RESBC a letter, or postcard, telling us directly that you have moved. Mail changes to: RESBC, PO Box 2323, San Bernardino, CA 92406-2323.
PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 8
TREASURER’S REPORT January 2020
January 1, 2020 Balance 131,351.94
REVENUES Dues 6,571.35 Luncheon reservations 165.00 Interest 26.83 TOTAL REVENUES 6,763.18
EXPENDITURES Recruitment 99.13 Administration Supplies and stationery 37.68 CRCEA Dues and fees 3,548.80 Newsletter Printing 5,819.92 Postage 2,559.76 TOTAL EXPENDITURES 12,065.29
January 31, 2020 Balance 126,049.83
PERB Designation Balance 85,025.12 Checking Account 6,219.41 Savings Account 38,783.93 CDs 80,956.95 Petty Cash Fund 89.54 Total 126,049.83
A.B. Brand Treasurer
Membership 6,571
Hi Cap is a non profit organiza-tion that will assist seniors in deciding which supplemental insurance is best for them to add to Medicare benefits. The phone number is: 800-434-0222
“Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.”
~~George S. Patton
PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 9
General Information Location
Monday, April 27, 2020 American Legion Post 106
6:00 pm to 10:00 pm 814 West Colton Avenue, Redlands
$35 per RESBC Member $38 per RESBC Guest
Your evening will include: Gaming Tables Raffle Prizes Full Taco Bar (chicken, carne asada, pork, beans,
rice, salsa, chips) Cash Bar A Whole Lot of Fun!!!
Seating is limited. RSVP as soon as possible via email [email protected] or
Via text to (909) 633-0812
Mail form and check payable to RESBC to
RESBC P.O. Box 2323 San Bernardino, CA 92406-2323
RESERVATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020
RESBC Name & Department
RESBC Member Email Address Phone
Guest Name
RETIRED EMPLOYEES OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
P.O. BOX 2323 SAN BERNARDINO CA 92406-2323
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
DATED MATERIAL
PRIME TIME is published monthly from September through June (with a combined December/January is-sue) by Retired Employees of San Bernardino County, P.O. Box 2323, San Bernardino, CA 92406-2323. Email: [email protected]
Please send changes of address to the address above.
Monthly dues are paid by payroll de-duction only. For information and/or a payroll deduction form, please con-tact Doug Brogdon, Membership Chair [email protected]; 909-725-7055
PRIME TIME membership/mailing list
Contact: Doug Brogdon at: [email protected] 909-725-7055
Deborah Barmack President, RESBC [email protected] 909-223-7831
Virginia Adams Editor, PRIME TIME 909-790-7199; [email protected]
NOTICE: The information pre-sented in PRIME TIME is believed to be from reliable sources. How-ever, no responsibility is assumed by RESBC, the Editor, or the writ-ers, for inaccuracies in articles published.
Spouses of deceased RESBC Members are eligible to become Associate Members of RESBC. If you would like more information, please contact our Membership Chair, Doug Brogdon, by writing to P.O. Box 2323, San Bernardino, CA 92406-2323, or via email: [email protected]
Privacy Statement: RESBC is very aware of the need for the privacy of its members and is committed to protecting your per-sonal information. The only infor-mation RESBC has about you is your name, mailing address, and payment of membership dues. RESBC does not sell or share our member list. RESBC does not dis-close any of this information about our members to third parties. The companies with which RESBC does business, such as LFG Solu-tions (for mailing PRIME TIME) and P a c i f i c G r o u p A g e n c i e s (supplemental insurance) are obli-gated to keep your information con-fidential.
RESBC MISSION STATEMENT
As a voluntary non-profit associa-tion, the singular goal of the RE-TIRED EMPLOYEES OF SAN B E R N A R D I N O C O U N T Y (RESBC) is to support and cher-ish the obvious need to maintain and improve our quality of life during retirement. The focal points of RESBC are to: keep its members informed and knowl-edgeable about retiree issues and concerns; provide programs and information on topics that will give members insight into the challenges affecting seniors; and focus on benefits retirees have earned, and, in the process, fos-ter friendship and positive rela-tionships among all retirees.