The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2014

84 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2014 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Ed urges you to visit www. socialsecurity.gov, where you can create a “My Social Security” account and get access to the retirement estimator. This tool will tell you what your benefit will be in current dollar amounts at age 62, at FRA and at age 70. He encourages you to do this every year. Ed also suggests that you check your earnings history to make sure the amounts are correct. The SSA gets your information from your employer and your W-2, but since errors may occur, check to be sure all of the wages are correct on your Social Security statement. The audience came with an abundance of questions and Ed was happy to stay well past the scheduled two hours. The video of the presentation is available for viewing at www.afsa.org/ AFSAvideos.aspx (it is thr ee hours long). The PowerPoint slides and outline used during the seminar are also available on our website at www.afsa.org/retiree. Ed is the owner of EZ Accounting and Financial Services, an accounting and financial services firm in Sil- ver Spring, Md. He has writ- ten several publications for the Federal Employees News Digest and is the moderator of FEND’s popular Federal Soup Question and Answer Forum. He spends most of his time teaching employees about retirement planning. You can reach Ed by visiting www.federalsoup.com or www.myfederalretirement. com. n Soc. Sec. continued from page 59 Omar Sykes Scholarship AFSA is collecting tax-deductible contributions in memory of Omar Sykes, the son of Adam Sykes and Foreign Service officer Sherry Sykes. Omar was killed on July 4, 2013. The AFSA Scholarship Fund established an undergraduate financial aid scholarship in his name to benefit a child of a Foreign Service employee attending an Historically Black College or University. Contributions can be made on AFSA’s website at www.afsa.org/sykes or by sending a check payable to the “AFSA Scholarship Fund” (writing “Omar Sykes” in the memo field) to the American Foreign Service Association Scholarship Program, 2101 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037. For additional information, please contact AFSA Scholarship Director Lori Dec, at (202) 944-5504 or dec@afsa.org. NEWS BRIEF AFSA Welcomes New Staff Member John Long AFSA welcomes John Long as our new labor management counselor, working out of our office at the Department of State. John was a member of the Foreign Service for 21 years and served in Washington, Guangzhou, New York, Tokyo and Geneva. He also held a Civil Service appointment at State after his retirement from the FS. He worked in that capacity in the Director General’s office and on the professional staff of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. John can be reached at LongJD@ state.gov or (202) 647-8160. NEWS BRIEF On Dec. 16, AFSA Governing Board members, staff, friends and family enjoy the association’s annual holiday party. Above: Neera Parikh’s daughter, Neera Parikh and Raeka Safai. Left: Shawn Dorman, Susan Maitra, Kristen Fernekes, Jody Billert and Steve Morrison. PHOTOSBYASGEIRSIGFUSSON