The Foreign Service Journal, February 2010

ctress Bette Davis famously observed that “Old age is no place for sissies!” When the Journal focused on the topic of “Life and Work after the Foreign Service” four years ago (January 2006), Bonnie Brown — AFSA’s retiree coordinator since 2002 — used that apt quote for her article leading off our coverage. Though Ms. Davis had no experience as a federal employee, she could well have been speaking for the many Foreign Service retirees (and their survivors) seeking to obtain the benefits they are entitled to — be they annuities, Social Security or health coverage. While most AFSA members do not encounter major problems in that regard, others find themselves in situ- ations they never anticipated, dealing with impenetrable regulations and unresponsive bureaucracies. For example, some retirees are blindsided by newly in- creased Medicare B premiums based on income level or by a reduction in their Social Security benefits because of theWindfall Elimination Provision. Andmany retirees face a 25-percent jump in their Federal Long-Term Care pre- miums — in what was supposed to be an infla- tion-protected plan. Then there is uncertainty about the potential effects of health care reform on the future of the Federal Employees Health Bene- fits Program and Medicare. Meanwhile, survivors often find the process of securing their annuities time-consuming and frustrating. And some retirees and surviving spouses are shut off fromneces- sary information and assis- tance because they do not know how to use the Internet or thread their way through the labyrinth of automated phone systems. While AFSA cannot solve all these problems, we can help in several ways. Information and Advocacy First, AFSA offers general information, advice and as- sistance to FS retirees — as well as those preparing to leave the Foreign Service. In fact, it is our hope that this month’s coverage will be particularly useful and interesting to those of you who are still in the planning stages of the transition. F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 17 F O C U S O N L I F E & W O R K A F T E R T H E F S Y ES , V IRGINIA , THERE IS LIFE ( AND WORK ) AFTER THE F OREIGN S ERVICE . B Y S TEVEN A LAN H ONLEY A Steven Alan Honley was a Foreign Service officer from 1985 to 1997, serving in Mexico City, Wellington and Washington, D.C. He has been editor of the Foreign Serv- ice Journal since 2001. E XPLORING N EW W ORLDS : E DITOR ’ S I NTRODUCTION