The Foreign Service Journal, February 2010

18 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0 Each month, AFSA Retiree Coordinator Bonnie Brown (brown@afsa.org ) assists dozens of AFSA retiree members. She researches and answers questions on a wide range of topics; puts people in touch with appropri- ate officials in the State Department and the other foreign affairs agencies; advocates on behalf of FS retirees, both individually and collectively; and works with the Senior Living Foundation to assist needy retirees. AFSA Labor Management Specialist James Yorke (yorkej@state.gov) provides similar assistance to Foreign Service employees approaching retirement. In addition, Bonnie routinely generates clear, simply written explanations of complicated annuity and retire- ment benefit regulations. These summaries are available in the Retiree Newsletter , AFSAnet e-mail messages, the retiree page of the AFSA Web site (www.afsa.org/rtvp page.cfm) and in the AFSA News section of the Journal , where Bonnie writes a regular column. AFSA’s goal is to provide all members, retired and ac- tive-duty, with information that will help them make in- formed decisions about benefits and financial matters. As a case in point, during each open season AFSA arranges for all members to have access to the Consumer Checkbook Guide to Health Plans via the retiree Web page. Bonnie also works with AFSA President Susan John- son and Retiree VP Bob Houdek (and retiree representa- tives Janice Bay, Bill Farrand, David Passage and Molly Williamson) to press the State Department and other for- eign affairs agencies for improved policy initiatives and re- tiree services. Recently, AFSA asked State to seek legis- lation to eliminate the salary and hours limitations on re- employment of Foreign Service annuitants so that the de- partment would be able to meet its critical personnel needs with trained and experienced individuals. And, while AFSA is generally pleased with recent improve- ments in State’s retirement services, we continue to advo- cate for even greater attention to this area, including staff training and development. Finally, Bonnie and AFSA Legislative Director Casey Frary work with other federal unions and professional associations to make the case for preserving and in- creasing retirement benefits. Recently AFSA joined in signing several letters to key members of Congress, ask- ing that participants in the Federal Employee Retire- ment System and the Foreign Service pension system be permitted to count sick leave in the calculation of their annuities and opposing health reform measures that could undercut the Federal Employee Health Ben- efit Program. Given the state of the economy, federal benefits will be a tempting area for congressional cost- cutting, so AFSA will continue to be a vigilant watchdog for its members. Many Options to Explore Turning now to the contents of this issue, it is clear that there are countless ways to approach life and work after the Foreign Service. In “Should We Move to a Senior Living Facility?” (p. 19), retired Ambassador Bill Harrop highlights the impor- tance of examining the many options early — well before one is forced to answer that question. Colleges and universities have long been a favorite destination for retirees, whether they are interested in teaching, administration or both. Retired FSO Richard Jackson draws on his decade of managing an interna- tional university in Greece in “Academia Abroad: A Log- ical Next Step” (p. 24). And retired Ambassador Tibor Nagy, now associate vice provost for international affairs at Texas Tech University, explains why educational insti- tutions in the U.S. can offer “plum” post-Foreign Serv- ice postings (p. 26). Federal employment is, of course, another option; but there are many possibilities beyond that. Retired Senior Foreign Service officer David Jones has found satisfaction in “Writing As a Second Career” (p. 29), while Ken Stam- merman is pursuing “A Passion for Archaeology” in Israel (p. 32). And Retiree Paul Vitale and his wife, Kathleen, are spending “The Third Chapter” of their lives making documentaries about endangered indigenous art forms (p. 36). Bill Lenderking explains that in retirement there is “No Simple Formula for Success” (p. 40), a perfect lead-in to a roundup of shorter commentaries (p. 43) contributed in response to our AFSAnet solicitation for members to share their hard-won insights. These thoughtful responses run the gamut from practical tips to (mostly) positive reflec- tions on how the contributors’ perspectives have changed since leaving the Foreign Service. Our issue concludes with some “Orr d’Oeuvres from ‘Deep France,’” courtesy of FS retiree Gregory Orr (p. 84). Some might quibble that a piece bearing that title should begin our coverage, but we believe this charm- ing vignette works equally well as a last word on the sub- ject. ■ F O C U S