The Foreign Service Journal, March 2023

AFSA NEWS 56 MARCH 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA Webinar Reviewing Your Retirement Plan In the last webinar of 2022 in AFSA’s federal benefits series, held on Dec. 1, 2022, Retiree Vice President John Naland led members through a range of issues that may affect retirement planning. Topics covered included: reviewing and updating your annuity records, keeping ben- eficiary designations current, what your survivors need to know, the importance of reviewing your Thrift Savings Plan allocations, when to take Social Security, whether to sign up for Medicare Part B, federal reemployment rules, and other pertinent issues. Naland reminded mem- bers to review their retire- ment plan every couple of years and to conduct thorough due diligence. “In retirement benefits, what you don’t know can hurt you,” he told the audience. “It’s a good idea to review your retirement plan every few years because things do change.” New Oral History Project Highlights Family Members Associates of the Ameri- can Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) has developed a new project, FS Clips, to capture oral histories of those best acquainted with the Foreign Service lifestyle: family members. Launched in December 2022 with the support of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, FS Clips records and shares the worldwide experiences of this central segment of the Foreign Service community. The interviews, published at www.aafsw.org/fs-clips , touch on topics such as foreign-born spouses, Third Culture Kids, eligible family member (EFM) careers, LGBTQI issues, and singles in the Foreign Service. The collection stands out as an important complement to the Foreign Affairs Oral History Program of the Associa- tion for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST), which tends to highlight the work of foreign affairs practitioners themselves, rather than the struggles and triumphs of the family members who accompany them across the globe. With this new series, AAFSW hopes to offer personal and professional insights from the broader Foreign Service community. As Third Culture Kid Layla Murphy says in her FS Clips interview, “To be able to connect to other people over this lifestyle that is sometimes really isolating—that’s important. I would encourage people to seek out others who’ve had similar experiences.” n Holiday Wreath-Laying Ceremony at State On Dec. 12, 2022, Under Secretary for Management John Bass (left) hosted an informal wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial plaques in the C Street lobby of the State Department. The plaques contain the names of those members of the Foreign Service who died in the line of duty. AFSA President Eric Rubin (right) and members of the AFSA Governing Board were honored to attend and pay their respects. AFSA/TOMYAZDGERDI Naland also encouraged retirees to keep up their AFSA membership, not only to remain connected to other members, but also to stay abreast of changes affecting their retirement and to ben- efit from AFSA’s advocacy efforts to protect Foreign Service retiree pensions. “After the new Congress takes office in January, some lawmakers may start filing bills to cut retirement benefits,” Naland pointed out. “These benefits can be a target for cutbacks, as the federal government pays for two thirds of our Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) premiums. Having that contribution reduced would impact [retirement] planning.” Members can view the video recording at www.afsa. org/videos; or visit AFSA’s one-stop shop for retirement at www.afsa.org/retirement- services, which offers exten- sive resources for retirees. n