The Foreign Service Journal, April 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2014 47 Retirement Begins Before Retirement Retirement planning may not be a priority for new or mid-career Foreign Service employees, but it should be. With life expectancy increas- ing, more retirees will spend more years, perhaps even decades, in post-Foreign Service mode. Therefore, “be prepared” is a slogan everyone should be thinking of when it comes to retire- ment. Think about the following questions: Are you prepared financially? Do you have life, long-term care and health insurance? Will you need to work or do you hope to lay back? And when is the best time for you to retire? For those of us who entered the Foreign Service before retirement planning was widely available, it is never too late to learn more about the topic, especially financial and estate plan- ning. The Foreign Service Institute’s Career Transi- tion Center offers a variet y of short courses covering these topics, as well as other retirement-related subjects. Delivered six times a year, the four-day Retirement Planning Seminar (RV 101) is open to any employee within 10 years of retirement eligibil- ity. The seminar includes sessions on the psychology of transition, annuities and benefits, Medicare, estate planning and marketing your- self after 50. If your time is tight, consider enrolling for two, one-day sessions embed- ded within RV 101: Financial Management & Estate Plan- ning (RV 103) and Annuities, Benefits & Social Security (RV 104). Foreign Service members with more than 10 years before retirement should consider taking CTC’s two- day Mid-Career Retirement Planning Seminar (RV 105). Delivered four times a year, this course covers financial planning, the Thrift Savings Plan, the federal long-term care insurance program, understanding annuities and benefits, and estate planning. The course was created in response to participant feed- back after taking RV 101 and the Job Search Program—“I wish I had known this earlier.” USAID Seeks FSO Alumni of the National War College USAID is seeking former USAID Foreign Service officers who are also National War College alumni for a memorial the agency is developing to commemorate 50 years of USAID graduates. As part of this effort, we hope to collect images and conduct an oral history project to learn more about your experiences and how your education at NWC affected your USAID career. If you would like to be involved, please contact Samantha Novick at snovick@usaid.gov or (202) 712-4034.  NEWS BRIEF AFSA Annual Report 2013 Is Out The 2013 report is available online at www.afsa. org/annualreport. A hard copy has been sent to all retired members. Copies are also available on request. E-mail member@afsa.org The report details AFSA’s 2013 activities, ranging from strategic planning to events. AFSA President Bob Silverman pens the introductory passage, followed by contributions from all constituency vice presidents, as well as AFSA’s professional staff. For the first time, the report is published as a stand-alone document. It is focused on member services and our 90th anniversary. We hope you will take the opportunity to peruse the report. NEWS BRIEF Think about the following questions: Are you prepared financially? Do you have life, long-term care and health insurance? Will you need to work or do you hope to lay back? And when is the best time for you to retire? At present, State Depart- ment FS employee orienta- tion includes references to financial and retirement planning. But new employees embarking on a long career may neither fully appreciate, nor adequately absorb, these lessons. In my opinion, they should be emphasized even more during orientation. Every Foreign Ser- vice employee—whether approaching retirement, at mid-career or just beginning their career—should take advantage of these courses. While most employees at FSI are there to learn a foreign language, or a new technical skill, or to gain knowledge of the country in which they will be working, setting up a sound financial plan early in your career will benefit you for the rest of your life. If you think of it that way, you will be glad you took the training. n Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA Retiree VP. Contact: lawrencecohenassociates@hotmail.com or (703) 437-7881 RETIREE VP VOICE | BY LARRY COHEN AFSA NEWS