The Foreign Service Journal, May 2005

M A Y 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 7 Retirement Goes Online The March issue of the Foreign Service Journal carried two articles about the State Department’s retire- ment system. Keying off of recent overpayment cases, AFSA President John Limbert and Retiree Activities Coordinator Bonnie Brown wrote that the larger goal is “a decent and dignified retirement” and “a retire- ment system that works for, rather than harasses, its retirees.” I am in complete agreement with AFSA on these goals and we are hard at work to realize them. I welcome AFSA’s putting a spotlight on a key matter that is of concern to all of us who will eventually share in the department’s pension systems. Serious work is under way to upgrade the State Department’s retirement office (HR/RET) and retirement payroll system (RM/GC/ RAD). The results of our efforts will be seen over the coming months by all department employees. On April 4 we launched a new electronic Per- sonal Statement of Benefits (PSOB OnLine). This new “always-on” appli- cation is key to realizing the informed partnership between individual employees and State that will result in the kind of retirement that AFSA and the department both envisage. As AFSA President Limbert notes, employees and the department have equal roles to play in ensuring a smooth retirement process. Making sure that your Official Personnel File is accurate is a first step; this includes addressing all Prior Service Credit matters well before you apply to retire. PSOB OnLine will put all your data on your desktop. On May 6 we will launch www.RNet.state.gov. O ver the next year, the Retirement Network Web site will become the primary vehicle for retirees and the department to stay in touch. RNet is being designed as the vehicle for bringing into exis- tence a real department alumni net- work. RNet will deliver a range of services to retirees and employees preparing to retire. This July, RNet will open a new login/password account to each and every annuitant and for State Department employees preparing to retire. Later this summer, for the first time, retirees will receive not just annuity pay statements, but will get them electronically. Seeing regular pay statements, rather than bank deposit line items, is one solution to the overpayment cases. While extremely small in number (less than 1 percent out of 15,000 annuity recip- ients), each case has been a personal and financial issue for the retirees involved. Systems are being put into place to enhance the department’s ability to coordinate the Social Security component of some annui- tants’ retirement pay. This will become even more critical as the number of employees retiring under the FSPS plan increases in the com- ing years. Next to IRS income tax rules, Social Security and retirement rank as among the most complex U.S. laws and regulations. Which brings me to the process of retirement. I fully endorsed and cleared on the “Retirement Rights and Responsibilities” published with the President’s Views column. I want to assure AFSA members and all Department Civil Service and Foreign Service employees that the Bureaus of Human Resources and Resource Management are doing our utmost to ensure they will get a first-class retire- ment program. In addition, Foreign Service personnel should know that our $15-billion Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund is actuarially sound. The key to both Fund solvency and our retirement program goals is good management and personal responsibility. I appreci- ate AFSA’s recognition and endorse- ment of the changes that are now under way. David B. Dlouhy Administrator, Foreign Service Retirement and Disability Fund Director, Office of Retirement Celebrate Principled Dissent On behalf of my family, I want to thank Mr. Douglas Kerr for his thoughtful and moving “Appreciation” of Archer K. Blood in the December 2004 issue. My father was, I believe, an espe- cially elegant spokesman for the United States during the long Cold War years when the United States and the Soviet Union stood at nuclear log- gerheads while vying for the hearts L ETTERS