The Foreign Service Journal, May 2013

56 MAY 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS Anne continued from p. 53 for Anne Smedinghoff, the talented, dedicated, poised and courageous young For- eign Service officer and AFSA member who lost her life in a terrorist attack in southern Afghanistan. Anne demon- strated enormous promise and the qualities of character and thought that we value highly in America’s diplo- mats. Our heartfelt condo- lences and prayers go to her parents and family, as well as to the families of those other brave individuals who perished or were injured.” A memorial service was organized by some of Anne’s A-100 classmates at the Foreign Service Institute on April 13. On the same day, her colleagues from Caracas gathered at AFSA headquar- RETIR E VP VOICE | BY MEG GILROY AFSA NEWS Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA Retiree VP. How many of us really paid attention to all those brief- ings on retirement benefits and forms? How many of us actually know what office to contact when an end-of-life issue arises for a spouse or parent or friend? How many of us have up-to-date wills, powers of attorney and medi- cal directives? Those of you who answered yes to those three questions should feel free to move on to another article in the Journal . But those who answered no to one or more of them might want to con- sider reading further. Entry-level profession- als are overwhelmed with information on what to do, when to do it, whom to contact and how to find all this information on their agency’s intranet. Active- duty personnel, even if on detail to another agency, can always find someone in the executive office or human resources to answer a benefits question or put you in search of someone with the answer. But once you’re retired, finding the right person to answer your ques- tions becomes a little more complicated. As an AFSA member, one of the best sources of infor- mation is found in the first 30 pages of the annual Direc- tory of Retired Members , a hard-copy manual mailed to all retiree members in good standing at the begin- ning of each calendar year. Getting What You Need And AFSA’s retiree services page (www.afsa.org/retiree) contains up-to-date informa- tion on almost every subject of possible interest or use to retired members. Beyond AFSA, the depart- ment’s Office of Retire- ment’s RNET (rnet.state. gov) provides information and guidance for current and future Foreign Service retirees, not just for State but also the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture, the U.S. Agency for Inter- national Development, the International Broadcasting Bureau and the Peace Corps. Everyone who receives their annuity check electronically should already have an ID and password to log-in for Employee Express at www. employeeexpress.gov. And the Thrift Savings Plan Web site at www.tsp.gov n ot only contains information about your TSP account, but links to the forms necessary to make a change of address or beneficiary. All of this information is incredibly useful, but when an emergency arises, it is best to have it easily acces- sible. Use it to prepare a list of offices, with phone num- bers and e-mail addresses, to contact when you have a problem with your Foreign Service annuity, an insurance issue or need to report a death. Update it once a year and e-mail it to a friend or family member. You (or they) will need it one day. n AFSA Welcomes New Advocacy Intern to the Team AFSA recently welcomed Shaye Huggins as the new advocacy intern. She joins our legislative and advocacy team, working on campaigns, legislation, grassroots efforts and stakeholder engagement strategies. In addition to her work at AFSA, Shaye is a mar- keting intern for the non-profit organization, Kids Play International, which organizes youth sports programs and funds women’s education in Africa. In July, she will travel to Rwanda to meet the children in her program. Shaye is a graduating senior at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she is a double major in global studies and Spanish. She studied at the University of Barcelona during her junior year. Shaye can be reached at laintern@afsa.org or (202) 944-5516. NEWS BRIEF ters to remember Anne and pay tribute to her. AFSA President Susan R. Johnson joined others from the department in Oak Park, Ill., at Anne’s wake on April 16, and at her funeral in River Forest, Ill., the next day. Anne's name will join seven others, including those killed in Benghazi on Sept. 11, on AFSA's Memorial Plaque at a ceremony on May 3 in the Department of State's C Street lobby. For information on dona- tions to charities in Anne’s name, the Smedinghoff family has created a Web site, annesmedinghoff.com, in remembrance of their daughter. n