AFSA NEWS 72 SEPTEMBER 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA Engages with Recruits and Members Webinar Financial Planning for the Foreign Affairs Community This summer, AFSA continued to develop and sponsor programming for the Foreign Service community by welcoming new recruits and deepening engagement with those already serving. On June 12, AFSA hosted a lunch at its headquarters for the State Department’s new class of limited non-career appointments (LNAs). The group consisted of about 65 participants who will soon be posted abroad to support the work of the Foreign Service. In his opening remarks, then–AFSA President Eric Rubin explained AFSA’s role as a nonpartisan professional association and union serving Foreign Service employees. On June 14, AFSA hosted just under 20 new Foreign Agricultural Service trainees poised to head to post. AFSA’s FAS Vice President Lisa Ahramjian explained how AFSA serves members from the Foreign Service’s smaller agencies and the benefits of membership for FAS officers. Finally, on July 11, AFSA sponsored a lunch at the FAS annual global attaché conference, held at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ahramjian presented the association’s reform priorities and highlighted AFSA advocacy efforts on behalf of FAS officers. She also provided an update on renegotiation of the FAS– AFSA collective bargaining agreement. n AFSA’s FAS Vice President Lisa Ahramjian addresses Foreign Agricultural Service officers at the annual global attaché conference on July 11. AFSA/HANNAH CHAPMAN On June 22, AFSA welcomed for the second year in a row financial planner and retirement management counselor William Carrington of Carrington Financial Planning, LLC, to present “Pathways to Financial Independence: Financial Planning for the Foreign Affairs Community.” When putting together a financial plan, Carrington explained, FS members should choose between goals-based planning, which ties a selected date to a dollar amount, and standardof-living planning, which maintains a certain lifestyle for the future. Though income increases over time through raises and promotions within the up-or-out system, Carrington advised viewers to keep their spending relatively flat. He also assured them that the Foreign Service pension system is extremely well designed and provides an unusual level of financial security. “The typical financial rules of thumb do not apply to Foreign Service employees,” he said. For example, retirement can begin sooner than in other professions, and many FS members buy real estate that they manage from overseas. Despite the challenges of uneven cash flows or the unpredictability of available employment for family members when at post, those who actively maintain a financial plan throughout their relocations will find themselves well positioned when they return to the U.S. Tailored to active-duty personnel looking ahead to retirement, Carrington’s guidance touched on the most common problem areas for Foreign Service employees, as well as on how to leverage technology to enhance advanced planning, pension comparisons, and home ownership. Members can view the video recording at afsa.org/ videos. n William Carrington.
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