The Foreign Service Journal, October 2011

OC T OB E R 2 0 1 1 / F OR E I GN S E R V I C E J OU R N A L 63 A F S A N E W S I ’ve skipped writing a column or two in recent months, so it was actually nice to find that a few of you noticed and asked what’s going on. I also want to assure you that I have not lost interest in our retiree community, but I do not feel com- pelled to write if I have nothing to say. The current economicmess andpolitical constipation that is degrading our nation has inspired me to share my personal view on what it all means for retirees. All Americans — including Wall Street “fat cats”— are being negatively affect- ed. Stockmarket swoons affect all of us; but frommy perspec- tive,we retirees are on the least- severely affectedendof the spec- trum. My take on the funda- mentals follows. RetirementAnnuity: Con- gress is not going towhack our earned retirement, for they wouldbe cutting themselves,as well. Active-duty employees will,however,take a hit,because there will be an increase in employee annuity contribu- tions. What will hurt is a scal- ingbackof the formula for cost- of-living allowance increases; it will be less generous than that which we currently enjoy. Health Insurance: The benefit will persist, but our employee contribution will go up, while the government’s goes down. How much? It is hard to predict at this point. But efforts by the more wild-eyed budget-slashers in Congress to radically change the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan will fail. Medicare : We who already enjoy this benefit will not be affected by a rise in the age requirement for eligibility. The sting will come with means-testing, which will increase costs for higher-income earners. SocialSecurity: It appears highly likely that ameans-testing formulawill be applied, resulting in lowered payments to higher-income earners. Also, a change in the cost- of-living computationwill reduce COLAs, particularly for low-income beneficiaries. In sum, the current deficit reduction drive in Congress will result in significant cost reduction measures in entitlement programs. That said, I expect that the rela- tive burden of real income cuts will be significantly less for retirees than for active- duty federal employees. The current economic mess and political constipation that is degrading our nation has inspired me to share my personal view on what it all means for retirees. All Americans — including Wall Street “fat cats” — are being negatively affected. Do we capitalize or not? What the Mess Means AFSA/TLG Intern Makes an Impression BY ASGEIR SIGFUSSON S ince 1992, AFSA has partnered with theThursdayLuncheonGroup tosponsor aminoritycollege student for a summer internshipat theDepartment of State. TLG is an organization whose mission is to increase the participation of black Americans and other minorities in the formulation, articulation and imple- mentationofU.S. foreignpolicy. Since the inception of this partnership, AFSA/TLG has supported 22 students. This year’s AFSA/TLG intern was Matthew Thompkins, a rising senior at Humboldt State University in California. Originally fromLos Angeles, Thompkins is studying Mandarin Chinese and spent a semester abroad at Xi’an International Studies University. He is also an aspiring inventor, who is busy producing a renew- able energy-related product. Thompkins interned this summer in the Department’s Office of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and MaldivesAffairs intheBureauof Southand Central Asian Affairs. Reflecting on his experience, he cites his supportive col- leagues on the India desk for their will- ingness tohelphimlearnandusenewskills, V.P. VOICE: RETIREE BY ROBERT HOUDEK Continued on page 66 AFSA/TLG intern Matthew Thompkins.