NRLN Members Offered More Savings Options

Since the NRLN announced the no-cost availability of the Health Savings Rx Card℠ in April 2012, many of our grassroots members and members of their families have enjoyed savings up to 50% on prescription drugs through 62,000 participating pharmacies across the nation. The Health Savings Rx Card℠ is now also offering savings on vision and hearing services and products.

Click here to access the login webpage. Or, you may access the login webpage through the NRLN website home page at www.nrln.org by clicking on the link under the “Health Savings” tab. If you do not already have a Health Savings Rx Card℠ you may create your personal login and then click the link under “Complete Health Savings Rx Card℠” to printout your free card. Savings information for prescription drugs, vision and hearing services and products is available through the links under the Savings Plus tab.

When the Health Savings Rx Card℠ is presented at over 13,000 participating vendors, savings is available on eye exams, eyeglasses, contact lens and surgical procedures. With the Health Savings Rx Card℠, free hearing evaluations are offered and discounts are available on over 70 hearing aid models at 1,400 preferred providers.

The NRLN does not receive any compensation for offering you the Health Savings Rx Card℠. Using the Health Savings Rx Card℠ is entirely up to you.

Bill Kadereit, President

National Retiree Legislative Network




NRLN Agency Arranged for Your Free Rx Savings Card

The NRLN Agency has arranged for you to obtain a no-cost Health Savings Rx Card℠.

Thanks to the Health Savings Rx Card℠, you and your family can enjoy savings up to 50%* on brand name and generic prescriptions. And with a network of over 62,000 retail pharmacies, chances are your current pharmacy already participates in the program.

Visit www.completehealthlink.com/nrln an informational website created exclusively for NRLN. This website provides access to your Health Savings Rx Card℠ and helpful information including:

§  How Your Card Works – a link which explains how the Health Savings Rx Card℠ helps you save money

§  Print Your Rx Card – simply click and print out your free Health Savings Rx Card℠ from the convenience of home.

§  Drug Pricing – find out what you can expect to pay for your current prescriptions when you use the Health Savings Rx Card℠.

§  Pharmacy Locator – enter your zip code to find a participating pharmacy near you.

Remember, there is no cost for your Health Savings Rx Card℠; you may use it as often as you choose. There are no waiting periods; no age or income restrictions and everyone in your household can use the Health Savings Rx Card℠. Individual circumstances will determine whether the card will help offset your Rx costs.

With the Health Savings Rx Card℠ you will always receive The Best Price Advantage! What that means is if a drug is ever “on sale,” or if the pharmacy price is less than the discounted price, you will pay the lower of the two prices on your retail prescription purchases.

The NRLN Agency does not receive any compensation for offering you the Health Savings Rx Card℠. Using the Health Savings Rx Card℠ is entirely up to you.

If you have Medicare and are enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan, use your Health Savings Rx Card℠ for any prescriptions that are excluded by Medicare Part D. If you have Medicare and are not enrolled in Medicare Part D plan, simply present your Health Savings Rx Card℠ to gain savings on your generic and brand name prescriptions.

NRLN Agency Board of Directors

* Average savings of 32%, with potential savings of up to 50% (based on 2011 national program savings data). All prescription drugs are eligible for savings.

DISCOUNT ONLY – NOT INSURANCE. Discounts are available exclusively through participating pharmacies. The range of the discounts will vary depending on the type of provider and services rendered.  This program does not make payments directly to providers. Members are required to pay for all health care services.  You may cancel your registration at any time or file a complaint by contacting Customer Care.  This program is administered by Medical Security Card Company, LLC (MSC) of Tucson, AZ.




NRLN Agency Offering Quality Insurance Plans for 2012

The NRLN Agency is continuing to be responsive to NRLN Grassroots Network Members who have stated in NRLN surveys that the NRLN should inform them of health care insurance plans. Through a new website and new partner, Mature Health Center, the NRLN Agency is making access available to premium quotes on 2012 insurance plans for health care, prescription drugs, long-term care, and dental discounts. There are Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) plans and health care plans for pre-age-65 individuals and family members.

Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) plans help pay some of the health care costs that Medicare doesn’t cover. A participant in Medicare may change his or her Medigap plan at any time. The enrollment period for a 2012 Medicare Part D prescription drug plan or a Medicare Advantage plan is October 15 to December 7, 2011. Because the federal government is reducing the subsidy that it pays to Medicare Advantage plans, the NRLN Agency has elected not to offer them.

Click here to access the NRLN website at www.nrln.org and click on the “Insurance” tab on the far right near the top of the home page to link to the NRLN Agency insurance website. To speak with a Mature Health Center designated representative, call toll free at 1-877-631-2843. Tell the representative that you are a member of the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN).  You may also send an email with your questions to Mature Health Center at kori@maturehealthcenter.com .

The NRLN Agency is governed by five NRLN Board Members. The NRLN does not fund or financially support Agency operations with retiree association or individual dues. The Agency may receive market access fees that flow directly to the NRLN as contributions that support you.

In order to protect you from receiving insurance company nusance mail, the NRLN Agency has final approval authority of materials and in-house control over the printing and mailing of materials you may receive from Mature Health Center and our mailing list will not be made available to them.

Check out the website and get your questions answered. Any information submitted to obtain a quote will be kept private. If you have feedback for the NRLN Agency, send it to nrlnmessage@msn.com .

NRLN Agency Board




NRLN Developed A Defined Pension Benefit Buyout Information Sheet

Some companies that sponsor defined benefit pension plans offer lump sum pension buyouts to pension plan participants to reduce their long-term pension plan liabilities.

Ford Motor Company announced on April 27th that it will offer about 90,000 eligible U.S. salaried retirees and former employees the option to receive a voluntary lump-sum pension payment. The General Motors Retirees Association has been informed by several GM retirees that they have been contacted by the Gallup opinion polling organization asking them if they would accept a lump sum “pension buyout” from GM, in lieu of a monthly pension benefit. GM, however, has not recently announced a lump sum pension buyout offer.

When a company offers a lump sum pension buyout, pension plan participants are faced with making a critical decision. The NRLN staff, a small group of Retiree Association leaders and I have developed “A Defined Pension Benefit Buyout Information Sheet” that is part of this message. It is designed to help NRLN Grassroots Network Members with a basic understanding of a buyout offer and the things that an individual needs to consider when making the decision on whether or not to accept the lump sum buyout. This Information Sheet is not exhaustive but provides our initial thoughts on issues retirees need to consider when evaluating a lump sum buy-out offer. It is not our intention to evaluate specific company buyout offers as they are made available. You should contact your company benefits office or retiree association leaders with questions about whether your company is offering a lump sum pension buyout.

Many of you may never be faced with making such a decision. For those who do receive a lump sum buyout offer, we think the information below will be useful to you. You may want to print a copy and save it for reference. It will be posted in a link on the NRLN website at www.nrln.org—initially on the home page and later preserved in the website’s archives.

Bill Kadereit, President
National Retiree Legislative Network

A DEFINED PENSION BENEFIT BUYOUT INFORMATION SHEET

BY THE NATIONAL RETIREE LEGISLATIVE NETWORK – MAY 2012

This document is intended to be basic information only. Please consult with company experts and personal advisors when considering the specifics of a defined benefit pension buyout offer.

THE DEFINED PENSION BENEFIT PLAN:

Protections:
A defined benefit pension plan (plan) is a plan which provides a lifetime annuity option with the risk of investment and longevity/mortality of the beneficiary borne by the plan/employer. The plan is covered by ERISA which requires that the plan sponsor report annually to participants on the plan’s ability to make payments through all participants’ retirement years (actuarial lifetime). If the plan is not fully funded, ERISA requires that the plan sponsor make contributions to the plan over a specified time frame until the plan reaches full funding.

Voluntary Terminations:
A defined benefit pension plan may be terminated voluntarily by the plan sponsor only if the plan has sufficient assets to purchase annuities for all plan participants that would pay 100% of their accrued pension benefit for life. The annuity would include a survivorship option if you had chosen to accept a discount to purchase one. If any Cost Of Living Adjustments (COLA) could have been expected, you would not be eligible for COLA consideration as part of your annuity terms.

Involuntary Terminations:
If a defined benefit pension plan is terminated involuntarily, through bankruptcy proceedings or action taken outside of bankruptcy by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), your pension plan and payments from that plan cease and the PBGC takes ownership of plan assets and liabilities. The PBGC is an agency of the Federal Government which guarantees defined benefit plan benefits (within certain limits). Participants in terminated plans would receive a monthly payment from the PBGC as determined by the PBGC’s plan provisions, ERISA and PBGC’s rules and regulations. For example, in 2012, the PBGC maximum annual guaranteed pension payment (for a lifetime annuity without spouse option) for those at age 65 is $56,000. It is lower for each year under age 65 ($24,300 at age 55) but is also higher for those over age 65 ($164,160 at age 75) (see www.pbgc.gov for details). Depending upon whether or not you benefited from pre-termination special pension enhancements or favorable IRS tax treatment, these payments could be lower.

WHAT IS A LUMP SUM BUYOUT OF MY DEFINED PENSION PLAN BENEFITS?

A lump sum buyout of your defined benefit pension plan benefits means you would receive a check (fully or partially taxable unless rolled into a 401(k) plan or IRA) that represents the present value of all payments due over your actuarial life valued as of the time you accept payment. This present value formula is the inverse of what you might know as the projection of a future savings value or goal that is based upon how much one invests and what interest rate or growth rate is required to achieve a savings of “x” over a period of “y” years.

For example, if you are currently 62 and receive a pension of $24,000 per year, the following would apply: The Social Security Actuarial Life Table predicts a 62 year old male will live an additional 19 years (until age 81; a female until age 84). It would be projected that you would receive an additional amount of pension equaling $456,000 ($24,000 X 19). However, the Net Present Value (or Lump Sum) you would receive based on a 7% interest rate discount would be approximately $258,000. So, in order to receive the same amount as your projected pension would have yielded, you would have to accumulate an additional $198,000 ($456,000 – $258,000). This means you would have to grow the $258,000 lump sum amount significantly in order to cover the shortfall between the lump sum and your projected pension. These data would be slightly different for a female living to age 84. In addition, if you live longer than the actuarial table predicts, you will have probably out-lived your lump sum funds at age 81 (or at age 84 for a female). Had you opted to continue your pension plan instead, you would still be receiving your $24,000 pension after reaching age 81 (or age 84 for a female). THIS IS A DEMONSTRATION EXAMPLE ONLY!

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS TO THINK ABOUT
BEFORE ACCEPTING A LUMP SUM OFFER:

–         Taking a lump sum buyout offer would:
o   eliminate future company pension financial obligations and issuance of pension plan statements as stipulated in ERISA.
o   eliminate any future chance to receive a 100% voluntary termination annuity payment mentioned above.
o   eliminate eligibilty for PBGC insured benefits if the plan were to be involuntarily terminated after your acceptance of a lump sum pension buy-out.

o   transfers all risk for growing the lump sum to satisfy your financial needs from the company to you.
–          It is critical to understand which discount (interest) rates and actuarial assumptions (including expected longevity) were made in calculating your lump sum offer (the present value). Any overstatement of the discount rate or error in the actuarial assumptions could seriously understate the amount of your lump sum offer.
–          As people live longer their actuarial life lengthens and the plan sponsor must increase funding (and/or grow the invested value) in your current plan to cover the extra months you may live. When you take a lump sum, you must find a way to pay yourself for any amount of extended life beyond the actuarial amount inherent in the lump sum calculation at the time you accept it. The plan sponsor is off the hook.
–          A lump sum buyout places full accountability for all future income in your hands and those of any financial advisors or money managers you may contract with. In effect, a buyout acceptance shifts all risks of longevity and investment return to you. See example above. Based upon the present value example above, you must be confident that you can hold onto and grow enough income from a lump sum payout over your actual lifetime to replace the pension payments you would have been eligible to receive if you had not accepted the buyout.
–          If you have or would elect a survivors option, make sure to check to that your lump sum offer includes survivor benefits – if not, you may need an alternative plan.

–          You should always consult with your financial advisor and / or tax advisor to make sure you are aware of the economic consequences of taking a lump sum buyout.

Develop by the:
National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN)
May 2012

Confidentiality Notice:The contents of this document are protected by U.S. copyright laws, are the property of the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) and may not be altered , used, displayed, copied or distributed without the express written consent of the NRLN.