          |
| June 27,
2010
Retirees, |
|
June 17, 2010
To SuperMedia / Idearc Management Retirees:
As part of the
on-going class action of Murphy, et al, v. Verizon, et al,
Idearc/SuperMedia, et al, our legal team has requested that
we canvas our management
retirees who were part of the Verizon Enterprises Management
Pension Plan. This plan may have covered retirees who were part
of MCI.
If you retired under this plan, please contact our office at 800-261-9222
or
association@belltelretirees.org
Please ignore this
message if you are not a management retiree.
Thank you,
C. William Jones
President and
Executive Director
Association of
BellTel Retirees Inc.
|
|
NRLN
Action Alert:
|
|
It is time to write a "we asked you not
to do that" letter to your members of Congress.
You may recall that on December 29, 2009, the NRLN issued an Action Alert asking our Grassroots Network members to email letters to their members of Congress urging them to remove a provision from the House and Senate health care bills that would deny employers the tax deduction on federal subsidies for Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. You told your Representative and Senators that this provision would encourage companies to drop prescription drug benefits for millions of retirees.
Unfortunately, the lawmakers who voted
for the final passage of the health care bill did not listen. Now, many
members of Congress are expressing shock that major companies have filed
statements, as required by law, with the Securities and Exchange
Commission that they will encounter costs totaling billions of dollars
because of their inability to write-off the Part D subsidy. The health
care cost disclosures ultimately may shave as much as $14 billion from
U.S. corporate profits, according to an estimate by benefits consulting
firm Towers Watson. Here are a few examples: AT&T $1 billion; Verizon $950
million; Boeing and Deere & Co. $150 million; Caterpillar $100 million.
When Congress created the Medicare Part D
prescription drug plan in 2003, it encouraged companies to provide
Medicare-eligible retirees prescription drug benefits by providing a
tax-free 28% subsidy. This has been a tremendous savings to the federal
government on Medicare and a benefit highly valued by retirees. It makes
no sense to eliminate, in the name of health care reform, the tax break
that induced some 3,500 companies to provide prescription drug coverage to
more than 6 million Medicare-eligible retirees.
No one knows at this point whether the change in the law will cause companies to eliminate their prescription drug benefits for retirees age 65 and older. However, AT&T stated in its SEC filing, "As a result of this legislation, including the additional tax burden, AT&T will be evaluating prospective changes to the active and retiree health-care benefits offered by the company." News reports have quoted similar statements from a number of other companies. AT&T and other companies' well publicized retaliatory scare tactics have led to fear and anxiety among retirees that once again highlights the extraordinary power companies have to take back earned benefits of retirees long after they retire. It is time for Congress to put a stop to these take backs. I am asking members of the NRLN's Grassroots Network to email the NRLN's sample letter to members of Congress. Ask them to repeal the provision eliminating the corporate tax break and enact the NRLN's Maintenance of Cost Proposal (MCP). The MCP would establish a fixed monthly payment to retirees equivalent to the value an employer provided prior to the reduction or cancellation of retirement health care, prescription drugs, life insurance, long-term care or other benefits. Companies would be entitled to tax credits as an offset to MCP payments.
Please go to
http://capwiz.com/abtr/home/ to access the NRLN Action Alert. Look for
the Action Alert headline: THREAT TO RETIREES PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS .
Click on the "Take Action" button. On the next screen, type in your zip
code and click "GO" to identify your elected representatives and access
the sample letter. Be sure to personalize the letter with your own
comments. If you have a problem accessing the Action Alert with the above
link, go to
www.nrln.org and click on the "Take Action Now" headline at the top of
the NRLN website's home page. Send your email today.
Also, I urge you to call the Washington, DC or state/district office of your Representative and Senators. Use the information in the sample letter to express your concerns about companies eliminating prescription drug and possibly other health care benefits due to the new health care reform law. Phone numbers can be found through the NRLN's Capwiz website at http://capwiz.com/abtr/dbq/officials/ . The more constituents who write and call their members of Congress, the better chance there is in gaining their attention on retirement issues. We need the support of all of our Grassroots Network members and we need you to encourage your friends to sign up as Grassroots Network members at http://capwiz.com/abtr/mlm/signup/ . Not only do we need you and your friends to email letters to Washington and talk with your members of Congress, we also need your financial support through an individual member contribution of $25, $50, $75 or more. Any amount you can contribute will be appreciated. You may make your check or money order payable to NRLN, Inc. and mail it along with the Membership Contribution Form at: http://www.nrln.org/printad.htm. Or, you may make your contribution online with your credit card through PayPal on the NRLN website at http://www.nrln.org by clicking on the "Memberships" icon at the top of the home page and selecting the "Support the NRLN" link.
I recognize that many of the NRLN's
Grassroots Network members have already experienced the elimination of
their health care benefits by their former employer. I urge those
individuals to still write to their lawmakers to try to preserve the
company-sponsored benefits that many retirees still have. As retirees, we
are all in this together and we need to help one another as much as we
can.
Bill Kadereit, President
National Retiree Legislative Network
|
|
March 5, 2010
The reason we selected only 3 persons to be the "test Plaintiffs", or
what the law refers to as the potential class plaintiffs,
is that it makes no good economic sense to have a big crowd of plaintiffs
when the purpose of the case is not to help out only the named plaintiffs
but to get a class ruling for the benefit of everyone in the class. In
the Murphy case we are seeking rulings that will cover all retirees
transferred from Verizon pension plans into Idearc pension plans, a group
of well over 2,000 persons.
The choice of who would be the test plaintiffs had nothing to do with
management, sales, nonmanagement bargaining group status, etc. We just
needed three persons willing to carry the torch on behalf of the entire
group of retirees who were involuntarily switched over to Idearc/SuperMedia.
Please insist that anyone who asks you about the Murphy case or
has any questions about the case and whom we are trying to benefit
to actually take time to read the Amended Complaint which is posted
at the retiree website at the following URL: http://www.belltelretirees.org/images/stories/docket06-amendedcomplaint.pdf
In any federal court case of this nature, whoever is a named plaintiff
is potentially subject to having to respond to interrogatories and travel
to the location where the lawsuit is filed to answer questions (i.e., a
deposition) put forth by defense counsel. Also, there could be a
few court hearings where attendance by the named plaintiff may be
required. Again, It makes no good economic sense to have more than 3
persons subject to that ordeal and expense charged to the retiree
organization. And, it would only require that much more duplication of
effort on the part of the plaintiffs' attorneys, especially me, to get
everyone prepared for depositions or court hearings.
The retiree organization is paying all Plaintiffs' side expenses of
the lawsuit, and funds are limited. I hope that you tell all who are
interested to financially support the retiree organization as we go
forward. The outcome of the Murphy case could affect the future
rights of Verizon to transfer another group of retirees out of Verizon's
pension plans. So, its not just those who were transferred to Idearc/SuperMedia
who should be paying attention and supporting this legal effort.
Both Verizon defendants and Idearc/SuperMedia defendants have hired two
separate major national law firms with multiple attorneys working
on the defense of the Murphy case. No expense will be spared by
defense counsel, each of which attorneys will be paid in excess of $400 a
piece for each and every hour he or she works on the case.
And, collectively the teams of multiple defense attorneys will rapidly
cost defendants hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of the
Murphy case.
In short, I have been doing this type of legal work on behalf of
retirees for over 25 years and it has never made good sense to load up a
potential class action case with too many named plaintiffs. If, during
the course of a federal case, it becomes necessary to add another person
or two to act as a named plaintiff, that can be accomplished. But, for
now, it is only necessary to go forward with the 3 persons we have chosen
to be the named plaintiffs in the Murphy case.
Curtis L. Kennedy
Attorney-at-law |
|
Protect Pension
Assets For Retirees
|
| February 25,
2010
Big companies and big labor unions
are lobbying Congress for temporary relief from Pension Protection Act of
2006 (PPA) pension plan funding requirements due to the steep market slide
in 2008 that is still having an impact on pension assets. Many companies
contend that borrowing to contribute to their pension plans is out of the
question due to tight credit markets.
The NRLN's
position is that we would not want to force contributions to pension plans
that would cause irreparable harm to the companies, trigger layoffs or
result in companies declaring bankruptcy and default on pension plans.
However, the NRLN is advocating there should be a quid pro quo-companies
receive temporary funding relief and retirees gain the protection of their
pension assets from being used for non-pension expenses. The cornerstone
of the NRLN's effort to protect pension plan assets is gaining legislation
to prevent companies from using plan assets to make severance payments
during a corporate restructuring.
It was
announced on Tuesday (2/23) that the U.S. Senate would not include pension
funding relief in the Senate's jobs-creation bill. However, industry
lobbyists said they will continue to try to include the pension funding
relief provisions in separate legislation that could possibly be
considered later this week.
Our Washington,
DC team worked with the staff of North Dakota Representative Earl Pomeroy
to get desirable pension protection language in Section 111 of H.R.3936,
the Preserve Benefits and Jobs Act of 2009. The bill introduced last
October by Representative Pomeroy and Ohio Representative Pat Tiberi is
pending in the U.S. House. At the present time, the Senate is only
considering pension funding relief for companies with no provision for the
protection of pension assets and it is possible that the House will follow
suit.
It is critical
that our Grassroots Network members immediately send the NRLN's sample
letters to their Representative and Sentors to tell them they need to
include the protection of pension assets in any bill that is passed. Tell
them that the widespread practice of so called "back door reversions"
being used to circumvent the Congressional policy against reverting
pension assets for corporate purposes must be stopped. It simply wouldn't
make sense for Congress to authorize a funding hiatus on pension plan
contributions without simultaneously closing this "back door."
These "back door reversions" place pension plans at risk to be terminated. It is past time to end this pilfering of defined plan pension assets. These actions threaten the security of pension plans and the potential is great that the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) might have to take over the plan in the future. Furthermore, depleted assets reduce the likelihood the plan will ever generate surplus assets that can be used to offset corporate health care costs for retirees or be available for pension Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs), a benefit that non-government retirees seldom receive. I urge you to go to http://capwiz.com/abtr/home/ to access the NRLN Action Alert. Look for the Action Alert headline: PROTECT PENSION ASSETS FOR RETIRES. Click on the "Take Action" button. On the next screen, type in your zip code and click "GO" to identify your Representative and Senators and access the sample letter. Be sure to personalize the letter with your own comments. If you have a problem accessing the Action Alert with the above link, go to www.nrln.org and click on the "Take Action Now" headline at the top of the NRLN website's home page. Send your email today. It would also help to call the Washington, DC or state office of your Representative and Senators. Use the information in the sample letter to express the importance of protecting pension assets. Phone numbers can be found through the NRLN's Capwiz website at http://capwiz.com/abtr/dbq/officials/ . The more constituents who write and call their Representative and Senators, the better chance there is for gaining the action we desire.
We need the
support of all of our Grassroots Network members and we need you to
encourage your friends to sign up as Grassroots Network members at
http://capwiz.com/abtr/mlm/signup/.
Not only do we need you and your friends to email letters to Washington
and talk with your members of Congress, we also need your financial
support through an individual member contribution of $25, $50, $75 or
more. Any amount you can contribute will be appreciated. You may make your
check or money order payable to NRLN, Inc. and mail it along with
the Membership Contribution Form available at:
http://www.nrln.org/printad.htm
. Or, you may make your contribution online with your credit card through
PayPal on the NRLN website at
http://www.nrln.org
by clicking on the "Support the NRLN" link on the home page.
Bill Kadereit, President
National
Retiree Legislative Network
|
Q. Does the fact that I received the form denial letter mean that we lost our case?
A. No, the denial letter is the same letter sent to all complaining retirees. The actual lawsuit filed in the Dallas Federal Court is moving along as expected. No legal issue has been ruled upon by the Dallas Federal Judge, and it will be months, perhaps a year, before there are rulings. Both Verizon and Idearc/SuperMedia hired several large law firms and every step of this case may encounter some delays. The legal issues are unique and complicated.
Q. Do I need to get my own attorney?
A. Certainly, you have that option. But, it may prove to be an unnecessary expenditure. The Murphy case is being pursued with the goal of addressing the problems for all former Verizon retirees who were involuntarily transferred into Idearc/SuperMedia pension plans.
Q. Does the fact that Idearc changed its name to SuperMedia affect our case?
A. No, that fact has absolutely no effect on the lawsuit.
Q. What is the status of the case?
A. In mid-March 2010, defense counsel for both Verizon and Idearc/SuperMedia will respond to the pending Amended Complaint and argue to have certain claims dismissed. Our attorneys will file a response in opposition. The court filings will await a decision by the federal judge. Meanwhile, the next big fight will be over whether or not the case should be class certified. All of this will take some time. All significant court filings will be posted at the retiree website.
Q. Where can I find updates on the case?
A. The Association of BellTel Retirees posts updates: www.belltelretirees.org Please read the Amending Complaint filed on January 6, 2010 which thoroughly explains the proposed class action case and is posted at the website. Also, when required, important email bulletins will be sent and USPS letters will be mailed to those not on the Internet. Email is the best way to stay informed. Meanwhile, if you receive any letters from Verizon or Idearc regarding the suit, please call the Association office: 1-800-261-9222 or email us on: association@belltelretirees.org and register your name and address |
|
Amended Complaint for Proposed Class-Action Relief Under ERISA |
| January 6, 2010 ASSOCIATION OF BELLTEL RETIREES, INC Legal Actions Over the past several years, the Association has retained attorneys to examine a number of issues relating to retirees. Until recently, these examinations have failed to identify a sound basis for legal action.
IDEARC Information: Association of BellTel Retirees Inc. www.belltelretirees.org |
|
Civil Action Filed on Behalf of Verizon Retirees Transferred Against Their Will to Idearc |
|
November 13, 2009
On November 13, 2009, a civil action was filed against Verizon Communications and Idearc Media in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.
The plaintiffs had
previously pursued a class-wide internal administrative claim challenging
their unwilling transfer from the more financially secure Verizon pension
plans into pension plans sponsored by Idearc, a company in bankruptcy
proceedings. Moreover, Idearc chose not to respond to the merits of
Plaintiff's administrative claim. Instead, more than six months after
receiving Plaintiff's class-wide claim, Idearc reported back to Plaintiffs
that "ERISA does not recognize such a claim."
The Plaintiffs have
four claims for relief:
Further, the
Plaintiffs included thirteen class action allegations.
It is the hope of
all Verizon retirees that were transferred to Idearc that the result of
this action would be the return of those retirees to the relative safety
of the Verizon umbrella and the restoration of benefits that have been
reduced or terminated as a result of that transfer.
A copy of the entire filing is found on the
Association of BellTel Retiree's web site:
http://www.belltelretirees.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33:legal-actions&catid=5:association-activities&Itemid=32.
C. William Jones
President &
Executive Director
Association of
BellTel Retirees Inc.
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|
NRLN Action Alert: Senate Health Care Bill Needs To Help Retirees |
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November
10, 2009
You have probably read or heard news reports that on Saturday night (11/7/09) the U.S. House of Representatives passed its health care bill (Affordable Health Care for America Act - H.R. 3962) by a vote of 220 to 215. The bill includes some provisions the NRLN has been lobbying for in Congress. These include:
However, a number of provisions of critical importance to retirees and
older Americans in general that the NRLN lobbied for were not included in
the House bill. These are identified in the NRLN's sample letter that I'm
asking you to immediately send to your U.S. Senators to encourage them to
add the provisions in the Senate bill that can still be amended.
Please
go to
http://capwiz.com/abtr/home/
to access the NRLN Action Alert. Look for the Action Alert headline:
SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL NEEDS TO HELP RETIREES. Click on the "Take Action"
button. On the next screen, type in your zip code and click "GO" to
identify your Senators and access the sample letter. Be sure to
personalize the letter with your own comments. If you have a problem
accessing the Action Alert with the above link, go to
www.nrln.org and
click on the "Take Action Now" headline at the top of the NRLN website's
home page. Send your email today.
It
would also help to call the Washington, DC or state offices of your
Senators. Use the information in the sample letter to make your request on
what is needed in the Senate health care reform bill to help retirees.
Phone numbers can be found through the NRLN's Capwiz website at
http://capwiz.com/abtr/dbq/officials/
. The more constituents who write and call their Senators, the better
chance there is in gaining their attention on retirement issues. Ask your
friends to also contact their Senators.
The
NRLN has added a webpage at
www.nrln.org/maps/congress.html
to present state-by-state reports on NRLN Grassroots Network Members'
personal contacts with their U.S. Representatives and Senators. In
addition, the names and email addresses of Grassroots Network State and
Congressional District Leaders are listed on each state to promote
communications among Grassroots Network leaders and members. We want to
add your personal contacts with your members of Congress. Please provide
brief reports on face-to-face meetings, telephone calls or personal
letters in support of NRLN retiree issues. Send your brief reports to
nrlnmessage@msn.com
. Include your name, the name of the member of Congress, state,
Congressional district number if it is a Representative, date of the
contact, summary of what was discussed and any response from the
Representative or Senator.
Bill Kadereit,
President
National
Retiree Legislative Network
|
| October 27, 2009 Retirees, Just off a conference call with CWA, District One, regarding Senator Harry Reid's healthcare proposal that came out yesterday. It does include a public option, which is a must, although, it allows individual states to opt out. What is potentially devastating to all of us is the inclusion of a taxation on current benefits. The tax would be 40% on all benefits costing over $23,000. Meaning that our family plan, although severely diminished over the past few years, is worth approximately $26,000, or, a 40% tax on $3,000, or, an additional tax, every year of $1,200 !!! With healthcare costs increasing a minimum of 7% per year it would mean that $1,200 tax would increase a minimum of $84.00 every year going forward. There are some exemptions for retirees, although at this time they are not clear as to how they would affect us. We are ABSOLUTELY opposed to any healthcare proposal that taxes current benefits. These benefits were gained by all of your efforts over the years, including many, many weeks on the picket lines over this very issue. We have already paid for healthcare several times over. Be it by striking, forgoing other benefits such as wage increases, and, by not being paid COLA since the mid 90's. If Congress needs to raise monies to pay for healthcare it should not be on the backs of working, middle class families, but, by increasing taxes on those who can most afford it, the wealthy. We are urging every one of you to contact your two US Senators immediately to voice your strong opposition to ANY healthcare proposal that includes taxing current benefits. Please, take the time to call or E-mail your Senators, and, encourage your families, neighbors and friends to do the same. *MASSACUSETTS* Senator Paul Kirk *RHODE ISLAND* Senator Sheldon Whitehouse *N.H.* Senator Judd Gregg Senator Susan Collins For any other states, or, if you wish to E-mail, simply google your Senators, go directly to their home page, click on contact, and the E-mail form will appear. Thank you very much, George Alcott |
|
Nearly 80 percent of the individuals
who responded to the 2009 National Retiree Legislative Network Survey
stated that the NRLN should make them aware of health care insurance plans
that could supplement or replace their former employer's plans. The NRLN
Agency Board is pleased to announce that we have added health care plans
to our prior offerings of casualty insurance and life insurance.
Through a new section on the NRLN website, the NRLN Agency is providing a simple way for you to price shop for health care insurance: Medicare supplements (Medigap plans) or Medicare Part-D Plan prescription drugs for retirees over age 65, or open market health care plans for pre-age 65 coverage. I want to invite you to go to the new NRLN Agency Insurance Section near the top of the NRLN Home Page at www.nrln.org and click on the link to access the NRLN Agency's suite of insurance plans. From this link you can access webpages to obtain price quotes:
For those over age 65
Medigap
policies from Mutual of Omaha: Mutual of Omaha's Medigap plan online
rates are 2010 rates that are guaranteed for 12 months from the effective
date of issuance. Medicare will add and remove Medigap plan options in
June of 2010 but these changes will not affect policies in effect until
the 2011 enrollment period.
Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans from Medco: Medco online rates are 2010 rates and are guaranteed for 12 months from the effective date of issuance. Rate changes may be issued during the year but these changes will not affect policies in effect until the 2011 enrollment period. Enrollment will be open after Nov. 15 2009.
For those under age 65
Standard
Health Care plans from Assurant and Humana: Assurant and Humana
update their rates during the year but rates contracted for at the time of
issuance of a policy remain in effect for the 12-month policy period.
For everyone
Life and
Annuity policies for family security from Massachusetts Mutual
Casualty
Insurance for Cars, Homes and Rental Property from Liberty Mutual
Life, Annuity
and Casualty Insurance companies update their rates during the year, but
rates contracted for at the time of enrollment will remain in effect until
the next renewal date.
Under negotiation -
Specialty plans for dental, vision, accidental , cancer and other needs.
To obtain a
price quote, you will only need to provide a minimal amount of
information. In most cases, there are no long forms to fill out for a
price quote and we have included specific step-by-step instructions we
hope will be helpful.
Please check online prices carefully before you enroll, when the
enrollment period opens after Nov. 15, 2009. Be sure to verify with the
insurance firm whether the quoted price is locked in for the entire year
of 2010. If you have questions, call 1-800-255-3557 toll
free to speak with the NRLN Agency's partner agent.
The NRLN knows that most retirees are experiencing the erosion of their income in large measure due to the ever-increasing cost of health care insurance and prescription drugs. The NRLN Agency is providing you with what it hopes you will find to be an easy way to compare the prices and features of the plans with your present coverage, be it a company-sponsored plan or some other plan you have selected or may be examining.
Most of the
NRLN Agency's offerings are not a group plan exclusively for NRLN members,
but individual plans that may or may not be better in terms of price and
features than your existing plan. This is for you to decide.
COMPARE PRICES WITH YOUR CURRENT PLANS AND START SHOPPING NOW - WE WANT YOU TO GET THE BEST DEAL! Because NRLN Agency LLC is set up as an insurance agency, we can receive revenues directly paid from the insurance companies in the states we hold insurance licenses. These revenues are a small amount of the selling agent's normal commission, thus pricing of the plans will not be affected. All funds received by the Agency, beyond its minimal expenses, are passed along to the NRLN to support its mission to be your advocate for federal legislation to protect your pensions and benefits and to keep Social Security and Medicare strong.
I encourage you
to visit
www.nrln.org and
click on the links in the insurance announcement. We have included a link
and phone number for you to provide feedback about insurance products,
service and prices to the NRLN Agency. In essence, this is your insurance
website, so let us hear from you.
Joseph R. (Dick) Ciocca, President
National
Retiree Legislative Network Agency
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|
Tell Senators to Stand Up for Retirees on Prescription Drugs |
|
October 2, 2009
NRLN Action Alert: Tell Senators to Stand Up for Retirees on Prescription Drugs
Recently, during the Senate Finance Committee's mark up of its Health Care
Reform bill committee members rejected, by the narrow vote of 10-13, an
amendment that would have filled the "doughnut hole" in the Medicare Part
D prescription drug program. This was a terrible blow to retirees who
desperately need to have lower prescription drug prices.
The
amendment offered by Senator Bill Nelson would have reestablished the
annual rebates drug makers used to pay the government based on their sales
to Medicaid beneficiaries. It would have provided $106 billion to fill the
"doughnut hole." Furthermore, according to the Congressional Budget
Office, the rebate program would have raised about $50 billion more than
needed to pay for the higher prescription drug spending.
I am
asking NRLN Grassroots Network members to immediately send the NRLN's
sample letter to your senators to urge them to support the NRLN's
proposals for prescription drug legislation. The NRLN advocates
eliminating the "doughnut hole" and applying free market competition while
also supporting safety in the production and marketing of prescription
drugs through prescription drug reimportation. Congress should enable the
safe and controlled
importationcompetitive bidding of prescription drugs and robust
formularies. Furthermore, Congress should ensure that the FDA
accelerates access to generic
prescription drugs. Backlogs of generic drugs awaiting approval
have exceeded 5 years and must be eliminated through providing adequate
staff needed to expedite approvals. Equally important, agreements that
restrain competition between
brand and generic manufacturers such as pay-offs that keep lower-priced
generic drugs off the market must be outlawed. and
To access the
NRLN's sample letter go to
http://capwiz.com/abtr/home/
to access the Action Alert. Look for the Action Alert headline: SENATORS
SHOULD STAND UP FOR RETIREES ON PRESCRIPTION DRUGS. Click on "Take
Action." On the next screen, type in your zip code and click "GO" to
access the sample letter to email to your Senators. Be sure to
personalize the letter with your own comments about prescription drugs. If
you have a problem accessing the Action Alert with the above link, go to
www.nrln.org and
click on the "Take Action Now" headline at the top of the NRLN Website's
Home Page.
It is
imperative that Congress move swiftly to ease the burden of prescription
drug costs for retirees. Your letters to your Senators can help to make
this happen.
Bill
Kadereit, President
National Retiree Legislative Network
|
|
Appeal --
Class-wide Administrative Claim and |
|
Click here to view entire
ADMINISTRATIVE CLAIM PART 2
September 15, 2009
Verizon Management Pension Plan Administrator
Verizon Pension Plan for New York and New England Associates Administrator Verizon Pension Plan for Mid-Atlantic Associates Administrator Verizon Master Trust Administrator Verizon Employee Benefits Committee c/o Marc Schoenecker, Assistant General Counsel - Employee Benefits VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 600 Hidden Ridge, HQE02J19 Irving, Texas 75038 Tele: 972-718-2903 Fax: 972-719-0034 Marc.Schoenecker@verizon.com (Marc Schoenecker, Esq.)
Idearc Pension Plan for Management Employees Plan Administrator
Idearc Pension Plan for Collectively Bargained Employees Plan Administrator Idearc, Inc. Master Trust Administrator Idearc Employee Benefits Committee and Appeals Committee c/o Joe A. Garza, Jr., Vice President & Associate General Counsel IDEARC, INC. 2200 West Airfield Drive DFW Airport, TX 75261-9810 Tele: 972-453-7160 Fax: 972-453-6869 Joe.Garza@idearc.com (Joe Garza, Esq.)
Re: Appeal -- Class-wide Administrative Claim and
Renewed Request for Documents
Plan Administrators:
The attachment hereto (12 pages) is an administrative appeal of the
July 31, 2009 dated denial of the February 4, 2009 dated claim, as
supplemented on May 27, 2009, submitted on behalf of Phillip A. Murphy,
Jr., Susan A. Burke, Sandra R. Noe, Joanne Jacobsen, David L. Wibbelsman,
and Claire M. Palmer (hereinafter “Named Claimants”), all active retired
plan participants in Idearc’s pension plans and former retired plan
participants in Verizon’s pension plans.
Named Claimants bring this matter to the attention of the Idearc
entity responsible for handing appeals of internal claims and to the
attention of Verizon Claims Review Committee. Since the individual
members charged with handling appeals for both Respondents have not
been identified by either Respondent, a copy of the appeals letter
is sent to you with the reasonable expectation that it will be forwarded
to the proper decision makers.
A hard copy of the attachment has been sent via regular mail you and
to the Verizon Claims Review Committee in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
Please email me a note to confirm you received this email message
together with the 12 page attachment. Thanks.
Curtis
Curtis L. Kennedy Attorney-at-law 8405 E. Princeton Ave. Denver, CO 80237-1741 Tele: 303-770-0440 Fax: 303-843-0360 CurtisLKennedy@aol.com
Attorney for Named Claimants
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Verizon Denial of Claim Letter Click here to view entire letter
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Action Alert - Congress Must Hear The Health Care Needs Of 50 Million American Retirees |
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July 14, 2009
Except for a bill from the Senate Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, draft national health care
proposals are displaying an obvious indifference towards the 50 million
retirees who have suffered high losses of after-tax income and are
unprotected from health care takeaways by their former employers.
The HELP Committee, chaired by Senator
Edward Kennedy, has proposed in its bill a system to strengthen
employer-sponsored health care benefits by providing employers with
tax-free reimbursements for maintaining health care benefits for retirees.
The NRLN and Grassroots Network members have been lobbying for this type
of solution in both the Senate and House with what we've called the
Maintenance of Cost Payment (MCP). The HELP Committee proposal would
provide financial incentives for employers to maintain coverage for
retirees age 55 to 64. Our MCP would extend payments to help pay for
supplemental (Medigap) coverage for those age 65 or older. While we have
advocated a Medicare buy-in for retirees age 50 to 64, at least the HELP
Committee has recognized the need to assist individuals who have retired
early either voluntarily or forced out of their jobs.
We are encouraged that the HELP Committee
has taken a step in our direction. With your ongoing support, we continue
advocating our health care agenda with Senators who are drafting other
health care proposals and with Representatives who are still working on
health care bills in the House.
There was also another positive
development in the Senate for retirees last week. The thousands of emails
that NRLN Grassroots Network members have been sending to Congress
opposing the taxing of employer-sponsored health care benefits have gotten
the attention of some Senators. A recent news article reported that
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that taxing health care benefits is
"dead." However, Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee, is still insisting that everything is on the table, including
taxing health care benefits. Therefore, we must continue to hammer away
on this issue with Senators and Representatives in a effort to prevent the
taxing of employer-sponsored health care benefits.
Addressing the issues affecting the
uninsured is important, but Congress must not be allowed to take from
middle-class retirees who have suffered losses and give to those who have
less and call that "comprehensive" health care reform. Taxing workers and
retirees for the employer-sponsored health care benefits they receive
would be a step in the wrong direction.
Another fearsome proposal being
considered is raising the threshold for taking itemized tax deductions on
personal health cost to 10% of adjusted gross income from 7.5% currently;
another tax hike aimed squarely at retirees and older Americans in
general.
We are also extremely alarmed over the
proposals to cut the costs of Medicare and Medicaid between $200 billion
and $400 billion during the next 10 years.
Your help continues to be needed to press
forth with the NRLN's health care agenda as we endeavor to influence
members of Congress during these critical days of lawmaking. Please email
the NRLN's sample letter to your Senators and Representatives to tell them
to oppose proposals harmful to retirees and state what retirees want
included in health care reform legislation. Go to
http://capwiz.com/abtr/home/ to access the NRLN Action Alert. Look for
the Action Alert headline: CONGRESS MUST HEAR THE HEALTH CARE NEEDS OF
50 MILLION AMERICAN RETIREES. Click on the "Take Action" button. On
the next screen, type in your zip code and click "GO" to identify your
elected representatives and access the sample letter. Be sure to
personalize the letter with your own comments. If you have a problem
accessing the Action Alert with the above link, go to
www.nrln.org and click on the "Take Action Now" headline at the top of
the NRLN website's home page. Send your email today.
It would also help to call the
Washington, D.C. or state/district office of your Senators and
Representative. Use the information in the sample letter to express your
concerns about the direction that health care reform is moving. Phone
numbers can be found through the NRLN's Capwiz website at
http://capwiz.com/abtr/dbq/officials/ . The more constituents who
write and call their Senators and Representatives, the better chance there
is in gaining their attention on retirement issues.
Given that we will most likely need to
fight against a number of elements in the health care reform legislation
in addition to lobbying for the issues we support, we need the support of
all of our Grassroots Network members. Not only do we need you to email
letters to Washington and meet face-to-face with your members of Congress,
we also need your financial support through an individual member
contribution of $25, $50, $75 or more. Any amount you can contribute will
be appreciated. You may make your check or money order payable to NRLN,
Inc. and mail it along with the Membership Contribution Form at:
http://www.nrln.org/printad.php . Or, you may make your contribution
online with your credit card through PayPal on the NRLN website at
http://www.nrln.org by clicking on the "Support the NRLN" link on the
home page.
Also, it is not too late for you to
decide to join us in Washington, DC in mid-September to lobby our agenda
on Capitol Hill. Details are available in a video clip and an invitation
posted on the NRLN website home page at
www.nrln.org .
By working together we'll have our best
chance to shape health care reform legislation in a way that will be
beneficial to America's retirees.
Bill Kadereit, President
National Retiree Legislative Network
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May 19, 2009
Contact Your Representative Today Health care reform is moving rapidly on Capitol Hill. Legislative propsals are currently being formed, and many expect to see a bill by the August recess. We need to ensure that retirees are not forgotten in this process! Your Representative has been supportive of H.R. 1322 in the past and serves on one of the two House Committees that will be developing the health care reform legislation. Therefore, we need YOU to write to and call your Representative and urge him or her to do three things:
We have created a message for you to send that includes these three points. We need ALL of our supporters to take action on this alert as soon as possible. Please click on "Take Action" above, enter or confirm your zip code, and click "Go" to get started.
Thank you!
www.protectseniors.org |
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Many Idearc retirees are calling our
office to ask what, if anything, they should do about the Proof of Claim
Form that they received in the mail from Idearc CEO, Scott Klein.
Retirees should only fill out the form if they have unpaid outstanding vouchers or other reimbursements that were submitted to or were incurred within 180 days of the date of bankruptcy (March 31, 2009). These forms must be received in the offices of Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC by August 10, 2009. It is not necessary to fill out forms for pension payments unless they are unpaid and represent payments for work up to and including the bankruptcy date. If you have more questions please direct them to The Bankruptcy Clerk's Office in Dallas, TX. They can be reached at 214-753-2000. Sincerely, C. William Jones
President & Executive Director
Association of BellTel Retirees, Inc.
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April 27, 2009
We received the following email from Debi Silverman, secretary of CWA 1301, regarding the Notice of Commencement letter we received. Here is her response.You do not have to do anything about the letter; (Proof of Claim) CWA is covering all of us legally and we are legally represented as well at the Idearc bankruptcy hearings. Later on this week, I will be posting some further information regarding bankruptcy questions on the web site. Debi Silverman Secretary CWA 1301 |
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NRLN President Urges Hearings on Retirees' Vanishing Health Care Benefits |
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NRLN President Bill Kadereit has sent letters to 10 leaders of U.S. Senate
and House committees and subcommittees that have jurisdiction on health
care legislation. The letters asked the Chairs and Ranking Members to
"immediately schedule a committee hearing to examine the rapidly vanishing
retiree health care benefits."
The letters, similar to the one shown below without the NRLN letterhead
that is addressed to Representative Henry Waxman, were sent to:
Kadereit also sent a letter to Representative George Miller,
Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor. Kadereit
testified last September before this committee's hearing on "Safeguarding
Retiree Health Benefits." The letter to Congressman Miller asked him to
support legislation to safeguard company-sponsored retiree health care
benefits.
As a follow up to the letters, the NRLN is issuing a national news release
announcing it is urging leaders of two Congressional committees and three
subcommittees to conduct hearings on the vanishing health care benefits of
America's retirees.
Ed Beltram, Vice President - Communications
National Retiree Legislative Network
--------------------------------------------------------------
April 21, 2009
The Honorable Henry Waxman, Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce
U. S. House of Representatives
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0530
Dear Representative Waxman:
Recent news articles have reported the health care and life insurance
benefits taken away from Delphi salaried retirees and spouses on April 1
as the result of bankruptcy court proceedings. The news media has begun to
speculate that General Motors salaried retirees and spouses may be in for
the same fate if GM files bankruptcy.
Given what is happening to retirement benefits in the auto industry
coupled with the reduction, or elimination, of retirees' earned benefits
across corporate America, it is time for Congress take action to turn back
this tide. On behalf of the more than 2 million retirees from 87
companies represented by the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN),
I urge you to immediately schedule a committee hearing to examine the
rapidly vanishing retiree health care benefits. The NRLN would welcome
the opportunity to testify before your committee.
Medicare-eligible GM retirees had their company-sponsored health care
benefits eliminated at the beginning of this year and were given a $300
per month increase in their pension checks. This amount doesn't come near
paying for replacement of the medical, dental, vision, hearing aid,
prescription drug, extended care and catastrophic coverage lost. Recently,
GM disclosed that on Jan. 1, 2010, it will end health care coverage to
retired salaried workers who are pre-65 and on Medicare because they are
disabled. They will get only a $260 per month medical expense credit. GM
is in the process of reducing basic life insurance for salaried retirees
by 50% with the first 25% cut to take place May 1, 2009.
On December 31, 2006, Chrysler ended its company-sponsored health care
benefits for its Medicare-eligible salaried retirees and spouses. It
replaced this substantial benefit with a "Health Care Retirement Account"
of $1,750 for a single retiree and $3,500 for a couple-a proverbial drop
in the bucket for what quality health care coverage actually costs. On
June 1, 2008, Chrysler eliminated its company-sponsored group life
insurance for its salaried retirees. While Ford is not in such dire
financial straits as Delphi, GM and Chrysler, it has taken action similar
to Chrysler in the elimination of health care benefits for
Medicare-eligible retirees and provides a remuneration to purchase
coverage.
Based on the NRLN's research, here are just a few of the more widely known
companies who have ended coverage, or placed more of the health care
costs, on post-age 65 and pre-age 65 retirees:
Aetna Alcatel-Lucent
AT&T
Caterpillar Chrysler
Delphi
Ford General Motors John
Deere
Embarq Corp. IBM
Kodak
International Paper Hanesbrands Inc. Sears
Roebuck & Co.
Whirlpool Corp. Xerox
Private sector retirees feel they have been abandoned by their former
companies and Congress has not taken action to protect the benefits they
have earned. Companies' repudiation of benefit commitments through
corporate bankruptcies, reorganizations or efforts to improve their
balance sheets threaten to inflict disastrous losses to 20 million
retirees.
The NRLN proposes that Congress enact legislation to accomplish the
following:
I have asked Marta Bascom, the NRLN's Executive Director in Washington, to
contact your staff to learn whether your Committee might be willing to
schedule a hearing as a step toward introducing legislation that will
protect employer-promised health care benefits. Marta can be reached on
703-863-9611.
Sincerely,
signed by Bill Kadereit
President, National Retiree Legislative Network
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Association of BellTel Retirees Inc. - Voting your Verizon Proxy |
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This email applies to only members who own Verizon
Stock.
We urge you to vote contrary to management's recommendation
on two important items on Verizon's proxy card for the upcoming Annual
Meeting on May 7th in Louisville:
VOTE AGAINST
Item 3: Advisory Vote on Executive
Compensation
VOTE FOR Item 8:
Separate the Roles of Board Chairman and CEO
We believe that Verizon's Board needs to hear that
shareholders want enhanced accountability and compensation policies better
aligned with shareholder interests.
Item 3: Vote
AGAINST Approving the Senior Executive Compensation Package
Key components of executive pay at Verizon are badly out of
line with best practices for performance-based compensation, in our view.
A study by the Corporate Library singled out Verizon for two consecutive
years as one of 12 "Pay for Failure Companies" with the worst combination
of excessive CEO pay and negative shareholder returns over the most recent
five-year period. ("Pay for Failure II," May 2007).
While returns were above average last year, we believe the
Company's compensation structure should include more challenging
performance hurdles and fewer windfall termination benefits.
Performance
Shares a 'Gimme':
The Corporate Library's 2008 update on "Pay for Failure" companies
extended its criticism of Verizon Board's compensation policies: "Verizon's
performance stock units (PSUs) continue to pay out for TSR performance
below the median. ... the company would have to perform below the 20th
percentile for executives to receive nothing" for 2008. In fact, for the
2008-2010 cycle, 100% of the target PSU award is paid out for median
performance - that is, for Total Shareholder Return at the 50th
percentile among "Related Dow Peers" (proxy at p. 35). Such low
expectations are what golfers call a "gimme."
Golden
Parachutes: If CEO
Ivan Seidenberg is terminated or even retires, he receives a $30.5 million
severance, more than five times his base salary plus bonus. He receives
$29.2 million after a change in control if he is not terminated.
President & COO Dennis Strigl would receive an even larger $40 million if
he terminates after a change in control - a platinum parachute that is 13
times his base salary plus bonus. (See proxy pp. 47-48).
Golden Coffins:
Upon termination of employment due to death,
Seidenberg would receive an additional $35.5 million, while Strigl would
receive $50.8 million. This is over and above any pension or deferred
compensation (which pay out tens of millions more).
Executive
Pensions: In 2006
Verizon froze its defined benefit SERP, which provided senior executives
with a company contribution equal to 32% of base salary and bonus. While
not as generous, the new nonqualified defined contribution plan continues
to be very costly, applying benefit formulas more generous than those that
apply to rank-and-file managers or employees. For example, Seidenberg
received $814,000 in SERP compensation for 2008: A $491,226 Company
contribution to his non-qualified plan for 2008 and, in addition, $322,862
in "above-market earnings" on his non-qualified plan assets. (Compensation
Tables, pp. 40-41).
Tax Gross-Ups:
Since Verizon executives apparently find it
burdensome that the IRS treats company payments for personal travel and
life insurance as income, the shareholders reimburse them for taxes as
well - a widely-criticized practice known as "tax gross-ups." (Proxy pp.
41, 51).
To support its recommendation, the Board describes how it
has reformed Verizon's pay practices in recent years. What's not said is
that at least four of the seven listed reforms were adopted only after
they received substantial votes as shareholder proposals - proposals the
Board initially opposed. In our view, pro-shareholder compensation
policies are adopted only if shareholders send a strong message. A
vote AGAINST Item 3 is precisely the nudge the Board needs.
Item 8: Vote
FOR a Policy Separating the Roles of Board Chairman and CEO
Multiple studies have found that shareholder returns are
substantially higher on average at firms with non-executive chairmen.
A 2006 Booz Allen Hamilton study of the world's 2,500
largest public companies concluded: "Non-chairman CEOs are now the best
performers. . . . In North America over the last three years, non-chairman
CEOs produced shareholder returns three times as high as those of
CEO/chairmen." ("CEO Succession 2005: The Crest of the Wave"). Booz Allen
found that among both American and European companies, firms that separate
the roles of chairman and CEO had returns 5 percentage points higher on
average than companies with CEO/chairmen.
A 2006 report from Moody's similarly concluded that
"arguments against independent board leadership are outweighed by
advantages offered by clarity of accountability and the strengthened
ability of independent directors to respond quickly in a crisis."
We believe that an independent Board Chair is particularly
overdue at Verizon. As the Corporate Library documented in its "Pay for
Failure" studies cited above, for many years the compensation of Verizon's
senior executives has been disconnected from returns to shareholders, in
our view.
The Board should be fully responsible and empowered to hold
the CEO accountable to the company's owners. But when the CEO is Chairman
of the Board, we believe that lines of accountability are blurred, that
compensation is less tightly aligned with shareholder returns, and that
the decision to replace a poorly-performing CEO is skirted or delayed.
While the Board's appointment of a Lead Director is
certainly a positive development, we believe there is no substitute for a
non-executive Chairman.
Please vote
your shares AGAINST Item 3 and FOR Item 8.
Your proxy voting card and proxy material will be sent to
you either from Verizon or your broker around the beginning of April. If
you don't receive your proxy material, contact your broker or Verizon's
investment group by going to
http://investor.verizon.com/contactus/ or calling
1-800-631-2355.
Sincerely yours,
C. William Jones
President & Executive Director
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Ask Congress & President To Protect Retirees In
Bankruptcy Court
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February 28, 2009
If you have been reading the emails from the National Retiree Legislative Network recently, you know that Delphi salaried retirees came under the gun early this month when they were notified that Delphi Corp. filed a proposal in bankruptcy court to eliminate their health care and life insurance. Despite the diligent efforts of the retirees and their teams of attorneys, the bankruptcy court judge ruled on Feb. 24th that Delphi could eliminate the benefits as early as April 1.
Soon after I learned about the Delphi Corp.'s bankruptcy court
filing, I read on the White House website that President Obama believes
that corporate bankruptcy laws should be reformed to protect workers and
retirees. I faxed letters to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee
and all 10 members of the Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the
Courts to point out President Obama's support for bankruptcy reform and
described the plan by Delphi Corp. to eliminate the health care and life
insurance benefits that salaried retirees had earned. I urged the Senators
to introduce legislation to elevate the status of retirees in bankruptcy
proceedings and put it on a fast track for passage.
It is time for all of the NRLN Grassroots Network members to tell
President Obama and members of Congress that corporate bankruptcy laws
must be reformed to provide greater protection for the benefits that
rightfully belong to retirees and future retirees. We need to motivate our
nation's political leaders to take immediate action. In today's economic
environment can any of us be confident that bankruptcy won't be down the
road for our former employer? Two of our NRLN Retiree Associations have
already been run through the gauntlet of bankruptcy court and the Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corp.
Please go to
http://capwiz.com/abtr/home/ to access the NRLN's sample letter
asking for corporate bankruptcy reform legislation. Look for the Action
Alert headline: BANKRUPTCY LAW REFORM NEEDED TO PROTECT RETIREMENT
BENEFITS. Click on "Take Action." On the next screen, type in your zip
code to identify the Senators and Representative to receive your email in
addition to President Obama and click "GO." Be sure to personalize the
letter with your own comments. If you have a problem accessing the Action
Alert with the above link, go to
www.nrln.org and click on the "Take Action Now" headline at the
top of the NRLN Website's Home Page.
Send your email today. It would also help to call the White House and the Washington, D.C. or state office of your Senators and Representative. Phone numbers can be found through the NRLN's Capwiz website at http://capwiz.com/abtr/dbq/officials/ . The more constituents who write and call President Obama and their Senators and Representatives, the better chance there is in gaining their attention on this important retirement issue. Please share this email with your family and friends and encourage them to write and call their members of Congress. Also, encourage them to sign up in the Grassroots Network at http://capwiz.com/abtr/mlm/signup/ and become an NRLN Individual Member by making a personal annual contribution. Details are available at www.nrln.org .
Bill Kadereit
President, National Retiree Legislative Network
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January 21, 2009
With the inauguration of President Barack Obama and the convening of the first session of the 111th Congress earlier this month, our nation's top political leaders are in place to decide the future course for America. This is an opportune time for you as a member of the NRLN Grassroots Network to send an email and/or call your elected representatives to urge them to focus on the need for legislation to better protect retirement pensions and benefits.
The NRLN, with the support of its affiliated Retiree Associations,
has targeted the 2009-10 period for intensive efforts to protect retirees'
pensions and benefits. We need your help to gain Congress' attention now.
Please go to
http://capwiz.com/abtr/home/ and look for the Action Alert headline:
RETIREES NEED PENSIONS AND BENEFITS PROTECTED. Click on "Take Action." On
the next screen, type in your zip code to identify the Senators and
Representative to receive your email in addition to President Obama and
click "GO." Be sure to personalize the letter with your own comments. If
you have a problem accessing the Action Alert with the above link, go to
www.nrln.org and click on the "Take Action Now" headline at the top of
the NRLN Website's Home Page.
Send your email today. It would also help to call the White House and the Washington, D.C. or state office of your Senators and Representative. Phone numbers can be found through the NRLN's Capwiz website at http://capwiz.com/abtr/dbq/officials/ . The more constituents who write and call President Obama and their Senators and Representatives, the better chance there is in gaining their attention on retirement issues. Please share this email with your family and friends and encourage them to write and call their members of Congress. Also, encourage them to sign up in the Grassroots Network at http://capwiz.com/abtr/mlm/signup/ and become an NRLN Individual Member by making a personal annual contribution. Details are available at www.nrln.org.
Bill Kadereit
President, National Retiree Legislative Network |
| Jamuary 6, 2009 ProtectSeniors.Org Corporate Claims That Retirees are a Liability to Business is “Morally Offensive” says Retiree Leader
Mr. Jones is just one of the retirees calling on the 111th Congress to act immediately towards passage of a bipartisan bill, titled The Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act (in the 110th Congress), which would prohibit employers from making post-retirement cancellations or reductions of health benefits that retirees were entitled to, without placing mandates on the employers as to what health plans they provide or monetary ceilings on the amount of health benefits. According to Paul Miller, Executive Director of the national retiree group ProtectSeniors.Org, the situation is as dire as the bailout for the automakers, banking industry and Wall Street. Working the halls of Capitol Hill, the rapidly growing coalition has already garnered the support of retirees from 285 companies, 36 unions, 14 retiree associations and 76 governmental retiree groups. “There are currently an estimated 18.5 million American retirees and baby boomers with their health benefits being significantly threatened. If cancelled by the corporations they once worked for, most would be dumped into the federal and state healthcare systems. In effect this means their former employers would be getting an additional back door federal bailout at the expense of the taxpayer.” The health care coverage Miller is referring to is earned retiree benefits that tens of millions of Americans earned and paid for during their working years. He says that for whatever reason, many corporations never socked that money aside and are using the current financial turmoil to threaten further cancellations and reductions. Miller estimates, “if just half of these people (over 9 million) see their earned retiree health care benefits cancelled or significantly cut, it would overwhelm an already overburdened government health care system.” Retirees say companies used the promise of post-employment health care to induce employees to stay with that employer or, in some cases, to take early retirement. Companies did not agree to pay retiree benefits out of the goodness of their hearts or social well-being; there were significant financial benefits and tax breaks for them. Employers benefited financially by not having to pay Social Security and payroll taxes on these benefits and funding these benefits could be deferred by companies in years when earnings were low, unlike payroll that must be paid on time. Since pensions are based on a percentage of wages, companies also saved on long-term pension costs. This past September 25, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held its first hearing on the legislation. At the time University Of Alabama School Of Law professor Dr. Norman Stein, an expert on the nation’s ERISA pension law testified in favor of the bill, saying Congress should pass legislation “that would make it difficult or perhaps impossible for an employer to terminate retiree health benefits after an employee has retired.” The long time advisor to AARP and the Pension Rights Center advocated Congress to “level the playing field for employees with clear, reasonable, and consistent rules.” Without action from Congress to protect America’s retirees during the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, a nightmare scenario looms for older Americans that has already claimed retirees of several large corporations. “America’s retirees are not here asking for a handout or a bailout,” said Mr. Miller. “We merely want companies to live up to the promises they made. Give us the health benefits we earned and paid for over decades of loyal service.” |
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Medical Insurance for those who retired prior to January 1, 1992 |
| January 8, 2009 To All Retirees: It has come to our attention that there are people who retired prior to January 1, 1992 that are paying premiums for their medical insurance. As you should know, if you retired in 1991, you left with a guarantee of fully paid medical for life. You should not be paying for this. As I write this, I have Julie Comperchio on the phone with me to confirm this. If you know of anyone who is in this category, Please let either Julie, jcdh44@aol.com or myself, djanian@aol.com, know. We are in the process of compiling a list of names of people who fall into this category to forward to the International to have them investigate why this is happening. Please send us your name and your dateof retirement. If you retired prior to January 1, 1992, you should already have received an HRA Form to sign and return to Idearc. This form would waive your rights to the free medical. This choice is yours, but it is not recommended. Why would you want to waive your FREE medical to be grouped in with the rest of the retirees who have a cap on their medical? Please get back to us as soon as possible. Thank you very much. Debbie Janian Julie Comperchio Harrington |
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The Association of BellTel Retirees has approached Verizon to try to return to Verizon previous retirees of Verizon that were transferred to Idearc. We will commence legal action if this approach is not successful. This action will not be easy and will be expensive. The only way we can be successful is if we identify those retirees who have been transferred to Idearc and gain their support. In addition to their financial support, we will need documents and will want some to testify when the time comes. I am sure that many of these people are already members of the Association but are not identified as Idearc retirees. It is necessary for those retirees to contact us to let us know so that we can note our records and we can contact them when we need them. There are also thousands of other people who have been transferred to Idearc that we do not have as members. It is vitally important that we find those people so that they can join us in this fight. Please, if you know of any such people we need you to forward their contact information to us. We know that there are 3,000 such retirees out there and we need every single one to step up and help us to help them. You can call the office with information: 1-800-261-9222 You can mail us names, telephone numbers, addresses and email addresses to: P.O. Box 33, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724 You can email information to: association@belltelretirees.org You can call one of our board members; their home numbers are in the newsletter. Thank you for your help. It is imperative that we do all we can to protect these retirees’ pensions and benefits. Bill C. William Jones Board Chairman |
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From:
Scott W. Klein [mailto:Scott.Klein@idearc.com]
Attached is a sample of the
type of letter we very much need each of you to write to Klein and Reed
ASAP. George Alcott November 16, 2008 As a Verizon retiree, much like you Mr. Reed, I grew up working for New England Telephone and it’s successors and was always proud of the company for which I worked. As you recall our company was respected by the community, as well as by employees and retirees. It is clear to see that day has come to a very sad ending. When a CEO so publicly demonizes retirees for collecting health benefits that they worked decades for in exchange for contract ratification, it is no wonder that your company stock is trading so low. Mr. Klein, I was unaware that my health benefits could be sold at auction to the highest bidder. After speaking to many retirees, I believe you will come to see that this was not the best road for you to take and I sincerely doubt it will get you where you want to be. Mr. Reed, your complicity in these events is even more shocking and disgraceful. After all, when you retired from NYNEX just a few short years before many of us, I am sure that health care for you and your family was one of the benefits that you left with. For you it was a benefit, however for us it is welfare. Don, you must be paid very well to live with your hypocrisy. To the members of the Idearc Board, the actions you have taken are truly unconscionable. RETIREE BENEFITS ARE NOT FOR SALE. We will invest our time in ensuring that your actions are fully investigated and exposed to the public, political and financial communities. I assure you we will fight to retain our benefits. Sincerely, |
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ProtectSeniors.Org Testifies on Retiree
Healthcare Before House Committee
On September 25th, Bill Jones, Chairman of the Board of ProtectSeniors.Org, testified in front of the full House Education and Labor Committee at a hearing titled "Safeguarding Retiree Health Benefits." The hearing was on H.R. 1322, the Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act, which ProtectSeniors.Org has been advocating to see made into law. The hearing was Chaired by Representative John Tierney (D-MA), the original sponsor of the bill. Beyond providing compelling testimony, ProtectSeniors.Org made a clear statement at the hearing by filling the room with members and supporters of our cause. Many clad in red t-shirts reading "Save Retiree Healthcare", approximately 100 seniors and other supporters showed the Committee the true grassroots support this bill has. Thank you to all who made the effort to attend and helped us make an undeniable impression on the Committee members. It was a remarkable response on short notice given that we had only five days to organize our supporters.To read Mr. Tierney's opening statement and Mr. Jones' testimony or to view a webcast of the entire hearing, go to http://edwork.edgeboss.net/wmedia/edwork/fc/fc092508.wvx This hearing was great step forward in our fight to secure your earned health benefits, but there is still much work to be done. We will keep working in Washington, DC, to keep this issue at the top of Congress's to-do list, and of course we need you to continue to communicate with your Representative and Senators about this issue. Thank you for your continued support! ProtectSeniors.Org |
| July 18, 2008 As you may have read or heard, General Motors has become the latest American company to eliminate health benefits to its retirees over age 65. This is the first major casualty of the EEOC's decision earlier this year to allow companies to discriminate against older retirees by treating them differently than younger retirees. In fact, this move may be a sign of even more cuts to come: GM has set a precedent that will likely lead other employers to do the same. We cannot over-emphasize the urgency of passing H.R. 1322 and H.R. 6143. Rep. John F. Tierney needs to hear from you again and again, especially in light of this recent round of cuts at GM. We know that many of you have already sent letters. However, we are asking you to double your efforts. Your letters and emails are working and more letters will push some of those on the fence to help us. For those who have not sent a letter, now is the time. You cannot leave this job to others. This is too important to retirees facing the same threat of losing their health benefits. Former union workers' healthcare is also at risk and we encourage you to indicate your union affiliation in your message to let Congress know that this is an issue important to ALL retirees. Please click on the following link to send a message through our electronic system: http://capwiz.com/protectseniors/issues/alert/?alertid=11055656 If you would prefer to print a letter and mail it, please click HERE. Just print, fill in your Representative's name (Rep. John F. Tierney), sign and send to ProtectSeniors.Org Executive Paul Miller who will ensure your letter is hand-delivered to Capitol Hill. You may consider including a handwritten note at the bottom to reinforce the importance of this issue. Mail to: Paul A. Miller Executive Director, ProtectSeniors.Org Thank you for your efforts. With your
help we CAN save retiree healthcare!
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December 27, 2007 By ROBERT PEAR WASHINGTON — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday that employers could reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare. The policy, set forth in a new regulation, allows employers to establish two classes of retirees, with more comprehensive benefits for those under 65 and more limited benefits — or none at all — for those older. More than 10 million retirees rely on employer-sponsored health plans as a primary source of coverage or as a supplement to Medi care, and Naomi C. Earp, the commission’s chairwoman, said, “This rule will help employers continue to voluntarily provide and maintain these critically important health benefits.” Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 6.1 percent this year and have increased 78 percent since 2001, according to surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Because of the rising cost of health care and the increased life expectancy of workers, the commission said, many employers refuse to provide retiree health benefits or even to negotiate on the issue. In general, the commission observed, employers are not required by federal law to provide health benefits to either active or retired workers. Dianna B. Johnston, a lawyer for the commission, said many employers and labor unions had told it that “if they had to provide identical benefits for retirees under 65 and over 65, they would just drop retiree health benefits altogether for both groups.” In a preamble to the new regulation, published Wednesday in the Federal Register, the commission said, “The final rule is not intended to encourage employers to eliminate any retiree health benefits they may currently provide.” But AARP and other advocates for older Americans attacked the rule. “This rule gives employers free rein to use age as a basis for reducing or eliminating health care benefits for retirees 65 and older,” said Christopher G. Mackaronis, a lawyer for AARP, which represents millions of people age 50 or above and which had sued in an effort to block issuance of the final regulation. “Ten million people could be affecte d — adversely affected — by the rule.” The new policy creates an explicit exemption from age-discrimination laws for employers that scale back benefits of retirees 65 and over. Mr. Mackaronis asserted that the exemption was “in direct conflict” with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. The commission, by contrast, said that under that law, it could establish “such reasonable exemptions” as it might find “necessary and proper in the public interest.” The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, upheld this claim in June, in the case filed by AARP, which has asked the Supreme Court to review the decision. In its ruling, the appe als court said, “We recognize with some dismay that the proposed exemption may allow employers to reduce health benefits to retirees over the age of 65 while maintaining greater benefits for younger retirees.” But the court said the commission had shown that the exemption was “a reasonable, necessary and proper exercise” of its authority. Under the new rule, employers may, if they choose, provide retiree health benefits “only to those retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare.” Likewise, the rule says, retiree health benefits can be “altered, reduced or eliminated” when a retiree becomes eligible for Medicare. Further, employers will be able to reduce or eliminate health benefits provided to the spouse or dependents of a retired worker 65 or over, regardless of whether benefits for the retiree are changed. Employers and some unions contend that retirees under 65 have a g reater need for employer-sponsored health benefits because they are generally not Medicare-eligible. Large employers have often provided some health benefits to retirees 65 and older, to help cover costs not paid by Medicare. But employers have for years been trying to reduce retiree benefits or to shift more of the cost to retirees. Lawyers for the commission said the new Medicare drug benefit, now nearing the end of its second year, had strengthened the case for the regulation because it guaranteed that retirees 65 and older would have access to drug coverage. Younger retirees have no such guarantee, so employers may want to provide drug coverage to them in particular, the lawyers said. Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, which represents large employers, welcomed the rule. “If employers could not coordinate with Medicare, they would be far le ss likely to provide health coverage” to retirees, Ms. Darling said. “They could not afford to.” A study by the Government Accountability Office in 2001 estimated that one-third of large employers and fewer than one-tenth of small employers offered health benefits to retirees. Ms. Darling said newer retirees often received not comprehensive coverage but instead a fixed amount of money, based on years of service, to help them with their medical costs. James A. Klein, president of the American Benefits Council, a lobby for large employers, said: “The new rule is a victory for common sense and for retirees. Retiree health coverage has been declining for many years. Without this rule, many m ore retirees, especially early retirees, could find themselves without employer-sponsored coverage.” Gerald M. Shea, assistant to the president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., also saw merit in the new rule. “Given the enormous cost pressures on employer-sponsored health benefits,” Mr. Shea said, “we support the flexibility reflected in the rule as a way to maximize our ability to maintain comprehensive coverage for active and retired workers.” Schoolteachers, like many other public employees, often retire early and rely on employer-provided health benefits until they become eligible for Medicare. At a Congressional hearing in 20 05, the National Education Association and Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, who is now the House Republican leader, supported the proposed rule. The teachers union said it feared that employers would cut health benefits for early retirees if they had to provide identical benefits to those over 65 and those under. |
| January 7, 2008 Subject: Association of BellTel Retirees Bulletin IDEARC TERMINATES CONCESSION TELEPHONE SERVICE BENEFIT On November 17, 2006 Verizon spun off its domestic print and Internet yellow pages directories publishing operations as well as the Verizon Information Services (VIS) to Idearc. This spin off resulted in a transfer to Idearc of approximately 7,400 employees and a yet to be determined number of retirees. Many were retired from Verizon or its predecessor companies for many years and were depending upon Verizon to provide promised pensions and healthcare benefits. Those benefits were to be substantially similar to those provided by Verizon. Recently a notice was sent to Idearc employees and retirees that Concession Telephone Service was to be terminated effective January 1, 2008. Some already lost this benefit in 2002 and received a lump sum payment. This action confirmed the fears of those transferred to Idearc that their pensions and benefits were at serious risk. Many appeals were made to the Association of BellTel Retirees to intervene on their behalf. The Association has agreed to ask legal counsel to research the issues. At this point we do not know if there is a basis for suit. However, we ask that Idearc retirees: 1. Collect any and all documents that they have relating to the conditions of their retirement and the promises made in writing or verbally for all benefits including Concession Service. Copy them and send the copies to the address shown below. 2. We need to know the names and all contact information of all who would serve as Members of the Class should a suit be filed. Let us know that you want to be an Idearc Protestor. 3. Write (email or fax) your Member of Congress and, in your own words, explain what has happened to you. Ask for a Congressional investigation of the transfer and potential loss of earned benefits. Mail copies of documents to: Association of BellTel Retirees P.O. Box 33 Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724 Email other information & Idearc Protestor contact information to: association@belltelretirees.org We ask all members to pass this email on to your friends and associates. Please urge them to join the Association by accessing our web site: www.belltelretirees.org and clicking on Join Us. WE NEED THE SUPPORT OF ALL! Thank you. Bill C. William Jones President & Executive Director Association of BellTel Retirees Inc. Board Chairman ProtectSeniors.Org
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| January 5, 2008 Also, before I forget, thank you letting your friends know how to get on our mailing list. Of course, they can also get on our list to receive our newsletters as well by going to the two web sites: www.belltelretirees.org and www.protectseniors.org and clicking on the "Join Us" icons. Your email regarding the erosion of benefits is right on target and timely since we (the Association of BellTel Retirees) are in the midst of determining what sort of case we might file, if there is a legal basis, to return the existing retirees of Verizon that were transferred to Idearc. We are also looking into the Concession Service issue as well. It is my understanding that the management folks at VIS lost their concession service in 2002. The recent email that I received referred to the union represented folks who will lose their Concession Service on 1/1/08. Any information that you can provide is welcome. Further, in your discussions with other retirees that have been dumped into Idearc, we are looking for any documents that memorialized your concession service, promises that were made that benefits would remain the same, etc. would be helpful. Also, people who would serve as "Members of the Class" if a suit is filed should let us know by emailing or calling our office in Cold Spring Harbor: 1-800-261-9222 and let us know that they want to be an "Idearc Protestor." Ray, please understand that at this point this is a fishing expedition. I cannot promise anything but to do our best to research the issues, see if there is a legal basis for suit and, if there is, determine the cost of litigation. This is far from an open and shut case. Please feel free to pass this email on to your friends and associates. We will be getting a message out to our email bulletin subscribers shortly and will have information on our web site and in the next newsletter. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or information that might be helpful. Bill C. William Jones Board Chairman |
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New Offer Applies Bill Credit to Offset Monthly Fee, Includes Automatic Restoration of Services BOSTON - Before you stow the dinghy or shutter the windows and head down the highway for home this season, call Verizon and suspend the phone and Internet services at your summer residence. Verizon will deactivate the phone and High Speed Internet services, but leave them in place, ready to be turned back on within six months, all of this with minimal to no cost with this special offer. "For a one-time charge of $10, customers in Massachusetts can suspend their phone service and receive a $17 per month promotional credit toward their bill to offset the monthly fees while they're away," said Wesley Chin, product manager for Verizon. In addition, the monthly fee for suspension of Verizon High Speed Internet in Massachusetts is being waived for up to six months. Customers can call their local business office at the number on their bill to request the temporary deferrals. Once customers inform Verizon of their departure and return dates, service restoration will be automatic for voice and Internet services. Plus, customers have the added convenience of keeping their phone number while they're away. "This new offer is a reminder to our customers of how important they are to us, even if they only use the services we offer for part of the year," Chin said. "We're giving them a painless way to stay connected to the best, most reliable voice and data network in the nation." Verizon has earned numerous awards this year for offering the best in calling and Internet services at a great value. And Verizon is the only company of its kind delivering the benefits of the most advanced all-digital, all-fiber-optic network all the way to customers in areas where the company's FiOS services are available. At the same time, Verizon's traditional copper network offers reliability and High Speed Internet access that - unlike cable TV Internet services -- is not shared by other customers, assuring better speed performance during busy hours. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a leader in delivering broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 62 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations include Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world, and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers the benefits of converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. A Dow 30 company, Verizon has a diverse workforce of more than 238,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $88 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com. |
| Death benefit our members should be aware of A death benefit that is available to those members that were on the Bell Atlantic payroll as of August 1986. This benefit is over and above the life insurance that our members receive from the company. The life insurance is one years salary at the time of death or what the salary was when you retired. That benefit begins reducing at the age of 65 and goes to 1/2 of your salary at the age of 70. It does not reduce any more that 50% of the years salary at the time that you retired. The death benefit would be also a years salary, but no more than $39,000.00. That amount of money does not reduce with age. The company does not inform our members of this benefit. It is very important that you call the benefits center @ 1-877-275-8947 and ask if you qualify for this death benefit and if you do, ask them to send you a certificate acknowledging this benefit for your records. A family member has one year from the time of your passing to collect this benefit. After the one year the death benefit is gone. Please pass this on to as many of our retired and active members that were on the payroll as of August 1986. When you call the Benefits Center you want Life Events and then Benefits Center and they will send you a confirmation if you are eligible. I was informed you must be pension eligible to receive a confirmation.
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A campaign encouraging people
to enter an emergency contact number in Originally established as a nation-wide campaign in the UK, ICE allowsparamedics or police to be able to contact a designated relative / next-of-kin in an emergency situation. The idea is the brainchild of
East Anglian Ambulance Service paramedic Bob
paramedic for 13 years, said: "I was reflecting on some of the calls I've attended at the roadside where I had to look through the mobile phone contacts struggling for information on a shocked or injured person. Almost everyone carries a
mobile phone now, and with ICE we'd know know of their medical history." By adopting the ICE advice,
your mobile will help the rescue services
death situation. It only takes a few seconds to do, and it could easily help save your life. Why not put ICE in your phone now? Simply select a new contact in your phone book, enter the word 'ICE' and the number of the person you wish to be contacted. Further reading from another email. Subject: ICE
East Anglican Ambulance Service have launched a national "In case of Emergency (ICE)" campaign with the support of Falklands war hero Simon Weston. The idea is that you store the word "I C E" in your mobile phone address book, and against it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted "In Case of Emergency". In an emergency situation ambulance and hospital staff will then be able to quickly find out who your next of kin are and be able to contact them. It's so simple that everyone can do it. Please do. |
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Following is how to access information on the Verizon MATCHING INCENTIVE PROGRAM, supplied by Kathy Sullivan. Type in the following address http://foundation.verizon.com/07001.shtml Log in as a Current Retiree, located in the box on the right under Verizon Volunteers. Fill in the information to "create a password", or for previous users, "Log In Here". Under MATCHING INCENTIVE PROGRAM, click on "Click here to REGISTER a MIP - Matching Incentive gift or VIEW your giving history". On the next page, accept the rules. Click on "SEARCH FOR ORGANIZATION" and type in your organization.
It will let you know if
the organization is approved.
Thank you Kathy |
| 06/27/2010 11:56 PM |
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