June 15, 2023
NCRGEA continues its work to advance, promote, and protect the benefits, interests, and well-being of North Carolina’s retired state and local public servants in the Lake Case. Click the video at left to hear a report from ABC11 News in Raleigh.
As Executive Director Tim O’Connell explains in this video: “To take care of them in the retirement years, based upon a contractual promise, is being a good steward for North Carolina.”
As we get older, it’s normal to notice some vision problems. Issues like difficulty telling colors apart and taking more time to adapt to changes in the amount of light are all too common. Daily activities like looking at a computer screen or exchanging text messages on your phone or spending time outside without protective sunglasses can increase risks for eyestrain and vision problems.
As the years tick by, it’s common to have more problems regarding your vision. Many older people find themselves having increased difficulty seeing things up close, distinguishing between colors and noticing more sensitivity to glare and needing more light for specific tasks.
A lot of the problems you might encounter with aging eyes stem from specific conditions. Here are some to keep on your radar.
Have you noticed you’re squinting at menus or turning up the brightness to try and read texts on your phone? You might have presbyopia, or age-related farsightedness.
After age 40, most people will deal with some level of gradual loss of their eyes’ ability to focus on nearby objects. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for correcting this issue, from eyeglasses and contacts to surgical solutions.
Age-related macular degeneration is a leading cause of vision problems, including vision loss, in people over 50. This condition affects your central vision but leaves your peripheral vision unchanged. You get AMD when your macula, a key part of your retina, changes. Most people get dry AMD, which causes you to lose your central vision slowly over time.
Dry eyes don’t just cause redness, a stinging sensation, and discomfort. The condition can also blur your vision. People of all ages deal with dry eyes, but the issue is most frequent for older people. This is because our bodies make fewer tears as we get older. After age 65, it’s highly likely for people to have some dry eye symptoms.
Fortunately, over-the-counter artificial tears are an easy solution for many people.
Glaucoma is a blanket term for a variety of conditions related to damage to the optic nerve that can cause serious vision problems. Open-angle glaucoma, the most common type, usually doesn’t cause symptoms at first, but slowly deteriorates the peripheral vision. Without treatment to relieve the pressure on the optic nerve and prevent further vision loss, the condition can eventually lead to total blindness.
More than 50% of Americans over the age of 80 either have cataracts or have had them removed.
Cataracts are caused by the proteins in the eye start to break down and clump together. Over time, this causes visible cloudiness in the eye and makes vision fuzzy, causes colors to look faded and diminishes night vision.
While different eyeglasses or contact lens prescriptions can help, many eye doctors eventually recommend surgery to remove the cataract.
Aging eyes can mean problems down the road, but with regular eye checkups, your chances of catching problems early on are far greater. A good eye doctor can evaluate your eyes and catch issues early when they’re easiest to treat. That’s why the Vision Plan from NCRGEA and AMBA is so important. The plan covers annual WellVision exams, 100% coverage for most lenses, even progressives, and thousands of nationwide in-network providers. Sign up today – acceptance is GUARANTEED! – at www.ambadentalvision.com/ncrgea#vision or call 800-956-1228.
Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/presbyopia/symptoms-causes/syc-20363328
https://www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/glaucoma
LivingPower September/October 2023
Representing our state’s more than 357,000 state and local retirees, your NCRGEA board of directors, executive director, and government relations team create a series of legislative goals that best addresses the quality of life for North Carolina’s government retirees. These goals are developed to align with the legislative biennium, a two-year session consisting of one long and one short session, beginning in each odd-number year.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit our country, there was a dramatic shift in the quality of life for everyone, including our members and all in retirement. NCRGEA worked to address this with more holistic and expansive legislative goals focusing on healthcare, telehealth, and broadband.
Our focus to keep our state’s pension system healthy and productive for you and generations of retirees remains steadfast. In this new age, job vacancies in all industries have increased substantially. This is especially true in government, where roughly 30 percent of public sector openings remain unfilled. Why does this matter to you? All public sector employees contribute to their respective pension systems. When vacancies are high, less employee and employer revenue is contributed to the pension systems.
Here’s a status report of 2023-2024 biennium legislative goals:
More details on the status of bills related to NCRGEA legislative’s agenda can be found on NCRGEA’s FastDemocracy Bill Tracker, that is available to you on our website.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers. In 2022, approximately 30% of all new women cancer diagnoses will be breast cancer. In 2022, approximately 287,500 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed in women in the U.S. as well as 51,400 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
Although there is no sure way to prevent breast cancer, living a healthy lifestyle may lower the risk.
Other areas that may potentially increase the risk of breast cancer include the following: not having children, not breastfeeding, birth control methods that utilize hormones, menopausal hormone therapy with estrogen (often combined with progesterone), and breast implants.
Approximately 1 in 8 women will face a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. It’s just one more good reason to be ready with a Cancer plan from NCRGEA and AMBA. It can help cover the cost of treatments and related expenses like travel and other out-of-pocket costs. To learn more about Cancer Insurance, contact AMBA at 800-956-1228 or request more information at www.amba-review.com/NCRGEA
LivingPower September/October 2023
Open Enrollment is October 9th-27th.
Learn more about your 2024 health plan options to help you make the best choice for 2024!
Plan to attend one of the State Health Plan’s Medicare Outreach events. Register by visiting the State Health Plan’s website at www.shpnc.org/upcoming-events.
September 20, 2023
Tuesday night, legislative leadership from both the House and Senate chambers announced that they had reached a $30 billion budget agreement after a weeks-long stalemate between the two chambers. The budget includes a 4 percent bonus for retired teachers and state government employees. This 4 percent bonus will be distributed in November 2023. Retirees may receive an additional bonus or a cost-of-living adjustment next year in the 2024 legislative short session. The 2020-2022 biennium budget included bonuses totaling 6 percent for state employees, including the additional 4% awarded in the legislature’s short session last year.
The executive leadership and board of NCRGEA wish to thank the legislature for its work to provide inflation-negating money for our state’s deserving retirees. We also want to thank the many legislative champions who fought determinedly on behalf of more than 250,000 state retirees who taught, served, or protected the people of North Carolina and continue to contribute to society and their local economies in meaningful ways. While it looks like this chapter is successfully ending, our work for local government retirees continues in conjunction with the Local Government Employees’ Trustees Board and related organizations. We will never cease to strongly advocate for all government retirees in North Carolina.
This hearty recipe is from a reader in North Carolina. It’s a great recipe to welcome in the autumn – it’s perfectly spiced, packed with plenty of protein and fiber, and has a truly addicting flavor. This healthy recipe’s ingredients include lean ground turkey so is a healthier alternative to a ground beef version but loses none of the deliciousness!
Makes 6 servings, about 1 1/2 cups each.
NCRGEA is compiling a Digital Holiday Dessert collection of recipes for 2023! If you have a dessert recipe you’d like to share, Submit A Dessert here by October 10, 2023.
Hello North Carolina local government and state retirees! North Carolina Retired Governmental
Employees’ Association’s in-person Local Outreach Meetings took a short break in July and August—
but we’re coming back in September stronger than ever.
NCRGEA is back on the road with seven in-person meetings in September and October. We are fortunate to have our good friends from the NC Department of Insurance’s Senior Health Information Insurance Program [SHIIP] and Humana to advise on your open enrollment processes. Our representatives from AMBA will offer information on supplemental dental and vision programs. These meetings will be a great opportunity to get your questions answered by subject matter experts. Mark your calendars!
August 30, 2023
Today, I write to you as our state prepares for the advent of Hurricane Idalia. We North Carolinians are not strangers to such events. Many of our NCRGEA members played significant past roles in developing emergency preparedness plans, participating in rescue operations and frequently working through long and stressful recovery efforts in their communities — even when their own residences and families were impacted. Our thoughts are with all the current public service employees charged with these responsibilities in North Carolina and beyond with this pending weather event.
I encourage you to monitor the tracking of #HurricaneIdalia through your preferred weather information source and review the information provide by the State of North Carolina at www.readync.gov.
Wishing everyone the most positive outcome, and once again express our gratitude to the public service staff who will be working on behalf of us all with Hurricane Idalia’s projected path toward North Carolina.
Sincerely,
Tim O’Connell
NCRGEA Executive Director
www.NCRGEA.com
Well, we have a great deal for you! Shepherd’s Center of Winston-Salem has collaborated with Break Time Billiards and Sports Bar to offer this opportunity. This is a great way to get out of the house and socialize a bit. And, food is there for purchase at Break Time!
In order to participate, you only need to meet the following requirements:
1. Must be at least 65 years of age.
2. Live in Forsyth County.
3. Must get free tickets from Break Time Billiards or Shepherd’s Center.
4. Must take ticket to Break Time Billiard’s counter to receive your free lessons and to play pool. Sign in sheet is at the counter.
Once you have your ticket, you can play during program hours:
Monday–Thursday from 4–6:00pm
Friday from 12–6:00pm
NCRGEA member and District 3 Community Advisory Board (CAB) member, Robin Kelly, is a certified pool instructor and he is there to greet you. To schedule lessons, call Robin at: 336-466-0683. He instructs during program times and is excited to work with you and teach a sport he loves.
For additional information regarding the program, please contact Shepherd’s Center at 336-748-0217.
No doubt, this is a great opportunity to stay active and engaged! We are hoping that you will take advantage and enjoy mingling with others around this sport! NCRGEA membership is not required, so please include your retired friends. Robin may ask you to pose for a picture for our newsletter.
The info flyer is available here, and as always, if you have any questions, please email deryl@NCRGEA.com or phone 919.834.4652 or 1.800.356.1190.
Deryl Davis Fulmer
NCRGEA Community Liaison
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