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.
Americans spend a whopping 4 hours and 25 minutes each day on their mobile devices. That doesn’t even include the time spent watching television, working on a computer, or other digital screens. It’s official: We live in a digital world. Unfortunately, your eye health can suffer from all of the increased time on digital devices. Though minimizing screen time is the most obvious solution, it isn’t necessarily the easiest. However, these tips can help keep your eyes healthy.
1) Adjust computer position
If you view your screen too close to your eyes, you’re risking straining your vision. Generally, the preferred viewing distance is between 20 and 40 inches from the eye to the screen. If reading from that distance is difficult, most smartphones and computer screens allow you to adjust the text size, which can help, especially if your device has a with smaller screen.
Likewise, if your screen is higher than eye level, you could be straining your eyes unnecessarily. That’s because a muscle outside of the eye is used to facilitate reading when monitors are above eye level. Eyes naturally need to come down and in versus around and up, so position your screens to your eye level or below.
2) Adjust computer and workplace lighting
Your screen’s brightness and sharpness should be maximized to best match your surroundings and maintain a similarity to the environment around you. When lighting your workspace, natural light is the ideal option. Also, traditional incandescent lightbulbs are kinder to eyes than their fluorescent counterparts.
3) Look away from your screen
A two-pound weight is easy to hold at first. However, eventually, your arm will become strained from holding it. The same goes for eyes looking at a screen. To give your eyes relief, use the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away or more for at least 20 seconds. This exercise forces muscles to relax and increases blinking.
4) Prevent dry eye
Between screen time, air-conditioning and artificial lighting, dry eye is a major issue. Dry eye can start off as a minor annoyance, but can lead to redness, discomfort, increased risk of infection, and more. Artificial tears and getting plenty of Omega-3 fatty acids in your diet can help to reduce dry eye.
As use of digital devices continues to increase among people of all ages, keeping your eye health in mind is increasingly important. Another important step to make sure your eyes remain healthy is with regular checkups with your eye doctor. NCRGEA and AMBA offer an affordable Vision Plan. The plan provides comprehensive coverage with low copays for important services, including coverage for a WellVision exam every 12 months, as well as big savings on eyewear, contacts, and lenses. Sign up now at www.ambadentalvision.com/ncrgea or call 800-956-1228.
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
Many of us are familiar with Marie Kondo’s philosophy of our homes should be filled with only things that “spark joy”. While that is an admirable ambition, it’s also not 100% realistic: only a handful of people feel a sense of joy about their soup strainer. Still, every household should have things that are needed as well as wanted. But when does enough become too much? What are the serious signs it’s time to declutter your home?
Clutter has a strange way of accumulating under the radar: one day everything seems fine, then suddenly you realize your home is in complete disarray. If you recognize any of the signs listed below, it’s time to be proactive and get yourself – and your home – to an organized placed and defeat clutter once and for all.
Excessive clutter can lead to inadequate cleaning and health risks, including trips and falls, increased fire hazard risk and other dangers.
Ways to Recognize it’s Time to Declutter Your Home
Misplacing items occasionally is one thing, but constantly not being able to find things you need is a surefire sign it’s time to do a deep cleaning.
Deep cleanings don’t need to seem daunting. Take it one step at a time: instead of trying to tackle every room, surface, and shelf all at once, dedicate a few hours each day to one single area of your home. Start with the most problematic places, for example the kitchen drawers or the coatrack closest to the entryway.
Start by getting rid of the things you don’t use or want anymore. The next step is to categorize like-items and assign them to a specific location. That way, you’ll know exactly where to find things going forwards, saving you precious time and unnecessary stress.
Closets, cabinets, and drawers are frequently the worst areas for clutter. The old saying “Out of sight, out of mind” applies here. Two of the most obvious signs you’ve allowed your storage past the point of capacity is if you’re constantly running out of hangers for your closets and/or the doors won’t close for any of these storage spaces.
If there’s an overflowing jumble in your hideaway spaces, it’s likely that many of the things that are in there can be trashed, recycled, or rehomed. The next step organizing these spaces with dividers and neatly arranging what’s left.
Whether it’s cleaning the kitchen, organizing the living room, or sorting laundry, no one wants to spend all day maintaining their home. If completing these chores is taking too long, it’s time to cut back.
The fewer things you have, the simpler and easier it is to clean and organize. Decluttering regularly is one of the best ways to keep on top of tidiness.
Is inviting friends or family over a cause for excitement or stress? Do you find it easier to just not invite people over at all? If you find yourself your overly cluttered home. It’s exhausting. So much so, that it’s probably easier to just not host at all, right?
Wanting a welcoming home for guests is an excellent motivator to declutter! It’s also an affective tactic to motivate yourself to not only present your home at its best, but also where the problem areas are. When you imagine yourself as a guest and examine your home with a fresh set of eyes, seeing where you could and should clear things up is easier.
Your home should be your oasis. If you walk through the door and feel agitated by all the ‘stuff’ lying around, rather than calm and happy with the serene space you’ve created for yourself, it’s a sign that decluttering really is in order.
As well as being difficult to live with physically, dealing with clutter on a regular basis can be very draining on an emotional level, too. Even the simplest of tasks become hard work.
Getting frustrated when you’re trying to leave the house because you’ve misplaced the keys again? Are you not able to enjoy a relaxing night in because you can’t locate the TV remote? These are clear signs it’s time to take back control and make your home the serene abode you deserve.
Clutter Can Be Frustrating And Dangerous
Clutter isn’t only emotionally draining, it can be physically dangerous. If you have a lot of stuff on the floor, especially in walkways or in other areas where you walk, there’s a greater chance you’ll trip and fall. Loose rugs, cords and other objects on the floor can become tripping hazards, which can lead to potentially serious injury that can result in a need for emergency medical transport.
Protecting your health with simple, commonsense measures is important. So is protecting your savings. Getting a Medical Air Services Association (MASA) plan can prove to be one of the smartest things you ever do. MASA can protect you from catastrophic financial loss when emergencies arise at home or while traveling by covering your ambulance or airlift, regardless of your age or medical condition. Services are paid in full, with no deductibles, co-pays, or dollar limits. MASA provides coverage in all 50 states and Canada. NCRGEA and AMBA make getting a MASA plan easy. You can even sign up online. Learn more at www.AMBAmedtransport.com or call 877-290-3170.
Getting older comes with several life-changing realities. Making healthy choices is one of the most prominent and important. Along with physical exercise, getting plenty of sleep, and staying social, a healthy diet is essential.
Eating right is crucial for adults over the age of 60. Poor diet can lead to many chronic diseases, including diabetes, osteoporosis, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases.
Nutrient deficiency is also a common problem for older Americans due to not enough dietary variation. An easy way to get the nutrients you need and keep your body healthy is to add more avocados. Yes, the same food responsible for delicious guacamole can keep your body healthy for years to come.
Avocados are “nutrient-dense”: they’re packed with Vitamins C, E, K, and B6 as well as nutrients like iron, niacin, potassium, omega 3, and beta-carotene.
Plus, unlike other fruits, avocados are low in calories, solid fats, added sugars, and refined starches.
A serving of avocado meets the American Heart Association’s recommended dietary intake, which is:
Avocados also fight the risk of heart problems because they are abundant in heart-healthy nutrients like:
Avocados are filled with antioxidants, helping to prevent the development of cancer cells in the body. Add to that its folate content which acts as protective gear against DNA and RNA mutations thus preventing the development of colon, pancreatic, and cervical cancer.
Recent research findings suggest that avocado extracts may even aid in treating cancer patients. Phytochemicals from the fruit kill and inhibit the growth of cancer cells. It also aided in reducing the negative effect of the chemotherapeutic drug cyclophosphamide to a patient’s body.
Want more protection in case of a cancer diagnosis or a heart event? A Cancer Plan from NCRGEA and AMBA can help. The plan will pay you a lump sum upon initial diagnosis. You’re free to spend the money as you wish: to pay medical bills, cover the cost of transportation to the doctor, anything – the money is yours. You can even add a Heart/Stroke rider to your policy for an additional premium. Request more information at www.amba-review.com/ncrgea or speak with a skilled AMBA representative by calling 800-956-1228.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7255361/
Currently, nearly 10,000 people in the United States turn 65 years old every day. By 2028, that number will reach nearly 12,000 people a day. That adds up to millions of people leaving the workforce every year. Are they prepared for a successful retirement?
Americans are living, on average, more than two decades after the traditional retirement age of 65. The average 65-year-old American man will live to be nearly 86 years old, while the average 65-year-old American woman will live to nearly 88 years old.
As exciting as retirement can sound, the fact is more people are retiring with less savings than they need to be comfortable. In fact, more than 1 out of 5 Americans have no retirement savings at all.
It’s never too late to save, even after retirement. Here are a few things you should consider for a successful retirement.
Consider what you own, what you need, and what you’d be OK doing without. If you’re an empty-nester and no longer need a big house – or want the expense of maintaining it and the property – you can move to a smaller and less costly home. You could even consider moving to another state that might have a more favorable cost of living and new adventures.
Downsizing doesn’t only have to mean your home. You can consider if it’s time to let go of items like season tickets to your local team or subscriptions to a variety of entertainment services. Additionally, you could sell an extra vehicle or some items like designer clothes and handbags. Put what you make into savings.
Look at your purchases over the past few months. Identify spending habits that you can eliminate. One of the most frequent expenses that “sneak up” in terms of the accumulation of cost to you is dining out too often. Could you start cooking more meals at home instead of going out to eat as often? Keep a diary to track your spending. Note extravagant purchases and see ways to save.
At this point in life, you’ll want to make less risky investments than you did when you first started working. But you’ll still want to invest. See if you can get a higher return on investment by investing in an annuity or mutual fund compared to waiting for a savings account to grow.
One of the smartest investments you can make for a successful retirement is having the right benefits to cover routine health exams like Vision and Dental care, or in case of an emergency. The healthier you stay, the less expensive health care will be! Set up a FREE Benefits Review today so you can discuss with a skilled AMBA field agent what coverage you need to protect your health, finances, and loved ones. Visit www.amba-review.com/ncrgea or call 800-956-1228 Mon.-Fri 10am-6pm EST. It’s nice to know that anytime you have questions about your insurance benefits, someone is ready to assist.
(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today won judgments shutting down robocallers who made illegal health care-related robocalls. Because of this win, Scott Shapiro, Michael Theron Smith, Jr., and Health Advisors of America can no longer make robocalls or work for or with companies that make robocalls in North Carolina.
“I know how harmful and frustrating these robocalls are – that’s why North Carolina has taken the lead in shutting down these scam callers,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I’m pleased that we were able to win back some peace of mind for North Carolinians with this win. We’ll continue our fight to cut down on robocallers.”
Attorney General Stein sued the robocallers as part of a bigger case that begin in 2020 against John Caldwell Spiller II and his business partner Jakob Mears, the owners of Texas-based Rising Eagle Capital Group LLC and JSquared Telecom LLC, as well as Rising Eagle Capital Group–Cayman. The lawsuit against all of the defendants alleged violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule, and various state consumer protection laws.
The complaint alleged that Shapiro and Smith worked with Mears and Spiller to make illegal robocalls targeting people who never asked to be contacted by Health Advisors. In addition to the permanent robocall bans, the defendants are also banned for 10 years from engaging in telemarketing, lead generation, providing or selling telephone numbers, or calling numbers on the federal or North Carolina Do Not Call lists. Shapiro is further banned for two years from engaging in these activities nationwide. The court ordered monetary judgements totaling $146,153,860 for Shapiro, Smith, and Health Advisors combined, though payments will be largely suspended in favor of the operational bans as long as the defendants continue to abide by the terms of the judgment.
The defendants are also required to present a copy of the judgment to all businesses and new customers with which they conduct business for the next 10 years. These judgments resolve all ongoing litigation in this case.
Attorney General Stein is joined in these judgments by the Attorneys General of Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas.
Copies of the judgments are available here.
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