FAS Forward with Us!

September/October 2023 LivingPower Newsletter

By State Employees’ Credit Union

couple in meeting

Did you know that State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) has local advisors who are fully
devoted to helping members with comprehensive financial planning services? From insurance and investments to managing retirement risks to estate planning and trust services, members have access to the services they need to help achieve and maintain their financial goals. Dedicated specialists can help members plan their financial future at any SECU branch location.
The advisors, titled Financial Advisory Services (FAS) specialists, are salaried employees who
are committed to acting in our members’ best interests. This unique business model allows us to focus on our mission—providing personalized services to help members meet their financial needs and objectives— while remaining committed to the long-established SECU philosophy of People Helping People® and member-focused service.
Everyone can benefit from discussing financial needs and goals with a professional. Our Financial Advisory Services specialists can help members get started by working together to identify financial objectives and prioritize the next steps. They can help implement strategies designed to meet short and long-term goals. Additionally, they can objectively review an existing plan to confirm strengths and areas for improvement or important consideration. Finally, our advisors can help members monitor and adapt their plans over time to increase the likelihood of being prepared for both expected and unexpected life events.
SECU is invested in our members’ success and well-being! Our goal is for our members to leave a meeting with our advisors, knowing they have an advocate and coach who will be by their side on their financial journey. Contact your local branch and ask to speak to a FAS specialist today! Not yet an SECU member? Join today to access these and our many other financial services.

Life insurance is offered through SECU Life Insurance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary
of State Employees’ Credit Union. Investment advisory services are offered through Credit Union Investment Services. Securities are offered through SECU Brokerage Services: member FINRA, SIPC. Trust Services are offered through Members Trust Company, a federal thrift regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Securities, Trust, and Insurance products are not Credit Union deposits, are not obligations of or guaranteed by the Credit Union or Members Trust Company, and are not insured by the NCUA or any federal government agency. Securities and Trust products involve investment risks, including possible loss of principal invested. Insurance products are subject to underwriting. Investment, Trust, and Insurance representatives are Credit Union employees who may accept deposits. Investment and Insurance representatives are licensed in North Carolina only.

Opportunities Abound

LivingPower September/October 2023

By Mike Taylor

Attendees at Durham Fall Conference

One line from our website says it all. “If you are a member, get involved here.” Membership in NCRGEA offers each of you a variety of opportunities to do just that, get involved. From a Zoom briefing in the comfort of your home to local district gatherings to regional conferences, your association is making it easy to get involved and engage.

One of the pleasures I take from serving as President of NCRGEA is to attend our regional conferences. Since last fall, I have attended conferences in Concord, Shelby, Winston Salem, Fayetteville, here in my home county of Carteret at Morehead City, and Hendersonville. And later this month, we have conferences scheduled for Statesville (September 13), Durham (September 19), and Greenville (September 26). This job is certainly offering me a crash course in NC geography.
You should have already received an invitation to attend one of the September conferences, and if one is close to you, I especially encourage you to do so. As our Executive Director Tim O’Connell says of these conferences, “The goal is to bring retirees together.” The conferences offer a chance to find out the latest information about a multitude of issues that impact our lives as retired public servants. Topics for the conferences include health insurance, Social Security, updates from the NC State Treasurer’s office, General Assembly happenings, and much more. Over a dozen of our sponsors and state agencies have tables to distribute information, talk with retirees about specific issues, and even offer freebies to take home.

At the spring conference in Hendersonville, Humana offered hand fans to attendees. I had to have one of those and told the gathering, in my opening welcome, after seeing the fans I had a flashback to that rural church I attended in my youth where similar fans provided our air conditioning. Of course, those fans were all provided by the local funeral home!

But NCRGEA provides so many more opportunities for you to get involved in your association. NCRGEA has nine regional districts that stretch from the mountains to the coast. Those nine districts come in all shapes and sizes. In the northeastern portion of our state, District 5 is made up of 25 counties, while District 8 includes just one county, Wake. Given the location of the state government, that should be easy to understand.

But no matter the geographic size of our districts or the number of retirees that live there, all NCRGEA members have the same opportunities through a Community Advisory Board (CAB) that is established in each district. These CABs, which meet at least twice a year, help connect NCRGEA with its membership at the local level. Join the CAB in your district. You can find out more information on a CAB near you by visiting the NCRGEA website.

Dr. Deryl Davis Fulmer, a retiree from the NC community college system, who also worked in higher education in Wisconsin, serves as our Community Liaison, connecting members with activities like our monthly Lunch and Learn webinars and other Zoom programs. These active engagement programs cover the spectrum of topics, from “Aging Un-Lonely,” steering clear of internet fraud, health insurance, and how to organize your documents for the inevitable (no explanation needed). We are quickly discovering that providing educational content programming is a value-added feature of your membership. Participation has been strong, with virtual attendance totaling over 1,400 since January 1, 2023. Dr. Fulmer adds, “It’s exciting to know how many members we are reaching.”

NCRGEA believes strongly in getting you, the membership, involved, and your participation is proving that if offered a good program, NCRGEA members will zoom in!

There are numerous opportunities for you to get involved in your association. Another line from our
website sums it up best: “NCRGEA is for those who want to be more active and engaged in retirement.”

District Community Connections

LivingPower September/October 2023

By Deryl Davis Fulmer

Members attending the September NCRGEA Fall Conference in Greenville

Dear Fellow Retirees,
Can you believe it? Fall is already here! The year has flown by; before we know it, it will be Christmas.
Please make sure you send us your holiday recipes, desserts, or drinks that you have enjoyed over the
years and want to share. We will publish our first NCRGEA Digital Holiday Recipe Book on November
3rd, just in time to enjoy it during the holidays. Be a part of this exciting and new activity and show off your culinary skills! Here’s the link: www.ncrgea.com/submit-a-recipe.

In June, we launched our first Virtual Lunch and Learn webinars, developed to share important topics that will help you to navigate retirement, understand aging concerns, and have information at your fingertips to improve your quality of life. It was held via Zoom on Wednesday, June 28th, from 12:30-
1:30 pm. It was entitled: Aging Un-Lonely: Staying Connected for your Health. Over 330 members
registered, and over 90 attended. Dr. Megan Smith, UNC-Charlotte; Dr. Cheryl Greenberg, AARP/The Age Coach; and Ms. Rebecca Freeman, NC Division of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS/DHHS) gave the audience useful tools to help with isolation and loneliness. They encouraged participants to reach out to them if they had questions and/or needed resources. It was a great event and start to our Lunch
and Learn series.

On July 18th, AMBA representative, Jon Green, talked about the benefits of AMBA and the Passport Discount that is part of the NCRGEA membership packet. Members really enjoyed learning about these benefits and immediately began to access them. On August 16th, our third Lunch and Learn was about Aetna’s upcoming role as the third-party administrator for the state’s Health Care Plan. More than 370 members signed up for this informative session, and they asked a lot of questions. Our members are requesting more of these educational presentations, so the Lunch and Learns are currently scheduled as a monthly event on Wednesdays from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. Please watch for the logo and be sure to register to attend. NCRGEA sends information and registration instructions to your email, so it is important that we have your email address. We encourage you to invite friends (members and non-members) to join these events. If you need to provide or update your email address, please send that information to info@ ncrgea.com or call our office at 919-834-4652.

In early July, I had the opportunity to attend the CenterWell Primary Care service launch for Medicare patients who live in Durham and surrounding areas. CenterWell is the largest of such services in the US and has locations in other parts of NC as well. Tiffany Roberts, the new market president, stated, “We are truly delighted to bring CenterWell Senior Primary Care to the Raleigh/ Durham community. Seniors live at the heart of CenterWell’s mission, to deliver personalized care that isn’t rushed, with a dedicated care team that is accessible and focuses on the unique physical, emotional, and social wellness needs of seniors.” For more information about CenterWell Senior Primary Care or to schedule a tour, visit seniorfocusednc.com.

We’ve heard from many of you, and you are interested in securing part-time employment. The Governor’s “Hometown Strong Initiative: Empowering Rural North Carolina” (featured in the July/August edition) may be what you are seeking. Please visit their website: hometownstrong.nc.gov, for more information. Be sure to check it out.
If you are interested in volunteering, please remember the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program and Meals on Wheels programs in your area. These organizations are always in need of volunteers across the state!
If you are in Wake County, please consider volunteering for the Center for Volunteer Caregiving. Your help is needed!

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at deryl@ncrgea.com. Please let me know if you want to join your district’s Community Advisory Board (CAB). And finally, if you are a new retiree, please consider joining NCRGEA and become active with us!
Happy Fall, everyone!
Deryl

Building a North Carolina for the Future

LivingPower September/October 2023

By Tim O’Connell


Much of this legislative season has focused on a few key policy areas but none more than healthcare and education. As the debate on various bills related to these topics filled the lawmakers’ calendars, North Carolina received the nation’s topic ranking for its business climate by CNBC for the second year in a row. This pinnacle of recognition provides a vantage point to look back to understand how we earned this ranking and simultaneously look forward to how we must use it to shape our future — a future that includes a dramatic change in our population.

The NC Office of State Budget and Management data shows that over the next 15 years, the population of those over 65 will swell to 2.7 million. That is 1 million more than the current number in this age group. To give context to this number, imagine every single person living in Cumberland County, Mecklenburg County, and Wake County as 65 or older. Returning to the state’s top business ranking, there are many to thank for this status: our lawmakers over the decades, entrepreneurial innovators, small business owners, and you, as a retired government employee, who laid the foundation during your working career. The roads you built, the students you educated, the communities you protected, the workforce training programs you delivered, the parks and recreation programs you provided, the economic development you fostered, the healthcare services you administered, the building permits you issued, and on and on, making North Carolina an attractive option for businesses to thrive.

In his book North Carolina Beyond the Connected Age: The Tarheel State in 2050, economist Mike Walden provides a budgetarily descriptive view of a potential “generational clash” between funding education for our youth and funding the healthcare needed to serve the increased demand for North Carolina’s over-65 population. Clearly, as successful as North Carolina is in business, it has the opportunity to lead the nation in successfully educating its younger people and successfully providing care for its older population. We are fortunate to live in a state where leading industries are healthcare, pharmaceutical research, education, and technology — giving our political leaders, government entities, and business communities a head start in bringing resources together to address this future, with much less chance of a “clash” if we so choose.

You now have an important role in advocating for this future with your elected leaders and potential supporting agencies. I encourage you all to familiarize yourself and get involved with the NC Division of Aging and Adult Services’ comprehensive initiative called All Ages, All Stages NC: A Roadmap for Aging and Living Well. Key areas of the plan include Strengthening Communities for a Lifetime, Optimizing Healthcare, Supporting Older Adults and Their Families, and Affording Aging. All of these areas are ones that NCRGEA directly or indirectly supports and lobbies for on your behalf at the legislature.

I invite you to visit the website for All Ages, All Stages NC to find more details, including how to easily fill out an online form to join a stakeholder workgroup.

You were an integral part of building North Carolina into what it is today. Now you have an opportunity to continue that building by contributing your wisdom and expertise as you advocate for North Carolina’s future.

Lake Case Update: Overview 2023

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.”

A Message from Executive Director Tim O’Connell

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

Local Outreach | District 8 @ Raleigh NC

October 11, 2023 @ 1:30 pm 3:00 pm

NCRGEA is back on the road with seven in-person meetings and we are fortunate to have our good friends from the NC Department of Insurance’s Senior Health Information Insurance Program (SHIIP) to advise on your open enrollment processes and our representatives from AMBA to offer information on supplemental dental and vision programs. These meetings will be a great opportunity to get your questions answered by subject matter experts.

Location:

Five Points Center For Active Adults | 2000 Noble Rd. | Raleigh NC 27608

Interested in attending? Click the Register Now button or call 919-834-4652 or 1-800-356-1190. For further information, please email info@ncrgea.com.

FREE

(919) 834-4652

View Organizer Website

Local Outreach | District 8 @ Raleigh NC

October 10, 2023 @ 1:30 pm 3:00 pm

NCRGEA is back on the road with seven in-person meetings and we are fortunate to have our good friends at the Humana Neighborhood Center advise on your open enrollment processes and our representatives from AMBA to offer information on supplemental dental and vision programs. These meetings will be a great opportunity to get your questions answered by subject matter experts.

Location:

Humana Neighborhood Center | 4430 Fayetteville Rd. | Raleigh NC 27603

Interested in attending? Click the Register Now button or call 919-834-4652 or 1-800-356-1190. For further information, please email info@ncrgea.com.

FREE

(919) 834-4652

View Organizer Website