ARCHIVES - THE PRESIDENTS CORNER

November 18, 2009

The year may be winding down, but GMRA work is escalating. We are finding there is a lot to do as we drive for new legislation to address the current inequities and the decisions being made that could affect our retirement future. 

Our latest initiative is developing a plan to raise awareness of the GM retiree situation with legislators, representatives and the general public. As we move forward with the plan, GMRA membership numbers can make a difference. If you are already a GMRA member, thank you for your support. If you are not registered with GMRA, please consider joining us. You can sign on and make your membership contribution right on this website under the "Membership" tab.

We are finding there are still many GM retirees who do not know about GMRA. If you have GM retiree friends, acquaintances and neighbors in your network, we hope you will pass along an invitation to them to get connected with GMRA. An invitation letter is available by clicking here. We appreciate your help with expanding the membership.

For those of you who would like to get actively involved, we are in need of members with legal or legislative background, Public Policy, Government Relations or PR experience. We also need event planners for a national retiree conference we are planning along with several other retiree organizations. The event will be held in Michigan in the spring – but more details on that later. 
 
If you can help in any of the above areas, or have other expertise, let us know either with an e-mail or under the "Membership" tab click on the “Volunteer” link at the top of the website. We will get back to you.

November 11, 2009

By now, registered GMRA members should have received the email alert we recently sent out with guidance for filing a loss claim with Garden City Group. If you did not receive it, and are already a member, be sure to let us know.

As GM retirees, we have all experienced significant loss including drastic life insurance cuts, increases in health care insurance premiums and elimination of other benefits, leading up to, and following the GM bankruptcy.  Much of this loss could not be anticipated or planned for, and that is why the GMRA team decided to find a way that our members could calculate and determine their losses for each benefit category using relatively simple and straightforward calculations.  We hope you find the method we put together helpful in putting together your claim. 

Once again, there is no guarantee of any return, but, there is no harm in submitting a claim either. If you decide to file, be sure your claim is in the hands of Garden City Group on or before November 30.

If you are not a GMRA member, we hope you will consider joining us so we will be able to include you in future alerts and news that affects GM retirees. You can sign up on this website under the Membership tab.

October 26, 2009

As President of GMRA, I have just signed and mailed a letter destined for the White House in support of our retired Delphi colleagues. As a result of the bankruptcy proceedings, they have no health care, no life insurance and their pensions are being drastically reduced. Most of them worked along side us at GM for much of their careers and now face the loss of nearly everything they earned during those years of service. On their behalf, and in the interest of fairness and equity, we are asking the Administration to step in and find a fair resolution.Read my letter here.

We are close to finalizing guidance for calculating your health and life insurance losses and for completing the forms to claim those losses. GMRA will send an email alert to members within the next few days on this subject.    

October 10, 2009

We appreciate your patience as our team works to develop a recommendation for calculating your benefit losses for use in the GM bankruptcy claim filing.  As you can imagine, this is a complex task, particularly with different benefits impacted for different groups of retirees. 

We will get back to you as soon as possible and definitely well before the filing deadline of November 30th.  As a result of the excellent suggestion of a couple members, we plan to post samples of completed claims on the website that you can refer to as you prepare your filing.

Also, I’m pleased to share with you a change in GMRA leadership that brings us additional expertise in the area of Communications.  Angele Shaw, a recent retiree of the Communications function, has accepted the role of Communications Director.  Karen DeOrnellas, who really helped us in that area as we formed the organization, will continue to be active in an advisory role on policy and benefits.  Welcome Angele and thanks Karen!

We’re still in need of a Legislative Director and VPs for both the New England and the Northeast regions.  If you have time to help out and a passion for politics or for organizing groups, please raise your hand. 

 

September 30, 2009

A few days ago, I traveled to Washington to represent GM retirees at the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) Fly-In, a 3 day event organized by the NRLN.

As a coordinated effort, we met with more than 100 lawmakers during the first two days, including Representatives and Senators and their staff members,  reviewing our shared concerns about pension protection and retiree health care. We represented 10 retiree organizations from 19 different states, along with 66 NRLN grassroots network members.

The timing for our visits could not have been better. Many of the legislators had just returned from town hall meetings in their home districts where they received some level of education on retiree benefit concerns. Our well-presented and organized case for retiree issues was favorably received. We left packages of information at each office we visited to document our concerns and detail solutions.

The third day was spent with the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) getting better educated on pension asset protection, bankruptcy reform, and how pension benefits are calculated when the PBGC assumes responsibility for a troubled pension plan. This was a highly informative and valuable part of the trip.

The PBGC process is terribly complex so I won't even attempt to explain it here. Let me just summarize by saying that the GM salaried pension fund was funded at 95% as of December 31, 2008. However, this calculation was based on standards set by the IRS and ERISA.   If the PBGC were to value the GM salaried pension fund they would use a totally different method, resulting in a much lower valuation.

While the 95% funding level, especially in these economic times, would appear to be just fine, it is common practice for companies in financial difficulty to avoid funding their pension plans or to divert capital from the pension fund for re-structuring costs or other purposes. Sometimes the underfunding may not affect the PBGC's liability, but it usually does affect the benefits paid to retirees by the PBGC if the plan is terminated.

We continue to remain vigilant in this area. Pension asset protection and health care benefits for retirees are high priorities for us and we will continue to closely monitor both during the coming year.

We'll stay close with updates on new developments.

September 12, 2009

Now that the dust is settling on the GM bankruptcy, you may ask what GMRA will do to help GM retirees in the future. Let me start be saying there is a lot of work to do both for GM retirees and retirees across the nation.

As we are all now painfully aware, an employer can modify or cancel most benefits for which we worked so many years. Legislation must be enacted to prevent such radical elimination of benefits without first providing some form of alternate protection to retirees. Also, even though our pensions are a bit safer because they are protected by ERISA regulations, there is still substantial opportunity for diversion of pension funds. Again, legislation must be enacted to protect our pension funds from misuse.

We, as GM retirees, are not alone in this struggle. There are many corporations across America that have eliminated benefits and turned pension funds over to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC). This is exactly what has happened to the Delphi salaried retirees.  Many retiree associations, including GMRA, have banded together as members of the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN), working on issues of common interest. As you know, one of our V.P's, Vic Poleni, has been working for some time on a task team developing proposals for bankruptcy reform and protection of retiree benefits. 

The product of their efforts will be presented next week in Washington, D.C. during the NRLN sponsored “Fly-In”. In addition to lobbying for health care provisions designed to protect retirees, association leadership and members will meet with elected officials on these pension concerns, presenting our issues and proposals and encouraging them to keep retiree interests in the forefront of any legislative effort. We will also meet with PBGC representatives to raise their awareness of issues that could affect retirees through the misuse of pension funds. Following these meetings, I will update you on who we met with and how our concerns and proposed solutions were received.

September 1, 2009

In the past couple days, we’ve heard from several members questioning increases to Federal withholding on their pension payments.  This all goes back to the Making Work Pay tax credit put in place in February 2009 to help stimulate the economy.

In February, the IRS published adjusted tax tables so as to immediately implement the tax credit through a decrease in withholding.  Trouble is, those without earned income – including the majority of pension recipients – weren’t eligible for the tax credit.  If you look back at your withholding in January and again in March or April, you’ll see that your withholding was reduced.   

Now, the IRS has informed GM that the adjusted tax tables were not appropriate for use with pension payments.  Recognizing that not all of you receive Electronic Funds Transfer confirmations by mail, the advice included with the September confirmation follows here verbatim:

“Note:  Fidelity has implemented adjusted tax withholding tables for pension payments dated August 11, 2009 and later.  These revised tables were provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as the tables published earlier in the year were deemed not appropriate for use with pension payments.  You may notice a change to your Federal withholding amount.  Please review your tax situation as it is important to understand how your income and deductions for the calendar year impact your tax liability.  We encourage you to speak with a tax or financial advisor or visit the IRS website at www.IRS.gov.”

Pension recipients who are also Social Security recipients were generally eligible for and have already received a $250 Economic Recovery Payment.  If you’d like further information on the Making Work Pay tax credit, visit the following IRS web page:   http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204447,00.html.

August 21, 2009

During the GM bankruptcy proceedings, GM announced there would be additional salaried staff reductions within the GM ranks.  Many GMRA members have worried that the financial resources for additional staff reductions would come from GM's salaried pension program, which was 95% funded at the end of 2008.  In response to these concerns, we contacted the new GM to ask if pension funds would be used for this purpose. Following is a portion of the response we received from the Director of GM Pension Plans:  "It is important to state that the severance payments which will be made as a result of the separation of both classified salaried employees and executive salaried employees are being paid out of operating cash and not the qualified Salaried Retirement Program (SRP).  Any Executive Retirement Plan (ERP) payments are also paid out of operating cash and not from the SRP."

Protection of pensions for all GM retirees remains GMRA's highest priority, and we were pleased to receive this message from the new GM.  As part of our ongoing efforts to protect retiree benefits, GMRA will be working with the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) to request the Pension Protection Act of 2006 be revised to limit further the allowable uses of pension funds for non-pension purposes.  We will continue to give GMRA members updates on this important item from our legislative agenda.

August 14, 2009

Due to a higher than anticipated level of interest in the Voluntary Life Insurance option available from MetLife, the enrollment period has been extended to August 28, 2009.  You must enroll by that date to take advantage of this offer. 
As I said last week, you may find better options in the public marketplace, but signing up for the MetLife offering can give you peace of mind as you evaluate other insurance opportunities. 
You’ve probably also heard from Bill Kadereit, President of the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN), sharing some successes on behalf of retirees in the current health care reform process.  Their hard work in Washington, D.C. has resulted in some favorable language in the House health care bill.  You’ll note that NRLN is also pressing for these retiree health care protections to be effective 12/31/2008.  That would be very significant for all GM retirees.
I encourage you to engage your House member in support of the key points shared in the NRLN email alert, including the retroactivity provision.  If you did not receive it directly, click here to view the message.

August 5, 2009

Yesterday, I received a letter from Metropolitan containing details on the new Voluntary Life Insurance (self-paid) option being offered to most salaried retirees.  I was disappointed to see that the benefit available has been capped at $25,000 and not all retirees will be eligible for that amount. Nevertheless, this is a one-time offering ending August 14, 2009, so don’t delay acting on the opportunity if you wish to replace some portion of your previous benefit. You can drop it later if you find a better option in the open marketplace or if our efforts result in an improvement to the current Basic Life Insurance from GM. Please visit your elected officials during the August Congressional recess and ask them to act in support of fair treatment for all GM retirees. Print off GMRA’s Priorities for Retiree Benefits in the New General Motors (click the link in the second item on the left side of this page) and take it along to guide your conversations and leave with your representatives. 

July 29, 2009

As you know, Delphi has announced that both the hourly and salaried pension plans for Delphi retirees will be terminated and turned over to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) for administration. Allegedly because of promises made to the UAW a decade ago, the New GM will be "topping off" the Delphi hourly plan (i.e., fully funding the plan in conjunction with termination), but not the salaried plan. Many Delphi salaried retirees would suffer very significant reductions in their pensions under the PBGC takeover, though the Delphi Salaried Retiree Association (DSRA) is working to preserve the benefits of their constituents.

The New GM has provided assurances that both the hourly and salaried pension plans for GM retirees have been assumed by the new company and benefits will continue to be paid as scheduled. No indication has been given, however, that the company will be bringing the funding levels to 100%. In addition, GM thus far has provided no information to GMRA or to other organizations regarding the New GM's method of funding future separation programs. GMRA will continue to call for transparency in these matters of utmost concern to all GM retirees.

You'll be hearing more from me soon on our legislative agenda. We need to move the key element of pension asset protection forward to shelter retirees from future financial storms. What is happening now to many Delphi retirees must never be a possibility for GM retirees. We must not permit lightning to strike twice in the same place.

July 20, 2009

If you’re keeping up with the national media, you’re aware that some members of Congress now realize that GM belongs to the American taxpayer. Congress is now questioning some of the decisions made as the New GM was created. Although most of the Congressional action currently surrounds dealer closings, a resolution has been introduced in the House requesting information on the decision process for retiree benefit reductions as well.

GMRA is monitoring these developments in Congress. As GMRA President, I have written a number of Senators and Representatives and requested their assistance in mitigating the drastic changes made to non-UAW retiree benefits. I’ve also presented them with information about GMRA’s plan for fair treatment of all GM retirees.

Because GMRA continues to be concerned about the health of our pension plan, I have contacted the new CEO of General Motors Company, Frederick “Fritz” Henderson, about the white-collar job cuts recently announced at GM. These job cuts will affect thousands of current employees by the end of the year. In theory, buyouts or other enhanced separation packages supported by the Salaried Retirement Program could threaten the security of our pension funds. GMRA believes the current retirees have a right to know to what extent our plan could be affected. 

As I’ve said before, we must not let up in our efforts to rouse our elected officials to action on behalf of GM retirees. Please write, call or email. 

You can easily modify the sample letter at http://capwiz.com/abtr/issues/alert/?alertid=13645486 to include personal information and/or focus on additional concern, quickly and easily sending it to your Senate and House members.

July 15, 2009

Who would have ever thought we’d see the day when salaried retirees would be carrying signs and demonstrating in public, let alone at an appearance of the President of the United States? Yet that’s just what happened in Warren, Michigan on July 14, when a great turnout of GMRA’s local retiree members marched in protest to the unfair treatment GM and the Treasury have dealt non-UAW retirees. Check out our press release to the left on this home page to read more about the event. Even though the bankruptcy process has now been completed, GMRA’s work continues. We will continue to press our case in Congress and with the New GM. We thank the hundreds of members who have already sent well over a thousand letters to their elected officials expressing their concerns and asking for Congress’ assistance in ensuring fair treatment of all retirees. If you’ve been on vacation or haven’t gotten around to writing as you’d intended, it’s still not too late. Sending your members of Congress a letter is quick and easy. If you are a GM retiree, click here and follow the instructions on that page.

July 11, 2009

The old General Motors Corporation exists today only as a collection of "toxic assets," which will be slowly sold off over the next several months or years. Today, after a mere 40 days in bankruptcy, we retirees are dealing with a new entity, the "General Motors Company." Like all fair-minded Americans, we want the New GM to succeed. GMRA hopes the company will build the world's best cars and trucks and set the global standard for automotive engineering. We have faith that the company can provide good jobs for today's workers and for their children and grandchildren. Today's GM retirees, however, already have given decades of loyal service. The retirees not represented by the UAW cannot turn back the clock and begin their careers anew. In looking toward the future, the New GM still should take fair and reasonable steps to honor the hard work already given to GM by the 122,000 non-UAW retirees. If you are worried about the protection of your benefits, sending your members of Congress a letter is quick and easy. If you are a GM retiree, go to http://capwiz.com/abtr/issues/alert/?alertid=13645486 and follow the instructions on that page.

July 7, 2009

I have been amazed and inspired by the response of GM retirees to the GM bankruptcy. Instead of being paralyzed by this unprecedented crisis, GM retirees have pulled together and are making a difference. In a manner far exceeding our wildest expectations, GM retirees have written, called, e-mailed and faxed their U.S. Representatives, their Senators, and their Governors. Retirees have reached out to their friends, their families, and other retirees and asked them to speak out and work for fair treatment of all retirees. From the bottom of my heart, I thank our hard-working retirees for doing their part.
Sending your members of Congress a letter is quick and easy. If you are a GM retiree, just go to http://capwiz.com/abtr/issues/alert/?alertid=13645486 and follow the instructions on that page.

June 30, 2009

I’ve been gratified to hear so much positive feedback about our work from GMRA members.  You all recognize, however, that much remains to be done.  Many of you have scheduled meetings with your elected officials and have also written to them in support of GMRA’s counter-proposal on benefit modifications.
 
Now is the time for your voice to be heard.  If you haven’t visited the National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) Website, www.nrln.org, to review the Sample Letter for elected officials, I’d encourage you to do so and print a copy for yourself.  In addition to our counter-proposals, you’ll find information about the significant difference in cost between UAW retirees after their changes have been applied and non-UAW health care eligible retirees before the “substantial” increases GM plans to apply.  You’ll see the difference is already “substantial”!  Of course, those of you over 65 have an even more disheartening story to tell.
This is no time to become lost in despair or anger.  We need to use the political process to our advantage, as have other GM stakeholders.  Please do your part now, without delay.

June 26, 2009

Disappointed, not defeated. That’s how I’d best sum up my feelings this morning as I return from representing GMRA and all GM salaried retirees in New York at the bankruptcy hearing.  As you know by now, our application for a benefits committee was denied. What you should also know is that the court spent four hours hearing arguments and deliberating on our application. 
We were well represented by our attorneys, but the judge’s decision did not come our way. Last night our board met and agreed that GMRA must immediately move into an aggressive campaign of letter-writing, phone calls and personal visits to our elected officials, particularly those in states with high concentrations of salaried retirees, relentlessly pressuring for a political remedy to our most urgent concerns. You’ll be hearing from us over the weekend with a special request for immediate action.

June 23,2009

As we await the ruling of the bankruptcy court on our 1114 benefits committee application, I am encouraged by the many positive results of GMRA’s efforts thus far. GMRA is growing every day, retirees are organized like never before and we have a great GMRA leadership team working hard to protect retirees. We can and will make a difference in the political and legal processes that will determine the future for retiree pensions and benefits.
Regardless of the decision reached by the court on Thursday, GMRA will move forward with initiatives designed to improve the laws that affect the physical and financial health of GM retirees. This is new territory for many of us. In most cases, the energies of past years were focused on the success of GM. While that is still extremely important to our collective future, we now clearly recognize that we must be active guardians of our retirement interests. You can expect to hear from me with the results of the 1114 committee application and our next steps shortly after the hearing is concluded in New York City on June 25.

June 18, 2009

It has been just over two weeks since GM filed for bankruptcy.  Last week we received the first update from GM on how salaried retiree benefits would be affected. This week most of us received a letter from the Corporation explaining in a little more detail how our benefits might be impacted by the bankruptcy and the 363 sale of assets.

At this time, GM maintains that our pension benefits will remain unchanged, including the $300 benefit for those over 65 to help with the additional costs resulting from the cancellation of health care benefits for that group.  Unfortunately, the news for those less than 65 years of age (currently about 20% of salaried retirees) was not as good.  Dental, Vision, and Extended Care Coverage would be eliminated under GM’s proposal, and the under-65 group has been informed that there would be a “substantial” increase in benefit costs to retirees starting in 2010.  Also, the revised cap on salaried medical contributions by New GM likely would cause ever-increasing retiree costs for remaining health coverage in future years.  In addition, life insurance under GM’s plan would be reduced to $10,000 for each salaried retiree as of the date GM exits bankruptcy


Next week, on Thursday, June 25th, members of the GMRA leadership team will be in New York City, along with our attorney, to address the GM bankruptcy judge on behalf of GM salaried retirees.  We will be asking that a Section #1114 benefits committee be established to ensure that the sacrifices being made are fair and equitable among all parties involved.  Once established, GMRA would work within the committee process to gain commitments from New GM in areas of interest to GM salaried retirees as determined through our conversations with you, our members. 

June 9, 2009

By now the word is circulating among GM salaried retirees that there was a club presidents' conference call on Monday, June 8, with Katy Barclay, GM's Vice President for Global Human Resources. The purpose of the call was to describe the proposed new benefits package for salaried retirees as the new GM plans for life after bankruptcy.

Katy advised the club presidents that the U.S. Treasury had set the guiding principles for necessary reductions and that the Treasury was in agreement with the proposed package.

Click here to read the document received this morning from General Motors that includes an overview of the planned benefit modifications. As you will note, specifics of health care cost changes have not been provided.

We are currently performing a careful analysis of the preliminary plan details to assess the total impact of the proposed changes. Once we complete the analysis, we will share our findings with you. We owe GM salaried retirees a thorough and fair assessment of this proposal. With the health and security of GM retirees at stake, you deserve nothing less.

May 29, 2009

Welcome to my first attempt to communicate directly with you, our members. 

If you've followed GMRA closely, you know we have added new VPs for several regions over recent days.  I'd like to thank them for stepping up to help organize our far-flung retiree group and drive forward our legal strategy and legislative agenda. 

If you are a club president and have not yet heard from your regional VP, I urge you to make contact and share any input for the Board.  It has been difficult to obtain current contact information for the many retiree clubs.  You can quickly help us improve communication by reaching out to your VP.  

On that note, we are still in need of a VP for New England and the North East, as well as a Webmaster.  If you have the desire to serve in one of these roles, please contact me to discuss what's involved.

Monday, we fully expect that GM will file bankruptcy in New York.  This is a sad and deeply concerning time for all of us.  Rest assured that GMRA is taking all necessary actions to assist GM retirees in the bankruptcy setting, while also working to reform bankruptcy law and PBGC procedures in ways that protect retirees from more of the same second class treatment.  

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