Retirees

Leaders of Baltimore-area AFL-CIO unions yesterday launched a campaign to protest reductions in the growth of Medicare spending and other federal budget cutbacks.Meeting at a Lansdowne union hall, a number of the 150 retirees present expressed fears that proposed Medicare reductions would lead to more costly premiums and a lower quality of medical care."I just live in terror that the government is going to force us into an HMO [health maintenance organization]," said Betty Brady, 66, of Glen Burnie, who attended yesterday's meeting of retired distillery workers.

Lewis Thayer became frustrated by the low returns he was earning on certificates of deposit at his bank. So the media retiree began temporarily parking his money in a savings account. He's still weighing his next move. "Whatever income I'm getting, it's from money sitting in a bank," he said. "I know it's not good. I've got to do something to bring it up." The Dow Jones industrial average may be flirting with 10,000 again, but the drought continues for income investors, leaving folks who depend on interest checks from bank investments or bonds to choose one of three risks in an attempt to wring a better return in a low-interest climate.

WASHINGTON -- Just when it appeared that cost of living adjustments for federal retirees might be safe from government budget cutters, two senators have unveiled a plan to limit them.Earlier this month, the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee fought off a proposed cut in the COLA that would have reduced pensions about 10 percent.But a proposal introduced last week by Sens. David Boren, D-Okla., and John Danforth, R-Mo., would cut the COLA on the amount of each pension that exceeds $600 a month.

When the hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC flamed out last year after disastrous bets on energy prices, San Diego County's retirement fund was among those burned. Losses to its portfolio were estimated at $100 million. The episode is unlikely to stem the rising tide of pension dollars into hedge funds. It has, however, raised concerns about the safety of retirement money and stirred debate on whether more oversight is needed. "Amaranth is a glaring example of the loss that can take place and the risk that exists when public pension systems invest in hedge funds," said Lani Lutar, president of the San Diego Taxpayers Association.

GREGG GLESSNER, former bartender and intermittent contributor to this modest marketplace of ideas, came up with a beauty the other day - have the "new" CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield pick up the health insurance coverage for the almost 20,000 Bethlehem Steel retirees who lost their benefits when the company took a walk on them. "You have to love the response by [Maryland Insurance Commissioner] Steven Larsen to CareFirst BlueCross & BlueShield, when they attempted to dump their non-profit status and line their pockets," writes GG. "Larsen, said, `No deal, no sale, no juicy bonuses, and while we're at it, let's replace the members of the CareFirst board with some more responsible individuals, and let's look at CareFirst's charter to be sure they remain nonprofit, in case the greed begins to creep in again at a future date.

Office of Personnel Management Director Linda Springer conducted a very simple but profound exercise with about 1,400 federal human resources experts in Baltimore this week. Squinting through the stage lights at the Baltimore Convention Center, she asked audience members to raise their hands if they had more than 10 years of experience working for the federal government. Almost everyone did. Fifteen years? Twenty years? Thirty years? Finally, a large number of hands fell. Springer then told the audience that its loyalty was a thing of the past.

Retirees of Westinghouse Electric Corp., upset over not having an increase in their pension checks in more than 10 years, will take their gripe to the front steps of the company's headquarters in Pittsburgh in a rally this morning.The rally is aimed at pressuring the company into at least listening to their plight.It is expected to draw hundreds of former Westinghouse workers from five states, including past employees of the large Electronic Systems Group complex in Linthicum.Richard T. O'Leary, president of Local 130 of the International Union of Electrical Workers and organizer of the rally, acknowledged that Westinghouse has no contractual obligation to boost pension payments, but he said the company has a moral obligation to assist people who worked at the company for 20, 30 or 40 years and helped make Westinghouse a large and profitable company.

The good news is that most retirees lucky enough to have employer-sponsored health benefits are going to keep them this year. The bad news is that they'll have to pay a lot more out of their pocket for medical care, especially if they are younger than 65. Only 1 percent of surveyed companies eliminated benefits for current retirees in the past year, and only 2 percent said they are very or somewhat likely to do so in 2007, according to a recent Survey...

A group representing retired salaried workers of Bethlehem Steel Corp. said yesterday that it is not satisfied with last week's proposal by the steelmaker for a committee to represent retirees during its Chapter 11 proceedings. Bruce E. Davis, a lawyer for the Retired Employees Benefits Coalition, said he is happy that Bethlehem is supporting the idea of a committee dedicated to retiree interests. But he is upset that salaried retirees would have only two members on the six-member committee and that one of those would not have a vote.

The Baltimore County Council unanimously approved a bill last night to allow retired county employees to drive school buses, hoping to alleviate a perennial shortage of drivers. County retirees are ordinarily not allowed to take new county jobs, a practice known as "double dipping." The theory is that employees might retire earlier if they can take new county jobs while collecting their pensions. If that happened, the county would have to make larger annual contributions to the pension system.