THIS MONTH’S HOT TOPICS

Beginning in 2020, there will be an exciting new way to vote.  The County of Orange Registrar of Voters  is rolling out new Vote Centers.  A Vote Center is more than a traditional polling place – it’s a full-service voting experience. Cast your ballot at any location, stop by on the weekend, even register to vote. Explore all of the benefits of Vote Center voting – all designed to improve the voter experience. 

Click here to go to the Registrar’s website to learn more.

Click here to find your nearest Vote Center.  Please note that on the map the blue symbol is a mail drop and the yellow symbol represents a voting center.

Click here to see the State of California’s Voter Guide.

Cold Weather Advisory

During this winter, we anticipate that there will be several Cold Weather Advisories.  Please see the important information below related to this issue.

As a reminder:

• Listen to the weather forecasts regularly
• Check your emergency supplies for home and car, including your emergency food and water supply
• Avoid unnecessarily opening doors or windows
• Close off unneeded rooms
• Close blinds or cover windows to keep heat in

You may wish to be in contact with the elderly, families with young children or those with special needs to ensure they are not adversely affected by the cold.

Recommended precautions to prevent cold related illnesses include:

• Drink plenty of fluids; don’t wait until you are thirsty
• Dress warmly and stay dry
• Layer-up
• Bring pets inside if possible
• Stuff towels or rags in cracks under doors
• Stay out of the cold if possible
• Avoid strenuous activities if you are outside. Excess sweating will cause your body to lose more heat, so remove extra layers of clothing whenever you feel too warm.
• Never leave children, elderly people or pets unattended in closed cars or other vehicles. Check on those who are at high risk to make sure they are staying warm – including seniors who live alone, people with illnesses, and young children.
• Stay warm indoors – if your home is not heated, visit public facilities such as shopping malls, libraries, County office buildings during normal business hours and official County shelters to stay warm.                                   

For more information on cold related illnesses please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website by clicking on this link. 

Current weather information can be found here: NWS 7 Day Temperature Forecast

When your contact information has changed

If you move, get a new or change your e-mail address or telephone or if you have a name change, there are actions that are necessary so that you continue to receive your benefits, newsletters, e-mails, etc.

If any of the above pertains to you, you need to notify REAOC, the Orange County Employees’ Retirement System (OCERS) and the County of Orange Employee Benefits Center with the new information.

To contact REAOC – call (714) 840-3995 or click here to e-mail with the new/changed information.

To contact OCERS – call (714) 558-6200 or click here to go to their website and sign-into “MyOCERS” to update your information.

To contact the County of Orange Employee Benefits Center – call (800) 858-7266 or click here to go to the benefits website.

REAOC Informer Newsletter

Click here to read the latest Informer newsletter.

NEWS WEEK OF JANUARY 13, 2020

Riverside Supervisor calls for ‘tough love’ to control pension costs

The Valley News reports that “Riverside County’s pension liabilities are taking the county ‘off a cliff’ financially and it’s time to find solutions, a supervisor said Tuesday, vowing to initiate efforts to address the matter before it gets worse. —– Either we act, or we go another year and be that much closer to catastrophe.“ (More)

San Diego pension debt exceeds $3 billion for first time

The unfunded liability of the City of San Diego’s pension fund has climbed above $3 billion for the first time, climbing from $1.2 billion in 2007, according to this Union-Tribune article.  The on-going increase means the city’s annual cost has risen from about $250 million to $350 million a year according to the article.  The city pension board is quoted as saying that nearly all the increase is “the result of the board taking a more realistic and responsible approach to estimating its debt.”  (More)

Riverside County’s pension liability grows

MyNewsLA reports that “Riverside County’s pension liabilities now exceed $3.5 billion, and the county will have to increase appropriations over the next fiscal year to sustain the retirement system, according to a report that the Board of Supervisors will review Tuesday.”  The article says the system is presently about 70% funded. (More)

Wisconsin lost big time on pension funding bet

Bloomberg News reports that Wisconsin borrowed money in 2003 on the assumption that interest rates would not decline further, but it lost that bet.   The story says that now that interest rates are at a near all-time low, the state may refinance that debt by selling bonds to retire that debt and pay price cancellation fees.  Will it work?  Are you betting red or black? (More)

California ranked 48^th in worst state to retire list

A story in the Globe ranked each state in terms of a good to bad place to retire, using these criteria:

• Crime – The area/state with the highest rate of crime would be weighted closer to 0
• Cost of living – The area/state with the highest cost is weighted closer to 0
• 60 and over – lower % of population is weighted closer to 0
• Property prices – Higher property prices are deemed less desirable so are weighted down
• Life expectancy

It says the top 10 states for retirees are Iowa, Minnesota, Vermont, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Florida and North Dakota.  The worst 10 states for retirees are Arkansas, New Mexico, Alabama, Nevada, Tennessee, Louisiana, Maryland, California, Hawaii, and Alaska. (More)

State Homeless Task Force – force government to act

This CalMatters story says “Declaring that moral persuasion and economic incentives aren’t working to bring people in from the sidewalks, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s task force on homelessness called Monday for a ‘legally enforceable mandate’ that would force municipalities and the state to house the growing number of homeless Californians.”  The group wants this on the November ballot.  A 2/3rds vote of both houses of the state legislature would be required to put it on the ballot, according to the story. (More)

Santa Ana sues OC, 3 cities claiming homeless dumping

Remember last year when federal judge David Carter tried to force Orange County and its cities to work collaboratively for a strategy to deal with the homeless problem on a county-wide basis? It never really came together, mainly because south-county cities did not think a homeless shelter in their jurisdiction was desirable. Now, according to this story in the January 15 Orange County Register, the City of Santa Ana, which has a lot of homeless and a few shelters, has sued the county and the south-county cities of Dana Point, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano alleging those cities are moving their homeless to Santa Ana and that the county releases jailed inmates into Santa Ana, adding to the homeless problem.  Fold into this brew that the office of First District County Supervisor, a district that includes Santa Ana, is up for election next year and the Mayor of Santa Ana has announced that he is running to unseat the incumbent supervisor, and that supervisor is most unhappy about the city’s lawsuit.  Lots of palace intrigue in this one – stay tuned for more of it. (More)

Orange County to pay millions to settle homeless lawsuit

On January 14 the Orange County Register reported that “The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday, Jan. 14, to approve a $2 million payout that will finalize its settlement in the civil rights lawsuit filed in early 2018 over removal of homeless people from encampments at the Santa Ana River Trail.”  Also, “The vote was the most recent action in the litigation that combined two lawsuits, known as ‘Catholic Worker’ and ‘Ramirez’.” (More)

Proposal to freeze retiree COLAs in Ohio

A story in the Columbus Dispatch says that Ohio’s largest public pension system would like to see legislation that Ohio’s would freeze cost-of-living adjustments for its retirees for two years, and a two-year delay of those annual increases for all new retirees.  The article says this would shave about $3.44 billion off the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System’s $24 billion unfunded liability.  At this point no legislator has stepped forward to author such legislation according to the article.  (More)

Numerous OC water wells contaminated, to be closed

The January 17 edition of the Orange County Register provides this startling news that “The Orange County Water District, which serves 2.5 million county residents, expects to see nearly a third of the 200 groundwater wells in its service area shut down by year’s end because of the presence of toxic PFAS, a chemical family linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, low birth weight and other health problems.”  Read the article for details.  It does say it will take 2 years for the Water District to install treatment equipment that will cost as much as $200 million so the water will be safe, but in the meantime there will be a heavier reliance on imported water from northern California and the Colorado River, and that all of us can expect higher water costs to pay for it all. (More)

ABOUT OUR LUNCHEONS

WHY
REAOC luncheons are held for the purpose of bringing Orange County retirees together for an afternoon of camaraderie, entertainment, and information. Friends and family are always welcome! Each luncheon features a different theme, with door prizes, and special gifts. As an added bonus, there is a valuable Progressive Drawing. They also serve as a general meeting for the membership.

WHERE

The  Mile Square Park Banquet Facility located at 10401 Warner Ave., Fountain Valley, California, 92708. For directions, call the Mile Square Banquet Facility at (714) 962-5541 or see map below showing where the  Facility is located. Please DO NOT call the Facility to make reservations. Reservations are made by sending in the reservation form in The Informer or by calling the REAOC office at (714) 840-3995.

WHEN

Luncheons are held the 4th Wednesday of January, March, May and September, and on the first Wednesday of December at Noon. To ensure a parking spot please arrive by 11 a.m.  Please carpool if possible as the parking lot at this facility can be quite busy.

Cost for the luncheon is $17.00 per person. A reservation form is provided in The Informer (on the current Luncheon page), in the “Forms” section of the REAOC web site or you may email the REAOC office of your request (reaoc@reaoc.org).

HEMET CHAPTER LUNCHEONS

Luncheons in Hemet have been traditionally held on the second Tuesday during the months of February, April, June, October and December.   Attendees arrive around 11:30 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in the Fellowship Hall located at 515 E. Kimball Avenue in Hemet and lunch is served between 11:45 and noon. The cost is $9.50 per person.  The Hemet Chapter would like new members and encourages all REAOC members who live in the area or within driving distance to join them for the luncheons.

REAOC’s Hemet Chapter will hold its next luncheon on Tuesday, February 18th at 11:30 AM at the First Presbyterian Church.

Make your reservation for the next luncheon by calling Mary Little at 951-485-7738 or Jane Pabitzky at 951-237-3240 by no later than February  4, 2020.

Below is a map showing the general location of the Mile Square Park Banquet Facility located at 10401 Warner Ave., Fountain Valley, California 92708.

If you need exact directions from your house you can go to MapQuest and click on “driving directions.”

HEALTH PLAN RATES FOR 2020

On July 16, 2019, the Board of Supervisors in their regular Board meeting passed agenda items 21 & 23 without any discussion on a 5-0 vote.  These agenda items were the approval of the Health Plan Rates for retirees for 2020. 

Please click on the links below for the charts provided by the County for the 2020 Health Plan rates:

Click here for the retiree PPO rates

Click here for the retiree HMO rates

For information about the supplemental insurance including dental and vision coverage, please click on the link below. 

Supplemental Insurance Benefits