NARFE Tennessee Federation Message Board

I am a retired Air Traffic Controller. I was forced out because I did not pass the FIrst Class Airman Medical due to my vision. I had 20/25 and the flight surgeon would not give me a waiver to keep my position. After leaving the FAA I went and began flying as a commercial Pilot .The same flight surgeon that would not let me work as a controller would allow me to fly as Pilot in command of a commercial aircraft.
Anyway my pension is considered a disability pension from the government.
I recently became disabled and was approved for Social Security disability. My Benefits should be just about $900.00 a month. I loose about $380 dollars a month due to the GPO. On top of that since my retirement is a disability I loose the rest of my Social Security on a public disability offset.

I have contacted everyone at NARFE I can to talk about double eliminations to one single retirement. I would like to ask NARFE to support a change on how many offsets they could apply to a single pension, or in the case of multiple offsets limit the offset to 50%. While the congress started the offsets to stop the "double dipping" it is the government who is double dipping us.
In my amazement nobody at NARFE that I have spoken too has ever heard of multiple eliminations. Even the folks at Social Security did not know about them. It took me two years to find out exactly why I am loosing 100% of my Social Security.

I have not been able to get anyone at NARFE to want to listen. I was told by them that I had to first contact my chapter, and my chapter said we have nothing to do with it. I called NARFE back and was switched from person to person leaving messages with no call backs.

I was not going to renew my membership this year but I decided to go one more year. If they feel that they do not want to help just say so. I am a big boy and I can handle it, but I do not appreciate being thrown from person to person with no interest.

I can not believe that I am the only member of NARFE to be in this situation. I could not be the only member who is on a government disability who has ever applied for Social Security.

Any suggestions on who to contact?

DaDwag,

I don't know who is the best person at NARFE to contact, but I have a friend who had another issue in which he needed NARFE to help with. I will contact him and see if he has any suggestions. The departments that could help you are; David Snell in [url]Retirement Benefits[/url] and Dan Adcock in the [url]Legislation Dept[/url]. I am sure you have researched this, are you saying it would take a Congressional Bill to change this policy of more than one offset applying to a single annuity?
Is Congressman Cooper your Representative? Have you contacted his office for help? What about your 2 Senators. Just throwing out some ideals.
Hope you get help.

Ronnie,
Thanks for your input.
As for any changes in the eliminations or windfalls, all that is done through both the Congress and the Senate. Social Security Admin has no say over any of that and any changes would have to come through the Legislative branch in the form of a House Resolution (such as the GPO), then make it through the Ways and Means committee, then on to a vote. If passed it would go to the Senate for action.
I did indeed speak with Congressman Cooper. This issue was the reason I was invited to the meeting. Between that meeting (he did not like me because I challanged him) and one subsequant contact he made it very clear that he does not support the elimination of the GPO (I think it is HR 86),. As far as my proposal to limit the number of eliminations that apply to any one pension he was completly deaf on that matter and would not discuss it.
I do not believe that Cooper is any friend of NARFE at all. Talk is cheap, and at that meeting that is what he offered...cheap talk.
One of the main goals of NARFE is to do away with the GPO and he made it clear that he supports the GPO and would not vote to eliminate or reduce it. With friends like him we do not need adversaries.

As far as contacting NARFE I spoke yesterday to Margerate. She tole me to contact the same person you did. I had spoken to him in the past and I felt as though he blew me off on the issue. She said that she would speak to him and let him know that I will be contacting him again and that I am serious about it.

Thank you again for your input Ronnie. I wish more members were active in this forum as it would be a great way to share ideas. If I may be so bold, it is not easy to find the link to this forum. May I recommend that on the chapter home page that a direct link be placed in a prominant place so people that are not looking for it will at least see it and know that it exists? I think that would help attract other members and increase dialog.

Phil