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Passion and Purpose: Transforming Retirement
May 24, 2012 * $25
In celebration of our 15th year of service, we are pleased to present Passion and Purpose: Transforming Retirement, a post-retirement conference offering advice and resources on the “retirement” phase of life. Featured speakers are Professor Robert Reich, one of the nation’s leading experts on work and the economy and Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy; and Arthur P. Shimamura, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Shimamura Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at UC Berkeley.
To attend, complete and return the registration form with payment, as per instructions. Space is limited, so timely registration is advised. We hope you can join us for this very special event.
More information is available on our Special Events page. Note: location will be provided upon receipt of registration form and payment. We hope to see you there,
Patrick C. Cullinane, Director
UC Benefit Eligibility Verification
If your spouse, domestic partner, child or other family member is enrolled in a UC-sponsored health plan (medical, dental or vision), beginning March 21 you’ll be asked to provide documentation that verifies their eligibility for coverage. All retirees who have one or more family members enrolled for coverage will need to provide documentation. This project is the first step in a series of undertakings to ensure a more efficient administration of UC benefit plans. If you do not have family members enrolled in UC health insurance, you do not have to do anything.
UC has selected Secova, Inc. to manage this aspect of the effort.
- Beginning March 21, 2012, Secova mailed a verification packet to your home address. It has instructions on the types of verification documentation to submit and how to submit them. You must respond even if you have previously provided documentation to verify family members’ eligibility.
- May 17, 2012 is the deadline for submitting documentation.
- Secova will provide resources—both by phone (representatives will be available 24/7) and online—to help you meet the requirements and answer your questions. Secova’s dedicated call center, staffed with knowledgeable professionals, will offer you confidential support during the verification process.
If you have family members covered by UC health and welfare benefits be sure to respond by May 17, 2012. Otherwise, you run the risk of having yourself and your family members de-enrolled from plan coverage.
If you are away from home and cannot receive the mailed packet from Secova, be sure to call to make arrangements for participation in the verification process.
If you have questions:
- Call Secova’s Customer Service Center: 877-632-8126, 24 hours a day, seven days a week; translation services are available. If you are overseas, call 424-253-8126. (Note: Retirement Center staff discovered that you can talk to a representative by pressing "00" several times after the automated menu).
- Visit Secova’s Family Member Verification website: https://verify.secova.com/uc
Kaiser Family Foundation study raises concerns about Medicare means testing and impact on retirees with moderate incomes
Proposals to further means-test Medicare Part B and Part D premiums would increase premium costs for one out of every four beneficiaries, according to a new report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, titled “Income-Relating Medicare Part B and Part D Premiums Under Current Law and Recent Proposals: What Are the Implications for Beneficiaries?”
To find out more, go to the Medicare Rights Center website, and scroll down to the article titled, "Further Means-Testing Medicare Premiums May Affect Those With Moderate Incomes."
New Free Medicare Services
Five new preventive benefits were recently added to the list of free services available to people with Medicare. These newly-covered services include:
Annual depression screening
Intensive obesity screening and behavioral counseling
Annual cardiovascular screening
Annual alcohol misuse screening
Visit the Medicare Rights Center’s interactive preventive care website to learn important details about these new preventive benefits, as well as other free services added in 2011, including mammograms, colonoscopies and the Annual Wellness Visit.
Director's Notes
“Passion and Purpose: Transforming Retirement is the title and focus of the Retirement Center’s May 24, 2012 conference for retirees. The conference is designed to offer retirees advice and resources on important aspects of the “retirement” phase of life. Professor Robert B. Reich, the Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy, will provide a special keynote address, The Baby Boom Bomb. In addition to the keynote, there will be sessions on memory and aging, legal and financial planning, lifelong learning and the personal experience of aging..."
To read more, go to the What's New section of our website.
A Neglected Vaccine
In recent years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been steadily expanding its recommendations that older adults should receive a single dose of what’s now known as T.D.A.P. vaccine, short for tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis. Read more at the New York Times.
Remembering Chancellor Heyman
Ira Michael Heyman, chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, from 1980-1990 and a professor emeritus of law and of city and regional planning, has died at age 81 after a long battle with emphysema. Connected to UC Berkeley for 52 years, he was a champion of diversity and civil rights and recognized for his political courage. More...
Annual Fundraising Campaign
The Retirement Center has kicked off our annual fundraising campaign. In these economically challenging times, retirees' contributions are significant in maintaining and improving Retirement Center services. Each retiree will shortly receive a letter in the mail detailing our plans for next year and requesting a contribution to one of our funds. You may donate by mail, or donate online below. Be sure to pay attention to deadline dates listed on the remit envelope if you want your gift processed this tax year! We thank you in advance, and wish you happy holidays.
Investing in the Center
 The Center uses its budget, dollar for dollar, efficiently and productively to best serve the needs and interests of retirees. We hope that you, too, feel that the Center will make good use of your gift and that you will make an investment in the Center’s future. Gift Giving >>
Where is the CenterPiece?
Like many other purveyors of information, the Retirement Center is doing our part to be environmentally conscious and reduce the costs of producing this newsletter. Beginning with the Fall 2011 issue, we will no longer send paper copies to retirees with email addresses on file.
If you are already on the Center’s email list but want to continue to receive a paper copy of the CenterPiece, send an email to ucbrc@berkeley.edu or call 510-642-5461 with your name and email address to state your preference.
Center Staff
Meet your Center staff! Find out more about the people who serve you on our Staff page. |
