In an ideal world, we would start contributing to our retirement savings accounts the moment we receive our first paycheck from our first job. With the rumor mill of declining social security benefits, you can no longer rely on this form of funding in retirement. In this time of fiscal uncertainty, there are many financial decisions that can make or break you during your formative years. These are the ten worst financial decisions you can make in retirement. Read on http://ow.ly/lQyrA
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CMSgt Denise Jelinski-Hall gets a wall dedicated at the National Woman’s Memorial Museum. The Chief is close to the end of her tour as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau. During her Air Force and Air National Guard career, she has many achievements and this wall dedicated to her is a fitting tribute to those achievements.
Mahalo to Rex Jones who send this information. Rex served as the Hawai’i National Guard State Equal Employment Manager (SEEM) for a few years. Rex now works for the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Sancho Espina, 87, of Honolulu, a Hawai‘i Air National Guard retiree and an Army veteran, passed away on May 21, 2013. He was born on Kaua‘i.
He is survived by wife Mary A., sons John and Robert, daughters Carolyn Stanton and Charlene Takahama, brother Federico, sisters Christina Canete and Rosalia Lasit, seven grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam will eliminate the requirement for base decals effective July 1, 2013. Retiree News previously reported the effective date as June 1, 2013. Read more http://ow.ly/lMAo8
Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam has made changes to traffic and parking regulations which are effective immediately. Read more 20130606 JBPHH Traffic Regulation Changes
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is releasing new public service advertising this week, created in conjunction with the Advertising Council, to educate Americans about its wireless emergency alert system.
Public service announcements explain the alerts, which are displayed on most wireless devices. The system, which enables local, state and federal authorized government authorities to send emergency messages through wireless carriers’ networks, started two years ago, but has not been publicized through advertising. Read on http://ow.ly/lIE7f
Kenneth Tadashi “Kenji” Higashionna, 60, of Honolulu, a Hawai‘i Army National Guard veteran, passed away on May 19, 2013 in the Queen’s Medical Center. He was born in Honolulu.
He is survived by daughter Alisa Kato; brothers Hiroshi, George, Gary and Nathan; sisters Faith Yoshinaga and Charlene Higashionna; and three grandchildren.
The following documents will be required to determine benefits and entitlements in the event of members’ life changing event(s). Surviving spouse, children or family members should be aware of document location(s). Having these documents available will greatly enhance the service provided to beneficiaries:
– Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates
– Divorce Decree
– Will
– Adoption Papers
– DD Form 214 and/or NGB Form 22.
– Retirement Order
– 20 Year Letter/Notification of Eligibility for Retired Pay (NERP)
– DD Form 2656-5 (RCSBP election form)
– Insurance Policies
– Casualty notification telephone number (303-676-6576/6438).
– Family Care Form
– Emergency Data Form – vRED (obtain copy from vMPF)
– SGLI Form (SGLV Form 8286)
Taken from the Total Force Service Center in Aurora, Colorado – (800) 525-0102
The 63d Regional Support Command (RSC) and 9th Mission Support Command will host Pre-Retirement Training Brief event on Sunday, July 14, 2013 for National Guard Soldiers, retirees, and their family members. Read on US Army Reserve Retirement Event
The event flyer US Army Reserve Retirement Event Flyer
Contact MSG Maria Victoria “Vicky” C. Durham for more information: maria.v.durham.mil@mail.mil
Special Thanks to Fred “Trifox” Fogel who registered as new Retiree News reader last week.
Allen LeRoy Vierra Sr., 70, of Pukalani, Maui, a retired Hawai‘i Air National Guard mechanic, died in Maui Memorial Medical Center. He was born on O‘ahu. He is survived by wife Sherry J., son Allen L. Jr., daughter Shelley, sister Rosalie Babayan and five grandchildren.
Service members and veterans who wish to learn more about their benefits can do so through an improved web portal. Created jointly by the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments, the enhanced site – called eBenefits – promises simpler navigation of the online database of compensation and claims submission procedures, education and health-care resources. Fill-in-the-blank forms are gone; in their place are drop-down menus that VA and DoD officials believe will be more user-friendly. Users must log in and provide a password. The site is available at http://www.ebenefits.va.gov.
Today is the start of Hawaii’s hurricane season which runs from June 1 through November 30. The Red Cross detailed tsunami, hurricane preparedness tips on Hawaii News Now. Read more http://ow.ly/lAz5P
Money magazine had a short article about US savings bonds. Many Federal workers purchased savings bonds during their careers. Others may have bonds given to them as gifts. www.treasurydirect.gov is a website full of information about savings bonds.
– You can figure out the value of your old savings bonds by typing in the serial number. It will show their current value and values are update twice a year.
– Another way to do it if you don’t have all the serial numbers is to enter your social security number. A list will appear with all the bonds with your name.
– If you have a number of bonds, the website will list them in a spreadsheet like fashion, with running totals and other information. You can download this file to your own computer.
– If any of your bonds are over 30 years old, they are no longer accruing interest and cashing them in is an option. Bond income is exempt from state taxes, but you’ll owe federal income tax on the payout.
