The Long Blue Line (Winter 2021)

NATIONAL RETIREE COUNCIL CO-CHAIRS
2021, HERE WE COME! We hope that everyone
enjoyed a peaceful and safe end of year holiday
season. For those of us that had to forgo seeing family
up close and personal, it was a tough pill to swallow
at our age, but necessary and the right thing to do.
COVID-19 vaccinations can’t get here soon enough.
Since our last issue of the Long Blue Line, we have
added our 19th CG Regional Retiree Council.
Welcome aboard to RRC Charleston, SC! Their
active duty sponsor command is Base Charleston.
As many of you have noticed, Charleston has
quickly become a major USCG port. Thus, it is fitting
that RRC Charleston has been established. We are
still working to establish RRC LA/LB in the near
future. If you are interested in taking an active role
in getting that RRC up and running, please contact
Bob Hinds, MCPO Pierce or myself.
It remains to be seen whether we will be able convene
an in-person CG National Retiree Council meeting in
2021. While it is our strong desire to do so, medical
safety comes first. If necessary, we will hold a virtual
conference, with plans to expand our agenda beyond
what we were able to accomplish at our virtual
meeting in 2020.
Despite continuing COVID-19 restrictions, we were
able to hold our annual meeting on 15 Dec 2020
with the Commandant, ADM Karl Schultz (RADM
Hathaway in person, MCPO Pierce online). ADM
Schultz was anxious to get an update on how
the retiree community fared over the past tough
year. With other USCG senior leadership also in
attendance, we were able to report that our retiree/
annuitant community has been holding its own. We
conveyed the high points from our August 2020
RADM Jeff Hathaway, USCG (Ret)
hathaway.cgnrc@aol.com
MCPO Lloyd Pierce, USCG (Ret)
Ipierce38@tampabay.rr.com
National Retiree Council virtual meeting (addressed in
this column in the Fall LBL). Notably, on behalf of the
entire retiree community, we expressed thanks for the
USCG emphasis this past year on reducing the time
to process Audit Error Worksheets (AEWs) at PPC.
When we brought this issue to the Commandant’s
attention last year, processing times were often in
excess of a year and little progress was being made
on the backlog. He ordered immediate action and
thru added manpower and automation at PPC, the
backlog has been reduced to 120 days. We pointed
out that DOD averages a 60 day turnaround on AEWs
from VA. While our USCG has made great progress,
120 day processing for AEWs should not be our final
goal. We suggested that a 90 day processing time
should be the next goal by the end of 2021, and ADM
Schultz and his team agreed.
Finally, we once again request that, if you have not
added an email address to your personal info in the
Coast Guard Direct Access (DA) system, please
make it your New Year's resolution to do so! Email is
the only real-time means we have to PUSH important
information directly to you in between quarterly issues
of the Long Blue Line. Otherwise, retirees must PULL
timely notices off of the Retirees Services and PPC
websites. Currently, DA only contains emails for about
55% of our retiree/annuitant community. We can do
better. A great example occurred over the last quarter
of 2020. The need for retirees using Tricare Select
to set up and pay new required enrollment fees by
1 Jan. 2021 caused some confusion. While DOD
retirees could pay enrollment fees through allotments
and CG/PHS/NOAA retirees could “initiate” allotments
with Tricare, PPC did not have the capability to pay
enrollment fees through allotments – requiring retirees
to pay by EFT or credit card. While that was stated,
along with detailed guidance, on the PPC-RAS
website, many missed PULLING that information.
Tricare contractors were also originally putting out
conflicting guidance when contacted by retirees. CG
Retiree Services tried to PUSH information to retirees
by passing along PPC guidance via GovDelivery,
but it only reached those retirees (55%) with current
email addresses in the system. Why subject yourself
to future high anxiety when a solution exists – add
an email address to your DA account! See PPC
instructions on how to access/update your DA Self-
Service account in this issue of the Long Blue Line.
Thoughts on Retirement
"Retirement is a blank sheet of paper. It is a chance
to redesign your life into something new and
different." —Patrick Foley
THE LONG BLUE LINE WINTER 2021
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