PRIME TIME Volume 38, Number 6 March 2020 RESBCinfo@gmail.com

RETIRED EMPLOYEES OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

The only officially recognized organization representing SB County Retirees

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN by Deborah Barmack

RESBC has been enlisting a lot of new members these past few months. I want to wel-come all our new members and suggest that you become actively involved in our organi-zation. We are here to keep you abreast of issues effecting your retirement funds, to pro-vide helpful information for re-tirees, and to provide you with opportunities to keep in touch with friends made during your tenure in the public sector. In the next few months, RESBC will be offering some different types of events that

are designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of our mem-bers, both new and seasoned. Our normal meetings have in-cluded holiday and social luncheons, as well as informa-tional meetings on issues criti-cal to retirees; i.e., Medicare, insurance options, invest-ments, and other helpful top-ics. But, in the coming months, we’ll be shaking things up a bit. In June, we will be electing of-ficers for the coming two years, and we want to have a lot of our members in atten-dance. So, what better place to do that than at a baseball game! That’s right, we’ll be taking you out to the ball game at the Quakes Stadium in Ran-cho Cucamonga where they will be playing the Inland Em-pire 66ers of San Bernardino. We will start with an “all you can eat” pulled pork, chicken, and macaroni and cheese buf-fet in the covered picnic area, followed by our own section in the stadium to watch our rival County teams square off. It will be a fun night to visit with friends, as we bring our June event to the West End of San Bernardino County. Coming right up in April, RESBC is planning a casino night at the American Legion

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QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS REGARDING MEMBERSHIP OR ADDRESS CHANGES, PLEASE CONTACT: Doug Brogdon Membership Chair dugs07fltr@gmail.com 909-725-7055

PLEASE JOIN US!

Monday April 27, 2020

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

CASINO AND GAMING NIGHT!

American Legion

Post 106 814 West Colton Ave.

Redlands

Please find reservation form

and additional

information on Page 9

HOPE TO SEE YOU

THERE!

RESBC Officers — 2018-2020 Deborah Barmack, President

Virginia Adams

A.B. Brand

Argie Brogdon

Doug Brogdon

BJ Cruz

Wes McDaniel

John Michaelson

Rhett Rehage

Vicki Watson

Hall in Redlands. It will also be an evening event, offering blackjack, a roulette table, and craps, along with a taco bar to satisfy your appetite. The no-host bar will be serving up your favorite spirits and specialty cocktails. And, you’ll be excited to see our grand prize for the evening. You won’t want to miss this evening of tacos and tequila! So, call your friends and bring a guest! Come out for our eve-ning events as we turn our Spring meetings into fun out-ings. Look for registration de-tails on Page 9 in this edition of PRIME TIME!

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“A friend is someone who helps you up when you’re down, and if they can’t, they lay down beside you and listen.”

~~Winnie the Pooh

Editor’s Note:

If you have recently joined RESBC and do not see your name, please keep watching. There is a time lapse between when you submit your payroll deduction paperwork and when we are notified you have joined us. If you don’t see your name after two months, please let us know.

Questions/Comments for the RESBC Board?

The RESBC Board is always interested in hearing from members. Please do not hesi-tate to contact us with ques-tions, or share comments with the board. Should a question/answer be one helpful to all members, we will share them in future issues of PRIME TIME.

Contact information may be found on the back page of each and every issue of PRIME TIME.

We look forward to hearing from you!

BEYOND RETIREMENT (through January 19, 2020)

Roy Bader Thomas G. Barnes Richard Bathurst

Margaret Bierschbach Cynthia H. Burgraff

Rodney Conder Douglas A. Crawford

Frederick Eckley Elizabeth Fielding

David Harps Bruce Howard

Jerry Jones Joan Landry Doris Lautz

Ronald Morden Lawrence Noelker

Dorothy Ortiz William F. Rahn

Harold Roberts, II Jane Smith Frank Tate

Larry Templeman Donna Whitsell Stanley Wisdom

Sharon Zelle

Sunday, March 8, 2020

PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 2

Those we love don’t go away. They walk be-side us everyday. Un-seen, unheard, but al-ways near. Still loved, still missed, and very dear.

RESBC has an email address:

RESBCinfo@gmail.com

Please do not hesitate to

contact us. We would like to hear from you!

SYMPATHY CARDS are sent

to families of our members whenever we are notified of a death. GET WELL CARDS are also sent to our members who are experiencing health prob-lems. Please call Argie Brogdon at 909-864-0793, or email her at argiendoug@aol.com if you know of someone who would be cheered by receiving a card from RESBC.

COLA News by Dawn Stafford

Retirement Board of Trustees Elected by Retirees

Tax season can make April a month to be feared, but there is one bright spot to look forward to: a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to your monthly SBCERA benefits. The COLA is a vested compounding bene-fit, but since the amount of the COLA depends on the regional Consumer Price Index (CPI), it often varies from year to year. At its February 6 meeting, the SBCERA Board of Retirement approved a staff recommenda-tion to grant a 2020 retiree cost-of-living adjustment of 2% effec-tive April 1, 2020, and to add 1% to each retiree’s accumu-lated COLA bank. SBCERA members and eligible benefici-aries who have a benefit effec-tive date on or before April 1, 2020 should see the COLA “bump” beginning in their April 30, 2020 benefit payment. Not sure what a COLA “bank” is? It’s a mechanism that is used to smooth out the annual changes that take place in the cost-of-living. The SBCERA COLA is driven by changes in the regional Consumer Price Index calculated by the govern-ment, but the associated benefit increase is capped at 2% per year. If the CPI change is higher than 2%, then the “extra” goes into the COLA bank for use in a future year when the CPI change is less than 2%. For example, if one year has a 4% CPI increase and the next year sees no change in the CPI, the bank allows SBCERA to

provide a COLA of 2% for both years. If the annual CPI index is nega-tive and the accumulated or “banked” amount is already negative or zero, your monthly benefit does not go down but the negative CPI figure will be accumulated or “banked” and offset against positive increases in the CPI in future years. In this situation, the retired mem-ber would not receive a COLA in the current year and would not receive a COLA in future years until their accumulated or “banked” balance is positive. The current amount in a mem-ber’s COLA bank depends on the member's retirement date. A table showing the COLA bank amounts based on the year an employee retired can be found on SBCERA’s website. The 2% SBCERA COLA was created on June 6, 1983, when the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors adopted California Government Code (GC) section 31874 and imple-mented an annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for every SBCERA retirement allowance, optional death allowance, or an-nual death allowance, not to ex-ceed 2% per year in accor-dance with GC section 31870. Government Code (GC) section 31870 requires the cost-of-living adjustment be calculated by rounding, to the nearest one-half percent, the percentage of annual increase or decrease in the cost-of-living as of January 1 each year, as shown by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Con-sumer Price Index of All Urban

PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 3

Consumers (CPI) for the Riv-erside-San Bernardino-Ontario area. The resulting COLA is provided at a maximum of 2% per year. Segal Consulting, SBCERA’s independent actuary, has de-termined the CPI change in accordance with section 31870 to be 3% as of January 1, 2020. The COLA is calculated by comparing the region’s value for the past two November CPI indexes. The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area index began December 2018 and is measured at each odd month. The value of the index was 106.573 in 2019 and 103.616 in 2018. GC section 31870 indicates that the resulting per-centage change of 2.85% should be rounded to the near-est one-half percent, which is 3%. So starting April 1, your bene-fits will increase by 2% and 1% will be added to your COLA bank for use in a future year. Finally, something be-sides the tax deadline to look forward to in April!

ADVENTURES

IN RETIREMENT

by Anne C. Birge

Hi! I’m Anne C. Birge, a retired DA Investigator. After living through hot Palm Desert, CA sand storms, Ray and I fled to Lincoln, CA, a 55+ community. Lincoln sits near the Feather, Yuba, Sacramento and American Rivers and many wetlands, brooks and ponds. It’s adjacent to the Gold Country and two hours from Tahoe, the Bay area and the Napa Valley. Spring brings wildflowers; summer - ripened wild figs and blackberries. Deer, wild turkeys, Pere-grine Falcons, Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks, owls and many other critters abound. We’ve had a Gray Fox vixen and her kit in our backyard. The resident population of Canadian geese and their goslings, parade on the golf courses. Best of all, we’re in the middle of the Pacific Flyway for migratory birds from the Arctic, Alaska, Canada and the northwest U.S! NorCal has over 925,000 acres of rice fields. Instead of burning the stubble after the Oct-Nov har-vest, as before, the fields are flooded to attract the millions of Canadian geese, Snow geese, Swans, Sand Hill Cranes and many other migratory birds. They rest and forage in the fields and numerous wildlife refuges. Then, fly as far south as Patagonia, to breed or winter. When our annual winged Christmas present arrives soon, we’ll hear the barking Snow Geese and their honking Canadian cousins. Then, we’ll witness thousands of birds explode as one, as they take wing to their new destination. Luckily, along with a new home, we invested in new binoculars!

PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 4

CASINOS AND QUAKES by Wes McDaniel, Past President, RESBC

RESBC members will remember the boring old days when we held repetitive monthly general meet-ings at the Employees Association building in downtown San Bernardino, with a speaker or program plus refreshments (now, that wasn’t too bad!) and a book fair. Then a couple of years ago (when the Teamsters took over and we got bounced!) we announced a bright new day, where we would move around the County and try to offer a broader array of offer-ings. And, we’ve been doing pretty well with that, and a rising attendance. But, now we’re going to go one better, as witness:

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April 27 – Casino Night at the American Legion in Redlands followed by …. June 29 – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes vs San Bernardino 66ers baseball game (preceded by

picnic dinner/meeting) in Rancho It’s also our biannual election time, so this gives us a chance to present the new slate of officers and any Bylaws changes to the membership in April (you can bet on it!) and hold the actual approval while quaking in June! So, sign up for Casino Night in this edition of PRIME TIME, and watch for more information about the baseball night in the next edition.

Dianna M. Caudillo Adriane Yvette Chaney

Amy Chartier Bonnie C. Chastain Raquel L. Chavira

Penny B. Chua Claire A. Ciresa

Rosemary Cisneros Carol Clark

Phyllis A. Clark Janice L. Clayton

Betsy H. Cline Heidi L. Coalter

Ronald E. Cochran Todd B. Cole

Christopher Collom Joy Colly

Debbie G. Cooper James Coronado Diane L. Corral Michael Crane Jolyn Creager

Cynthia Curbow Patrick Dailey Maria A. Davis

Marlene D. Davis Rudy De Los Santos

Peter Deeley Rosa M. Diaz

Dean Dickover Larry S. Dietz Jerry A. Diffee

Marilyn J. Dixon Kristie Dougan

Lee Ann Drouault Jennifer A. Dudzinski

Carol A. Ellis Carl Elser

PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 5

NEW MEMBERS (through January 31, 2020)

Sam Ndu Achor Edsel C. Adkins

Nancy E. Alexander Cheryl Allen

Patricia A. Annema Lonnie D. Bailey Sandra L. Bailey

Darlene F. Barker Flordeliza Barrett Edna R. Beach

Russell E. Bennett Mark R. Bergthold Daniel C. Biehler

Larry D. Bird Marlene Bixenman

Jo Lynn Blanke Joseph Bodnar, III

Jeneen Bol Deborah J. Brooks

Deborah Brown Jan K. Brown Kim E. Brown Patty Brown

Randolph Brown Cynthia R. Brownell

Paul Bulluck Terry L. Burden Kevin W. Burke Gary C. Burton

Gary Bush Cathy L. Butler

Rod Butler Teodulo P. Cabel Bobby Caldera

Yolanda Campos June M. Card

Donna S. Estes Diane L. Ewing

William R. Fawke Janice Fitzsimmons

Jayne Flaherty Elaine Fleming

Sandra S. Fossler Elizabeth A. Foster

Maxine Foster Paul R. Franklin

Carmen S. Funches Jacqueline Gaines

Peggy A. Gallo Estella Garcia

Thelma M. Garibaldi Noe R. Garnica John M. Ginter

Audry Gonsalvez Raulinda Gonzales

Janet Gordon Lora A. Goritz

Kathleen Gotch Susan L. Hall

Patricia Hamilton Martha E. Hancock

Linda Hanley Jean E. Hargrove Lorraine M. Harris Ronald T. Harvey

Michael Hays Aida Hennings William Hess

Kathleen R. Hilliard Delores Maxine Hollaert

William. L. Holloway Samuel D. Hudspeth Diana Sue Jay-Moran Timothy L. Johnson

William Joseph Johnson

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Christa V. Keach Joy Keen

Barbara L. Kiley Linda King

William R. Kirk Lorrie Koahou

Henryk S. Koltunczyk Marilyn Krichbaum Chiang Kuo-Lung

Tina Tomaso Kundig Maria Kyle

William La Haye Aleta J. Laurence

Patricia Leary Sandra G. Lemus Fred E. Lettice, III Debora K. Leuer Kathleen Liddle

Tzeng-Shwu Lieu Ralph H. Lind Paul A. Lopez

Pamela J. Lundgren Debra L. Lunt

John W. Luther Scott D. Mackie

William F. Maddox Patricia Maitre

Katherine Marshall Donald G. Martin

Laura Seasholtz Martinez Sylvia Martinez

Timothy Masters Everett R. McClellan Craig L. McConnell Jacklyn A. McKee

Julia McMath Shizue McNay

Sandra M. Medina Berend Meelker Lana G. Miller Mark M. Miller Viola Millner

Lynette A. Moore Kathey D. Monson Michael R. Moore Roscoe R. Moore

Donna Mueller Rebecca Najar Anna M. Najera George A. Nash

Tommie Neal

Jack W. Nye Samuel Ocasio

George A. Olivares Joseph N. Oliver Christine Owens

Jonathan D. Pacewiczh Deana Pallante Kirby D. Palmer

Sofia Perez Larry Perkins Patrick Petre

Rhonda F. Philson Sandra V. Piva Marco A. Polo

Ana Ponce Glen E. Porter

Eddie L. Powell Edward M. Powell

Donna Pugh Carlos M. Quezeda Joseph J. Quinones

Barbara Radle James P. Ralston Judith A. Ranard Barbara Redding Clarissa Redsar

Diana Sheila Richard Rosemary Richter Cynthia Ricordati

Roberta Rios Mahury Roach

Prea Robinson-Eshenbrenner Christobal Rodriguez-Torres

Anna M. Roque Don R. Roquerre

Lori A. Ryan Gerald Sandoval

Carolyn J. Santiago James K. Schooley

Renee Scott Kathleen Sellers

John Shahan Leslie B. Shambaugh

Mary Shearer Margret Sheats

Steven A. Sillings Beverly J. Smith

Stephanie Snyder Gary L. Stater

Carol M. Stevenson

Glenda F. Stewart Mary A. Stoever

Patricia Studdard George Sweikis

John B. Swenson Richard W. Swigart

Marcia Taack Pilar R. Taylor

Maria Elena Thompson Selena M. Thornhill-Moody

Brad S. Toms Donald W. Trapp John T. Turner Doreen Vara

Bernardo Vargas Maria De Jesus Vargas

Jose Velasco Donna Venardos Aurora A. Ventura Donna S. Waddell

Walter R. Ware Sheila D. Watkins Vicki L. Watson Dennis L. West

Renee N. Wetzel Bonnie White

Alyson M. Williams Regina A. Williams

Dorothy E. Wolf Samuel H. Woody, III

Russell Woolston Tonia Star Wright

Johnna Wyant Frederick Zamora

PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 6

“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as painful as

staying stuck some-where you don’t belong.”

~~author unknown

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BENEFIT BITS by John Michaelson

COLA Approved The Board of Retirement ap-proved a 2% COLA for all who retired prior to April 1, 2020. You will see the increase in the check you receive the end of April this year. The computa-tion of the COLA is set in state law, so the Retirement Board has little discretion other than to grant what the formula allows. The Board cannot grant more than the 2% even if the Cost of Lliving goes higher than 2%. If it does go higher than the 2%, the amount above the COLA is added to your COLA Bank. If the formula goes below 2%, the difference will be taken from your COLA Bank, providing you have enough in your bank. The local Consumer Price In-dex, or CPI, that the law re-quires be used was 2.8%. The law also requires it be rounded to the nearest ½ of a percent, or in this case 3%. So, the differ-

ence between the 2% you will get and the rounded CPI of 1% will be added to your COLA Bank. For more detail on the COLA and the COLA Bank go to the SBCERA website, which is, www.sbcera.org. On the web-site there should be a short arti-cle on the COLA with more be-hind it. For a chart that shows your COLA Bank balance go to COLA Frequently Asked Ques-tions and go down past the first chart to about the third page and look at the column for the year you retired and then across to the far right to see the amount in your Bank. On my computer it insisted on downloading this information, but on my wife’s, it opened right up. CAFR (Comprehensive Finan-cial Report)

Did you know that our Retire-ment System annually produces a very detailed report (just un-der 130 pages). If you are into

PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 7

digging in the financial weeds, this report will do that. Did you know there are a little over 40,000 members of our system, counting retirees and current employees in 18 different agen-cies? The document includes reports on employer and employee con-tributions, Administrative ex-penses, investment expenses and more. Want to find out the average retirement monthly pay-out to retirees? It’s there. To find the report go to www.sbcera.org and towards the upper right type in the ‘find ‘ box CAFR 2019. Then click on CAFR 2019. Then it should download the full report to your computer. The average monthly retirement check in our system last year was $3,571.

Questions or comments to johnmichaelson1@verizon.net or cell 909-821-2279.

Save The Date! Monday, June 29, 2020

Quake Stadium 6:00 PM BBQ 7:00 PM Game

$28 All You can eat buffet (pulled pork, chicken, mac & cheese, cookies, soda)

$10 Game Ticket Only

More Information in next issue of PRIME TIME!

Quakes vs. 66ers

QUESTIONS FOR THE BOARD OF RETIREMENT?

Any questions you may have concerning your pension, or re-tirement, must be answered by SBCERA (Retirement Board). Please call 909-885-7980, or toll free 877-722-3721. There is also information on the SBCERA website: www.sbcera.org

Address is: 348 W. Hospitality Lane, 3rd Floor, San Bernar-dino, CA 92415-0014.

There are always many things to do when you move to a new address. One of the most im-portant is to let the Retirement Board know your new address so you won’t miss receiving your pension check. On their change of address form is a place for you to sign that au-thorizes them to release your new address to RESBC. It would also be wise to send RESBC a letter, or postcard, telling us directly that you have moved. Mail changes to: RESBC, PO Box 2323, San Bernardino, CA 92406-2323.

PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 8

TREASURER’S REPORT January 2020

January 1, 2020 Balance 131,351.94

REVENUES Dues 6,571.35 Luncheon reservations 165.00 Interest 26.83 TOTAL REVENUES 6,763.18

EXPENDITURES Recruitment 99.13 Administration Supplies and stationery 37.68 CRCEA Dues and fees 3,548.80 Newsletter Printing 5,819.92 Postage 2,559.76 TOTAL EXPENDITURES 12,065.29

January 31, 2020 Balance 126,049.83

PERB Designation Balance 85,025.12 Checking Account 6,219.41 Savings Account 38,783.93 CDs 80,956.95 Petty Cash Fund 89.54 Total 126,049.83

A.B. Brand Treasurer

Membership 6,571

Hi Cap is a non profit organiza-tion that will assist seniors in deciding which supplemental insurance is best for them to add to Medicare benefits. The phone number is: 800-434-0222

“Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.”

~~George S. Patton

PRIME TIME—March 2020—Page 9

General Information Location

Monday, April 27, 2020 American Legion Post 106

6:00 pm to 10:00 pm 814 West Colton Avenue, Redlands

$35 per RESBC Member $38 per RESBC Guest

Your evening will include: Gaming Tables Raffle Prizes Full Taco Bar (chicken, carne asada, pork, beans,

rice, salsa, chips) Cash Bar A Whole Lot of Fun!!!

Seating is limited. RSVP as soon as possible via email RESBCinfo@gmail.com or

Via text to (909) 633-0812

Mail form and check payable to RESBC to

RESBC P.O. Box 2323 San Bernardino, CA 92406-2323

RESERVATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020

RESBC Name & Department

RESBC Member Email Address Phone

Guest Name

RETIRED EMPLOYEES OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY

P.O. BOX 2323 SAN BERNARDINO CA 92406-2323

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

DATED MATERIAL

PRIME TIME is published monthly from September through June (with a combined December/January is-sue) by Retired Employees of San Bernardino County, P.O. Box 2323, San Bernardino, CA 92406-2323. Email: RESBCinfo@gmail.com

Please send changes of address to the address above.

Monthly dues are paid by payroll de-duction only. For information and/or a payroll deduction form, please con-tact Doug Brogdon, Membership Chair dugs07fltr@gmail.com; 909-725-7055

PRIME TIME membership/mailing list

Contact: Doug Brogdon at: dugs07fltr@gmail.com 909-725-7055

Deborah Barmack President, RESBC deborah.barmack@gmail.com 909-223-7831

Virginia Adams Editor, PRIME TIME 909-790-7199; lvlyva@msn.com

NOTICE: The information pre-sented in PRIME TIME is believed to be from reliable sources. How-ever, no responsibility is assumed by RESBC, the Editor, or the writ-ers, for inaccuracies in articles published.

Spouses of deceased RESBC Members are eligible to become Associate Members of RESBC. If you would like more information, please contact our Membership Chair, Doug Brogdon, by writing to P.O. Box 2323, San Bernardino, CA 92406-2323, or via email: dugs07fltr@gmail.com

Privacy Statement: RESBC is very aware of the need for the privacy of its members and is committed to protecting your per-sonal information. The only infor-mation RESBC has about you is your name, mailing address, and payment of membership dues. RESBC does not sell or share our member list. RESBC does not dis-close any of this information about our members to third parties. The companies with which RESBC does business, such as LFG Solu-tions (for mailing PRIME TIME) and P a c i f i c G r o u p A g e n c i e s (supplemental insurance) are obli-gated to keep your information con-fidential.

RESBC MISSION STATEMENT

As a voluntary non-profit associa-tion, the singular goal of the RE-TIRED EMPLOYEES OF SAN B E R N A R D I N O C O U N T Y (RESBC) is to support and cher-ish the obvious need to maintain and improve our quality of life during retirement. The focal points of RESBC are to: keep its members informed and knowl-edgeable about retiree issues and concerns; provide programs and information on topics that will give members insight into the challenges affecting seniors; and focus on benefits retirees have earned, and, in the process, fos-ter friendship and positive rela-tionships among all retirees.