FROM THE BOARD
HEALTHCARE BENEFITS – Gail Womack & Cynthia Pedigo, Co-Chairs
GETTING READY FOR MEDICARE ANNUAL ENROLLMENT: 10/15-12/7/19 (from CMS.gov)
What’s the Medicare Open Enrollment Period? Medicare health and drug plans can make changes each year—things like cost, coverage, and what providers and pharmacies are in their networks. October 15 to December 7 is when all people with Medicare can change their Medicare health plans and prescription drug coverage for the following year to better meet their needs. How do people know if they need to change plans? People in a Medicare health or prescription drug plan should always review the materials their plans send them, like the “Evidence of Coverage” (EOC) and “Annual Notice of Change” (ANOC). If their plans are changing, they should make sure their plans will still meet their needs for the following year. If they’re satisfied that their current plans will meet their needs for next year and it’s still being offered, they don’t need to do anything. When can people get information about next year’s Medicare plans? Information for next year’s plans will be available beginning in October. Where can people find Medicare plan information or compare plans? 1-800-MEDICARE or Medicare.gov. |
MEDICARE WEBINAR AND HOT TOPICS INFORMATION
The Intel Retirement Organization’s Healthcare Benefits Committee staged a webinar that serves as an excellent resource for those wanting to learn more about Medicare. Click here for links to Medicare webinar, slides, chat and forum for the Medicare Basics Webinar, presented by the Center for Medicare Services, as well as for the Hot Topics On-line Forum Signing Up for Medicare. |
Annual Enrollment is Nov. 1 – 30, 2019 Watch your mailbox – your 2020 Retiree Annual Enrollment Guide will be arriving the week of Oct. 28, 2019! Intel is making changes to the health plan options over the next two years to stay competitive with the marketplace. In 2020, Anthem will be the national HDHP supplier for active employees and in 2021, the Intel Retiree Medical Plan (IRMP) will shift from Cigna HDHP to Anthem HDHP, and Cigna HDHP will no longer be available in 2021. We will provide more information and support regarding this change during the 2021 Retiree Annual Enrollment. |
DISCOUNTS – Deborah Wright, Chairperson
YOU MUST RE-REGISTER ON NEW EMPLOYEE DISCOUNT PROGRAM WEBSITE All the benefits you love are still available … but all Intel Retirees must re-register on the new and improved Employee Discount Program website, effective now. On September 25 IRO sent an email blast regarding this change. If you have already acted on it, no further action is needed. This reminder is for those who might have missed the blast. Click here for instructions to re-register. |
COMMUNICATION – Debbie Watson, Chairperson
CURRENT INTEL BUSINESS STRATEGIES WEBCAST LINK
September 4, 2019 09:30 AM ET |
VOLUNTEERING AND DONATIONS (BENEVITY) – Ben Manny & Annette Bachmeier, Co-chairs
REMINDER TO SUBMIT MATCHING DONATION REQUESTS BEFORE ANNUAL BUDGET CAP IS EXCEEDED | |||
MATCHING DONATION PROGRAM ENDS EARLY NOTE: the last day to submit a donation matching request is Friday the 13th of December. The program could end earlier if matching funds run out. This happened last year. As of September 24 matching funds were still available for Q3, which will roll over and add to Q4’s matching budget. For more information on matching programs click here. |
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A COMMON MISTAKE IN LOGGING INTEL INVOLVED HOURS Several causes did not receive payouts in Round 2 because the 2018 hours were reported by typing in the name of the cause instead of reporting directly to an eligible organization’s profile on the Benevity site. Reported hours will show in the retiree’s Dashboard, but they will not result in a payout unless they are correctly reported. Incorrectly reported hours can still be moved to an eligible cause before the Round 3 payout by sending an email to support@benevity.com. To confirm your cause received a payout for 2018 reported hours check the Round 2 Payout Report. |
SITE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
ARIZONA: ACT Tutors for Free College Prep Services October 15, 2019 – May 14, 2020; 3:15–5:15p.m. or 4:15–6:15p.m. We need 3-4 volunteer tutors to tutor high school juniors and sophomores on the ACT. Sessions will be held Tues. and Thurs. from 3-5 p.m. and 4-6 p.m. from Oct. 15, 2019 through May 2020 at South Mountain High School. Also needed: 2-3 presenters for once-a-month job training presentations to high schoolers. Contact Dwarka Nath at dnath@fcpsaz.org with questions. |
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ARIZONA: Howl-O-Ween at the Phoenix Zoo October 26, 2019 – 4:00- 10:30p.m. We are looking for volunteers for a wide variety of roles, from park ranger assistant to acting as a zombie or twisted fairytale mascot. We have positions for any volunteer over the age of 18 interested in participating. |
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CALIFORNIA: EnCore STEM Teachers Program Sign up Sept. 28 – Nov. 15, 2019 Winter application deadline November 15, 2019 The EnCorps STEM Teachers Program empowers STEM industry professionals to transform public education through teaching and tutoring in high-need communities. Sign up through Benevity |
UPCOMING SITE SOCIAL EVENTS
Visit individual site calendars to view details of social activities in your area.
ARIZONA – Nov. 14 – AZ Annual Dinner, 6-9:00p.m. at Embassy Suites, 4400 S. Rural Rd, Tempe, AZ 85282
Speaker: Zivit Katz-Tsamere click here for details NEW INFO! |
BAY AREA – Nov. 13 – Bay Area Annual Dinner – 5:30-8:30p.m. at Michael’s at Shoreline, 2960 N. Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View, Ca 94043 click here for details NEW INFO! |
FOLSOM – Oct. 8 – Happy Hour – 4:30p.m. at Out of Bounds Kraft Kitchen and Biergarten; RSVP iro.folsom@gmail.com
Nov. 20 – FM Annual Dinner, 6-10:00p.m. |
MASSACHUSETTS – If you are willing to be your site’s representative, contact Barb Frank via the IRO Mailbox.
No dinner this year |
NEW MEXICO – Oct. 22 – Lunch – 11:30a.m. at Village Pizza in Corrales
Dec. 12 – Happy Hour – 4:00p.m. at Corrales Bistro Brewery No dinner this year |
OREGON/WASHINGTON – Oct. 8 – Lunch – 1:00p.m., at Olive Garden in Lake Oswego; RSVP to Judy at judycg2008@gmail.com by Oct. 7
Nov. 12 – OR Annual Dinner, 5-9:00p.m. at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, North Plains, OR; Payment and RSVP to S2McElfish@comcast.net by Nov. 2 |