Dear honored members,
While watching the TV special celebrating 50 years of “Saturday Night Live,” it triggered thoughts about my career with Bell Telephone which began over 50 years ago. The camaraderie displayed by the generations of actors who starred in the show paralleled what I experienced over my career.
While the SNL performers’ goal is making the audience laugh, our focus was making our customers happy with their telephone service. What was most rewarding to me over my many career assignments, was leading large teams of central office workers, service and network technicians, and splicers. Their commitment and dedication in getting the job done right the first time is something I will always treasure.
In retirement, I wanted to stay active and give back. When I was asked if I would volunteer to be an Association of BellTel Retirees board member about three years ago, I said yes. It was the possibility of working for each one of you that pulled me back in.
We all worked hard for our retirement benefits. The Bell System is no more and all the offshoot companies each of us ended up with are now part of other telecom companies. The focus has changed from wireline to wireless. Many of us feel that we have been forgotten and abandoned by our former employers, Verizon and AT&T. Your Association does not forget you!
For nearly 30 years your Association has been fighting for the protection of retiree benefits. The Association’s successes benefitted not only the over 100,000 members on our member rolls but the hundreds of thousands who are not. Our volunteer board members reflect our membership. We were management and union employees who worked to build and shape the communication world we live in today.
Your board of directors at the Association, past and present, is very proud of our accomplishments. But there is more work to do. Our current pursuit is the Proxy campaign at Verizon. Your Association submitted two proposals at Verizon – one targeting health and safety concerns around the lead-sheathed cable network and the other targeting senior executive compensation – and one at AT&T which also targeted the lead-sheathed cable network. The SEC rejected two of the proposals, leaving us with “Item #5: Lead-Sheathed Cable Report.”
This proposal addresses critical health, safety and financial concerns relating to the company’s thousands of miles of lead-sheathed cables crisscrossing the country. It formally requests that Verizon perform an independent study and publicly release a report by December 2025 to demonstrate that the company has assessed all potential hazards related to lead-sheathed cables.
Another of our major efforts is our strong commitment and focus on pension risk transfers, also known as pension stripping. We are actively pursuing strong state regulation. Also, we are meeting with the companies who manage our pensions, such as Prudential, to ensure that they will provide exceptional customer service to our retirees.
Presently I serve in the role of Chief Financial Officer. Over the past three years, despite rigid budget constraints, expenses have been outpacing the donations received to meet the critical projects we tackle to serve you.
This year, 2025, is another financially challenging one for your Association. We need “all hands on deck” financial support from our members. I understand that the price of goods and services today have put financial stress on many of us. I always believe, as a team, we will continue to find ways to serve.
For those who are able and have already been donating, we thank you. I hope you are able to be generous again this year. For those who have not donated in a while, we really would appreciate your generosity now!
How You Can Help:
· Donate: Visit the donation page on our website to contribute. Every contribution, no matter the size, helps us in our mission to protect you.
· Stay Informed: Read our newsletters and social media pages to see the impact of our efforts from your support.
· Spread the Word: Encourage fellow retirees, current employees, friends and family to support our cause.
· Volunteer: Read the powerful article on page 2 of our Fall 2024 Newsletter entitled “The Power of Volunteering with the Association of BellTel Retirees.”
In addition to your typical generous donation, consider your Association during your current and future planned giving. This includes estate planning, your annual required minimum distribution (RMD) to a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), and adding the Association as a beneficiary. We recommend you seek advice from your financial or legal advisor on planned giving. You should also discuss “use and purpose” when naming the Association as a beneficiary.
Not everyone wants to commit to making a gift in their wills or estates. Some prefer the increased flexibility that a beneficiary designation provides by using: IRAs and retirement plans; Life insurance policies; Bank Accounts; Certificate of Deposit (CDs); Brokerage Accounts.
It is very simple to name the Association as a beneficiary. Start by requesting a change-of-beneficiary form from your policy administrator or download the form from your provider’s website. Make your desired changes and return the form to establish your gift.
Qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is another great way to donate. Not only do they count toward required minimum distribution (RMD), but the distribution is completely tax-free. That means you can still take the standard deduction on your taxes instead of itemizing to get the charitable contribution deduction.
The IRS reminds those aged 73 and older to make required withdrawals from IRAs and retirement plans by Dec. 31. We recommend you seek advice from your financial or legal advisor.
Many thanks for your support,
Frank Bruzek
Chief Financial Officer – Association of BellTel Retirees, Inc.
Apple Podcasts
Spotify