News items of interest to CSECRA members can be found in the Forums pages. Please login to your Forums account and check for updates in these Forum categories:
- Association Information - this forum contains copies of Newsletters, minutes of meetings and notes from the President.
- Association and CSEC Events - this forum contains information about upcoming events of interest to former CSEC employees, such as recreational events and upcoming meetings or social gatherings.
- General Discussion - may contain various items of general interest.
Note: The January 2012 Newsletter has been added recently to the "Association Information" section of the CSECRA Forums.
Members are invited to contribute to the Forums pages by sharing their thoughts in various forums categories including "Travel and Dining - Here and There", "Retirements", and the "General Discussion" category. These discussion categories have not been used very much so far, so why not give it a start!
Pension increase for 2012
The Treasury Board has announced that the increase in indexing to be applied, on January 1, 2012, to public service, Canadian Forces, RCMP, and federally appointed judges’ pensions will be 2.8%.
For more information on how these pension benefits are protected from inflation, click here.
EMAIL From Your Association
Many members complain that they are not
receiving e-mails from the CSEC Retirees'
Association. We currently have 251 members
who have registered their e-mail address with
us.
Those members who are not receiving our
e-mails should put our e-mail address in their
address book ( csecretirees@gmail.com ).
Email from the Association is addressed
in the "bcc" line for your privacy and security
purposes. Because of this, some e-mail programs will identify
our e-mails as spam, and if the Association's e-mail address
is not in their address book our emails may
automatically go into a spam folder. In some email programs, you may be able to mark our email address as a "safe" sender, to avoid the same thing.
Members should also check the CSEC Retirees'
Assocation web site to view the forums for news.
Many e-mails have been published there also.
We also request that you inform the Association if you change your e-mail
address, home address or phone number so that we may continue
to keep in contact with you and provide you with
information."
CSEC Historical Society
Retired CSEC personnel can now join the CSEC Historical Society. Just fill in a membership application and mail it off to CSEC! Go to the CSEC Historical Society information page for more details. Also check the Forums "Association and CSEC Events" section for Historical Society events.
The Pillar Society Speakers Series
Check the "Association and CSEC Events" section of the CSEC RA Forums for details on the latest speaker to be presented by the Pillar Society, featuring H. Keith Melton. This presentation is scheduled for October 20, 2011.
Computer Repair Scam Operation Warning:
There have been reports that a computer repair scam operation is currently happening in the Ottawa Valley region. An unsolicited caller may try to convince you that there is something wrong with your computer, and that they can fix it (remotely) at some cost. They may suggest they are representing Microsoft or some other legitimate company. If you believe them, they will ask for details that will give them access to your computer.
Do not give these unsolicited callers any information. It is best just to hang up. If they gain access to your computer they may search your files for personal information, including your financial information.
Even if you believe there may be something wrong with your computer, never allow an unsolicited caller access to it, or provide any personal financial information such as a credit card number. Contact a qualified repair person to determine if repairs are required.
Tax Tip:
Your premiums paid to PSHCP, PDSP, and other medical plans such as Medoc may qualify as medical expenses for purposes of the medical tax credit on your income tax.
For CRA’s interpretation of this allowance, go to CRA’s Interpretation Bulletin at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tp/it339r2/it339r2-e.html.
(Note: the Group Surgical Medical Insurance Plan mentioned in para. 8 of the Bulletin is the previous name for the PSHCP.)
Contractor Job Opportunites
Check the "General Discussion" category of the CSEC RA forums for information about job opportunites from Calian, a contactor at CSE and other Government departments.
PSHCP Updates
The following information regarding the Public Service Health Care Plan was received by email:
PSHCP Rate Increases
Treasury Board has announced increases in contributions for pensioners who are covered by the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) and who reside in Canada. As of April 1, 2011, monthly rates for Level I supplementary coverage will increase by approximately $7 for single coverage or $13 for family coverage.
Click here for a summary of the changes applicable to most retirees.
Click here for a Treasury Board statement regarding the changes.
Number of Forum Categories Reduced
We have removed a few of the CSEC Retirees' Association Forum categories. The removal of these categories cleans up the list of categories, and will make it easier for members to locate new items in the remaining categories.
We have also started to mark certain items as "Featured Topics". These topics will appear at the top of the Forums page, without the need to select a Category first. They are marked as "Featured" because they may be of special current interest to all members.
We hope these changes will enhance your experience of using the CSEC RA Forums.
Website News
This website is now being maintained by Steve Fahie, who has taken over the duties from John and Jill. Many thanks to them for creating the original website and Forums pages, and maintaining them over the past few years.
You can email Steve at info@csecretirees.org or at csecrainfo@gmail.com. |
