NRLN Works On Legislation To Protect Pensions And Benefits
The National Retiree Legislative Network (NRLN) is a non-partisan, grassroots coalition of retiree associations, individual retirees and pre-retirees devoted to enacting federal legislation to protect pension plans and retirement healthcare benefits.
BILL KADEREIT, president
With support from its more than 2
million members and Washington, DC-based staff, the NRLN identifies and rallies support for Federal legislation will guarantee fair and equitable treatment of retirees from the private and public sectors.
Learn more about the NRLN and legislation important to retirees by clicking on the links in the site index to the left.
Your fellow retirees need your help.
Please
JOIN THE NRLN, sign up as a
Grassroots Advocate and/or
SUPPORT THE NRLN with a financial contribution.
NRLN 2008
Legislative Agenda
The NRLN's 2008 legislative priorities include the further strengthening of
pension protections under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA),
protecting and funding retiree healthcare benefits and securing more
affordable and safe prescription drugs.
The NRLN’s Legislative Agenda will require all of its Grassroots
Network Advocates to communicate to their elected representatives in
Washington, D.C. the importance of the agenda issues for millions of
America’s retirees and future retirees. NRLN members must impress upon our
nation’s leaders that it is their duty to help protect what retirees have
earned through years of labor.
The NRLN’s dedicated staff in Washington, D.C. will use the rapport they
have developed with U.S. Representatives and Senators and their staff
members to be an additional channel for communications to advance our agenda
on Capitol Hill. Read the
NRLN's Major Initiatives Summary here.
NRLN Targets
Life
Insurance Savings For
Members/Families
As a way to offer added value to our members, the NRLN is working with the
Lindblad Financial Group to offer life insurance in an effort to
provide convenience and possible savings to retirees.
NRLN
members—that includes those who are members of the retiree associations
affiliated with the NRLN and their families and NRLN Individual Members and
their families—are eligible to purchase the life insurance from the
Lindblad Financial Group. This Sun City, Arizona-based firm has received
the NRLN’s exclusive endorsement after considerable research by an NRLN
committee. For information about life insurance offerings, call toll-free
1-800-355-2557. The firm’s website is at
www.lindbladfinancial.com .
When
contacting the Lindblad Financial Group, be sure to state that you
are a National Retiree Legislative Network member or a family member of an
individual affiliated with the NRLN.
In addition
to calls and emails from NRLN members and family members, Daniel Lindblad,
Managing Partner, welcomes calls from retiree association leaders who are
interested in discussing the possibility of his conducting a seminar for
several retirees in a city or geographic area.
The Lindblad Financial
Group represents and is licensed with most major insurance companies and
is qualified to provide financial and insurance counseling. The firm is
obligated to sell to NRLN members/families only those plans and services
agreed to with the NRLN Agency that was created by the NRLN to be able to
provide insurance offerings to NRLN members.
Join The NRLN’s Grassroots Network
The NRLN’s Grassroots Network is the heartbeat of our organization. It is the men and women—retirees and future retirees—who sign up to be Grassroots Advocates that are the voices who amplify the messages that must be heard by our elected representatives in Washington, DC.
When you enter your name, email address and U.S. Mail address in the Capwiz database, you are joining a special group.
The reason that email addresses are required for the Grassroots Network is so that the NRLN staff can send you email messages and progress reports on important retirement issues. Your contact information in the NRLN’s secure database will only be used to send NRLN messages to you.
You will also receive Action Alerts when it is critical that retirees write to members of Congress on pending retirement legislation or other issues they should address.
Your U.S. Mail address, including 9-digit Zip Code, is important because there are times when we need to identify the constituents of particular U.S. Senators and Representatives who should hear the views of retirees and future retirees from “back home” on bills before their committees.
The Grassroots Network also needs volunteers as Congressional District (CD) Leaders for more direct involvement with members of Congress. If you wish to be involved at this higher level, please contact
Bob Martina at rfjm9870@aol.com. If your CD needs a leader, Bob will work with your State and Regional Grassroots leaders to get you involved at this level and provide you a data package.
When NRLN Grassroots Advocates are sent an Action Alert, it is intended to motivate our thousands of participants to personalize the sample letter provided and use the Capwiz system to send their messages directly into the web forms of House and Senate offices on Capitol Hill.
Since the power of grassroots organizing is individuals with a common purpose coming together to accomplish objectives, it is vital to mobilize large numbers of people.
By clicking here to sign up in the NRLN Grassroots Network, you will be taking the first step toward doing your part to gain fair treatment for retirees. We hope that you will also consider becoming an individual member of the NRLN by making a personal contribution by clicking on one of the other provided links.
LATEST NEWS
Good News for Medicare: Real Advances for Beneficiaries
By Patricia Barry; AARP Bulletin Today ~ Aug 29, 2008
The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) contains many provisions that consumer advocacy groups welcome as significant advances in extending coverage and making Medicare more affordable.
Read more...
Is Medicare Healthy?
By Mary Carmichael; Newsweek ~ Aug 30, 2008
Trouble looms and there are no simple solutions. What you—and the next
president—need to know. Read more...
Court of Appeals Affirms Dismissal of Lucent Retiree’s Death Benefits Lawsuit
The Lucent Retirees Organization (LRO) learned on
August 28, 2008, that the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in
Philadelphia, PA has affirmed the decision of the U.S. District Court in
Newark, NJ to dismiss the Lucent retirees’ lawsuit against Lucent
Technologies over the company’s elimination of the Death Benefit on
February 3, 2003.
Read more...
Seven years later, lone accountant beats IRS
Associated Press - Aug. 24, 2008
It took seven years, but Charles Ulrich did something many people dream about, but few succeed at: He beat the IRS in a tax dispute. Not only that, but tax experts say potentially millions of other taxpayers could benefit from his victory. Read more...
Read more...
When A Promise Isn't Kept
By GARY PINNELL - Highlands Today - Aug. 22, 2008 Bill Allen, a white-collar worker for decades, isn't so happy with what General Motors is doing with his retirement benefits. He's checked. If he wanted to replace his health policy, it would cost $790 a month. That wouldn't include his wife...
Read more...
NRLN Submits Proposals to Democratic & Republican Platform Committees
The NRLN has submitted proposals to the Democratic and Republican Parties on retirement issues to be considered for inclusion in their National Platforms this 2008 Election Year. In addition, the NRLN has inquired of both Parties whether there would be an opportunity for an NRLN Washington, D.C. staff member to testify before any hearings held by the National Platform Committee.
Read the proposal to the Democratic Platform Committee here.
Read the proposal to the Republican Platform Committee here.
Questions On Retirement Issues Sent To Presidential Candidates
NRLN President Bill Kadereit has sent to the presidential candidates a letter with questions developed by the NRLN Legislative Committee. The Republican and Democrat candidates are being asked to provide their positions on issues of importance to retirees. The hope is that the candidates will respond and provide NRLN members with insights into how they would deal as president with retirement pensions, benefits, Social Security, Medicare and cost of health care.
Read the questions here.
When responses are received, NRLN members will be notified about how to access the answers on the NRLN website. The NRLN Legislative Committee will also develop questions to be sent to candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representative.
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