Question:
What should Members do to protect their pensions from being
exploited?
Answer:
Be sure to monitor board proceedings and monthly statements
regarding money management, and health care regarding the clawback feature of your
benefits. As a part of the bankruptcy settlement, all that was taken from the
retirees will be restored once the balance sheet shows a profit. All Americans
must have health care as required by law. Therefore with the clawback feature of the
Voluntary Employee Benefits Agreement (VEBA), retirees can ask for things like lower monthly premiums on their Affordable Care
Act health insurance, $5.00 flat rate co-pay or, other incentives decided upon
by the membership.
To make this work, you must also go to meetings and participate. If you are not able to attend, you may want to
consider having an advocate group or someone who has the time to monitor the
accounting on the behalf of the groups. This would fully protect the Police
and Fire Fighters who do not pay into Social Security and, General Retirees who
do pay into Social Security and got screwed also. Therefore we must think
outside the box and, in some cases just totally forget a box and think like a
ball.
What is clawback?
One proposal is to use the clawback feature of the VEBA to look at alternative funding for City retirees
health care and cost of living changes beyond their control. With the language of Michigan Senate Bills 4271, 5104, 5439, and 5440, revenue from Provisioning
Centers, Safe Testing Facilities and Industrial Hemp development (click here to see a hempcrete home) can be approved to fund retiree health care
costs. States like Colorado and
Washington have generated over $300+ million dollars in revenue from Marijuana sales and agricultural Industrial Hemp development.
Products like concrete for bricks and drywall will help
build homes and business from Industrial Hemp or the Male Cannabis plant. An
investment into new construction projects like redesigning and reopening City
Airport for Commercial air traffic is a proposal that will help generate
revenue in the form of new business and blight elimination. Trade schools encouraging public service
jobs for youth and people in general who want a trade, job, or career is a
sound investment in the future with pension funds. Why? because you need new
business and skilled people to pay into the fund and, that requires knowledge and a well-paying
job. The late Mayor Coleman Young once
said that solution to progress in Detroit is a well-paying job with a living
wage. This business plan worked for
Henry Ford and, now we have to work a new plan for the City of Detroit.
With the recent federal convictions of prior pension board managers,
we feel that the eyes of pension participants is of the utmost importance. Councilmember Pro-Tem Cushingberry Jr. welcomes the FBI, GAO, M.L. Elrick, Sharon Epperson, and anyone else who want to inspect the books of the City of
Detroit regarding investments and money management. The retirees will never
ever have to put up with this again without their knowledge. In other words the
City of Detroit is welcoming you to look at the books and, one day it will be
online in real time. With liberty and financial justice for all.
Stay tuned.
