Some of you who are not a member of the Retried Firefighters of Washington(RFFOW) may wonder why our October Newsletter was mailed to you. We want to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves and to inform you about our organization, what we do and how the RFFOW is administered. In fact, our legislative program and lobbying efforts make this special mailing possible. The passage of HB 1219 permitted us the opportunity to send a mailing to all LEOFF I and II retirees and surviving spouses who are receiving a LEOFF retirement benefit from the State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS).

Previously DRS would not and could not, based on a decision of the State Ethics Committee, participate in a general mailing or mail any information on our behalf. During the 2009 session we worked to have HB 1219 introduced and were successful in our lobbying effort to have the bill passed and signed by the Governor. HB 1219 allows us to use, one time per year, the Department of Retirement Systems mailing list to mail to all LEOFF I and II retirees. The names of the retirees are public information but the addresses are not. The bill provides that DRS will assist in the mailing with the proper safeguards to insure the addresses are protected and remain private.

This will be the first time that any information has been sent to all retirees by a retired group. The only other information that is sent to all retirees is the Department of Retirement Systems Newsletter. We attempt to keep our members informed through our regular monthly Newsletter so you may read something in the October special Newsletter that has previously appeared in a regular monthly Newsletter. By sending the October Newsletter to all fire service retirees you will be made aware that we exist, learn about our organization and may want to become a member or at a minimum know whom to call with a question or when in need of help. You as a retired firefighter may feel that you will never need our assistance but keep in mind that upon your death or if you become incapacitated your spouse or children may need our assistance. If nothing else your membership gives us strength, the ability to speak out in your behalf to defend your benefits and to help those individuals who may not be as fortunate as you and in need of help.

On March 4, 1909, Washington Governor Albert Mead signed legislation creating the Seattle Firemen's Pension Fund. The law authorized retirement benefits to firefighters with 20 years or more of service upon reaching the age of 55. Benefits included one half of salary. This was also given to firefighters disabled in the line of duty. If a retiree was later convicted of a felony or became a habitual drunkard, his pension was discontinued. The families of active firefighters who died of natural causes received $1,000. Improvements and benefit changes were made over the years until a statewide system for all police and fire personnel was developed. The Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters Retirement Fund (LEOFF I) was adopted in 1970. Members who have joined the fire service after March 1970 are under this plan. The LEOFF I plan was closed in 1977 when the LEOFF II system was established.

The Retired Firemen's Association was established on September 14, 1932 by a group of retired firemen from the Seattle Fire Department. The title was later changed to "Retired Firefighters of Seattle" and in 1970 when the LEOFF I system was established for Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters the group changed its name to the Retired Firefighters of Washington (RFFOW).

The purpose of the RFFOW organization is to maintain social and fraternal ties and improve and secure equitable, adequate pensions laws and benefits as they pertain to retired firefighters and their widows. In 1999 when the State tried to transfer some of the LEOFF I pension fund assets to the General Fund, all the various police and fire retiree organizations got together to discuss the situation. One of the first things we discovered after tallying up the total membership of all the organizations was that there are a lot of retired LEOFF I members who do not belong to any group or organization. We felt they needed information and would maybe want to make a contribution, which many did, so we developed a plan and a way to reach out to them. Unfortunately, today there are still many who are not part of or a member of an organized group and only receive information by word of mouth and hear the constant threat that "The State is after our Pension Fund and please send a contribution."

The RFFOW Board consists of a President, Vice President, Executive Assistant and eight board members who are elected at large for a two-year term to administer the Retired Firefighters of Washington. The Board and members meet monthly to discuss association business.

WHY JOIN THE RETIRED FIREFIGHTERS OF WASHINGTON

Whether you're Prior Act, LEOFF I, LEOFF II, Federal or Private, the Retired Firefighters of Washington is for YOU! The Retired Firefighters of Washington is the only politically active organization dedicated to and representing the interest of all retired firefighters of Washington State and their families. Countless hours are spent lobbying in Olympia during the Legislative Session on behalf of the retired firefighters.

Our Political Action Committee makes campaign donations to legislators and candidates who are sympathetic to our cause, protecting and improving our pensions as they apply to the retired firefighter, their families and surviving spouses.

Since 2000 we have been successful in getting eleven bills passed to amend and improve the LEOFF retirement system. We maintain a relationship and stay in contact with the most major state retiree groups, the WSCFF and the IAFF. During the interim we testify before and monitor the activities of the State Committee on Public Pension and monitor any federal legislation affecting fire service retirees. We are the only resource for members who retired under RCW 41.16 and RCW 41.18 the Prior Act. In the 2009 legislative session we had a bill introduced and passed to amend RCW 41.18 to improve the Surviving Spouse Benefit. As President of the RFFOW I am a member of the State Department of Retirement Systems Pension Advisory Committee. We have a registered lobbyist, a legislative fund to make campaign donations to legislators and candidates who are sympathetic to our issues. We have open annual elections of officers, bylaws, standing rules, policy & procedures, annual audits, monthly meetings, minutes of meetings, a financial statement, a monthly Newsletter and website.

Each month we publish a Newsletter filled with information for our members. We are an organization representing all retired Washington State Firefighters. We strive to provide our members with information relative to their jurisdictions, city, county etc. In that regard, we encourage all Pension Boards, agencies etc, with information of importance to our members, to please send it to the RFFOW. We will include it in our Newsletter. Examples of information of interest to our members are the death of a member, changes in benefits, or any notice of importance. Information can be sent via e-mail to Monica Blum: info@rffow.org or fax: 703-341-0016. We urge you to inform other retirees of the Retired Firefighters of Washington. We are the only organization working in support of our state's retired firefighters and their families. There is strength in numbers and with the help of all retired Washington State firefighters we can continue to be the powerful organization we are today, an organization that is heard and respected by our representatives in Olympia. There is strength in numbers... the greater the number, the louder the voice.

If you read the article submitted by the State Actuary's office you learned that the LEOFF I Fund may be headed to an unfunded liability in 2023 depending on the future earnings revenue. This is due to the current economy, the loss of revenue, the discontinued contributions, the increased benefits and the reduction of the fund's assets. Recently the Actuary has cautioned that the fund could go into an unfunded liability as early as 2013. More recently he is projecting 2023 to 2024. This is too complicated to cover in the space I have left but I will discuss this in detail in next month's Newsletter.