In June of 2023, the State of North Carolina, including the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees and State Treasurer Dale Folwell, filed a Writ of Prohibition with the North Carolina Supreme Court seeking to overturn and prohibit the March 2022 Supreme Court decision on Lake v. NC State Health Plan from moving forward at the trial court level. The North Carolina Supreme Court’s March 2022 decision determined that eligible State employees have a contractually vested right in a noncontributory health plan for life, equivalent to the plan in place when a class member’s rights are vested.
On October 20, 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court denied the Writ of Prohibition, allowing the case to continue to be adjudicated in the Gaston County, North Carolina Superior Court.
For the first time, North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services is joining with the American Society on Aging to acknowledge the newly established Ageism Awareness Day on Oct. 7, 2023. Modeled after the United Nation’s International Day of Older Persons, Ageism Awareness Day provides an opportunity to draw attention to the existence and impact of ageism in our society.
NCDHHS is hosting a virtual webinar event on Oct. 5 at 10 a.m. to help bring attention to the existence and impact of ageism in our society. To learn how to reframe aging in our communities, join the virtual Zoom event online.
The most widespread and socially accepted form of prejudice, ageism is defined by the World Health Organization as “the stereotypes (how we think), prejudices (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or oneself based on age.”
“Ageism hurts us all. Getting older is something to celebrate — we have to learn to find joy in every stage of our lives,” said Joyce Massey-Smith, Director of the NCDHHS Division of Aging and Adult Services. “Older people are one of North Carolina’s greatest natural resources, and we are one of the most age-friendly states in the country. We are committed to honoring people of all ages through initiatives such as All Ages, All Stages NC and through our collective efforts, we will continue to stand up for older North Carolinians in the face of ageism.”
North Carolina has seen significant demographic changes in the 21st century, with a national ranking of 9th in population aged 65 and older. In 2021, one in six people in North Carolina were over the age of 65. That number represents 1.8 million adults, or 17% of the total population, in North Carolina. By 2031, there will be more individuals aged 65 and older than children under 18 in the state, according to the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics.
“We live in an aging society, which is a wonderful, remarkable thing,” says ASA’s Interim President Leanne Clark-Shirley. “But too many of us view aging with fear, denial and even hostility. We are all growing older. We can’t afford to limit ourselves and other people with such negative and harmful views, and why would we want to? Let’s lean into the opportunities, diversity and full range of experiences that come with aging.”
Evidence shows ageism is widespread in society and can be found everywhere, from our workplaces and health systems to stereotypes we see on TV, advertising and in the media:
There are many forms of ageism, including internalized, cultural, implicit and benevolent
Ageism decreases quality of life and can shorten lifespan by 7.5 years
Although it is universal, people do not always take ageism as seriously as they do other forms of inequity
Ageism intersects with, and exacerbates, all other discriminatory “isms”
In the media, underrepresented older adults most often reflect negative stereotypes
Tuesday night, legislative leadership from both the House and Senate chambers announced that they had reached a $30 billion budget agreement after a weeks-long stalemate between the two chambers. The budget includes a 4 percent bonus for retired teachers and state government employees. This 4 percent bonus will be distributed in November 2023. Retirees may receive an additional bonus or a cost-of-living adjustment next year in the 2024 legislative short session. The 2020-2022 biennium budget included bonuses totaling 6 percent for state employees, including the additional 4% awarded in the legislature’s short session last year.
The executive leadership and board of NCRGEA wish to thank the legislature for its work to provide inflation-negating money for our state’s deserving retirees. We also want to thank the many legislative champions who fought determinedly on behalf of more than 250,000 state retirees who taught, served, or protected the people of North Carolina and continue to contribute to society and their local economies in meaningful ways. While it looks like this chapter is successfully ending, our work for local government retirees continues in conjunction with the Local Government Employees’ Trustees Board and related organizations. We will never cease to strongly advocate for all government retirees in North Carolina.
Today, I write to you as our state prepares for the advent of Hurricane Idalia. We North Carolinians are not strangers to such events. Many of our NCRGEA members played significant past roles in developing emergency preparedness plans, participating in rescue operations and frequently working through long and stressful recovery efforts in their communities — even when their own residences and families were impacted. Our thoughts are with all the current public service employees charged with these responsibilities in North Carolina and beyond with this pending weather event.
I encourage you to monitor the tracking of #HurricaneIdalia through your preferred weather information source and review the information provide by the State of North Carolina at www.readync.gov.
Wishing everyone the most positive outcome, and once again express our gratitude to the public service staff who will be working on behalf of us all with Hurricane Idalia’s projected path toward North Carolina.
(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today won judgments shutting down robocallers who made illegal health care-related robocalls. Because of this win, Scott Shapiro, Michael Theron Smith, Jr., and Health Advisors of America can no longer make robocalls or work for or with companies that make robocalls in North Carolina.
“I know how harmful and frustrating these robocalls are – that’s why North Carolina has taken the lead in shutting down these scam callers,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I’m pleased that we were able to win back some peace of mind for North Carolinians with this win. We’ll continue our fight to cut down on robocallers.”
Attorney General Stein sued the robocallers as part of a bigger case that begin in 2020 against John Caldwell Spiller II and his business partner Jakob Mears, the owners of Texas-based Rising Eagle Capital Group LLC and JSquared Telecom LLC, as well as Rising Eagle Capital Group–Cayman. The lawsuit against all of the defendants alleged violations of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule, and various state consumer protection laws.
The complaint alleged that Shapiro and Smith worked with Mears and Spiller to make illegal robocalls targeting people who never asked to be contacted by Health Advisors. In addition to the permanent robocall bans, the defendants are also banned for 10 years from engaging in telemarketing, lead generation, providing or selling telephone numbers, or calling numbers on the federal or North Carolina Do Not Call lists. Shapiro is further banned for two years from engaging in these activities nationwide. The court ordered monetary judgements totaling $146,153,860 for Shapiro, Smith, and Health Advisors combined, though payments will be largely suspended in favor of the operational bans as long as the defendants continue to abide by the terms of the judgment.
The defendants are also required to present a copy of the judgment to all businesses and new customers with which they conduct business for the next 10 years. These judgments resolve all ongoing litigation in this case.
Attorney General Stein is joined in these judgments by the Attorneys General of Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas.
Our NCRGEA members have such great talents, and we want to showcase them in an upcoming free digital recipe book of holiday desserts. Here’s how you can participate:
Fill in the online submission form before October 25, 2023
Choose one of the 4 food categories (you can submit as many different recipes as you’d like!)
Write a brief story about what the recipe means to you as an Intro to the recipe!
Provide ingredients and cooking instructions and serving size for your recipe
Upload a quality image of the dessert under 25mb (optional)
Click Send button~ then, set your timers!
Digital release of the compiled cookbook will be on our website for free download by November 3, 2023. This is a digital cookbook; NCRGEA will not be providing printed copies
Any questions? Please emailinfo@NCRGEA.com for further information.
Plans are underway for the upcoming NCRGEA Fall Conferences, and we are excited to be heading your way in September at three locations across the state. On Wednesday, Sep. 13, we will be at the Statesville Civic Center; On Tuesday, Sep. 19, you can find us at the Durham Convention Center; and on Tuesday, Sep. 26, the final NCRGEA Fall Conference will be held at the Greenville Convention Center.
Back by popular demand will be some improvements to the schedule and changes in events and sponsor participation, which were introduced last spring at our conference in Hendersonville and scored highly in survey results.
Get ready for plenty of local flair at each conference, including an outstanding lunch served by a local caterer focusing on regional, featured food from the area, and exciting door prizes from local merchants. Another local angle includes having a representative from the local NCSU Cooperative Extension office on hand to lead a presentation on a regional landscaping topic and answer attendees’ questions. “We are making a point to highlight the cultural aspects of each community,” said Tim O’Connell, NCRGEA Executive Director.
Each conference will have our partnering sponsors ready to discuss many aspects of retired life – from healthcare to social security to hobbies and activities. Sponsors will start the session with quick, two-minute introductions, which provides attendees with an overview, helping them decide how to engage throughout the day by to the information and assistance most important to them.
Stephanie Bias, a representative from the North Carolina Department of Insurance’s Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) said, “The approach of the two-minute greeting by the sponsors made a big difference to attendees. It put a face with a name, agency, or business, so attendees could target their visits to the exhibit booths.” The schedule will allow time for attendees to visit the information tables, visit with each other, and make new friends. “One of our goals is to bring retirees together,” said O’Connell. “This allows them to share ideas and make connections. This time together also allows staff to get new ideas for future programs and events.”
Look for invitations and additional information coming soon with details on registering for NCRGEA’s Fall Conferences in:
9.13.23 Statesville: Statesville Civic Center | 300 S Center St | Statesville, NC 28677
9.19.23 Durham: Durham Convention Center | (inside Marriott) | 301 W Morgan St | Durham, NC 27701
NCRGEA Executive Director Tim O’Connell was invited to speak and share information on the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System at the NC Superior Court Judges Conference in Asheville this week. Thanks for the invite and the opportunity to share information on NC retirees of local and state government!
