Coalition of Oak Ridge Retired Employees (CORRE)

Board of Directors

April 2021 Strategic Plan Work Session

Summary

Meeting Purpose:

The CORRE Board of Directors conducted a strategic planning session on April 21, 2021. In this meeting the Board:

• reviewed the corporation’s mission and vision;
• examined environmental factors that can substantially influence what and how CORRE wants to accomplish; and
• refined statement of CORRE’s key objectives and issues.

Meeting Highlights and Actions:

• Reviewed CORRE mission and vision (as stated in charter and bylaws)

• CORRE mission and vision statements were subsequently revised to describe all eligible members, include reference to health benefits, address maintenance as well as improvement of benefits.

• Examined Environmental Factors

• Stakeholder motivation to advocate for retiree benefits
• CORRE retiree benefits are federally funded and administered through DOE prime contracts (i.e., administration of private pension plans using federal funds).
• Incentives for DOE and its prime contractors to increase the amount of budget allocated for retiree benefits are unclear; conversely incentives exist to reallocate budget away from retiree benefits (for technical program priorities or cost reduction).
• ACTION: Build relationships with stakeholders at multiple levels within their organization. Ensure they have a concise statement and understanding of retirees’ needs and issues.
• ACTION: CORRE examine how retiree benefits can be a recruitment tool for prime contractors.

• Pension Funds

• Laws governing pension funding have been recently changed doubling the time companies have to attain 100% funding.
• If a contractor were to default, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation would step in to partially fund that contractor’s pension liability (approximately 10% of pension due).
• ACTION: CORRE will continue to very visibly monitor and advocate for full pension funding with prime contractors and other stakeholders.
• ACTION: CORRE will continue to monitor pension program implementation for its constituency.

• Increasing health care costs

• Contractors will continue to evolve retiree health care benefits in response to continued increase in health care costs.
• ACTION: CORRE will advocate for and monitor retiree health care benefit packages to ensure provision of equitable benefits across contractors.
• ACTION: CORRE will identify and illuminate hardships on any segment of the CORRE constituency from contractor changes in health care benefit packages. Additionally CORRE will identify and illuminate favorable impacts on its constituency from said contractor changes.
• ACTION: CORRE will compile and maintain metrics regarding health care benefit offerings and retiree utilization thereof.
• ACTION: CORRE will publish information on its web site regarding alternate, lower cost heath care/prescription providers. 


• Defined benefit program trends

• Prime contractors are moving away from defined benefit (pension) programs and toward defined contribution plans [e.g. 401(K)].
• ACTION: Examine how CORRE should respond to this trend.

• Increasing Federal budget deficit

• The federal budget deficit is at record high, with no clear consensus on how to address.
• ACTION: CORRE will be aware of credible reductions in federally funded programs (e.g., Oak Ridge work, Social Security, Medicare) to identify advocate mitigation of credible negative impacts to CORRE constituency.

• Contractor changes

• Prime contract changes provide occasion for contractors to alter (most often reduce) retiree benefits programs.
• ACTION: CORRE will continue to visibly monitor and advocate for retiree benefits with prime contractors and other stakeholders.
• ACTION: CORRE will monitor contract documents for changes in retiree benefits and administration thereof.
• ACTION: Clarify for the Board ETTP’s multi-employer (vs. a multiple employer or a single employer) pension plan and what difference that makes.
• ACTION: Better understand how transition of USEC (Paducah, Portsmouth under direction of Lexington Office) personnel to ETTP affects UCOR retiree pension pool.

• Future transition of ETTP to closure site

• DOE is soliciting a new contract for EM work in Oak Ridge. It is expected the contract will be awarded in 2022 with a ten year duration, after which program responsibility could transition from Environmental Management to Legacy Management.
• ACTION: Prior to ETTP transition to Legacy Management, understand:
• how retiree benefits and administration thereof will affect remaining
• active EM workforce and the existing retiree population.

Listed key CORRE objectives and issues

• Objectives:

• Safeguard pension funds and administration of equitable retiree benefits by DOE and prime contractors
• Cultivate and maintain mutually supportive stakeholder relationships
• CORRE members
• DOE and its contractors
• Local organizations
• Regional and State levels
• Federal Level
• Ensure CORRE effectively fulfills its mission
• Mission, vision, objectives, issues, actions
• Board composition
• Committee structure, descriptions and expectations

• Issues:

• Pension funding
• Pension increases
• Surviving spouse benefit equity
• Supplemental health insurance coverage
• DOE and contractor management changes
• Other

• ACTION: Update issues list and descriptions

• Implement actions