« April 2025

Welcome to the Androscoggin Retired Educators Assocation (AREA) Newsletter for April 2025

Please note - Next meeting on April 16 at Montello Heights.

Many thanks to Mona, Gina, Crystal, Joyce and David for the articles.

President's Message

from David Wing

Many thanks to all of our committee chairs for the reports at our last meeting and for our guest speaker from the Maine Association of Retirees. Special thanks to Cindy Peters for the final review of our history and to Mona Ervin and Patti LeBlanc for the preview of our recordkeeping notebook.
As always in the state of Maine, you never know what the winter is going to look like and this year is no different. I look forward to our meeting on the 16th at Montello Heights. Remember refreshments start at 10 AM and at 10:30 We will have the Deansmen singing group from Bates College to entertain us before our business meeting. Look forward to seeing you all then.
Take Care - David

NEXT MEETING -

April 16, 2025

Montello Heights

Lewiston, ME

Registration Form

Treasurer's Message

from Gina Fuller

Treasurer's Overview

Treasurer's Report

Download Folder - Go here for all those downloads - Downloads

VOLUNTEER FORM....

from Joyce Bucciantini

We all volunteer.  It's important. And the folks at AARP want to know and show how impactful your work can be.  Download this form and bring it to our meeting in April.  (I'm submitting the hours I spend doing this newsletter!!)

Volunteer Form

From the Captiol

from Crystal Ward

Augusta has been very interesting. The bipartisan budget hoped for did not happen. It was passed with a majority, they adjourned, it was signed by the Governor and they started a new. Both sides know this can be done, both knew that the democrats would use this if budget was not passed by the end of March. The big uproar by the republicans is more theater, they knew exactly what’s was going on.

 Labor committee Public Hearings held on:

LD 900 An Act to Protect State Retiree Pensions from Inflation. This fixes all the mess made in 2011 and raises the COLA to up t0 5%   very expensive Billions

LD111  would raise the amount the State pays for Healthcare by 5% ,which would make it 65% for 2026. I passed unanimously out of the Labor committee, now on to floor votes. So far so good

LD 328 is to have the State pay for Medicare Part B, what we call Medicare; it is currently around $185 per month.  This is a good idea, would cost far less each year that the billions for other fixes and would help all those that pay Medicare now.

LD 1003 this bill requires that a part of the Surplus General Fund Reserve (called the CASCADE) this is the money left in every account at the end of the year it is usually millions.   It would be put in a nonlaping fund to be used to pay for retirement benefit improvements for retired State employees, teachers and their beneficiaries.  This would be called the Retirement Benefit Improvement fund. It would be used to increase the portion of the retirement benefit in which COLA is applied.  This is another way to help fund the cleanup of the mess made in 2011.

LD 1040 An Act to Raise the Cap on Retirement Benefits for certain State Employees and Teachers to Which a Cost –of- living Adjustment is made. This bill provides that, effective July1, 2026, the COLA adjustment applies to $40,000 of the retirement benefit being paid to retire state employees and retired teachers who retired on or before June 30, 2011 or their beneficiaries.

Raising the amount used to the COLA from about $25,600 to $40,00    cost about $1.2 billion

Money is very tight in Augusta our best hope is LD111, it would help if you would contact your State Representatives and Senators. To support this bill.

Thanks,

Crystal

Scam Alert

from Mona Ervin

Be aware of the latest scams and protect your money and personal information from potential scammers. Do you know how to spot these common scam tactics?
 
Compromised card scam
 
Scammers call claiming to be from your bank and say that your card has been compromised. They’ll attempt to send someone to your home to “secure” your account by destroying your card. Though they may seem to be legitimate, once they have possession of the card, they’ll use it to steal money from the account.
 

Rental property scam
 
Scammers advertise rental property that doesn’t exist or is already rented. These tactics include fake listings on legitimate platforms and the use of fake websites. An upfront payment is required, taking the potential renter’s money with no property in exchange.
 
Online shopping scam
 
Scammers deceive online shoppers by setting up fake websites or social media ads to offer eye-catching deals on popular items. They may impersonate a legitimate business or person but never deliver on the promised goods and services. Some websites may even use fake checkout processes, which can lead to buyers losing money or even becoming victims of identity theft.
 
Protect yourself from scams
 
Verify phone calls
 If you receive a call and aren’t sure if the company is legitimate or who you’re speaking with, hang up. Search for a verified number on the company website. If someone calls claiming to be from your bank and you feel uncomfortable, hang up and call the number on the back of your card before providing any personal or financial information.

Beware of urgency
Scammers notoriously apply pressure by saying your account is compromised, claiming they’ll cut off your services or threatening legal action. Take a pause and tell a trusted friend or family member about the situation before making any financial decisions.

Be cautious of upfront fees and guaranteed returns
If an opportunity seems too good to be true, it probably is. Look up reviews of the company to check its reputation and trustworthiness.

Don’t be pressured to pay with gift cards
Utility companies, banks, the IRS or any other government agency will never request payment in the form of a gift card. Don’t share the number on the back of the gift card with anyone you don’t know.
 
If you’ve been impacted by a scam, learn how you can create a personal recovery plan with the Better Business Bureau Scam Survival Toolkit.

An old scam is making the rounds again.  It is a take on the on-line shopping scam. The caller will tell you that a large purchase was made using your credit card.  You are told to call the number provided in order to challenge the charge.  The number is a bogus number and will allow the scammers to pressure you into doing something that will cost you money to remove the "so called charge."  I received such as call.  I knew immediately that the call was from a scammer as I do not have the credit card that was supposedly used to make a large purchase. 

BE ALERT AT ALL TIMES            

Monthly Quiz

from Mona Ervin

• March 1: National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, World Compliment Day, National Pig Day
• March 2: Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, National Read Across America Day, Old Stuff Day, World Teen Mental Wellness Day
  
• March 3: National Anthem Day, National Mulled Wine Day, World Wildlife Day
  
• March 4: Mardi Gras, aka Fat Tuesday (2025), National Pound Cake Day
• March 5: Ash Wednesday (2025), National Cheese Doodle Day
• March 6: National Dentist’s Day
• March 7: National Cereal Day, Flapjack Day, National Day of Unplugging (first Friday), Employee Appreciation Day (first Friday)
• March 8: International Women’s Day
  
• March 9: Daylight Saving Time (second Sunday), National Barbie Day, Get Over It Day
• March 10: National Napping Day (second Monday), National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
• March 11: National Johnny Appleseed Day, Promposal Day
• March 12: National Girl Scout Day, Working Moms Day
• March 13: Purim begins, K9 Veterans Day, Good Samaritan Day, World Kidney Day (second Thursday)
• March 14: National Pi Day
• March 15: The Ides of March, National Corn Dog Day (third Saturday)
• March 16: National Panda Day, Artichoke Day, Freedom of Information Day
• March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
• March 18: National Sloppy Joe Day, Awkward Moments Day
• March 19: Certified Nurses Day, Let’s Laugh Day
• March 20: First Day of Spring, National Ravioli Day, French Language Day, Great American Meatout Day
• March 21: National Common Courtesy Day, California Strawberry Day, French Bread Day, World Down Syndrome Day, National Flower Day
• March 22: National Goof Off Day, World Water Day
• March 23: National Puppy Day, World Meteorological Day
• March 24: National Cocktail Day, World Tuberculosis Day
• March 25: National Tolkien Reading Day, National Dante Day
• March 26: Epilepsy Awareness Day (also called Purple Day), National Spinach Day, Manatee Appreciation Day (last Wednesday)
• March 27: National Spanish Paella Day
• March 28: National Black Forest Cake Day
• March 29: Mom and Pop Business Owners Day
• March 30: Eid al-Fitr, National Take a Walk in the Park Day, Doctors Day, National Pencil Day
• March 31: National Prom Day, Crayon Day, Tater Day

Ezee Kweezeen

Monkey Bread.

EASY.. so easy.  Last month's recipe worked like a charm... and so did my test of money bread.

Ingredients

1 partially thawed loaf of frozen bread dough

1 cup sugar

2 (or more) tablespoons cinnamon

1 stick melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions

Once the bread dough is partially thawed, cut it lengthwise and then cut it into small cubes - This works best when the dough is partially frozen

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle, cover, coat the bread cubes.

Add together the butter and brown sugar, and melt in a saucepan till it forms a caramel.

Place all the dough cubes in a bundt pan, cover with caramel sauce, stir it all together, and let it rise again for about an hour.

Bake at 350 until done.  Allow it to cool just a bit and turn it out onto a suitable plate.

This is wicked good.  Enjoy.