october 2016 – new!!

Association of Raytheon Retirees, Inc. Association of Raytheon Retirees, Inc.

ONE ASSOCIATION - ONE TEAM

Vol. 16, Issue 2 - October 2016

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

First Words

Email for Life

SPOTLIGHT

Make Sure Someone Else Knows

5 Steps to Create an Estate Plan

ARR Community Bulletin Board

Make a Gift From IRA

Raytheon Awards

Secunia & AdBlock Plus

Raytheon 401k Ratings

Raytheon 2016 Q2

Working Longer

529 College Savings Plan

Phone IRS Scam

Raytheon Benefit Center

New ARR Board Members

Directors

Flu Shots

Mail-in Application

In Memoriam of Evans Cheeseman

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This is the first newsletter since our excellent yearly retirees’ meeting at the Museum of Our National Heritage in May. If you missed the meeting, you can find the meeting presentations posted on our web page, including those from guest speakers, Raytheon managers Jim Ellis and Bob Connors. At the meeting, we reported on the Raytheon pension fund. Although not quite as robust as it was a year ago, the fund, valued at $18B in Dec. 2015, continues to give us confidence that our pensions are in good shape and that Raytheon will continue to meet its pension obligations.

As usual, this newsletter is being distributed two ways. If we have your email address, we send a link to the material. We reluctantly distribute the rest by snail mail. This is more expensive to the organization and we would appreciate it if those with email addresses can share them with us.

In this issue we have included a number of articles of interest to our retirees. On a sad note, we are providing an obituary of Evans Cheeseman, ARR Treasurer and Board member and Raytheon guru on the complexities of our pensions. He will be missed. To end on a positive note, since the last newsletter we have

FIRST WORDSBy: John Rudy & Mel Weinzimer

Association of Raytheon Retirees, Inc.

added two new board members: Linda Shaw and Stan Nissen. We have included an article introducing you to some of our newly appointed board members. We are in the process of implementing a new feature, an ARR web-based Bulletin Board where members can share issues with other members and where we can learn from one another. Stay tuned and check our web site for the roll out.

We welcome your comments on this issue and your contributions to future newsletters.

(continued from page 1)

Please Send Us Your Current E-Mail Address!

Our printing, mailing and distribution costs for our newsletters are costing the Association almost $4/member each year.

If you have received this Newsletter through the US Postal Service, postage was paid by your Association. If you have an

email address, it could have been sent to you at no charge. Please help us keep our costs down.

Send your name and current email address to the Association at: [email protected]


Meet Your New ARR Board Members!

We welcome four new members to the ARR board: Norm Harkins , Wayne

Johnson, Stan Nissen and Linda Shaw. Here are brief introductions:

Norm Harkins - Norm spent his entire

professional career at Raytheon Company.

He retired after 55 years with Raytheon. He

held positions of increasing responsibility in

Information Processing Systems (IT) as well

as in Supply Chain. His most recent role

was Manager of Procurement Programs. He

currently is a consultant for the company.

Wayne Johnson - Wayne left Raytheon, in

2000 after 33 years of service. During his

career at Raytheon he worked for Bedford

Labs, Patriot Program Office, Raytheon

Service Company, Research Division, and

Corporate Business Development. His last

assignment prior to leaving was as National

Sales Manager of Wireless Solutions (RAYLINK). After leaving Raytheon,

Wayne worked at Hewlett Packard and more recently at University of

Massachusetts as Executive Director of the Innovation Institute.

Stan Nissen - Stan retired in 2014 after 46

years with Raytheon. He retired from IDS

as a Senior Principal Engineering Fellow

and Technical Staff Lead for the Software

Engineering Directorate. Stan is featured in

this issue’s Spotlight column.



Linda Shaw - Linda retired in 2012 after 40 years

with Raytheon. She held positions within multiple

organizations including Human Resources,

Administrative Services, Finance and Operations.

As Manager of Administrative Operations

for Raytheon Northeast locations, she

provided multi-discipline support services to

engineering locations including Capital Planning,

Government Property, Reproduction Services, Technical Libraries and

Policy Administration. Her most recent position was as Center Manager

responsible for Facilities and Environmental Health & Safety at various

northeast locations.

FAQ’s: The Raytheon Benefit Center

Every week we receive half a dozen emails or phone calls from ARR members or others who spot us on the web. Some ask difficult questions where we can provide some insight. In most cases, however, the requester merely needs to know how to contact the Raytheon Benefit Center. Too many of the requests are from spouses or lawyers who are attempting to obtain data regarding ill or deceased retirees. So make sure that your family has the following information regarding the Raytheon Benefit Center:

https://raytheon.benefitcenter.com 800-358-1231 press 3 Social Security Number Password

They are open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Friday. You should all ensure that you have set up an account and have obtained a password that you can also share with family. If the password is not known the system will ask for one after asking for the Social Security Number. Ignore that request and eventually you will be connected to a real person.



In Memoriam of Evans Cheeseman

We are saddened at the passing of our Board Member and Treasurer, Evans Cheeseman. Evans was a member of our Board of Directors since 2013, and passed away on July 1st after a brief illness. His knowledge of the Raytheon Pension program was unmatched and he was an invaluable resource to both our organization and to its members, providing information and advice when we received questions from members about their pensions. As Treasurer, Evans helped

guide us through a transition period as we reduced our expenses and downsized to a virtual office.

Evans joined Raytheon in 1982, and worked in the Corporate Human Resources Department. He had a mathematics and actuarial science background that served him well in his role as Manager, Pension Administration.

Evans grew up in Ohio. He was an Eagle Scout. He graduated from Yale in 1968 where he majored in mathematics and then went to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, where he got his master’s. He moved to Boston in 1970 after his wife, Sarah, completed medical school at the University of Wisconsin and began her internship. He was initially a consultant to Raytheon, and eventually joined Raytheon, where he worked for 31 years, until 2013. Evans was a fierce advocate of defined benefit pension plans, and we were the benefit of that expertise and motivation when he joined the ARR.

His major outside activities were singing in the church choir and, after retirement, Southborough’s Senior Songsters and serving as church treasurer. He loved to travel with his wife, especially walking and hiking trips, and he had hopes of going many more places together. Evans is survived by his wife Sarah, his three daughters and six grandchildren. Donations in his memory can be made to the Evans Cheeseman Memorial Fund, Pilgrim Congregational Church, 15 Common St, Southborough, MA 01772.


Phony IRS ScamBy: John Rudy

For the last year, there have been numerous articles in the newspapers, AARP magazine, and television news about criminals impersonating IRS agents. According to the Boston Globe (https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/08/19/never-toy-with-suspected-scam-artist/OkxhbkJUTd7h3xJJyPtUrJ/story.html) the “Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration started tracking such scams in 2013.” They are now receiving up to 30,000 calls per week. Apparently some scammers can now manipulate the phone system to make it appear that the call is from the IRS. The article then says that it is estimated that the scammers are successful with ½% of those called.

Note that the IRS will never call demanding payment and certainly won’t ask that you pay them with a gift card!

While we are discussing scams, don’t fall for the guy who calls and says that their tests show that your Windows is infected and that they can fix it. Just hang up. There have been documented cases where a recipient has taken on the scammers and the scammers called the police to report an armed assailant at your address.

Email For LifeBy: John Rudy

Some years ago, many institutions (universities, IEEE, etc.) started offering Email For Life. The premise was that you could provide this email address to everyone and then link it to the address you are currently using. Then when you change from Comcast to Gmail, or whatever, all you have to do is contact the university and they will update the link to show the new recipient address. This seemed great because you would no longer be tied to a given provider and be faced with the onerous tasks of informing all your friends when you change your address. I have taken advantage of this capability.

But it doesn’t always work that way.

I learned that my university defines “for life” as meaning that as soon as they know I am dead they cancel the address. The result is that everyone trying to reach me (or spouse) for personal or business reasons will find their email rejected. Naturally I am trying to get their policy changed.I suggest that any of you taking advantage of EFL contact the provider to find out how their system operates.



Want to Help Pay for Your Grandkids College Education? Consider a 529 College Savings Plan.

By: Mel Weinzimer

If you are interested in helping to pay for your grandkids’ college education, you have a number of options. You can pay tuition directly to the college or make direct gifts to your children (within the IRS annual exclusion amounts $14,000 per child for you and also for your spouse.)Another approach is to consider setting up a 529 plan. Here’s a brief description of these plans, the benefits they afford both you and the recipient, and the applicable tax benefits.

What are 529 Plans? A 529 plan is a college savings plan sponsored by a state or state agency, designed to help families set aside funds for future college costs. It is named after Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code which created these types of savings plans in 1996. Savings can be used for tuition, books, and other education-related expenses at most accredited two- and four-year colleges and universities, U.S. vocational-technical schools, and eligible foreign institutions. U.S. residents of any state, who are 18 years of age or older (or the age of majority in some states), may invest in most state plans. 529 Plans can be used to meet costs of qualified colleges nationwide. In most plans, your choice of school is not affected by the state your 529 savings plan is from. You can be a CA resident, invest in a VT plan and send your student to college in NC.



Who can open a 529 plan? People of all income levels; there are no income restrictions. Any U.S. resident who is 18 years or older, has a U.S. mailing and legal address, and a Social Security number or Tax ID.

Who can be a beneficiary? Anyone who has a Social Security number or Tax ID. A future college student of any age—the beneficiary can even be the same person who sets up the account.

Investing by grandparents and others The owner of the account, also known as the participant, controls the account, including investment decisions and the distribution of assets. The account owner can take advantage of possible gift and estate tax benefits. Grandparents or others who wish to contribute to a child’s college savings plan may want to open a 529 plan account. Furthermore, grandparents, other relatives, or non-relatives can also gift to an existing account.

What are the Tax advantages and estate planning benefits? Contributions to a 529 plan are not tax deductible so that is not a benefit over direct gifts. The real benefit of the plan is the tax free accumulation of income and the ability to distribute that income without tax when used to cover educational expenses. Distributions for qualified higher education expenses are federal income tax free. Any earnings grow federal income tax deferred and may also be eligible for state tax deductions. Of course, the tax free accumulation benefit depends on how long the plan has been established and the success of the 529 investing. Thus if your grandkids are close to college age, then setting up a plan now may have limited tax benefits.

There are no annual contribution limits. There are lifetime contribution limits, which vary by plan, ranging from $235,000 - $500,000. Contribute up to $70,000 ($140,000 per married couple) per beneficiary in a single year without the money being subject to the federal gift tax. Once assets are in the account, they are generally considered to be no longer part of the account owner’s estate.

Control of assets and distributions The account owner maintains ownership of the account until the money




is withdrawn. Withdrawals from a 529 account can be taken at any time for any reason. However, if the money is not used for qualified higher education expenses, any earnings are subject to federal income taxes at the recipient’s rate. A 10% federal penalty tax and possibly state or local tax are also added.

To find the qualified 529 funds offered in your state go to: www.savingforcollege.com/529_plan_details/

Make Sure Someone Else KnowsBy: John Rudy

Today I received a call from the daughter of a Raytheon retiree who is

in a nursing home. The daughter said she got our office number from

the Raytheon Benefits Center (RBC), which seems strange. This is

the third or fourth such call I have gotten in the last few months which

spurred me to write this missive.

• Make sure that your spouse, children, lawyers or friends know that

you worked for Raytheon and that you are eligible for a number of

services including pension and medical.

• The Raytheon Benefits Center has all that information but they are

not set up to discuss it with anyone except the employee unless

they have a power of attorney on file.

• While you are alive you can change your medical plans on a yearly

basis, and also deal with such things as change of address and

heirs for any life insurance.

• The Raytheon Benefits Center has (at this time) four supervisors

on the Raytheon Account who report to one manager. They do not

have an ombudsman.

• The ARR Board can frequently help in thinking through issues that

you might have, but we are no longer employees and do not work

for HR. The RBC # is 800-358-1231. They will ask for a SSN and a

password but if you do not have it, a person will eventually pick up

the phone.


SPOTLIGHT on Stan NissenBy: Mel Weinzimer

Stan Nissen recently joined the ARR Board of Directors and we are highlighting Stan in our spotlight column in this issue. Stan retired in 2014 after 46 years with Raytheon. He retired from IDS as a Senior Principal Engineering Fellow and Technical Staff Lead for the Software Engineering Directorate.

MW: Where do you make home now and what do you do to keep busy?

SN: I live in a condo in Wakefield, MA. My week is a mix of consulting (two days a week at Raytheon), babysitting for my youngest grandchildren, helping my oldest grandchildren with college, volunteering (Council on Aging, Museum of Science) and occasionally doing absolutely nothing.

MW: Do you stay in touch with any of the people that you had worked with at Raytheon?

SN: Now that I’m back at Raytheon part-time, I have the opportunity to interact with many of them. I’ve also met a number of former colleagues for lunch from time to time.

MW: Who are the leaders that you worked with that you most admired at Raytheon? SN: The one leader who I admired the most was Phil Cheney. When I was in college, my senior design project was based on a paper he wrote. Then he was the assistant department manager when I started at Raytheon. Over the years we interacted occasionally and I had the pleasure to work directly for him at Corporate Engineering during his last few years at Raytheon.

MW: There’s a saying that scientists discover things but engineers make things that change the world. What did you do to change the world that are you most proud of?

SN: I’m most proud of all the younger engineers that I mentored during my career, both formally and informally.



Five Steps to Create an Estate PlanBy: John Rudy

Fidelity just put out a very interesting article that should be required reading and allows me to link to it as long as I provide proper attribution

www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/personal-finance/estate-planning-made-easy?ccsource=email_weekly

Everything in the article is sort of obvious but I will bet my pension that most of you have not done some of it. The subjects covered are:

Establish a power of attorney

Create a living will (note that requirements are different in different states; Massachusetts has a special form)

Make a last will and testament

Consider creating a trust

Update your estate plan regularly.

And I will add one more. Make sure that you have someone other than your spouse who can make some of these decisions just in case an accident happens to both of you.

MW: Would you like your fellow retirees to contact you? If yes, how can they reach you?

SN: I can be contacted at [email protected]



Establishing an ARR Community Bulletin Board

By: Stan Nissen

The ARR is looking into the feasibility of establishing a community bulletin board.

You’ve probably seen these types of boards on various websites, particularly as self-help support communities for appliance or software manufacturers.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a bulletin board is a website where you register with a unique name. If you have a question or something you want to discuss, you establish a “thread” by “posting” text about the issue. Others read the various posts and can “reply” by adding a post of their own. A thread can go on for days or months or can have one posting and be finished.

The threads we hope to see would include individuals posting on something they’ve learned or accomplished that is of general interest to other retirees. Users might post that they are looking for other retirees in their area or looking for a particular individual they’ve lost touch with. A thread might start with a retiree posting a question about medical insurance or social security and asking others in the community for advice or assistance.

The ARR Board would monitor the bulletin board and delete offensive posts (not that anyone reading this would post anything like that), or in extreme circumstances cancel an individual’s account. Other than that, the community becomes as good as the contributors that post to it.

Watch the website and this newsletter over the next couple of months for more information. The more people that use it, the more useful it will become.


Make a Gift from an IRA DistributionBy: John Rudy

Making a charitable donation directly from your IRA distribution (if you are old enough) is much more cost effective then taking your distribution, adding the dollars to your income, and then making a normal gift. Of course, due to the paperwork, it is not worth your effort for small gifts but I am

using it for gifts of $100 or more.

Here is a slightly abbreviated instruction from MIT for doing this. You can speak to your financial person for paperwork.

Make a Gift with an IRA Charitable Rollover. Legislation making the IRA Charitable Rollover retroactive to January 1, 2015, and permanent going forward, was passed by Congress and approved by President Obama on December 18, 2015. Through this legislation, individuals may make direct charitable distributions of up to $100,000 from their traditional, rollover, or Roth IRAs without including such distributions in their gross income, if they meet the following requirements:

• A donor must be at least 70 1/2 years of age at the time of the transfer

• The funds must pass directly from the donor’s IRA custodian to the charity.

This provision only applies to:

• IRAs and Roth IRAs (SEP or Simple IRAs, 403(b)s, 401(k)s, and pension plans are not eligible)

• Outright gifts (these distributions cannot be used to fund life income gifts, such as charitable gift annuities or charitable remainder trusts)

The gift may satisfy a donor’s IRA required minimum distribution for the year. Since the amount of the direct charitable distribution can be excluded from the donor’s gross income, there is no federal income tax charitable deduction available for such gifts.


Raytheon Contract Awards & Press ReleasesBy: Mel Weinzimer

The U.S. Navy awards Raytheon $1B Next Generation Jammer Engineering and Manufacturing Development contract (April 14, 2016). The U.S. Navy awarded Raytheon Company a $1 billion sole source contract for Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) for Increment 1 of the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ), the advanced electronic attack technology that combines high-powered, agile, beam-jamming techniques with cutting-edge, solid-state electronics. Raytheon will deliver 15 Engineering Development Model pods for mission systems testing and qualification, and 14 aeromechanical pods for airworthiness certification.

Raytheon awarded $523 million to modernize Kuwait’s Patriot systems (June 23, 2016). The U.S. Army awarded Raytheon Company a $523 million undefinitized contract action to upgrade the State of Kuwait’s Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems to the most modern configuration currently fielded. The Kuwaiti Configuration 3+ Patriots will have enhanced capability against a variety of threats, an improved Identification Friend or Foe capability and improved radar search.

Raytheon receives $523 million for Standard Missile-3 production and delivery (Aug. 3, 2016). The U.S. Missile Defense Agency exercised a $523 million contract option with Raytheon Company to produce, test and deliver 47 Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB interceptors for operational testing and deployment.

This is the fiscal year 2016 option under the $2,351,177,872 contract



for Standard Missiles awarded to the company in 2015. The guided missiles are used by the U.S. Navy to provide regional defense against short-to-intermediate-range ballistic missile threats. SM-3s destroy incoming ballistic missile threats in space using nothing more than sheer impact, which is equivalent to a 10-ton truck traveling at 600 mph.

Raytheon awarded $365 million U.S. Navy contract (June 3, 2016). Raytheon Company has been awarded a $365,848,801 fixed-price-incentive, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the production of Aegis Weapon System AN/SPY-1D(V) Radar Transmitter Group, Missile Fire Control System MK 99 equipment, and associated engineering services.

US Navy awards Raytheon $291 million for AIM-9X (July 12, 2016). The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon Company a $291 million contract award for production of the AIM-9X Sidewinder® missile, one of the most advanced infrared-tracking, short-range, air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles in the world. The contract is for All Up Round Tactical Full Rate Production Lot 16 of the Block II missiles for the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army and the governments of Japan, Norway and Taiwan.

US Marine Corps awards Raytheon up to $249 million to refurbish vehicles (June 6, 2016). The U.S. Marine Corps Logistics Command has awarded Raytheon Company up to $249 million with options over five years for work on the Secondary Reparable, or SECREP program, rebuilding vehicle parts such as engines, transmissions and electronics. The Marine Corps takes delivery of the items at approximately half the price of buying new. The savings can be re-invested into Marine Corps logistics, helping to ensure the readiness of mission-essential vehicles.

Raytheon awarded up to $104 million to modernize ground controls for U.S. Air Force Global Hawk (Aug. 22, 2016). Raytheon has been awarded a subcontract valued up to $104 million to modernize the ground segment for the U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk autonomous aircraft. Raytheon partners with Northrop Grumman as the ground integrator for Global Hawk contracts. Raytheon provides modernized ground controls to enhance capabilities, safety and cyber security of




Global Hawk operations worldwide. Raytheon will develop and install building-based mission control stations at Beale and Grand Forks Air Force Bases. The new stations will replace the current, shelter-based, mission control and launch & recovery elements.

U.S. Navy awards Raytheon up to $104 million for long-range radar operations (April 26, 2016). The U.S. Navy’s Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) has awarded Raytheon Company up to $104 million to conduct operations and maintenance for the Relocatable Over-the-Horizon Radar (ROTHR) program. ROTHR is a long-range surveillance radar used by the U.S. government in counter narco-terrorism operations. Raytheon designed and built ROTHR and will provide operations support, modernization and maintenance of the radar system.

Raytheon awarded $92M US Navy Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar contract (Aug. 19, 2016). Raytheon Company has been awarded a $92,069,954 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the engineering and manufacturing development of the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar. EASR will consist of two configuration variants: Variant 1, a rotating phased array; and Variant 2, a three-face fixed-phased array.

Raytheon will build, integrate and test an EASR engineering development model (EDM). The base contract begins with design work leading to preliminary design review, and culminating with system acceptance of the EDM at the end of testing. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $723,063,945.

US Army awards Raytheon, DRS $56 million to develop next-gen infrared night vision (April 5, 2016). The U.S. Army awarded $56 million to the team of Raytheon Company and DRS Technologies to engineer, manufacture and develop the 3rd Generation Forward Looking Infrared B-Kit, an upgrade to night vision equipment that will allow ground troops to discriminate between friend or foe at twice the distance of current systems. The next generation B-Kit is a form/fit upgrade, allowing an affordable and low risk upgrade to the 17,000 fielded 2nd generation ground FLIR systems. Third Gen FLIR will dramatically increase the range of ground combat vehicle sensors under all conditions, allowing our forces to acquire and stop the enemy.”



Raytheon Reports Very Positive Results For 2nd Quarter, 2016

By: Al Swenson

Raytheon reported a sales increase of 3.2% for the 2nd quarter

along with increased earnings for the period. Operating cash

flow was significantly up due to the timing of payments, taxes

and reduced pension payments. The latter was an ARR concern

discussed in our meeting with Raytheon in early May.

For the six months ending in June the company recorded bookings

of $13.2 billion compared to $12.1 billion in 2015. Profits were up

by 7.9%, well ahead of their expectations. The company back

log was higher by close to a billion dollars and its funded backlog

was also higher.

The company increased its outlook for the year in both earnings

and cash flow as a result of their strong year-to-date performance

As of 8/19/2016 the RTN stock price was $142.5, near an all-time

high.


Secunia and Adblock PlusBy: John Rudy

There are many pieces of application software that are available, some you pay for and others are free. And then there are some which have both a free and a pay version where the latter comes with extra capability.

Today I’ll discuss Secunia PSI and AdBlockPlus

1. AdBlockPlus: Whenever you go to the Internet you are inundated with ads. This is because the folks providing you the information you are requesting are looking for ways to derive income from the process. Luckily, a number of companies have developed products to significantly reduce (not eliminate) these ads. I use AdblockPlus, which is free https://adblockplus.org/ Note that it has to be installed

Working Longer Increases Your LifeBy: John Rudy

The June 2016 issue of the AARP Bulletin describes the results of a recent study by Oregon State which concludes that working longer may add years to your life. This was an 18 year study and tracked healthy adults (not folks who retired because they were dying). “Older adults who retired a year past 65 had an 11 percent lower risk of death compared with those who retired at 65.” Here is the link to the Oregon State site :http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2016/apr/working-longer-may-lead-longer-life-new-osu-research-shows Of course it is too late for most of us.


separately for each web browser. I use Chrome exclusively, so that is where I have it installed. I’ve had it for about 2 years. In the picture on page 18, you will note that it places a small icon in the upper right of your browser and when you click on it you learn how many ads it has blocked. When you set it up (and there is no room here to go through all the details) you can exclude certain sites and make other choices. Not surprisingly, a lot of companies are unhappy about this and I frequently get a message when opening up a web page asking me to close the blocker. Here is some recent data: “A new survey of users found that only 41 percent of those surveyed were aware of ad blocking. But among those who are aware of it, 80 percent block ads on desktop and 46 percent do so on smart phones, suggesting it’s just awareness that’s holding back higher ad blocking adoption.” It has been reported (Wired magazine) that some ad block companies are receiving money from companies to exclude their site from the block list!

2. Secunia PSI: There are many reasons to keep your software up to date. The most obvious is that you have access to the newest capability that the software offers. But the more important reason is that most software has vulnerabilities and new releases fix them. The problem is that you may be unaware that a new release is available and that you might not know how to perform the update. That is where Secunia PSI (even the free version) fits it. It will check your software against the newest versions and, in most cases, perform the updates automatically. I have set it to run when I reboot my computer. There are some products that require manual updates and it tells you. Go to: www.flexerasoftware.com/enterprise/products/software-vulnerability-management/personal-software-inspector/ and you will be taken through the simple process. The web page has a lot of information about the product that I will not reproduce here.


Raytheon Receives Good Ratings on its 401K PlansBy: Wayne Johnson

Good news for employees and retirees, Raytheon Company gets an 84 rating from Brightscope.

BrightScope is a financial information and technology company that brings transparency to opaque markets. BrightScope data drives better decision-making for individual investors, corporate plan sponsors, asset managers, broker-dealers, and financial advisors.

BrightScope is also the leading independent provider of retirement plan ratings and investment analytics to participants, plan sponsors, asset managers, and advisors in all 50 states.

Raytheon Savings and Investment Plan is a defined contribution plan with a 401k feature and ESOP component. This plan has a BrightScope Rating of 84. This plan is in the top 15% of plans for Account Balances, Company Generosity, Salary Deferral, and Total Plan Cost. Raytheon Savings and Investment Plan currently has over 83,100 active participants and over $15.1B in plan assets.

Compared to its defense company peer group, it rates higher than Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and United Technology.

As a retiree, why should I care? First, it indicates good stewardship of plan choices, assets and annual operating costs. Upon retirement and up to age 70, your assets can remain in the Fidelity 401K with similar benefits.

When you reach the mandatory distribution age of 70.5, you will then roll these assets over into comparable IRA accounts.

The Raytheon Pension Plan provides a tremendous benefit of guaranteed income, augmented by Social Security which allows greater financial flexibility augmented by the 401K.


Flu ShotsBy: John Rudy

Yesterday I got my annual flu vaccine. I got it at the local CVS and it was free. They took my insurance card and there was no co-pay. For those over 65 or those with a medical condition my doctor told me to get the double-dose. You might ask your PCP for a recommendation. Last year CVS ran out of the double-dose vaccine so I learned it is best to get it early.

The CDC has a good web site on the 2016-17 Flu Season: www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/current.htm

From this site it’s estimated that between 71 percent and 85 percent of seasonal flu-related deaths have occurred in people 65 years and older and between 54 percent and 70 percent of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations have occurred among people in that age group. So influenza is often quite serious for people 65 and older.”


Directors

John Rudy, [email protected]

Joe DeAmbrose, [email protected]

Wayne Johnson, [email protected]

Linda Shaw, [email protected]

Nicole Cormier, Office [email protected]

Norm Harkins, [email protected]

Stan Nissen, [email protected]

Mel Weinzimer, [email protected]

Al Swenson, [email protected]

© 2016 by ARR. This publication is designed to provide authoritative information

regarding the subject matter covered. The Association of Raytheon Retirees

(ARR) is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, tax, or other professional

services. If expert assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the

services of a competent professional. Consult with a tax or other professional

advisor before making any decisions regarding personal finances.*

*The Association of Raytheon Retirees is not associated with Raytheon Company.


PO Box 365

Marlborough, MA 01752

Phone: 978 369 8410

E-mail: [email protected]

We are on the Webraytheonretirees.org


Please send completed form andcontribution ($20 Annual Dues) to:

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orEmail us at [email protected]

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october 2016 – new!!

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