Soldier for Life - Heidelberg Retired Soldier Council - US Army Garrisons
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UNITED STATES ARMY GARRISON RHEINLAND-PFALZ
I
Soldier for Life - Heidelberg Retired Soldier Council
----------- Military Retiree Newsletter -----------
October 2020
A Publication of the United States Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz Soldier for Life - Retirement Services Office
We thank you for your service!
Soldier for Life - Retirement Services From LTC (R) Lawrence Applebaum and CSM
Officer’s (RSO) Corner (R) Kent Allen, Co-Chairpersons, Soldier for
Life - Heidelberg Retired Soldier Council
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly
impacted the Retired Soldier Community
As all of you know, we haven’t had an open
primarily because most retired Soldiers and
meeting since November 2019. The open
their immediate family members, to include
meeting that we planned for May 2020 had to
their surviving spouses are in the high-risk
age group. be cancelled due to COVID-19. Although the
restaurant that hosts our open meetings could
As you already know the Retiree Appreciation guaranty social distancing, we decide to cancel
Days have been cancelled as have the open the August meeting, because all of our
Retired Soldier Council meetings to minimize expected participants are in the high-risk age
the risk to the “older crowd.” Based on what I group. It is the same situation with the open
personally know, the members of the Retired meeting that we would have held in November.
Soldier Community have weathered the storm
quite well and have been able to avoid Therefore, we have expanded the newsletter to
becoming infected. six pages to cover some of the topics that we
would normally discuss during the open
I think this is primarily due to your personal meetings.
avoidance of high-risk activities and
effectively following the established guidelines In addition to the standard topics that we
on wearing the mask, washing your hands present and discuss, we are adding some
and maintaining social distancing from topics that will also be of interest to you.
strangers.
National and State Elections 2020
Another important aspect of staying healthy is
maintaining your personal wellness. Get Every election is important at no matter which
enough sleep, eat nutritious meals and get level of government – municipal to national.
sufficient physical exercise, the latter being We have been given the right to vote by our
Constitution. If you are already registered to
dependent on your overall physical condition.
vote in your home state or territory, be sure to
request your absentee ballot if it is not
One last point, soon we will enter the
automatically sent to you. If you are not
influenza season. If there is no underlying
registered go to https://www.fvap.gov/citizen-
reason not to take a “flu shot,” be sure to visit
voter. You can register to vote and also
the nearest military medical treatment facility
request an absentee ballot.
or your Host Nation medical practice.
1TRICARE Update/Tip. U. S. Taxes and Non-Resident Aliens
(continued)
You regular TRICARE users are quite familiar
with DD Form 2642, the TRICARE claim form. May be required to file an income tax return
Every claim submitted is mutually exclusive despite the fact that the 30% withholding tax
from all other claims submitted for the same has, in fact, been withheld.
patient. Therefore, the claims processor does
not necessarily know the patient’s medical claim Non-resident aliens use Internal Revenue
history. Service Form 1040-NR. The instruction
booklet is titled, “Instruction for Form 1040-
The basic concept when submitting a claim is NR.” This booklet includes a table to help the
assure that the problem is properly described filer determine if an income tax return must be
on the claim form. Block 8a on the DD Form filed.
2642 offers little space to describe the condition
for which the patient received treatment, The Form 1040-NR includes space to report
supplies or medication. A proper description of income effectively connected with U.S. Trade
the condition will help the claims processors or Business as well as income not effectively
understand the bills that are attached. connected with a U.S. Trade or Business.
A best practice when describing the patient’s In nearly all cases, the surviving spouse will
condition is to use an attachment that refers to not have any income effectively connected
Block 8a. with a U.S. Trade or Business. However,
there would be income not effectively
If you decide to use the attachment, enter “See connected with a U.S. Trade or Business.
Attached Sheet” in Block 8a on DD Form 2642. The survivor benefit plan annuity and the
Social Security annuity are in this category. If
U.S. Taxes and Non-Resident Aliens the Retiree had a second career in civil
service or with a non-appropriated fund
This article is for the military Retiree, married to activity such as Morale, Welfare and
a person who is not an American citizen Recreation and insured a part of this pension,
residing outside the United States. Although the survivor benefit will be taxed at the 30%
the military spouse may have a U.S. residence rate.
permit (“green card”), if the tax home is outside
the United States, the spouse is considered to For non-resident aliens there is no standard
be a non-resident alien. deduction. However, itemized deductions can
reduce the tax burden. The Form 1040-NR
The rest of this article assumes that after the does include Schedule A, which is used to
Retiree dies, the surviving spouse will receive report itemized deductions.
survivor benefits which could include income
from the Survivor Benefits Plan, Social Security, The Form 1040-NR consists of five pages and
private annuities, etc. For the non-resident the Instruction for Form 1040-NR booklet is
alien surviving spouse, most U.S. source well-written and easily understood by a native
income is taxed at a flat rate of 30% unless English speaker. We suggest that the
some of the U.S. source income is covered by a surviving spouse review the income tax form
bilateral treaty to avoid double taxation. The and the instruction booklet. If the surviving
best example for us is Social Security. Under spouse cannot master the reporting
the treaty with Germany, only Germany has the requirement, this person should seek
right to tax this U.S. source income. assistance from a qualified tax consultant.
Non-resident aliens with U. S. source income
2Survivor Benefits Planning – Advice and Defense Finance and Accounting
Counselling Service Update
In the military, planning is a continuous
process, especially during combat operations. myPay Web Page
These are, for the most part, current
operations plans. Another type of planning is Nearly all of you who receive this
referred to as contingency planning. That is, newsletter have Internet access. We know
when the contingency occurs, the plan is that many of the military Retirees have a
executed. myPay account at the Defense Finance
and Accounting Service web site. For
Your survivor benefits plan is a contingency those Retired Soldiers and surviving
plan. The contingency is your imminent or spouses with Internet access, who do not
actual death. have a myPay account, we strongly
suggest that you establish a myPay
Many contingency plans sit on a shelf and account.
gather dust. You survivor benefits plan is no
different. However, situations change and you The myPay account provides you with
must dust off your plan about three or four many capabilities. Some examples are
times a year. The dust off procedure is to listed below.
review your plan to assure that it is still
current. Make changes where required. Retiree or annuitant account statements,
Federal withholding tax information,
Some aspects of the plan require rehearsal. Annual tax statement, 1099R.
Many plans include phone numbers, Internet
links, partially filled in forms, etc. Assure Make pay changes such as setting up
phone numbers are current by calling them, allotments.
use the Internet link, check the various forms
to be sure they are current, etc. Take a look at the web site and establish
an account.
A side anecdote. A widow recently applied for
dependency indemnity compensation. She New Direct Deposit Option for Retiree
submitted an outdated form. The Department Arrears of Pay
of Veterans Affairs reject the application and
she was required to resubmit the application DFAS can deposit an Arrears of Pay (AOP)
using the current form which included a payment directly to an eligible claimant’s
statement that the previous edition of the form bank account instead of mailing a check.
will not be used. Direct deposit can reduce the time it takes
to receive the payment.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, more
and more personal interactions with a To have an AOP payment direct deposited
counselor are occurring in the virtual sphere. to their bank account, the claimant needs
Your Retired Soldier Council offers advice and to send a completed Direct Deposit
counseling via telephone, email, fax and Authorization (DFAS-CL Form 1059) with
virtually over via the Internet, the latter using their SF 1174. This form is available for
Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet. download from the webpage:
If you want to use virtually counseling call or https://www.dfas.mil/retireeaop or
send an email to Colonel Applebaum, 06224-
52741 or L-M.Applebaum@t-online.de. https://www.dfas.mil/RetiredMilitary/survivo
rs/1174RetireeAOP/
3COVID-19 Odds and Ends Cancellation of KMC RAD.
Face Mask Requirements on Army and The Kaiserslautern Military Community
Airforce Installations. Retiree Appreciation Day 2020, previously
scheduled for October, has been cancelled
Each of you knows that the use of the face due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The
mask helps prevent the spread of the Council discussed alternative methods of
coronavirus. disseminating information that would
normally be offered during the RAD to the
To enter an Army installation within the Retiree Community. The general
Kaiserslautern Military Community, personnel consensus was to prepare written and
are not required to wear a facemask when video information to post on the garrison
driving. However, when walking into the web site. Subsequent to this discussion,
installation, the facemask must be worn when Erik Thomsen advised the two councils
showing the ID card to security personnel. (Heidelberg and Kaiserslautern) about his
ideas for virtual information. He will meet
To enter an Airforce installation, the facemask with the garrison Public Affairs Office to get
is required, driving and walking, when being the process started. The current approach
screened by the security personnel at the gate. is to focus on short video presentations.
Following his meeting with the PAO, he will
At both Army and Airforce installations, the advise us of any tasks we must perform.
facemask is required when inside buildings.
The facemask is also required outdoors when Cancellation of Army in Europe RAD
social distancing cannot be maintained.
This Retiree Appreciation Day at
Appointments at Landstuhl Regional Wiesbaden has also been cancelled.
Medical Center – Internal Medicine Clinic.
German Income Taxes
Most of us are assigned a primary care
manager (PCM) in the Internal Medicine Clinic Retired Soldiers, surviving spouses and
at Landstuhl. If you get your medications other Retirees with a German residence
through your PCM, normally, prior to permit (Aufenthaltstitel) must comply with
prescription renewal, annual blood tests are the German tax laws. If you are a Social
required. If the follow-on appointment is Security annuitant, under the bi-lateral
routine, that is, no specific problems, when you double taxation treaty between the U.S. and
request an appointment, it will be a telephone Germany, the Social Security annuity can
consultation. Your PCM will call you at the only be taxed by Germany.
telephone number that is on file at the clinic. If
your lab results indicate the need for additional If you have other income that is taxable by
lab tests or a follow-on visit with your PCM at Germany, for example and individual
Landstuhl is necessary, you will be given retirement annuity or any other annuity
instructions as to what to do. where the annual payout is a mix of your
own money and interest, 18% of the
If you want a referral to another clinic or your interest is taxable.
PCM sees the need for a referral, this will be a
part of the telephone consultation. Once you start filing a German tax return,
you will most likely be asked to submit a
copy of your current U.S. income tax return.
Be prepared to pay German tax on some of
the income that is also taxed by the U.S.
4The poem was written by Lieutenant Colonel
Veterans Day 2020 John McCrae, MD (1872-1918), a member of
the Canadian Army. McCrae's In Flanders
Veterans Day is a United States federal Fields remains to this day one of the most
holiday observed annually on November 11, memorable war poems ever written. It is a
honoring and remembering all those who have lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres
served in the United States Armed Forces. salient in the spring of 1915.
As most of you know, November 11 was the IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
day in 1918 when the Armistice was signed
ending The Great War. Between the crosses row on row,
In 1945, World War II veteran Raymond That mark our place; and in the sky
Weeks had the idea to expand Armistice Day
to celebrate all veterans rather than just the The larks, still bravely singing, fly
ones who died in World War I. He led a
delegation to General Dwight Eisenhower, Scarce heard amid the guns below.
who was all for the idea. Weeks then
conducted the first Veterans Day celebration We are the Dead. Short days ago
in 1945 in Alabama and every year until his
death in 1985. In 1982, he was honored by We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
President Reagan with the Presidential
Citizenship Medal. Weeks was also named the
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
“Father of Veterans Day” by Elizabeth Dole.
In Flanders fields.
Ed Rees, the U.S. Representative from
Emporia, Kansas, presented a bill establishing
the holiday to The Congress. Eisenhower,
who was now President and also from
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
Kansas, signed the bill into law on May 26,
1954, eight and a half years after Raymond
To you from failing hands we throw
Weeks held the first Veteran’s Day. A few
weeks later, June 1, Congress amended the
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
bill replacing “Armistice” with “Veterans.” The
National Veterans Award was also created in
If ye break faith with us who die
1954, first received by Congressman Rees for
his support in making Veterans Day a federal
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
holiday. Though the holiday is currently and
was originally celebrated on November 11, the
In Flanders fields.
day was moved to the fourth Monday of
October in 1971 due to the Uniform Monday
Holiday Act. However, only 7 years later in On Veterans Day 2020, take a few minutes of
1978, it was moved back to November 11. time to think about our Veterans, who paid the
ultimate price during the various wars in which
In Flanders Fields we fought. Also think about all of those who
wore and those who are still wearing the
During our November Retired Soldier Council uniform of the various United States military
meeting, it has become a tradition that we services. We say to our Veterans, thank for
remember the true meaning of Veterans Day your service to our great Nation.
and the poem, In Flanders Fields, is read.
5Tough As They Come Gold is bold. Is it a safe haven? (By B. K.
Rieger, Major, U.S. Army (Retired)
As you read the above words, you are
probably wondering what that has to do with Some retirees/widows have extra money
Retired Soldiers. unwilling to hide it under their pillow, because
interest rates are currently near zero and are
Tough As They Come is the title of the book expected to stay there for quite some time.
written by Travis Mills, an Infantry Staff
Sergeant and quadruple amputee. He is They seek to invest this extra money to lessen
one of only five servicemen from any the effects of inflation. Some are thinking
military branch to have survived such an injury about gold which presently costs ~2000 €/
during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The ounce. Here are the facts on buying gold in
medic on the scene was able to save his life Germany:
but not his limbs.
The daily quotation/rate depends on the
The book offers a detailed look at a small part demand for gold, its availability and the mood
of the war in Afghanistan from the perspective on the international financial market.
of an infantryman during squad and platoon
operations and the aftermath of Sergeant In Germany, gold is bought with an increase
Mills’ recovery from his horrific injuries that on the price so it is always sold ~ 5% higher
occurred on 10 April 2012. than the daily quotation.
In September 2013, Travis and his wife Kelsey Gold is bought in bars, coins, jewelry,
founded the Travis Mills Foundation, a certificates, options, funds and shares in
nonprofit organization, formed to benefit and mining companies.
assist post 9/11 veterans who have been
injured on active duty or as a result of their Gold is traded at Banks and specialized
service to our nation. companies. Payment is in € but the gold price
is measured per troy ounce (31.1035 German
The Travis Mills Foundation supports grams) and is quoted in $. Thus, the $-€ rate
recalibrated Veterans and their families is a consideration when buying gold in
through long-term programs that help these Germany. When the $ is down you need fewer
heroic men and women overcome physical Euros when buying gold and vice versa.
obstacles, strengthen their families and
provide well-deserved rest and recreation. Selling/buying gold bars and coins is tax free
in Germany. Paper gold is treated like shares.
The veteran and their families receive an all- Gold certificates have a 25% one-time tax.
inclusive, all-expenses paid, barrier-free
vacation to Maine where they participate in Be careful when buying gold outside the EU or
adaptive activities, bond with other veteran exotic places. Odd rules exist and you could
families, and enjoy much-needed rest and be ripped-off shamefully. Import of gold /
relaxation in Maine’s great outdoors. The link jewelry / watches, etc. must be declared at the
below takes you to the foundation’s web site. German Zollamt (customs office).
https://travismillsfoundation.org/
Travis Mills’ book, Tough As They Come is
available at www.amazon.de.
6You can also read
