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OSURA News4Calendar of EventsCOMMITTEE MEETINGSJanuary 4 (Tuesday)Benefits CommitteeTime/Place: 9:30 a.m., LongabergerJanuary 11 (Virtual)Board MeetingTime/Place: 9:30 a.m.January 24 (Monday)Cultural Arts/Travel MeetingTime/Place: 10 a.m., LongabergerMONTHLY ACTIVITIESJanuary 13 (Thursday)Photo SocietyProgram: Bird and Wildlife Photographyby Kathryn CubertMember Theme: Three of your mostchallenging wildlife shotsNOTE: All entries to the annual photocontest are due no later than January 13.Time/Place: 5:30 p.m. dinner; 7 p.m.program; OSU Faculty Club. You MUSTmake reservations for dinner by calling614-292-2262 by January 10.Cost: on your ownArranger: Nancy Verber (nwverber@gmail.com – Photographic Society SIG)January 15 (Saturday)Walking/Hiking GroupChallenge Level 2-4Everyone welcome. Join us for a briskwalk through Blendon Woods, 4265 E.Dublin-Granville Rd., Westerville.Time/Place: 11 a.m. – at the Nature CenterArranger: Hallan Noltimier (noltimier.2@osu.edu – Walking/Hiking SIG)January 20 (Thursday)Lunch Bunch – All-SkyAutomated Survey forSupernovae (ASAS-SN): BigScience with Small TelescopesInnovative ideas can lead to majoradvances. Learn how OSU astronomersdeveloped a simple but powerful way tohelp understand some of the most violentevents taking place in the heavens.Time/Place: 11:15 a.m., MCL Cafeteria,KingsdaleCost: On your own, order through cafeterialine starting at 11:15 a.m., program atapproximately 12 noon.Contacts: Elenore R. Zeller (zellerej@prodigy.net – Social Committee)January 27 (Thursday)Dinner Series: Covid UpdateSusan Koletar, MD, Director, OSU Divisionof Infectious Diseases, will be updatingus on Covid and OSU response to thisdisease.Time/Place: 5:15 p.m. reception, 6 p.m.dinner, 7 p.m. lecture; OSU Faculty ClubCost: 35 (service charge included)Registration Deadline: Register at osura.osu.edu or call 614-292-2281 by January 24.Arranger: Carol Newcomb (newcomb.28@osu.edu – Dinner Series SIG)Book ClubJanuary’s book The Vanishing Half by BritBennett is an ambitious meditation on raceand identity. Identical twin sisters, age 16,run away from a Southern Black community.One returns home, and the other “passes”as white, only to have their lives intersectthrough their daughters’ years later. Allmembers, near and far, are encouraged toparticipate by email in the You Are TherePlay discussion format we are using in lieuof in-person meetings during COVID-19.Arranger: Lee Hill (hill.30@osu.edu –Book Club SIG)SPECIAL EVENTSJanuary 13 (Thursday) – VirtualCoffee Hour for New RetireesTime/Place: 9-10 a.m.Arranger: Sandy Bell(sib9716@outlook.com –Membership Committee)NEWJanuary 28 (Friday)2021 Income Tax Seminar –VIRTUALTruepoint Wealth Counsel of Cincinnatiwill discuss Federal and State income taxissues for 2021. OSURA Registration link– https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN f90fhLmAR2ycip0eaMiP3wTime/Place: 1-2 p.mArranger: Hallan Noltimier(noltimier.2@osu.edu – Benefits Committee)February 11 (Friday)BalletMet – Giselle765 West Central – Springboro, OHChallenge Level 2REGISTRATION REQUIREDWitness a love story that has captivatedhearts for centuries. This timeless balletfeatures classical elements as it tells thehaunting tale of a peasant girl’s quest forlove. Edward Liang’s Giselle reimaginesand reinvigorates this beloved work.TIme/Place: Box office opens at 9:30 a.m.Seating is general, so plan to arrive early forbest seats. Performance begins at 11 a.m.,Davidson Theater, 77 S. High St. PLEASENOTE: CAPA policy: “Ticket holders 12years of age and older will be required toprovide proof of vaccination or a negativeCOVID-19 test along with a valid ID beforeattending a performance.”Cost: 22.50 (admission ticket) plus 2 surchargeRegistration/Refund Deadline: Registerat osura.alumni.osu.edu or call 614-2922281 by February 3. Credit card preferred.Tickets will be held at Will Call.Arranger: Marilyn Blackwell (blackwell.4@osu.edu – Cultural Arts Committee)Registration Instructions1. Registrations requiring payment:Registrations can be made by goingon-line to osura.osu.edu or by calling614-292-2281 or 1-800-762-5646.Your registration is not completeuntil payment is made, so have yourcredit card ready. Checks are nolonger being accepted.2. Registrations NOT requiring payment:Registrations will be made throughthe Arranger’s email provided in thedescription of the event.CHALLENGE LEVELS1 Light – may include a few stairs.2 Moderate – may include a few setsof stairs.3 Moderate – may include climbingmany stairs and/or uneven terrain.4 High – may include lots of walking,climbing stairs, hilly walkways and/or extended weather exposure.

OSURA NewsCraft GroupOSURASpotlight5The OSURA Craft Group participated in the4th Annual Snowflake Movement, joining withother community groups to “create a snowstormof beautiful, colorful snowflakes” at NationwideChildren’s Hospital.they did not furnish health care insurance, andI returned to OSU in the Department of HumanNutrition. I retired from there in 2005.Since retiring from OSU I have been very activevolunteering. My first volunteering activitywas working in the gardens at ChadwickArboretum and helping with the plant salewhere I was “Wizard Coordinator” for severalyears. I worked in the gardens and at the plantMEMBER SPOTLIGHT:Jessica Pritchardsale for many years and I also volunteeredJessica Pritchardat Inniswood Gardens in Westerville, OH. II lived in a small town, Lynchburg, OH, in Highland County.volunteered at Picnic with the Pops as the gate’s coordinator atAfter graduation I came to Columbus to attend ColumbusChemical Abstracts and also when they moved downtown forBusiness University. I met my husband Tom at The OSUaround 10 years.campus. We were in the US Army for three years; he wasIn 2008 we took our first trip with OSURA and I have been onstationed in Thailand, then Fort Meade, Maryland. Afterthe Travel and Cultural Arts committee since then. Our firstmoving back to Columbus and raising our three sons, I startedtrip was Focusing on Ford in Michigan. I will never forget it andworking at OSU in June 1989. My first position was in theit convinced me to join the committee. I love planning where toCollege of Pharmacy. I had never been on campus and was sogo. There are so many great places to see. The committee plansafraid I would get lost that I hardly left the building. A coupleday trips, two-day trips and one international trip every year.of employees took me to lunch at the hospital cafeteria whichI live in a condo at the Woods at Polaris and stay quitesort of broke the ice for me to get around a little. My nextposition was on The Agriculture Campus in the Department of active by serving on the Clubhouse, Social and LandscapeCommunications and Technology. I felt much more comfortable Committees. The Landscape committee purchases and plantsflowers in all the common areas. When the pandemic hit, I wason the Agriculture Campus than I had felt on main campus.lucky to have gardens to work in to keep me busy. Travel andHaving lived in a small community growing up, this seemed toCultural Arts is starting trips back up and hopefully by 2022 itbe a better fit for me.will be safe to go anywhere.After 6 years or so, I left OSU and purchased a floral shop inI feel very fortunate to be part of OSURA. It is very rewardingWesterville. I soon discovered I did not like owning a businessto me when our attendees tell me what a good trip it was andand took a position at the Fraternity and Sorority Manager'sAssociation to plan events for the Fraternities and Sororities at how much they enjoyed it. I hope OSURA members and guestsOhio State. I truly loved that position. It was great working with will join us on a trip in 2022. We are planning some great onesthe students. However, I left there after a couple of years, since you won't want to miss.

OSURA News6FROM: The Benefits CommitteeSTRS NewsBy Jerry NewsomThe last STRS Board meeting made the front page of theSunday Dispatch on 5 December. In a surprise addition to theBoard’s agenda, one former and two current Board membersproposed a very different and complex way for STRS todo its investing. Proponents of the plan are convinced itwould produce much higher returns with much lower risk,but if details are spelled out publicly, then other pensionfunds might find out and grab the opportunity before STRSdid. The basic outline is STRS would sell its stocks, use theproceeds to buy U.S. Treasury bonds and loan out the bonds(while still getting the interest the bonds pay) to get cash tobuy stock index funds, collecting other fees along the way.A very large financial institution (whose name could not berevealed) would guarantee the plan. But without knowing thedetails, it’s hard for the Board, STRS staff, and consultants toevaluate the proposal. If it works, STRS could dramatically cutthe contribution by active teachers while restoring COLAsto retirees. It’s fair to say the proposal was met with muchskepticism, with worries it could end up right up there withBernie Madoff’s legacy. Proponents suggested a muchsmaller investment as a test case to see if it works, but it willtake a lot more convincing before the Board is likely to buyin. An advisory group to the STRS Board, the Healthcareand Pension Advocates, is being asked for its opinion. HPArepresents organizations with an interest in STRS, whichincludes such organizations as the American Association ofUniversity Professors, the Ohio Education Association andthe Ohio Federation of Teachers, school administrators, andof course STRS retirees (including OSURA through the OhioCouncil of Higher Education Retirees). I would be surprisedif HPA endorsed the plan unless investment consultants areenthusiastic about it.OPERS NewsBy Darian TorranceThe OPERS Board met November 16 - 17, 2021.Some key reports are:OPERS Service Levels and Organizational Performance – MikeHeale, CEM Benchmarking, Inc. provided an annual, detailedreport of OPERS service levels and organizational performancein comparison to peer organizations. This included: Pension administration cost per member – OPERS is at 55per member per year, which is just below the median cost,and 22 below the peer average of 77. The average FTEof front office staff is at 1.5 per 10,000 members, whichis 1.1 FTE lower than the peer average of 2.6. The totalpension administrative cost for FY 2020 was 64.6 million,excluding the cost of administering healthcare and optionaland third-party administered benefits of 7.6 million. Service scores by activity level – OPERS average weightedscore for FY 2020 is 82 vs. peer average of 77. Web activityhas increased substantially (59.7%) from 2013 to 2020, whileone-on-one, call and mail volume has decreased. Membersare relying more on information from the OPERS websitethan from personal contact. Service areas to improve or reduce cost – OPERS servicelevel fell from 87 to 82 (out of 100) for the period 2018to 2020 mainly due to undesired call center outcomes.Average call wait time increased from 82 seconds to 206seconds. Changes in healthcare announced in January2020 increased the number of calls. Insufficient staffing, aswell as the Covid-19 pandemic, also affected this score. Overall service score in comparison to peers – OPERS isconsidered a low to medium cost administrator with highservice levels. The service level for 2020 is higher thanpeers (rated 77). Investments Benchmarking Results – MikeHeale, CEM Benchmarking Inc., presented the Investmentsbenchmarking results for the calendar year 2020, with thefollowing key points: Total Policy Return and Asset Allocation Differences –OPERS 5-year net total fund return was 9.9%, above theUS public median of 9.6% and equal to the peer median of9.9%. The two best performing asset classes for the 5-yearsending 2020 were stock – U.S. and Stock Emerging. Net Value-Added by Staff – Net Value Added (NVA) iscomputed by subtracting the Policy Return (9.54%) from theTotal Net Return (9.91%). OPERS NVA before internal costsover 5 years equals .41%. Five-year Internal Cost equaled.04%, resulting in the NVA of .37%. Total OPERS Investments Cost vs. the Benchmark Cost –OPERS investment costs for 2020 were 447.5 million, or43.3 basis points (bp), which was lower than its benchmarkof 47.1 bp (cost savings of 3.8 bp). Total Risk of the Investment Portfolio – OPERS asset riskwas 11% for 2020, which is slightly above the U.S. publicmedian of 10.7%.Investment Returns – 2021 – The OPERS Direct Benefit planinvestments have received approximately 13.5% return as ofmid-November 2021. The Health care fund, which is invested100% in the public market, has received approximately 14% todate. Next year’s investment returns are expected to be a lotmore challenging than this year.

OSURA News7In MemoriamGeorge BlozisNovember 21 Dentistry, 92Harold V. LechlerNovember 21 Athletics, 85Michael L. SmithNovember 3 Business, 77Edwin BoyerNovember 4 Engineering, 84Patricia LongNovember 20 County Extensionand OSURA, 90Sigel StockerNovember 5 ATI and OSURA, 89Richard FinnNovember 16 Athletics, 88Tony M. ForsheyNovember 26 Veterinary Medicine, 69Harry L. GraberNovember 18 Medicine, 90Evelyn HarrisNovember 26 Facility Services, 106Walter B. HullNovember 17 Medicine, 84Ronald JonesNovember 17 Optometry, 77George MassNovember 18 Psychology, 81Ruskin Donald MooreNovember 17 Agricultural Economics, 95Gladys MorrisonNovember 15 90Karen ParkNovember 27 OSUMC, 65Ada Jeanette SextonNovember 27 Music Education andOSURA, 97Robert E. SwihartNovember 19 Mathematics, 84Eileen Evelyn TatmanNovember 26 OSUMC, 78Pearle M. TingleyNovember 27 Residence Hall, 103David WellsNovember 19 Accountant, 92Manfred WinnewisserNovember 22 Physics, 87Barbara A. WookeyNovember 24 Research, 77FROM BENEFITS COMMITTEE ELDER CAREBy Meg TeafordCaregiversA 2017 article in The Journals of Gerontology: SocialSciences about a longitudinal study of older caregivers.The six-year study looked at changes in activities andengagement among spousal caregivers. Researchers at theUniversity of North Carolina were interested in whether thesubjects maintained their activity levels while caring for aspouse. Higher levels of physical and social activity havebeen linked to health and well-being as we age. We alreadyknow that caregiving is more likely to limit roles outsidethe home and to increase the risk of depression and healthproblems among some older caregivers (but not all).The authors looked at five categories of activities: physical,social, passive information processing, novel informationprocessing, and self/home care. A total of 37 activities werestudied. The more passive included watching TV or listeningto music. Novel information processing included reading orusing the computer.The physical included walking and exercising and the socialwere communicating with family/friends via letters, phone,or e-mail, and visiting others in person. Data was drawnfrom four waves of national Health and Retirement Studybetween 2007 and 2013.Results: Not surprisingly, more women than men identifiedas spousal caregivers (61.69%). Their average age was66.26 years. The majority reported caregiving in only onewave of the study, but 14% were caregivers in three or fourwaves. The primary change was in the reduction of timespent in physical activity and this was truer for women thanmen. However, as the authors point out, caregiving ofteninvolves a “certain level of physical activity and previousresearch suggests that caregivers are physically active, buttend not to report their activity as exercise.”In addition, all older adults reported more time on self/home maintenance activities as well as passive informationprocessing, but there was not a significant difference forcaregivers. These changes may be due more to agingthan to caregiving demands. There were no differences insocial activities.Source: Queen, T. L., Butner, J., Berg, C. A., and Smith, J. (2017). Activity Engagement Among Older Adult Spousal Caregivers. The Journals of Gerontology: SocialSciences, 74 (7), 1278-1283.

Address Service RequestedThe Ohio State University Retirees Assn.Customer ServiceLongaberger Alumni House2200 Olentangy River RoadColumbus, Ohio 43210from The Membership CommitteeNotices to renew dues sent out recently to annualmembers of OSURA were in some cases addressed tothe spouse/partner of a retiree instead of the retiree. Somemembers were understandably put out by that. We need toexplain how our membership list is kept.In 2016, OSURA was moved from Human Resources atOSU to the Alumni Association. In HR, OSURA had its ownmembership list, with a half-time person who, among otherthings, maintained membership records. At the AlumniAssociation, our records were merged with a databaseof alumni; we no longer have a dedicated list. The alumnidatabase was designed to handle the needs of the AlumniAssociation and is not always compatible with the needsof OSURA. For instance, members are counted differently.OSURA counts annual members as those who are notlifetime members who have paid at least 25 in the lastyear. The Alumni Association counts annual members ofOSURA as those who have paid at least 25 in the lastyear. If a lifetime member makes a donation to the accountwhere dues are collected, the Alumni Association lists thatperson as both a lifetime and an annual member. Eachmonth we get a report saying how many lifetime and annualmembers we have (minus the annual members who arealso lifetime members), along with two different lists of allmembers. Virtually every month, the number of memberson the two different lists are different from each other anddifferent from the count showing numbers of members.When we request lists of names and addresses for annualmembers for dues renewal,we take what they give us,knowing there are likelyto be discrepancies.The staff at the AlumniAssociation who helpus with these thingsare anxious to dothe best they can,but their budgethas been cut, theyare short of staff,and they haveto cope with anincreasing workload.It’s the world we live in.

Even closer to home is The Great Serpent Mound near Peebles, Ohio. It is the largest serpent effigy in the world and believed to have been built by Adena Indians about 2,400 years ago. In 1987 archeologists discovered that the serpent’s head points directly toward the sunrise of the