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Guest Post – COVID-19 Impact on Life and Disability Insurance
First, we would like to thank every service person who reads this for their tireless work and dedication during this pandemic. It is because of people like you we have confidence that the United States will lead the world out of this current crisis.
The impact the virus has had on the insurance industry, which usually moves at a glacial pace has been astonishing and compassionate. Under normal circumstances, all life and disability policies have a 30- day grace period from when premiums are due to when they need to be paid. Currently, this has been extended by at least 60 days for a total of 90. The procedure to obtain the extension differs by company but is very easy and accessible. Please contact us should you need assistance with your company.
Regarding underwriting, the process by which insurance policies are approved, the benefit amounts available without a medical exam or lab work have been increased substantially for both disability and life insurance. For disability insurance you can now obtain as much as $6,000 per month of specialty specific disability insurance without an exam if you are under age 51. The situation is even better for life insurance, as you can now obtain up to $1M of level premium term life insurance without an exam and have the coverage in effect within a few days if you are under age 46 (unless you have medical issues). Premiums are extremely competitive. For a male age 35 a $400,000 policy with premiums guaranteed level for 20 years, the monthly premium is $20-$40 per month depending on your risk class. For comparison, SGLI is $24 per month for $400,000. Since most individuals with a family should maintain 7- 10 times their annual income in life insurance protection, SGLI is not adequate. Hopefully these changes will become permanent but as of now that is uncertain. Please contact us for any assistance:
- Andy G Borgia CLU
- D.K. Unger
- DI4MDS
- 888-934-4637
- www.di4mds.com
Navy Medicine COVID-19 Reference Library
Here is a PDF files that explains how to access all the COVID-19 references:
Summary of COVID-19 ALNAV and NAVADMIN Messages
Here’s a document that summarizes and provides links to all the COVID-19 ALNAV and NAVADMIN messages that BUMED sent out:
Navy Publishes COVID-19 Mitigation and Prevention Frameworks
WASHINGTON (NNS) — The Navy has published its COVID-19 Mitigation and Prevention Frameworks.
These frameworks are applicable to deployable units and key enabling commands, allowing Fleet, Type, or Operational commanders to refine (expand or contract) this guidance based on the most recent lessons learned, local conditions, and operational requirements.
The Navy strives to be a learning organization, and will continue to update these Frameworks as the Fleet learns and shares how to best battle COVID-19, both ashore and at sea.
For more information and resources go COVID-19 U.S. Navy Response.
Expanded Opportunity for Retire/Retain for Officers with Pending Statutory Retirement
Anyone with an upcoming statutory retirement that would be interested in staying on active-duty should read the NAVADMIN below. Statutory retirements include retirements required by law for age, years of commissioned service, years of active service, or pursuant to twice failure of selection to the next higher grade.
This is not for people who are voluntarily retiring or separating and want to stick around for an extra 6-12 months, perhaps because you can’t travel to interview, you are not sure of the civilian job market, or you just want to continue to serve. That one can be read at this link.
NAVADMIN 105/20
PASS TO OFFICE CODES:
FM CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
INFO CNO WASHINGTON DC//N1//
MSGID/NAVADMIN/CNO WASHINGTON DC/N1/APR//
SUBJ/EXPANDED OPPORTUNITY FOR RETENTION ON ACTIVE-DUTY IN A RETIRED STATUS
FOR ACTIVE-DUTY OFFICERS WITH PENDING STATUTORY RETIREMENTS//
REF/A/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/212007ZMAR20//
REF/B/NAVADMIN/OPNAV/261427ZMAR20//
REF/C/DOC/BUPERS/23APR12//
NARR/REF A IS NAVADMIN 080/20, NAVY MITIGATION MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO
CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK UPDATE 3. REF B IS NAVADMIN 089/20, VOLUNTARY
EXTENSIONS FOR ACTIVE COMPONENT NAVY MEMBERS WITH APPROVED SEPARATION OR
RETIREMENT DATES. REF C IS MILPERSMAN 1811-010, RETENTION ON OR RECALL TO
ACTIVE-DUTY IN A RETIRED STATUS.//
RMKS/1. This NAVADMIN expands the deliberate path of the Navy to mitigate
the effects of COVID-19 as announced by references (a) and (b). Due to the
uncertainty regarding the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to
maintain operational, Sailor and family readiness, this NAVADMIN will help
provide additional stability to both the Navy and our families.
2. The Navy is accepting applications from active-duty and full- time
support (FTS) officers in the rank of captain or below with a statutory
retirement date between now and 1 December 2020 who desire to be retained on
active-duty in a retired status (often referred to as retire/retain).
Statutory retirements include retirements required by law for age, years of
commissioned service, years of active service, or pursuant to twice failure
of selection to the next higher grade. The period of retention, if granted,
would extend through 31 December 2020, or earlier if requested, and is only
applicable to retention at the current command of the officer.
Officers granted retire/retain are not eligible for permanent change of
station (PCS) orders.
3. Reference (c) provides many details regarding retire/retain.
However, the limit on the authorized number of retired officers retained in
an active status and the submission time requirements for a retire/retain
request are relaxed. Requests submitted per this NAVADMIN must be received
prior to the retirement date of the officer to enable review and adjudication
of the request before retirement, but not later than 1 July 2020.
Interested, eligible officers are encouraged to submit applications as soon
as practicable.
4. Requests for retention in a retired status are submitted by the officer
via their commanding officer to Navy Personnel Command, Officer Retirements
Branch (PERS-835) by e-mail to pers_835_retirements(at)navy.mil. The
retire/retain request shall include the following information:
a. Retirement date of the officer and a request for a retention duration
ending on 31 December 2020, or earlier if desired.
b. Justification and reason for request (cite this NAVADMIN).
c. E-mail address and phone number of the officer.
5. Requests will not be approved for officers who have approved retirement
as a result of:
a. Disability,
b. Selection for early retirement by a selective early retirement board
(SERB), or
c. Secretary of the Navy direction for misconduct.
6. Notification of approval or disapproval will be provided to officers via
their chain of command.
7. Questions regarding retire/retain should be referred to PERS-835 at
pers_835_retirements(at)navy.mil.
8. Released by Vice Admiral John B. Nowell, Jr, N1.//
3rd Marine Logistics Group Supports USS Theodore Roosevelt
NAVAL BASE GUAM (NNS) — A team of medical professionals assigned to 3rd Medical Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force deployed to Guam in order to augment the COVID-19 response efforts by USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).
Approximately 230 Sailors and Marines arrived in Guam throughout the first weeks of April and are supporting Theodore Roosevelt’s onboard medical staff in assessing, managing and treating the symptoms of COVID-19 cases while the ship is in port.
“As a Maritime Force, we need to work together as a Navy and Marine Corps team to stop the spread of COVID-19 in order to remain a ready force in the region,” said U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Keith D. Reventlow, 3rd Marine Logistics Group Commanding General. “Soon after receiving the request for support, we rapidly deployed a team of highly skilled medical professionals to augment Theodore Roosevelt’s existing capabilities with manpower and resources to effectively assist with COVID-19 cases. Our combined efforts to combat the virus and protect the health of our force will allow us to continue our mission in Indo-Pacific theater.”
The team adds to the professional medical care already available aboard Theodore Roosevelt, including more than 70 embarked officers and corpsmen and a team from the Biological Defense Research Directorate, Fort Detrick, Maryland, which has been on board Theodore Roosevelt conducting early-warning surveillance testing for Sailors who present with influenza-like symptoms.
The 3rd Medical Battalion, based in Okinawa, Japan, maintains a deployable force ready to intervene to support natural disasters, humanitarian assistance and various other missions. After receiving official notice of the mission to support Theodore Roosevelt, the joint Navy and Marine Corps team was ready to deploy within 48 hours.
“The rapid response by the 3rd MLG was incredible,” said Rear Adm. Stu Baker, commander, Carrier Strike Group Nine. “Their footprint ashore will ensure our Sailors off ship are well cared for.”
Although Theodore Roosevelt recently conducted joint exercises with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, this deployment marks the first time the ship and the 3rd Marine Logistics Group have worked together in recent years.
The medical team, which is based at Naval Base Guam, will comply with all quarantine requirements set forth by Governor Leon Guerrero and will only be travelling to conduct critical official business on military installations.
Theodore Roosevelt is currently on a scheduled deployment to the Indo-Pacific and pulled in to Guam on March 27.
Navy Rolls Out Officer Promotion Dashboard on MyNavy Portal
Arlington, Va. (NNS) — The newest features of MyNavy Portal (MNP) allow officers to better manage their promotion and lets all Sailors better communicate with MyNavy Career Center through a new chat feature, released Apr. 4.
The Officer Promotion Dashboard provides helpful links and checklists to navigate the selection board process for both active and Reserve officers. The dashboard can be found under the Advancement & Promotion Career and Life Events section of MNP and is organized to provide officers support during the pre-and-post promotion process.
“The checklists will walk officers through the process prior to the board meeting and after the results are released,” said Jeff Bowell, principal assistant program manager for the Sea Warrior Program (PMW 240) who led the development of this new MyNavy Portal capability. “We have specific checklists for officers who are selected for promotion and for those officers who were not selected.”
Bowell said preparation is key when presenting before a selection board and sometimes critical information may be missing from an officer’s record. By following the checklists, officers can ensure they are presenting an accurate and complete record to board members.
In addition to the checklists, the Officer Dashboard provides a connection to BUPERS Online (BOL) to submit a letter to the board or an official photograph. Officers will also have the ability to view their Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) data and their lineal/precedence number. The selection board results will also be available through the Officer Dashboard.
Sailors will also find two new features to help them better interact with MyNavy Career Center. The first one is an updated chat feature. A green chat icon now appears at the bottom of each page that connects Sailors directly to customer service representatives at MNCC. This chat feature allows Sailors to get help with HR-related questions that don’t require sharing personal information, such as date of birth or Social Security Number. It is available 24/7/365. The second function allows Sailors to track and monitor the trouble tickets they have submitted to MNCC.
“We’re committed to improving the Sailor experience by enhancing and incorporating a more robust interaction on MyNavy Portal so Sailors can efficiently manage their career from this one location,” said Bowell. “These latest updates continue us on the path of making MyNavy Portal the single point of entry for Sailors to manage all their human resource needs.”
The Sea Warrior Program (PMW 240) is the provider of choice for MyNavy HR IT solutions. The program office works directly with MyNavy HR to strengthen our Navy Team through IT and business solutions for Navy human resource management and personnel readiness.
Director Position at NMCP
Please read this Director of Strategy and Operations (DSO) position vacancy announcement if you are interested. You need to have Detailer clearance to apply.
The timeline for the selection process is below:
- All applications for DSO due by 22 April
- 27 April – 1 May – 1st Round interviews – Directorate Level board
- Week of 4 May – 2nd Round Interviews – top 3 selections will interview with XO, CO, PXO
Please direct any questions to:
CDR Shauna O’Sullivan (contact info here)
Director, Strategy and Operations, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth
Finance Friday Articles
Here are my favorites this week:
Covid-19 Reminds Us of the Need for an Emergency Fund
No, You Didn’t Just Lose Half Of Your Retirement Savings
Here are the rest of the articles:
Actions to Take When Under Financial Pressure
Behavioral Finance Lessons from Bear Markets
Buying Foreign Stocks After a Fall
Does Experience Matter During a Bear Market?
Employee Versus Independent Contractor (people screw this up all the time when they start moonlighting)
Hard Times Teach Us About Money
Keeping My Balance During a Market Decline
Retirees and Pre-Retirees: You’ve Got This
Tax Loss Harvesting with Vanguard: A Step by Step Guide
The CARES Act – What Doctors Need to Know and Care About
The Danger of Not Checking Your Portfolio (I’ve Made a Huge Mistake)
The Relationship Between Earnings and Bear Markets
What Happened to Small Cap Value?
Would You Rather: Buy Too Early or Buy Too Late in a Bear Market?
Force Health Protection Guidance – Supplement 7
Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Matthew Donovan recently released Supplement 7 to the Force Health Protection Guidance. Supplement 7 provides guidance on cloth face coverings and updates the guidance on personal protection equipment and non-pharmaceutical interventions.
(I’m not seeing anything new here, but it might be new if you haven’t read everything I’ve read. It is hard to keep up with the flow of information.)
Supplement 7 can be found here.
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 