As 2011 passes we look forward to 2012, as always with hopeful expectations that our pension might become a little fatter. The past few years have certainly seen a roller coaster ride on the stock market, causing the members of your pension committee to be cautiously optimistic, hoping to see some improvements. Whilst this year’s investment yields improved considerably, they were unfortunately still far short of giving us any indexing improvements. The pension committee, however, continues to investigate ways in which the pension may improve for us all; we look forward to another year with hope.

As retirees, our pensions are a vitally important aspect of our lives, but retirement brings other rewards such as time for hobbies and travel. With this in mind, MURA, your retirement association, engages in many activities such as trips to a variety of interesting events and places both near and far. You can find out about these from MURAnews or by joining us at the Annual General Meeting or the Christmas lunch, which are also identified in your quarterly newsletters. Other benefits of MURA membership include access to group insurance for home, auto, and travel.

Another important aspect of becoming involved with MURA is to get reacquainted with some of your old co-workers. Come catch up with the gossip! and be engaged.

Hope to see you soon. Remember we all belong to MURA.

Cliff Andrews
Your pension & benefits reporter
(whether you were from food services, custodial or trades)