First, thank you to all members who have paid their annual dues promptly. Over half of our annual members have already paid their dues for 2016!

Private Meetings with the Health Insurance Providers

On 1 March 2016, representatives of Allianz Worldwide Care will be in Vienna for individual consultations on health insurance matters. In case of interest, you are invited to contact Allianz directly via email : UNIDO-UNOV at allianzworldwidecare.com or via telephone from Austria 0800 1629 1 777.
On 2 - 4 March, representatives of CIGNA will be in Vienna for individual consultations. In case of interest, you are invited to contact CIGNA directly via email: member.iaea at cigna.com or via telephone from Austria 0800 29 33 59.

Updates on Pensions for new retirees
The Pension Fund Secretariat is continuing to work especially hard to come 'up to speed' on processing new pensions, but there is still a backlog of several months. For those new ARICSA members who have not received their pensions after five, six (or occasionally more) months, we recommend two steps: (1) contact the office that handled your separation to ensure that all your papers have been filed properly with the Pension Fund, and (2) at the same time inquire about the possibility of a 'tide over' loan until your first pension arrives - some of the organizations are making such loans available. In urgent cases, although we can also assist, the direct link is through your former organization (specifically the chair of the "Staff Pension Committee" - who is usually the head of the office handling your separation).
On a related issue the Pension Fund is still not issuing the quarterly statements, but will (we hope in a timely way) issue the annual statements that many people need for filing their tax returns.
And on a related tax issue, anyone who has to file a US income tax return will now have to certify on the 1040 form that he/she has health insurance. CIGNA will be sending out the appropriate certificates in February. We haven't heard from Allianz on this topic yet.

Access to the VIC
Access to the VIC by retirees is a privilege that we all need to respect. Retirees should not be found 'wandering around the office floors' (as we were told by some staff). ARICSA negotiated exceptional privileges for retirees several years ago, and these arrangements are still in force, but we need to remember that access, especially with guests is not a right.
As per the VIC Access Control Policy, retired staff members may bring in their spouses without prior announcement.

Approval may be granted for a retiree to sign in other guests (up to 5 persons) provided that the full name of the visitor(s), date and time of arrival are provided to Security Coordinator at the latest on the working day prior to the visitor's arrival at the gate. VICSecurityCoordinator at unvienna.org

Some (non-ARICSA) events
Feburary 8th, 18:30 Ciné-ONU Vienna screening of the movie "The Enemy Within" (by Vivienne Parry, UK 2012, 69 min, English) followed by a Q&A session with invited guests, free entry.
(Please note: there is no reserved seating - admission is first come, first served; free tickets are distributed at Topkino prior to the screening).In the documentary "The Enemy Within" the science journalist and author Vivienne Parry tells the incredible story of our fight against cancer over the last 50 years. Through the eyes of scientists, researchers and patients, we see how far we have come and how far we have to go. Including contributions from Professor Robert Weinberg, Professor Umberto Veronesi, Lord Ara Darzi, Cancer Research UK, David Nathan, Brian Druker and many more.

Carnival Procession in the Prater February 6th, 16:00
Have some fun to end Fasching!

Orchid Display in the Blumengarten Hirschstetten

Enjoy the colors (and the warm air!) in the glass houses of the Blumengarten facility
20 - 28 February


Best regards

ARICSA Office
VIC, Room A0401
Wagramer Strasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria
tel: +43 1 2600 26116 office at aricsa.org