UC San Francisco Retirement Association Report

October 2022 Report

Submitted by Gail Harden, UCSFRA President and CUCRA Representative

UCSFRA Membership:We currently have 496 paid members and additional comp members (membership for the first year is complimentary). In our database we have a total of 3438 contacts, the majority (1943) with email addresses and a smaller number with home addresses only. We have changed our membership year to start in January instead of July, and have sent out renewal notices in October. This should increase our membership numbers.

Monthly Activities for Members: Our Program Committee provides a list of interesting ideas of things to do called "For You in 2022". The list is available on our website. We took a tour of the Presidio in September.

Volunteer Activities: We provide volunteer opportunities at the Student Food Market.

Educational Programs: We continue to offer our monthly educational programs, mostly focused on aging, in partnership with UC Berkeley. We are currently doing these talks remotely, but are working towards hybrid talks in the near future. During the summer UCSFRA sponsored three successful sessions on laughter and restorative yoga. Recordings of these presentations are available through the UCSFRA YouTube channel and our Resource Page.

Other Offerings: In June, UCSF Retirees had exclusive access to Columbia Sportswear 50% discount. We established a travel club and two UCSFRA members have guided tours. Various trips thru OAT and Collette Travel have been scheduled. We provided links for information about specific Medicare plans and have scheduled meetings about Open Enrollment. UCSFRA has a representative on the JBC and the Health Care Benefits Advisory Committee. We also participate in the "Pathway to Retirement" event, speaking to upcoming retirees about retirement and the UCSFRA. We are working with the School of Medicine on the Home/Share program to provide rental space for students at a discounted rate.

UCSFRA Center: We are actively pursuing the formation of a Center, modeled after the Centers at the other nine UC campuses. At present there is no sponsorship department for the UCSFRA or UCSFEA. UDAR/Provost and an advisory board would be required to guide the center, and a director for the center would be chosen. Next steps will be to establish funding requirements and staffing needs.

New Retiree Welcome Fair: Our eighth annual new retiree celebration took place in the beginning of October in person. This year we had fourteen speakers and eight information tables. The in-person fair is the most successful event that we sponsor and connects us with many new retirees who continue to participate in our events throughout the year.

UCSFRA Clubs and Interest Groups: We sponsor a number of interest groups. Our Hiking Group, with more than 50 members, organizes monthly hikes in the Bay Area. There is also a Book Club, Lunch Club, Knitting Club and Travel Club. We are working on starting a Photography Club.

UCSFRA Luncheons: UCSFRA continues to sponsor two annual luncheons: a Spring luncheon in June and a Holiday luncheon in December. Our Spring luncheon was in person and our speaker was Dr Bob Wachter, current chair of Medicine at UCSF. We also presented our annual "Frances Larragueta Award for Voluntary Service". We have begun a "Retiree Spotlight" where retirees can do a presentation about their special interest.