Association of BellTel Retirees, Inc.

09/01/2026

The Fall 2026 edition of Your Association’s quarterly newsletter is now LIVE and online!

The 119th edition of the BellTel Retiree includes news coming out of our 2026 Annual Member Meeting, the results of our late summersurvey answered by some-700 of our members, and BellTel Chairman Tommy Steed’s letter to AT&T’s CEO saying not to eliminate concession service.

Read it today!
https://belltelretirees.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/BellTel_Fall_26.pdf

08/28/2026

You can shop at Costco for groceries, household essentials, gas… and now Medicare?

The big-box retailer is entering the health insurance market through a new partnership with a nonprofit insurer to sell Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans.

The pilot program will initially only launch in select regional markets, offering plans designed with Costco’s current pharmacy, optical, and hearing services in mind.

The move comes at a time when many traditional Medicare Advantage insurers are reducing coverage and scaling back benefits due to rising healthcare costs.

Do these plans interest you? Share your thoughts below.

Read more on MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/soon-you-can-buy-medicare-advantage-plans-at-costco-what-you-need-to-know-34e03242

The warehouse club becomes the latest consumer brand to offer health insurance.

08/26/2026

Traditional copper landlines continue to be phased out across the country, leaving longtime phone customers worried about the future of their home phone service — especially residents in rural and suburban communities, who are being forced into less-reliable alternatives.

For many longtime telephone users and older Americans who depend on copper landlines for emergency reliability, losing hardwired connectivity presents serious concerns:

What will happen during severe weather and extended power outages?

If you or a loved one still rely on a traditional landline, look out for letters, emails, or other notices from your provider, as they should explain whether your service is affected and what options are available.

You can also file an objection with the FCC and state utility commissions.

Read more on ABC:
https://abc11.com/post/landlines-nc-man-concerned-frontier-verizon-company-warned-longtime-traditional-phone-service-could-discontinued/19678719/

"The one thing about the landlines, if we have storms, the landlines are the only thing that's still existing."

08/25/2026

Watch Retirees for Justice Executive Director and attorney Edward Stone deliver an eye-opening breakdown of the hidden risks behind corporate Pension Risk Transfers (PRTs) at our 2026 Annual Member Meeting.

The former SEC chair called today’s regulatory environment a high-stakes "game of Jenga" — Mr. Stone explains why and breaks down the strategies insurers use to avoid holding adequate capital reserves.

He also provides the latest updates on ongoing legal battles and explains what must be done to safeguard retirees’ assets for good.

See Eddie Stone’s full insights on our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlxfEBwvjmI

Attorney Edward Stone, Executive Director of Retirees for Justice a...

08/22/2026

The cure to cancer may be within reach.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine are developing a microscopic particle that could teach the body’s immune system to target cancer cells.

Learn more about this incredible development at American Retiree:
https://www.americanretiree.com/post/new-nanoparticle-may-be-able-to-treat-cancer

A new treatment for leukemia, lupus, and other diseases is currently being developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. They are creating a new kind of biodegradable nanoparticle, a microscopic object, that scientists believe can teach the body’s immune system to locate and destro...

08/21/2026

An insurance firm tied to billionaire Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter is slashing up to $6.5 billion in investments as federal fraud investigations intensify.

The major portfolio unwind comes as the SEC and DOJ probe billions in private credit deals and asset valuations across the firm's insurance holdings following whistleblower allegations.

For retirees, this is yet another reminder of why strict surveillance of life insurers' financial stability is so critical — billionaire-backed insurance and annuity providers should not be using the lifelines of our golden years as financial playthings.

When insurance companies take on heavy exposure in opaque markets, who ends up bearing the ultimate cost?

Read more on the New York Post:
https://nypost.com/2026/08/18/business/dodgers-owner-mark-walters-insurer-slashing-up-to-6-5b-in-investments-as-fraud-probes-intensify/

The feds are reportedly investigating Walter’s business empire to determine ‌whether Walter or his businesses committed fraud while borrowing billions of dollars from insurers he controls.…

08/19/2026

Verizon CEO Dan Schulman recently sat down with Semafor and offered a rather blunt assessment of his ongoing "corporate restructuring."

During the conversation, Schulman defended his decision to abruptly cut 13,000 jobs last November. He argued it was better to execute the massive layoffs all at once rather than “bleed it out over multiple quarters."

He also issued a stark warning about the future of the telecom workforce, predicting that as AI takes on more human tasks, national unemployment rates could spike to 20 or 30 percent within the next five years.

Do you agree with Schulman?

Read his full interview here:
https://www.semafor.com/article/04/30/2026/dan-schulman-verizon-ceo-on-ai-layoffs-and-punching-back

“If somebody’s going to punch me, I’m going to punch back,” Verizon CEO Dan Schulman says in this episode of The CEO Signal.

08/18/2026

What if living a longer life was a matter of minutes each day?

As it turns out, new research shows that adding just minutes of sleep and exercise each day, among other minuscule changes, could add vital years to your life.

Click into American Retiree to learn more!

https://www.americanretiree.com/post/small-lifestyle-changes-can-add-years-to-your-life

Small steps to improve sleep, exercise, and nutrition could both boost one’s health and lead to a longer life, according to research being done by researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia.Using the data of nearly 60,000 older adults in the UK Biobank, a massive patient health database,...

08/14/2026

Understanding how past workplace hazards can affect your health is vital.

If you ever worked in manholes or handled lead-sheathed cables during your career, toxic lead exposure may be linked to unexplained health challenges you face today.

IBEW 2324 Business Manager John Rowley Sr. delivered an incredibly informative presentation at our 2026 Annual Member Meeting detailing the reality of lead and the steps that must be taken to protect workers and retirees.

Make sure you take a few minutes today to watch this important discussion, live now on our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdDrrh8sTiI

IBEW 2324 Business Manager John Rowley Sr. speaks at the Associatio...

08/14/2026

Summer isn’t over yet — and the upbeat music is always one easy way to tell.

Do you recall the “Song of the Summer” from the year you started working? Was it "Summertime Blues" by Eddie Cochran or "Surfin' U.S.A." by The Beach Boys?

And how about the year you retired? Perhaps it was "Waterfalls" by TLC? Or maybe it was "Crazy In Love" by Beyoncé?

Take yourself back to the past — check out the top hits of the season since 1958 here!
https://www.newsweek.com/top-song-every-summer-since-1958-1617500

From doo-wop to disco and rock to rap, you can learn a great deal about the history of music from the songs of summer from the last six decades.