Fraternity-Testvériség, 1979 (57. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1979-07-01 / 3. szám
We issued 948 expense vouchers in the U.S.A. and 78 in Canada. We granted 138 new loans against insurance cerificates at 5% interest per annum. It is a poor investment these days but a good selling point. Bill are pending in the State Legistlatures to raise the interest rate to 8%. Regardless of the outcome of the debates in the Slates, the next Convention should raise our rate to at least 6%. On December 31, 1978, the Federation had $553,091.48 outstanding loan in the U.S.A. and $6,527.60 in Canada. VI. TRUST FUND Unclaimed matured proceeds and death benefits which cannot be remitted to the legal recipients because of various reasons, are kept in our Trust Fund. The following listing shows the changes in the deposits in 1978: U.S.A. Canada Total Balance on 12-31-77 ....$168,755.69 $6,043.49 $174,799.18 Balance on 12-31-78 .... 166,473.51 6,217.84 172,691.35 VII. PAYROLL, TAXES The Federation underwent the long awaited examination of the Internal Revenue Service. As a result, the District Director notified the Federation on April 3, 1978, that he will continue to recognize the Federation as tax-exempt organization. VIII. GUARDIAN OF SAFETY DEPOSIT BOXES I acted as one of the guardians of the safety deposit boxes and went to the bank vault whenever the Treasurer wanted access to the securities. IX. ASSOCIATE EDITOR As associate editor of the official publication 1 wrote articles for the “Fraternity”. I believe that we should publish more about the activities of the branches. The IRS auditor carefully read all issues of the last three years during the examination. X. BUDGET We overspent the limitation of expenses set by the Insurance Department of New York State for the third consecutive year: 1976 1977 1978 N.Y. Limitation of Expenses ............................. $677,139 $703,591 $677,256 Actual Expenses Occurred ................................... 790,727 815,373 802,433 Negative Safety Margin ........ $113,588 $111,782 $125,177 The Federation did not receive any warning from the Superintendent of New York because our general standing is very good and it is his prerogative to indefinitely refrain from strict enforcement of the law if the financial standing of an organization is otherwise acceptable. There is a bill pending in the New York State legislature to change the limitation by law. A substantial relief may come from allocating a portion of each Member’s premium in the by-laws to the fraternal area. This should be recommended to the next Convention. \i. OTHER SERVICES In this chapter I am reporting on services rendered which are not enumerated among my duties in the by-laws but were assigned to me either by the Board of Directors or the President. a. Insurances over $15,000.00 are automatically reinsured with the North American Reassurance Company. Applications for reinsurance and remitting premium are handled in my department. In 1978 we paid the following reinsurance premium: U.S.A. Canada Premium actually paid .............................$9,247.86 $2,788.36 Less: Experience Refund ........................ 327.27 199.14 Cost of Reinsurance in 1978 ....................$8,920.59 $2,589.22 No reinsured Member died in 1978. b. I am the Chairman of the Retirement Benefit Plan. We complied with the requirements of the Employees’ Retirement Security Act of 1974, the Plan is approved by the Internal Revenue Service and insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Transactions were as follows: Balance on January 1, 1978 ......................................$394,548.55 Contributions received from Members ................ 8,938.56 Federation’s Contribution .......................................... 12,000.00 Interest Income ........................................................... 19,629.01 Total ................................................................................$435,116.12 Less: Benefits paid and refunds ........................... 24,875.13 BALANCE ON DECEMBER 31, 1978 ................$410,240.99 The Plan is fully funded. The actuarial reserve of $492,038.00 is set aside as liability. (Page 3, Line 22. in the Annual Statement) We had 19 participating and 8 retired members as of December 31, 1978. c. I am ex-officio Executive Vice President of the Bethlen Home. 1978 was the year of consolidation of the administration. The institute started the year under the able management of Reverend Paul Kovács, Administrator. With the advice and regular supervision of a Certified Public Accountant a new accounting and reporting system was introduced in conformity with the requirements of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Board of Directors shall make decisions at this meeting in several vitally important matters where assets of the Home are involved. 1. The future utilization of the children’s building vacant since January 31, 1978, when Rev. Louis Nagy left. 2. Strip mining contract with special regard to the constantly increasing demand for coal; 3. Conversion of the print shop building into a museum and library; and perhaps administrative office for the Home. d. On April 3, 1978 I received the ruling from the IRS that advanced tax exempt is granted to our Student Aid and Loan Fund. * * * Last but not least, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my faithful co-workers. They are well trained, dedicated and good natured. They demonstrated unshakable loyalty to the Federation during the past year. My special thanks for that. Mrs. Katalin Paschke rendered outstanding services not only as my secretary and claim adjuster but also took care of various other administrative duties. Dr. Zoltán Korossy is an excellent machine operator and statistician. Mr. Tibor Baksy is the senior bookkeeper, payroll clerk and well qualified to serve in almost any position in the Home Office. I owe a word of appreciation to my fellow Officers and Members of the Board who made easier for me to copy with my diversified duties with their kind advice and support. Respectfully submitted by, LÁSZLÓ L. ESZENYI Executive Vice President 10
