I retired from AT&T Corporate in 1997; one of the last wave of people to leave with a pension instead of a cash balance. (I took a buy-out, plus pension, retired young and went to work elsewhere.)
I hear from other retirees periodically, including some retired officers, although none live in The Villages as far as I know. Everybody I hear from knew this benefit change was coming. But none of them knows the details yet, beyond what was mailed to us. Until AON tells us how much money will be placed in our Health Management Account, we can only guess how big the bullet is we will have to bite. We can hope the amount will be equal to what AT&T contributes now, but I suspect it won't. I intend to participate in the upcoming "webinar" to learn more but expect some of my questions won't be answered until I have a one-on-one with an AON benefits advisor. All of us will have an opportunity to speak with an advisor before signing a commitment. If you live near one of the meeting sites, attending a discussion may be a good idea. The meeting closest to The Villages is in Ft. Lauderdale. Why they couldn't schedule a meeting for Florida retirees at a central location, like Orlando, is beyond me.
Also, in case you are unaware, the independent AT&T/Bell retirees website is tracking this subject. See
TelCo Retirees Association Inc – United for a Secure Future | TelCo Retirees Association Inc – United for a Secure Future. At this point, I'm not sure getting together with other local AT&T retirees will produce much help, other than wishing one another good luck. Perhaps later, when we know more.