IMF | Retirees & Alumni Association

Farewell to Gita Gopinath

The Managing Director invites all retirees to farewell for First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath. Please see the invitation here and the Managing Director's Message on the Departure of Gita Gopinath here.

Date: Wednesday, September 3, 2025           Time: 4:00 pm           Location: IMF HQ1 Atrium

Possible Delays in the Delivery of Some Emails

The IMFRA Board has been made aware that the blast emails sent recently from the imfra@imf.org mailbox have not reached some retirees.

This is a temporary issue caused by ongoing work on the Fund’s systems. Until that work is completed, the emails that are identified as undelivered are being resent with a slight delay.

As always, we urge you to check this website often, as all important news and information are also posted here.

The following message was addressed to — and is only applicable to —IMF retirees and pensioners who reside outside of the US and are MBP participants.

As an IMF retiree or pensioner covered under the Medical Benefits Plan (MBP) and residing outside of the US, you should have received recent communications from HRD in preparation for the implementation of the dual MBP Administrator solution, with effect on January 1, 2026. In particular, you should have received a message offering you a one-time opportunity to make a selection of MBP claims administrator, as well as resources to help you make that selection.

As explained in those messages, you should respond to the survey by selecting either Aetna or Cigna as your MBP claim administrator starting next calendar year. If you do not respond and do not make an explicit selection, your medical claims will automatically continue to be administered by Aetna. If you want to change administrators and move to Cigna as of January 1, 2026, it is critical that you respond to the communication and indicate your selection without delay. The deadline for your response, which was originally set to September 12, 2025, has been extended to September 30, 2025, but you are strongly encouraged to respond as soon as possible, as you may not receive your new medical cards in time by the end of the year if you respond after September 12.

This selection of course only relates to the Administrator of the MBP. Whether you decide to stay with Aetna or move to Cigna, you will still be insured under the same MBP. Also, please remember that, even if you decide to move to Cigna as of January 1, 2026, all claims for services rendered prior to that date will still need to be submitted to Aetna.

We understand that, shortly after the response window closes on September 30, all participants will receive an email acknowledging their selection of either Aetna or Cigna, or indicating that they have not sent a response (in which case Aetna would automatically remain their administrator). Please inform IMFRA (imfra@imf.org) if you have not received that confirmation by October 15, 2025, or if you believe the confirmation you have received is incorrect.

Please note that your selection (whether you choose to stay with Aetna or select to move to Cigna) will be irrevocable, unless you relocate to a different country and reside there for a certain period of time, or unless you move back permanently to the United States.

We urge you to make an informed decision, not only on the basis of any relevant personal experience with one or both administrator(s), but also by carefully reviewing the information provided by HRD in the FAQs and in the webinars that have just been announced, comparing the services provided by each of the two providers. Important considerations pertain to, e.g., the networks of providers (which may influence reimbursement amounts), the use of third-parties in certain countries, and the ability of each administrator to reimburse you in a timely fashion and in your choice of currency.

IMFRA is not in a position to offer advice regarding which company to choose or which may work best in your country of residence. We will, however, attempt to respond to questions of a general nature sent to imfra@imf.org.

IMFRA Board News

As is customary following IMFRA’s Annual Meetings, the IMFRA Board of Directors met recently to elect the four Officers for the coming one-year period. Directors voted unanimously to re-elect Anne van Wylick as President, Saqib Rizavi as Vice-President, and Cathy Wright as Secretary, as well as to elect Jeremy Carter as Treasurer.

Sadly, we must also inform you that Board member Ali Salehizadeh decided to resign from his position, for family and health reasons. Ali was truly the “senior” member of the Board having served on it for a remarkable 26 years. During this time, Ali made valuable contributions to the work of the Board, serving as Treasurer for his entire tenure and for many years as Editor of The Caravan. In addition to these formal responsibilities, Ali engaged constructively and collegially in all Board discussions on policy and procedural matters, bringing his wisdom and experience to bear, always with tact and good humor. He also took great pride and pleasure in organizing IMFRA luncheons.

Ali will be sorely missed by his colleagues and friends on the Board and by the retiree and alumni community at large. We wish him all the best and hope there will be an opportunity in the not-too-distant future to express our appreciation to him in person.

Ali’s resignation of course left a vacancy on the IMFRA Board. Per Section 7 (e) of the By-Laws of our Association, “any vacancy occurring in the Board of Directors may be filled for the balance of the term by an appointment by the Board of Directors.” As a result, the Board unanimously voted to appoint IMFRA member Olga Penova to serve the balance of Ali’s term.

The appointment of Olga meets the Board’s pressing need for a webmaster to co-ordinate and lead the on-going work to maintain and enhance the IMFRA website. Olga has the necessary technical skills and, indeed, prior to joining the Board, has already provided invaluable assistance on the website over the past six months. We are delighted to welcome Olga to our team, and we look forward to working with her on the website and on other areas of the Board’s remit.

The Caravan Redesign

Currently, in addition to one-off emails, IMFRA uses three main platforms to reach out and communicate with our IMFRA community across the globe:

• The IMFRA website (www.imfretirees.org), our main repository, contains a wealth of information and materials of immediate relevance to retirees and alumni, including on retiree benefits, as well as announcements, a calendar of events, photos of current interest and historical perspectives, and other interesting topics.

• IMFRA News and Activities (INA) complements the website with timely and relevant information on retiree benefits, major organizational and staffing changes in the Fund, and other topical items of interest.

• The Caravan showcases a compendium of articles on recent events, including the IMF/World Bank Annual and Spring Meetings, members’ activities, tributes honoring those who have passed, and a President’s report.

After many years of the same format, and the heightened roles of the website and INA, the IMFRA Board has decided that it is time to undertake an overhaul of The Caravan, including its design, content and the production process.

We plan on two issues a year of The Caravan, one in the spring/early summer and the other in December. We would like to shift the focus of the publication to present a greater number of pieces on the activities of our members, such as: travels of interest, volunteer activities, life after leaving the Fund, and other newsworthy personal events. We envision that each of these pieces would be a few brief paragraphs (perhaps with a photo) and we would also plan to include, from time to time, interviews with Fund staff and retirees.

As we embark on this review, we would very much welcome your thoughts on the redesign, including your suggestions on content which you can email to imfra@imf.org with the subject line: Caravan Review.

PAHO March for Health

The March for Health organized by PAHO is an opportunity to show solidarity with public health, exercise a little, socialize, eat and have some fun. Please see the PAHO website for more details. To receive a T-shirt, participants need to submit the registration form. We look forward to seeing you there.

Date: Sunday, September 28, 2025           Time: 9:00-11:30am           Location: PAHO HQ Building, 525 23rd Street, N.W., Washington DC 20037

IMFRA 2025 Fall Luncheon

All IMFRA members and their partners are cordially invited.

The cost will be $49 per person. Additional details will be communicated shortly.

We would love to see as many of you as possible, so do plan to attend!

Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2025           Time: 12:00pm           Location:  Bretton Woods Recreation Center

Save the Date

The Fund 2025 Holiday Party will be held at HQ1/HQ2 on Saturday, December 13.

From the IMF's Intranet Blog

“Wiesiek’s Last Ride: A Farewell to Warsaw’s Quiet Hero” by Christoph Rosenberg, recently retired Deputy Director of the Communication Department. Please see full text on Articles & Book Announcements page. 

Part-Time Job Oppotunity for Retirees

International Growth Centre—Roster of Potential Country Directors

The International Growth Centre (IGC) is a UK-funded joint venture of the LSE and Oxford and is run primarily by development economists who are former academics. The idea is to work with governments and conduct policy research usually at the request of senior policy makers. The IGC has country programs in some 10 or so countries in Africa and Asia. The Executive Director is building its roster of potential country directors that might be interested in joining the IGC. The CD job is part-time - some 70-85 days a year, depending on the country, at a daily rate of £750 per day, and can be non-resident. The ideal candidate is a person with extensive international experience in Africa and/or Asia, solid economics background, stature to engage credibly with Ministers and senior officials, some management experience and interest in mentoring dynamic group of young economists, and intellectual interest in economic policy and research to promote growth. Advantages include control of one’s own time, ability to work from anywhere, and engagement with dynamic country-based young economists and international lead academics. Several current CDs are retired from the Bretton Woods institutions. At present, the IGC has CD openings in Zambia and Jordan, but other slots are expected to open up over the next year or so. If you are interested, please send your cv to krummkathie@gmail.com or rnewfarmer@gmail.com and/or give us a call to chat further: Kathie Krumm 1-301-807-2741, Richard Newfarmer ‭1-202-430-7847‬.

New Book by Robin Kibuka

We are happy to share that Robin Kibuka’s new book Build Legacy, Not An Inheritance: Embracing the Journey of Building a Lasting Impact is on Amazon. Please see Articles & Book Announcements page for more information.

New Book by Jeremy Clift

We are happy to share that Jeremy Clift’s thrilling new sci-fi novel, Space Vault: The Seed Eclipse, is out on Bookshop.org and on Amazon. Kirkus recently published a profile of the award-winning author.

Professor Rogoff’s New Book

The new book by our esteemed former colleague, Professor Kenneth Rogoff, entitled Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider's View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance, and the Road Ahead is currently on sale. 

Please see this 90 second video addressed to IMFRA members and the Articles & Book Announcements page for further information.