Hello Ian,
Thank you for your recent message, and for your previous message of 12 August.  

We appreciate the information you provided regarding historical practice at Digital and Compaq.  Please be assured that HP management does understand the history regarding these discretionary increases and the concerns felt by retirees. As mentioned in my earlier e-mail, our decisions in recent years have been based on the financial structure of the programs and our focus on providing funding for existing benefits.  However, we will continue to review these discretionary increases annually and will keep the perspectives of our retirees in mind as part of this process.  

Thank you again for your thoughtful input and perspectives.

Regards,
Elaine Beddome
VP, HP Global Benefits