May-June Advisor 2021 web

CEA RETIRED NEWS

18 CEA ADVISOR MAY – JUNE 2021

STAYING INFORMED AND INVOLVED IS KEY A message from CEA Retired President William Murray

CEA-RETIRED MEMBERS SUPPORT SOCIAL SECURITY FAIRNESS ACT Add your name to the campaign CEA-Retired members have added their names to a petition asking members of Congress to eliminate the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) of the Social Security Act. Legislation introduced this year—the Social Security Fairness Act—would do exactly that. CEA-Retired Vice President Gloria Americans, which started a nationwide task force to pass the Social Security Fairness Act and repeal GPO-WEP. “We have representatives who have been meeting virtually on this issue every two weeks,” Brown explains. “The GPO and WEP take away benefits that teachers, firefighters, and their spouses have earned, unfairly penalizing people who have dedicated their lives to public service. Teachers who have worked at previous jobs and contributed to Social Security should get all their benefits.” At press time, the petition—started by a member of the Rhode Island Alliance for Retired Americans and circulated by Brown and others—had more than 72,000 signatures, just short of the 75,000 target. “Every name that’s added builds momentum around the campaign and makes it more likely for us to get the change we want to see,” says Brown. To add your name to the petition, go to bit.ly/3feJGrK . Brown represents CEA-Retired members on the board of the Connecticut Alliance for Retired

The past year has brought sweeping changes to our schools, and teachers have faced new risks and adjusted to new realities many times over. The COVID pandemic has created an unusual year for our organization. We rely on our communications with members to keep them informed on issues that relate to retired teachers, and I’m happy to say we quickly adapted to Zoom and other Internet visual communication measures to achieve this goal. Keeping members informed CEA-Retired scheduled almost 50 meetings this year that included all committees. The Legislative and Membership committees met several times so that members could be kept up-to-date on issues that could benefit, or in some cases, potentially hurt them. Our all-member Issues Conference held in the fall was attended by more than 200 people, and we are hoping we can match that number with our Member Benefits meeting and annual business meeting this spring. Our goal is always to increase our membership and get more people active. The Membership Committee will be meeting soon to discuss ways to meet this goal. The size of an organization and the involvement of its members are what makes it successful. As president of CEA-Retired, I think it’s important to be involved in other groups and organizations that work for the benefit of retired

educators. I serve as vice chair of the Teachers’ Retirement Board, and for the past 16 years I have been a member of the Investment Advisory Council, chairing the Asset Allocation Committee. Teacher pensions Keeping our members informed on the status of their pensions is one way to create interest and involvement. For the past two years, I’ve testified on bills

related to the pension and the TRB. I also serve on the Legislative Committee of the Association of Retired Teachers of Connecticut. Misinformation can spread fast, and it’s important to get the facts out to all retired teachers. In addition, I attend conferences offered by the National Council on Teacher Retirement. This gives me the opportunity to talk and listen to my counterparts from across the country. The NCTR lobbyist has been extremely helpful to me. I’m consistently kept up-to-date on the status of bills related to retirement. What I do is what all of our active members do. They are involved in local and state politics, community service organizations, and groups that help retired people. The more people we can get involved, the more effective we can be as an organization.

RETIRING SOON?

Stay active in education and involved with your colleagues by joining CEA-Retired. Visit cea.org/cea-retired .

CEA-Retired President William Murray urges retired educators to stay active in efforts to strengthen public education, the teaching profession, and teachers’ retirement.

CEA Hearing Aid Benefits

Never change a battery again!

CEA MEMBERS, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS GET THESE BENEFITS n Free hearing test and consultation n Free 30-day trial period n Free two-year warranty, including office visits, repairs, and batteries

HEARING CARE CENTERS hearingcarecentersct.com aahearingstamfordct.com

30% off any digital hearing instrument!

We have five convenient locations across Connecticut Fairfield County Hartford County Litchfield County CALL 860-247-7724