Meeting Your Needs
When you become a lifetime or annual
member of NEA/ GAE-Retired, you may be
wondering how to stay involved.
1. Attend your local’s meetings.
Hopefully, your Active local — the one from which you
retired — will embrace your wisdom and willingness to
serve especially during the school day when those still
in the profession do not have the freedom and luxury
of time that you do. Attend your local meetings, and,
if your local is not having meetings, you are now in a
position (with officer permission, of course) to be the
organizing force behind having a strong, vibrant, and
active Association.
2. Remember district meetings.
Although voting at District meetings may be delegated
to the local presidents, you are still invited to attend
District meetings to hear what is happening on all three
levels: local, state, and national. Not sure when district
meetings are in your area? Contact the District Director.
3. Attend GAE-Retired meetings.
Yes, the GAE-Retired organization meets quarterly at the
GAE headquarters in Tucker from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Upcoming meetings dates July 12, September 13,
January 24, and March 13.
Joining GAE-Retired and GAE-Pre-Retired
How can I pay my GAE-Retired or Pre-
Retired membership?
Of course, you could pay the GAE-Retired or Pre-Retired
lifetime membership ($450) by cash, check, or money
order. However, other options do exist: credit card (if
you like those points or miles and/or the option to pay
off the balance over time) or by EFT (electronic funds
transfer) through your checking (not payroll) account.
To figure out the amount of the monthly payments that
would be drafted from your checking account, divide
$450 by the number of months remaining in the GAE
membership year (September 1, 2019, through August
31, 2020). For example, if you joined in September
2019, your twelve EFT payments would be $37.50
each month. If you joined in January 2020, your eight
EFT payments would be $56.25 each month, and if you
waited until June 2020, your three payments would be
$150 each month.
Why would I want to be a member of or
subscriber of the GAE-Retired organization?
First, in order to keep your GAE and NEA members
benefits when you do retire, you much be a GAERetired/
NEA-Retired member. If you have not checked
out how you can save money with both GAE and NEA
Member Benefits, please explore how these programs
help you save money!
Secondly, GAE-Retired is the Daytime Face of the
Association. When are meetings dealing with public
education held? The Teachers Retirement System
of Georgia, the Professional Standards Commission,
House Retirement Committee, and Senate Retirement
Committee meetings are all held during the day when
most public educational employees are working. GAERetired
members are able to attend and do attend and
speak at these meetings, keeping abreast of important
educational issues and legislation.
Lastly, when you do retire, you may have left your
position but not your profession. Once an integral part
of public education, you will always have a part of
you who is a fierce advocate against those who want
to dismantle public education. Being a GAE-Retired
member or Pre-Retired subscriber keeps you “in the
loop” about those issues that are important concerning
public education and retirement.
Thanks for what you do each day for public education.
Continue the journey by becoming a GAE-Retired
member or Pre-Retired subscriber.
For further information about GAE-Retired membership
or Pre-Retired subscription, contact Karen Solheim
(GAE.Retired.VP@gmail.com or 706.202.7515).
4. Participate in the GAE-Retired All Member
Conference.
Watch GAE and GAE-Retired communications for more
details on how to get involved in next year’s GAE Retired
All Member Conference to be held on April 17, 2020,
in Atlanta.
5. Establish a local retired organization.
A successful model is the one used by the Organization
of Dekalb Educators-Retired (ODE-Retired). ODERetired,
standing committee of the Organization of
Dekalb Educators, opens its membership to any
educator who retires from the DeKalb County School
System or who resides in DeKalb County, regardless
of the system from which they retired. All members
of GAE-Retired are welcome to attend these monthly
meetings, traditionally held the fourth Tuesday of
each month at the ODE office at 11:00 a.m. Lunch is
provided.
When ODE-Retired was formed, the first meeting
had four attendees, so you see that you can start
small. Now, ODE-Retired’s program-focused monthly
meetings are well attended, and this group hosts the
annual retirement reception to close out the school
year for ODE. ODE-Retired members have the option to
participate in at least one outing per year and engage in
lobbying and phone banking during political campaigns.
As in any organization, having officers is recommended.
ODE-Retired meets August through May with members
attending a planning retreat prior to map out the
programs and outings. The calendar is then distributed
to all members via email and is published in the
GAE-Retired In The Loop newsletter. Monthly meetings
include lunch and fellowship.
6. Create a multi-county GAE-Retired caucus.
Another method of meeting with other GAE-Retired
members is through establishing a multi-county caucus.
The Middle Georgia Caucus, which is a central location
for several counties, meets monthly at a restaurant
in Macon, Georgia. Retirees in surrounding counties
are notified via email, and the meeting notices are
published in the GAE-Retired In The Loop newsletter.
Attendees pay the cost of the luncheon meal. Meetings
are small but regular, which is important and are open
to all GAE members (Active and Retired).
The process is so simple you should give it a try.
Connect with your local to get the names and contact
information for GAE-Retired members or contact GAERetired
Vice President Karen Solheim (gae.retired.vp@
gmail.com) to get contact information for GAE-Retired
members in your area. After you have established a
time and place, contact those members and invite them
to your inaugural meeting. Be sure to include a meal or
refreshments and time for fellowship.
To get you started, GAE-Retired is accepting
applications for mini-grants to help with the cost
of your first meeting. Click here https://forms.gle/
MWECd9k4Y8kJ877F6.
As you can see, being a GAE-Retired member means
that you have numerous opportunities to be involved.
Meet on!
Why should I join GAE-Retired? I’m not retiring for ___
(Fill in the blank) years.
As GAE-Retired Membership Chair, I often receive this
question. The answer, at least for me when I retired,
is simple. You can lock in your GAE-Retired lifetime
membership subscription amount at what it is now, not
___ (Fill in the blank) years when you finally do retire.
Until you retire in ___ (Fill in the blank) years, you will
be known as a Pre-Retired subscriber.
At present, the current lifetime membership
subscription amount is $450, having increased by $50
as of September 1. When I retired, I paid $350. Other of
my GAE-Retired friends and colleagues paid much less
to lock in their membership subscription, but when “the
student is ready, the teacher will come.”
Do I still need to pay my GAE Active dues?
The short answer is yes. GAE-Retired and Pre-Retired
members have almost all the same benefits that GAE
Active members have. However, the one benefit that is
not available to GAE-Retired and Pre-Retired members
is the liability insurance. Your liability insurance is a
benefit that your Active membership covers, so please
do NOT drop your GAE Active membership.
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