Membership

Join OEA-R / NEA-R

OEA Members who retire from an NEOEA local are automatically members of NEOEA-R and eligible to attend events and enjoy NEOEA Discounts.

To receive the full value of your retired membership, you need to join and pay dues for both OEA Retired and NEA Retired.  Then as a unified retired member you have available to you all of the member benefits, discounts, and offers that you enjoyed as an active member.  See OEA-R Benefits  and NEA-R Benefits on the OEA-R website.

Active OEA members can enjoy a seamless continuation of their OEA and NEA benefits when they retire.

NEW – Pre-retired Prepayment Plan.
Take up to 17 months to pay!

One-time payment – paper forms:

Currently Retired members can reactivate their OEA and NEA benefits by joining OEA Retired and NEA Retired.

OEA-R NEA-R Membership Benefits

Retirees: Membership in OEA-R keeps retirees involved! Stay in touch with professional developments and your colleagues, make new friends, and make your retirement dollars go further with membership in OEA-R/NEA-R. (The only organization of retirees affiliated with the Ohio Education Association and the National Education Association).

Membership in OEA-R/NEA-R provides you with an active, organized proponent voice for improved benefits for retired education employees. Your participation also will keep you in touch with the statewide and national activities of your peers and your profession. In addition, your interests at the statewide level are represented by the OEA-R Advisory Council, a governing body with elected representatives from each OEA District that meets at least three times annually.

  • Legal services
  • Educator Access discount program
  • OEA-R representation on all OEA Committees and on the OEA Board of Directors.
  • The opportunity to serve as an OEA-R delegate to District, OEA, and NEA Representative Assemblies.
  • Participation in OEA-R regional, district, and statewide meetings.
  • The opportunity to serve as an OEA-R representative on District committees.
  • Liability insurance
  • Exclusive health and homeowners Insurance
  • Affordable life, travel and accident Insurance
  • Credit cards with low annual percentage rates and no annual fee
  • Above average income and retirement investments
  • Affordable long-term care insurance.
  • Low-interest credit through NEA Line of Credit and the NEA Credit Plan
  • Discounts on magazines and car rentals
  • The NEA Home Financing Program
  • OEA and NEA Publications, including the quarterly NEA-R publication, This Active Life: A Magazine for NEA-Retired Members.

For more information on the benefits of OEA-R/NEA-R membership, download the OEA-R brochure.

Members of OEA-R and NEA-R save well over the $450 Life Membership fee when they take advantage of discounts on home insurance, car insurance, or appliance discounts through the Association.  If you are not a member of OEA-R and NEA-R, consider joining now.

Retired and Rehired

OEA Board of Directors Amends Policy on Retired Membership

At the July 2018 OEA Board of Directors meeting, the Board:
Amended OEA Board of Directors Policy 900.050, Retired Members – Eligibility.
Amended OEA Board of Directors Policy 900.010, Continuous Membership.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS POLICY
900.050 – RETIRED MEMBERS – ELIGIBILITY

A. Bylaw 3-3 does not exclude retirees from other Ohio retirement systems from such membership class. It permits not only educators who have officially retired from a State Retirement System in Ohio to join the OEA as a retired member, but such section also permits other individuals who have retired from active educational service from institutions under another state retirement system in Ohio to join OEA as retired members, as long as such persons meet the requirements in Bylaw 2-1f. and as long as they are not eligible for another classification of membership.
(Am: 9-16-06)
B. FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING WHETHER A RETIRED MEMBER IS ELIGIBLE FOR ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP AS PROVIDED IN BYLAW 2-f, THE FOLLOWING STANDARD SHALL APPLY:

1. A RETIRED MEMBER WHO BECOMES EMPLOYED IN A BARGAINING UNIT POSITION REPRESENTED BY OEA AND/OR AN AFFILIATED LOCAL IS ELIGIBLE FOR AND MUST SEEK ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP IN OEA.

OEA Bylaws, 2-1.f, Membership Classes, Retired states in part: “Further, a retired member who becomes employed by or in a public school district, public or private college or university, or other public institution devoted primarily to education, if eligible, must seek active membership in the OEA.  The member will be placed in the proper membership class as outlined in Bylaw 2-1 with the full membership rights and will be assessed the appropriate dues for that membership class regardless of eligibility for retired membership status pursuant to Bylaw 2-1.”

This means that OEA-Retired membership status is converted to Pre-retired while paying either full, half, or quarter active dues depending on the number of hours employed.  The Retired Membership Status page on OEA-R website has specific information.