OEA Endorses Rita Walters for Retired Seat on STRS Board – December 2, 2021

During the August meeting of the STRS Board, Rita Walters was elected by a majority of the Board to fill a vacancy as a retired member.  Walters recently completed a four-year term on the Board and had finished third in the election for two retiree seats.  Robert Stein, who had finished second in the election, resigned his seat before beginning his new term.  An election will be held among STRS benefit recipients to elect a representative for the remaining three years of the term.  OEA has endorsed Rita Walters for this election.

Download and circulate a nomination petition for Rita Walters:
2022 Rita Walters STRS-R

Video message from Rita Walters: https://youtu.be/kE_Gxic2gnw

Rita Walters retired with 35 years of experience as a language arts teacher from the Switzerland of Ohio School District and a member of OEA-R.  She was elected by the STRS Board to a one-year term, September 1, 2021 through August 31, 2022.  As an active teacher she also served as president of her local association and on the OEA Board of Directors for 12 years.  Walters was originally elected to the STRS Board in 2017.

When it comes to the oversight of retirement funds for Ohio’s teachers experience matters.  The OEA Board of Directors has endorsed the candidacy of Rita Walters for the vacant seat.  She is committed to acting in the best interest of all STRS members and ensuring that STRS is strong and stable for the long haul.

During her time on the STRS Board, the solvency of the STRS retiree health care program has vastly improved.  Once, projected to run out of money in a few years, the health care plan is now over 100% funded.  Additionally, STRS continues to be recognized as a premier public retirement system and over 90% of retirees have favorable views of STRS.

In early April, ballots will be sent to all STRS members.  STRS retirees, are eligible to vote in the election for the retiree seat.

Questionable Investment “Partnership” Pitched to STRS Board

During the STRS Board’s November meeting, two current Board members presented a “new business opportunity” for STRS.  Wade Steen (Governor DeWine’s appointee to the STRS Board) and Rudy Fichtenbaum (a retiree representative) advocated for the creation of a public/private partnership with a firm called QED.  Under the proposal the company would facilitate access to STRS assets by a counter party who would execute asset swaps resulting in profits from arbitrage for the counter party.  During a lengthy discussion, it was revealed that QED currently has no assets under management and no track record of performance.  Further, STRS would provide 100% of the assets in the “partnership” and receive 25% of the profits.  Mr. Steen had previously indicated that he had an investment plan that would return $4 billion in revenue while reducing risk to the portfolio.  Based on the discussion, in order to achieve that level of return it would be necessary to devote $65 billion in assets (two-thirds of all STRS assets) to this new enterprise.  A proposed motion to hire outside council to negotiate an agreement with QED was never offered.

Visit the OEA Fall RA Online Exhibitor Marketplace to see our page.

https://www.ohea.org/representative-assembly-vendors/

Not yet on our email list? – update on our Contact Us page.

• Active members can purchase a Pre-Retired OEA-R/NEA-R Life Membership and pay over as many as 17 monthly payments.
• Join today to become a member of OEA-R/NEA-R. There is now a plan where you are able to make recurring electronic monthly payments to OEA for the $450 lifetime dues.
• https://neoea.org/files/2021-21-OEA-R-PreRetired.pdf
• The OEA/NEA Pre-Retired dues obligation is paid via monthly transactions beginning April 2021 and ending August 2022 for a maximum of 17 payments. The number of payment transactions available will be determined by the date OEA processes the enrolment form.  It is possible an individual will have fewer than 17 total transactions depending upon the date of enrollment.
• When you retire you will have available to you all of the member benefits, discounts, and offers that you enjoyed as an active member.
• 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 and car discounts through the Association.
• Visit the OEA-R How to Join webpage for more information.
• Download the OEA/NEA Pre-Retired Form.
• Download a two half-page Flyer for your colleagues.

OCT 21, 2021

• On the Ballot: Educational Service Centers

25 m

Links to all OEA Education Matters Podcasts at:

• https://www.ohea.org/media/social-media-feeds-links/

In cooperation with OEA, KEA and WVEA Retired, NEA Member Benefits invites you to join us for a Lunch & Learn workshop series on August 3, 4, and/or 5^th starting at 11:30 a.m.  EASTERN TIME.  No pre-registration required; simply click on the zoom link below.  The single zoom link will work all three days.

Aug. 3 –  What I Want My Loved Ones to Know: A practical look at life and family preparedness:  This presentation is about matters important to you and your loved ones in the event of an accident, illness, or death.  Discussion includes the importance of having a will; a durable power of attorney for health care; the kinds of medical treatment you may or may not want; life, disability, and long-term care insurance; making sure your loved ones know where to find your important papers; and much more.

Aug. 4 – I Need to Get Away!  This presentation will focus on the newly reorganized NEA Travel Program where members can quickly find the best deals on cruises, hotels and resorts, guided tours, airfare and car rentals all in one place.  As tourism begins to recover, there are some really great deals out there… and you may have $500 or more in Travel Dollars in your name waiting to be spent!

Aug. 5 – Why Pay More?   This presentation will highlight the NEW NEA Discount Marketplace, NEA Easy Pay (Buy now, pay later) Program, the NEA Auto Buying Program, and more.  NEA Member Benefits offers discounts at literally thousands of stores.  Why pay more that you need to?

Download the Retired Summer Flyer

The NEOEA-Retired Organizing Committee promotes the welfare of retired members of the North Eastern Ohio Education Association (NEOEA) by identifying particular concerns of retired members as topics for training workshops and social opportunities, by serving as a link between northeastern Ohio retired members and those in other districts, and by fostering communication within OEA-Retired. Also see the the OEA-R page on the OEA Website and the NEA-R page on the NEA website. Join our NEOEA Facebook group.

Our goal is to provide you a resource to locate people and resources to assist you and keep you informed.  Please consider volunteering to serve on one of our Sub-Committees.  NEOEA-OEA-Retired members may use the Contact Us page to update their contact information or request Spring Conference information.  We need your input to help the website evolve to better assist you.   Submit your comments, questions, or contact updates on our Contact Us page.

OEA Report:   Retired POP5 – Protect Our Pensions

Many members have again received a solicitation from an organization called Protect Our Pensions, also known as POP5.  OEA and OEA Retired want you to know that while there does not appear to be any inherent conflict between the stated goals of POP5 and OEA, it is important to note that there is nothing that POP5 is seeking to accomplish that OEA and our allies are not already working on.

Download the POP5 – OEA Report: http://neoea-r.ohea.us/files/2017/09/POP5-OEA-Report.pdf.