PEA's Most Precious Resource "Our PEA Retirees."

For those who do not know me, my name is John McEntee, Jr. I am the current president of the Paterson Education Association. If you are a recent retiree, you may know that I was elected in 2015, and worked in Schools 3, 14, and 20. For those who have been in PEA for some time, you may also know that our current each have big shoes to fill.

Our Union officers at PEA value our retirees just as much as all of our active dues paying members. You are the foundation of our Union, and for that, my colleagues and I are forever grateful. Many of the benefits that we currently enjoy today were fought for by you. In some cases, many of you were placed in jail to fight for a fair contract.

As an active member of the PEA Union, we share many of the same goals that you set for yourselves when you first entered into this profession. Now more than ever, all active employees, as well as retired members of the PEA, fight alongside one another as we attempt to force the state of New Jersey to fund the pension entirely. Also, it is essential to our retirees that all cost of living adjustments (COLA), cut by Governor Chris Christie and Union Scab Steve Sweeney be restored!

While many of you may have moved out of the state, you still have a significant interest in the health of the pension system, COLA's, and retired health benefits. Thus, we are in the process of organizing our retired colleagues to ensure that you are kept up-to-date on all key issues, as well as legislation that will affect you and your family. We hope to hold events in the future that you would also be interested in supporting.

We hope that you enjoy these newsletters. As the year progresses, we hope to attract a few retired PEA members to head this massive undertaking. We hope to utilize our second floor for retiree meetings and workshops that will help you in retirement. We know you are our most trusted and precious resource and want to continue to provide you with the dignity and respect that you deserve.

If you know of anyone who may be interested in receiving these emails, please contact our office at 973-881-9445.

Until then, may that pension check continue to always be on time!

Kind regards,

John McEntee, Jr., President

Join NJREA:

Join the group that is changing the face of retired public school employees…the New Jersey Retirees’ Education Association.

NJREA Membership Application Request

Who is the NJREA?

We represent all retired school employees who worked in a New Jersey public school as well as some who worked in universities and community colleges.
We have a membership of nearly 28,000 retired public school employees with more joining every year.
We are composed of 21 county organizations, which meet two to four times annually with featured speakers to provide up-to-date information on important retiree issues.
We advocate for pension, medical, and legislative issues that affect retired school employees.
We have trained legislative action teams who regularly contact—in person and in writing—state and congressional legislators to communicate issues of importance to our members.
We sponsor the annual NJREA Convention in Atlantic City and participate in both the annual NJEA and NEA Conventions.
We publish a quarterly newsletter filled with pertinent information on national, state, and county-related topics.
We maintain a webpage to allow retirees access to timely information on education issues.

As an NJREA member, you will enjoy these benefits:

Membership in the largest retired educator organization in the nation as well as maintaining your membership in NJEA, NEA, NEA-Retired, and your County Retired EA.
The NJREA Newsletter, a quarterly publication, in addition to continued receipt of the NJEA Reporter, NJEA Review, and all NEA publications.
Assistance from NJEA professional staff on pension and medical benefits questions in addition to assistance on all retirement concerns—a service available only to
NJREA members—as well as the following:
- Personal Legal Services – free consultation and 30 percent discount
- Buyer’s Edge, Inc – guaranteed best prices on major purchases
- NEA Members Insurance Trust – term life insurance
- Association sponsored auto and home insurance
- Lowest pricing on eyewear
- NJEA Travel
- NEA financial programs
- NJEA Member Discount Program
- Access Discounts – over 315,000 discounts

NJREA Dues Structure

An annual NJREA membership runs each year from September 1 through August 31. Each May, members are mailed personalized statements which indicate individual annual dues cost. Membership dues are based on positions held during active employment and adjusted accordingly. Lifetime dues are optional and may be paid through an installment plan.

In accordance with NJREA’s unification policy, membership in a county retired education association (CREA) is required. In most cases, retirees join the county organization that includes the district from which they retired. However, retirees are free to join the CREA where they live or may choose to belong to both. Members who become lifetime members of their CREA must become an NJREA lifetime members as well.