AFT retired members are front and center in our union’s national and state legislative campaigns to honor their service with a secure, healthy and productive retirement.
AFT members who retire are ensured a lifelong membership in the national union as soon as their local union updates their status from “working” to “retired, active” in its membership reports to the AFT.
As a retired AFT national member, you will receive the same AFT newsletter you got while you were a working member and you will maintain access to most AFT + member benefits. You can get even more out of your membership by becoming involved in your local, regional or state retiree chapter’s activities. First, find out if your local already has a retiree chapter or a specific retirement program—there are more than 100 chartered AFT retiree chapters nationwide. By belonging to a retiree chapter, you’ll be in good company, with almost a quarter million AFT retirees nationwide.
At the national offices, the AFT program on retirement and retirees provides information and advocacy for retired members. AFT legislative and program staff stay on top of key national issues affecting retired members by advocating our positions on critical issues such as Social Security and Medicare to members of Congress and White House staff. You can support these efforts by becoming an AFT e-activist and staying up to date on legislation that affects you. Just sign up for the AFT Retirees newsletter.
AFT retirees work to strengthen public education, public services and healthcare, and their professions; they battle to improve key federal programs, traditional pensions and healthcare coverage for today’s and tomorrow’s retirees. AFT retirees work for real reform in education—reform that protects public schools from programs like vouchers, tuition tax credits and other forms of privatization that put private profit before children’s education.
The AFL-CIO’s 4 million-member Alliance for Retired Americans also offers opportunities to stay active. All AFT retirees are automatically members of the national alliance and are not required to pay dues. The alliance already has chartered state affiliates in 30 states and plans to expand to all states over time. The pre-eminent grass-roots organization for older Americans, the alliance has been a leader in the recent Medicare and Social Security battles, and plays a key role in national, state and local elections.