DSEA Action!

Celebrating social justice We've come a long way since 1989 - by Rich Phillips, DSEA-Retired President ur first meeting was held in February 1989, our founding convention. O Legislative Comm. leads major successes in pension improvements Since its inception, the DSEA-R Legislative Committee has been very active in lobbying for changes for the better for our retirees. It continues to this day In September . 1989, there was a major change for retirees: "The DSEA/NEA-R Legislative Committee is pleased to announce the passage of two of its top priorities. The Legislature has approved the offering of the 75% Survivors Option to current retirees." In June 1990 we reported an increase in the pension death benefit: "Even during one of the tightest financial years in recent memory, the efforts of DSEA-Retired members and leaders have paid off. On July 10, the Governor signed Senate Bill 203, the bill that increased the pensioner's death benefit from $3,000 to $4,000." September 1994 marked another milestone for DSEA-R: death payments were once again increased by the State, from $4,000 to $5,000. Finally, there was victory in getting full pension and full Social Security payments without any deductions (DSEA Action! July, 1996): Mission remains steady The original DSEA-R Mission Statement was composed and published in 1991. You will notice that it hasn't changed much over the years: DSEA-Retired still works for its membership. "DSEA-Retired, as an affiliate of the Delaware State Education Association and the National Education Association – Retired, is an association of retired employees of Delaware Public Schools. "Our mission is five-fold: 1.To provide an organization of retired school employees to assist those persons in achieving goals that, as individuals, they cannot achieve on their own. 2.To promote a better quality of life and higher standards of living for our members. 3.To provide a form through which our members can maintain a relationship to their chosen profession in retirement. 4.To provide a form through which our members can coordinate activities in pursuit of their interest with others still active in the profession. 5.To actively support the public schools of Delaware." Victory for Pension Equality "No longer will the state pension formula discriminate based on salary Not only future state . retirees, but – thanks in large part to the lobbying of our DSEARetired colleagues – current retirees are now included in a new law which takes away the Social Security offset from the pension formula. "Imagine receiving a monthly state pension check of $625. Then, the month you turn 62, the check is reduced to $456. That's no mistake. When they added your social security amount to your pension check, it totaled more than 75% of your final average salary before you retired. You lose the difference." DSEA-Retired gets into the Cat in the Hat spirit Many of you may remember Jack Kinnaman, our first DSEARetired president. "Our former president, Jack Kinnaman, has volunteered to be the Cat in the Hat again this year for NEA's Read Across America celebration, March 2." [from March 1999] We realize increases in death benefits There was another increase in State death benefits from $5,000 to $6,000. The current lump-sum death benefit payment is now $7,000. 16 Nov./Dec. 2013 DSEA ACTION! WARNING: DON'T BE CONFUSED! Many retirees are confusing DSEA-Retired with another retiree group DRSPA (Delaware Retired School Personnel Association); we are NOT the same group! DSEARetired is the ONLY Delaware retired state-employee organization affiliated with NEA, DSEA and NEA-Retired. There was also a 2% pension increase to those who retired between January 1, 1980 and July 1, 1998, and a 3% increase to those who retired prior to January 1, 1980. Membership grows Membership in DSEA-Retired, Inc. was growing in 2006; it is still growing in 2013. Membership now stands at over 1,100 members strong. The November 2006 DSEA-R newsletter describes a great year: "This has been a great year legislatively for retired and active state employees. The pension increase effective in July 2006 is 2% for those who retired prior to July, 1 2005; and $25 per month or 2% whichever is large, for those who retired prior to January 1981. This is the 12th pension increase in 13 years. "Another milestone is the new disability legislation. This 'world class' legislation provides for 75% salary while on short-term disability and 60% while on short-term disability ." Retired members still advocate and contribute DSEA-Retired has always had seats at the DSEA Representative Assembly They have always made . contributions to the Children's Advocacy Fund either through separate member donations or combining their efforts with DSEA. Our April 2009 newsletter lets us know that DSEA-Retired members do care about our children and try to help as much as they can. "DSEA-Retired leads the pack: At the 2009 DSEA Representative Assembly, DSEA-Retired took the honors of contributing the most to the Children's Advocacy Fund • Leading local contributing DSEARetired with $300 • Locals meeting goal of $30+/delegate – DSEA-Retired $60." August 2009 had some good and some bad results for our Legislative Committee. This report from Jim Testerman, Legislative chair, and article excerpts were reported in the August 2009 newsletter: "Here are the final results of the turbulent Legislative year for retirees: • No change to our pension this year; • 50% increase to the health benefits compared to original 100% increase by SEBC; • 'Double State Share' still intact; • No increase in co-pays for your heath benefits" DSEA-Retired receives NEARetired grant -- $4,160 to assist with membership recruitment DSEA-Retired continues to expand and is being recognized rapidly, according to these excerpts from the Summer/Fall 2010 issue: "Newletter receives award: Your newsletter received an award for 'runner up' in the NEA-Retired newsletter contest this year." "Lifetime membership to be discontinued." "DSEA-R now is the second largest unit in the state, with 1,081 members; this is an increase of 281 new members over the last year." "Congratulations to Shirley Redmond: One of our own DSEA-R members was honored at the DSEA 'Celebration of Leadership' dinner on Friday, April 16th at Dover Downs. She was the recipient of the 2010 Helen Wise Friend of Education Award, given for a lifetime of significant contributions to public education." In the more recent issues of the DSEA-Retired newsletters and DSEA Action! articles about DSEARetired, you've seen many other changes, including our website (www.dsea-r.org) , the return of Life Membership, increasing membership numbers, two retired members on the State Pension Advisory Council, several members/officers attending the State Employee Benefit Committee meetings, and being more visible to DSEA and DSEA-Retired members. THANK YOU to all those – past and present - who have helped make DSEARetired what it is today! @dseafan www.dsea.org

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