It probably never occurred to many of us that after 50-plus years of attending public schools (starting as a five year old kindergartner) and being tied to the traditional agrarian school schedule for a half a century (or more), that we would be able to continue our interest, support, and advocacy for younger colleagues, schools and students!  How many professions do you know where there are direct ways to continue a relationship with what defined your life after you retire?  If you are beginning to think about retirement or have already started the next chapter in your post-employment life — boy, do we have a deal for you! 
OEA-Retired members continue to have remarkable opportunities to have fun getting together, take advantage of continuing their NEA/OEA member benefits, participate in extraordinary travel adventures, continue to play a role in politics and advocate for public education, continue to actively promote and raise funds for our great OEA Foundation, help our Literacy Committee collect and distribute books to schools and children’s programs around the state, and to do whatever we can to support our active members, local schools, and our local communities!  What is different this time around is that, as an OEA-Retired Member, you get to decide what your interests are and the level of commitment you want to make in order to continue to make a difference!
In this spirit, we have worked with OEA to develop some really sensible and affordable ways for you to become a “Lifetime” member of OEA-Retired and NEA-Retired.  Once you become a Lifetime Member, you no longer have any membership dues obligations (ever) and you can participate at whatever level makes you feel comfortable. 
Remember, you have options to join the OEA and NEA retirement membership group even as you continue your current active careers or your “active” retirement.  There is even a monetary incentive to consider these new membership options that is being offered for the very first time! So, if you are planning to retire or are already retired — but want to continue to stay involved, stay invigorated, and stay in touch — read on:

At the OEA-RA, we rolled out two new payment plans for OEA-Retired Lifetime membership (in addition to the current option of a one-time $250 payment). These two new plans are available to both pre-retired and retired members…

Option 1:  $10 down and $10/month for two (2) years; authorized monthly payments to be taken from checking or savings account
Option 2:  $10 down and $20/month for one (1) year; authorized monthly payments to be taken from checking or savings account

The Hook:  Once the lifetime membership has been paid in full (total $250), a rebate of $50 will be paid to the new lifetime member.  This is true for any payment plan, including the one-time payment.  These offers are not retroactive!  And, members need to understand that this is only for the OEA-Retired Lifetime membership and does not include NEA-Retired membership. NEA-Retired membership still requires a one time payment of $250.

These options are also open to current retired members that are paying annual dues.  Once you sign up for the plan, you will not be making the annual dues payment, only the monthly payment. Call OEA Membership at 503-495-2156 to join today!