For the most up-to-date news on retirement planning in the Washington education community, be sure to visit the Washington State School Retirees Association (WSSRA) website at www.wssra.org.
You can view ongoing and upcoming retirement webinars HERE.
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| Pasco High School Retirement Seminar, October 15, 2015. |
Retirement - What Should I Do First, page 1, and page 2:
Local school retiree, and BFSRA member, Jan Fraley, offers her list of things that will need your attention as you prepare.
VEBA Plan: Click to learn more about how you can put VEBA to effective use in your retirement: claims, participant services, plan information and enrollment, investments and forms. Contact: Kristin Farris for details at 1-855-565-2555. She is local.
Health Care: Find the plan that best serves your needs in retirement: benefits, premiums, SmartHealth Wellness Program, publications and more. Contact: Health Care Authority at 1-800-200-1004.
PEBB PowerPoint: Excellent power-point shared by Larry Cade, PEBB.
Social Security: This website provides necessary and user-friendly information for retirement. Visit their offices at 831 W. Klamath in Kennewick, or call them at 1-800-722-1213.
DRS: Department of Retirement Sources - An outstanding set of webinars and videos under the "education" link on the opening page. These are outstanding resources.
S.H.I.B.A. - Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Associates.
We can't recommend them highly enough, they are; "part of the insurance commissioner's consumer protection services" and "provide free, unbiased, and confidential assistance with Medicare and health care choices." For more information (phone number and email contact), click here.
Medicare - The official U.S. Government Site for Medicare.
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In addition, we encourage you to review the following links to learn more about who we are as an association: We provide scholarships to college-level education majors, grants to teachers, Toys for Tots during the Holidays, we donate School Supplies to S.H.A.K.E. (Seniors Helping All Kids' Education), and we keep a close eye on the legislature in Olympia to hold the legislature to its promises regarding our pensions.
WSSRA - the Washington State School Retirees Association: Looking out for our (your) pensions in Olympia, providing local scholarships and teacher grants, definitely worth your time to check us out. Member benefits linked here.
BFSRA - Benton/Franklin School Retirees Association: Our local WSSRA affiliated association is made up of just over 800 retired school employees from Benton and Franklin counties.
We are actively involved in legislative issues having to do with our pensions, we provide local scholarship to college students preparing for careers in education, we provide annual teacher grants to those requesting help with special projects, and we host a pre-retirement seminar for those planning to retire soon.
We also have monthly luncheons and enjoy the camaraderie with each other. We have some great programs that feature our state, area, and local schools, entertainment, informational, etc.
$8/month to belong to both WSSRA and BFSRA (combined), and member benefits apply as well. Contact: Don Parks at 547-0880 for membership details.
