Anne Wass, President
Paul F. Toner, Vice President
David A. Borer, Executive Director-Treasurer
LEGAL SERVICES FOR MTA RETIRED MEMBERS
A recent amendment to the MTA Legal Services Policy
provides access to MTA legal services by MTA retired members. In order to be
eligible for legal services the following criteria must be met by retired
members:
á A person seeking legal services in his/her first year
as a retired member must have become a retired member of MTA and NEA prior to
January 1 of that membership year
á A person seeking legal services as a retired member in
the second year of retired membership or thereafter, must have renewed MTA and
NEA membership prior to January 1 of the membership year in which services are being requested and must
have maintained continuous membership since retirement.
á Where the applicant was a member as required above,
and without the specific written approval of the MTA does voluntarily terminate
membership while he or she is receiving such assistance, the applicant will not
be eligible for any further assistance.
á Legal services are usually provided to retirees for
legal issues involving health insurance and pension issues.
á A retired member seeking legal assistance must first
contact the president of his/her former association to initiate the processing
of a request for legal services.
Questions concerning eligibility for MTA retired
membership and access to legal services for MTA retired members should be
directed to Jo Ann Fitzgerald, Retired Members Service Specialist, at jfitzgerald@massteacher.org
or 800.392.6175, ext 8314.
MTA Headquarters 20 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108-2795
An Equal Opportunity
Employer/Affiliated with the National Education Association
Telephone Fax Number Web Site
(617) 742-7950 or 1-800-392-6175 (617) 742-7046 www.massteacher.org
Questions about Eligibility for
Retired Membership
MTA members often have questions about eligibility for
retired membership and the status of retired membership when they return to
work and are eligible to join as an active member. The following policy was
adopted by the MTA Board of Directors.
200.80
Eligibility for Retired Membership
In order to implement Article III, Section 3A(2) of
the Bylaws, the Board adopts the following policy.
The following categories of members are eligible for
retired membership:
(I) Active member of a local
affiliate: any person who was a member of a local association, MTA and NEA for
each of the five membership years prior to retirement.
(2) Individual active member: any person who was an
individual active member of MTA and NEA for each of the five membership years
prior to retirement because membership in a local association was not available
to that person. Example: member was a principal for 5 years prior to
retirement.
(3) Combination of affiliate and individual membership:
any person who, for each of the five membership years prior to retirement, was
either a member as described in (I) above or a member as described in (2).
Example: teacher becomes principal or principal returns to teaching, but in
either case the person has been a continuous member for 5 years prior to
retirement.
(4) Newly affiliated local: an active member included
in bargaining unit represented by a local which affiliates with MTA fewer than
5 years before the member retires. Example: former SEIU members.
(5) Position added to existing collective bargaining
unit: an active member whose position was added to an existing bargaining unit
less than 5 years prior to retirement. Example: a position has been is
existence but is added to the bargaining unit less than 5 years before the
person in that position retires.
(6) Return to work after retirement: a retired member
who returns to work and becomes an active member of a local affiliate or an
individual active member, may become a retired member again after any period of
employment during which he/she is an active member. Example: teacher or
principal retires, becomes retired member, returns to education employment for
any period of time during which he/she is an active member of a local affiliate
or an individual active member. The member then stops working and returns to retired
member status. Having satisfied the five year requirement once under (1) or (2)
above, or being excused from it because of impossibility under (3) - (5) above,
the member is not required to satisfy the requirement again provided that
he/she was a member during the return to work. (Note: if the retired member
returns to work in the field of education but where MTA active membership is
not available - e.g. a position in an AFT unit -that person may maintain MTA
retired membership.)
The
following persons would not be eligible for retired membership, even if they
were members at the time of retirement:
(1) Nonmember or agency fee payer: any person who was
eligible for membership in a local association but was a nonmember or agency
fee payer or any person who was eligible for individual active membership only
because no local affiliate membership was available but was a nonmember, for
anyone or more of the five membership years prior to retirement.
(2) Life member, but nonmember of
local or agency fee payer during one or more of the five years prior to
retirement. Example: person is a life member of MTA, but, though eligible to
join local, is a nonmember or agency fee payer in one or more of the 5
membership years prior to retirement.
(3) Second period of retired
membership (for an annual payer): A person who retires and is qualified for
retired membership under (1) - (5) above, who returns to work but is a
nonmember or agency fee payer during post-retirement employment, would not be
entitled to resume retired membership.
(4) Second period of retired
membership for retired life member: A person who retires and is qualified for
retired membership under (I) - (5) above, and who joins as a retired life
member, who returns to work but is a nonmember or agency fee payer during
post-retirement employment, would not be entitled to resume retired membership,
in effect forfeiting retired life membership.
Appeal to the Executive Committee
Any member denied membership by the MTA Division of
Finance and Accounting pursuant to this policy will be notified that he/she may
file an appeal with the MTA Executive Committee which may make exceptions to
this policy where warranted by extraordinary circumstances.
Board of Directors:
February 2007 (effective July 1, 2007)
Questions
Jo Ann Fitzgerald, Retired Members Service Specialist
MTA
20 Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108
617.878.8314 or 800.392.6175, ext 8314
178596