president's Blog

 Retired educators met in the Chattanooga Power Board conference room to form the first chapter of retired educators in Tennessee in May 1957.  Five months later, on October 25, 1957,  retirees from East Tennessee met and formed the Tennessee Retired Teachers’ Association. 

The Tennessee Retired Teachers’ Association (TRTA) is a unified organization affiliated with NEA-Retired and local retired teacher associations in Tennessee.  The membership year is from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. Unified membership requires that all members retiring after August 1992 belong to NEA-Retired, TRTA, and the local retired association.

Comprised of 89 local chapters and approximately 8,600 members, TRTA has remained dedicated to fulfilling its purposes since its inception in 1957.  

Members previously earned the benefits enjoyed by current retirees. Membership in TRTA ensures that those who succeed current members will enjoy similar or better benefits in their retirement years.  Please help us to continue this worthy work.  Join your local retired teachers’ association today!

TRTA trains local leaders through Fall and Spring Workshops in Tennessee’s Grand Divisions (See Calendar page). Content typically includes remarks and updates by the TRTA President, President-Elect, Immediate Past President, the Executive Director, and the Legislative and Membership Committee chairs. The workshops focus on the recruitment, development, and retention of membership in addition to pending legislation, pension (TCRS), Social Security, Medicare, and COLA information.

In the fall of 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, members attended the workshops via an online platform. These workshops also included discussions on the importance of voting and encouraging others to vote. Participants discussed a variety of methods for maintaining connections with each other. (See video and President's Blog below)

TRTA plans and implements an annual Representative Assembly in Murfreesboro, TN, in June. A one-day event, delegates travel from across the state to represent their local Associations in the TRTA business meeting. By secret ballot, delegates choose a President-Elect and debate and adopt the annual budget as a portion of the agenda. 

TRTA encourages every local Association to send representatives to the workshops and delegates to the RA. The local representatives/delegates share the information with the local Association for discussion and action.

TRTA developed a self-assessment instrument for chapters to use in determining their effectiveness.  A link to the form is below.

A chart of local membership dues and an enrollment form for TRTA membership can also be downloaded below.