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February 19, 2025 Update
We are reminding you that Marie Ardito from Retirees United and MASCA's 2024 Special Award Recipient, spoke with us in the fall on Issues Facing Retirees. She is very informed and considered an expert. Her very detailed ppt and contact information can be found here. She welcomes your inquiries.
Feb. 18, 2025 Update -
Updates about the Social Security Fairness Act If you are retired and may now be eligible for spousal or survivor benefits, it is advised that apply for this asap. To stay up to date about how the SSA is implementing the changes, regularly check this webpage. It is also important that you be wary of potential fraud. MTRS (Massachusetts Teachers’ Retirement System) is also alerting members of updates from the SSA. Click here to get a list of things to bring to your SSA appointment.
January 11, 2025 update - President Biden signed the Social Security Fairness Act into law on January 5, 2025. The legislation rescinds the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). Read the details here.
You can find the Retirees United Newsletters below
Welcome to Retirees Special Interest Group (SIG).
The Retirees Special Interest Group is a collegial group of people who are actively retired. The group meets regularly to support each other and seek out topics specific to retirees and soon to be retired.
We invite you to drop into our SIG meetings to share your retirement experiences. We welcome attendees to participate in discussions, ask technology questions, and suggest new topics and speakers. Whether you are retired or just dreaming of retirement we are here for you.
Past programming has included sessions by a leader and advocate from Retirees United, an MTA Rep explaining How to Plan for Retirement, Sharing Travel Adventures, Blogging, Genealogy, and Technology Tips. Looking forward to “seeing” you at our fall meeting.
Some possible discussion topics include:
- Traveling
- What is your handprint?
- Technology
- Health and safety
- Retirement options
All retirees and soon to be retirees who are also MASCA members are welcome to join the Retirees SIG.
2024-25 Agenda: Meetings are on Thursdays from 3:30-4:30 via ZOOM.March 20 – Learn about some of the many useful purposes of AI for your personal life. Planning travel adventures, crafting letters and formal documents, writing speeches, and creating logos are just some of the possible applications in your retirement life. Our special guest will be Jamie Choquette, teacher in the Multimedia Production and Broadcasting CTE program at Taconic High School in Pittsfield. Jamie will share information, resources, and tips for experimenting with AI.
Please pre-register here for the March meeting.
Resources from previous meetings - January 16 – Getting Started with Genealogy – Speaker: Jessy Wheeler, Genealogy Specialist, Boston Public Library
If you have any questions about the Retiree SIG, please reach out to one or both of us.
RETIREES SIG LEADERS -
Anne Thidemann French - Retired School Adjustment Counselor, North Adams
| Massachusetts School Counselors Association, Inc. |
MASCA deeply values its diverse membership and is fully committed to creating an organization where each individual is welcomed, included, respected and empowered. No person will be excluded from MASCA on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, political affiliation or military status, or for any other discriminatory reason. These activities include, but are not limited to, appointment of its Governing Board, hiring or firing of staff, selection of volunteers and vendors, and the providing of services. This policy is fundamental to the effective functioning of MASCA as an organization that supports counselors and promotes equity in our schools, districts and the Commonwealth.