Unless the names and addresses of new retirees are found by you, the Branches, our success rate at finding the members and getting their memberships to them is quite low.
We cannot use the ATA because of FOIP (Freedom of Information and Privacy). Unfortunately, as a result, potential members in our organization are lost to us until they see the need to contact us. As we go forward with our initiatives on pension issues, it is essential that we enlist all of the retired teachers in our province to join us. Currently ARTA has 8,000 members out of 16,000 retired teachers. For us to be a force in the province that will be recognized by the government, we need to increase our membership. The only way open for us to accomplish this is to obtain names and addresses as teachers retire, so we are asking for your help in this regard.
Our move to the new governance style of organization has taken another step forward at our Board of Directors' meeting that was held in Edmonton, May 25. The Representative Committee put forth our Policy and Procedures document for ARTA. There were minor changes that needed to be made to the document but the work of the committee was accepted in principle. Our next step is to bring it to our Annual General Meeting in October for ratification.
Results of the Pension Questionnaire
To date we have received a total of 371 responses to our questionnaire that was printed in the Spring and Fall News and Views. Of the 371 responses, 202 came from women and 169 from men.
The majority of the respondents felt that their monthly pension did not meet their expectations today (74%). The Cost of Living question (COLA). had 82% of the respondents say "No". They felt that it did not meet their needs. Many of the comments dealt with the respondents' inability to keep up with rising costs regarding food, gas, utilities, and medications. The retirees felt that when they first retired, they were able to make do if they held a tight reign on their spending, but today, even with the utmost of frugality, they were having a tough time making ends meet.
The question regarding whether or not retired teachers should have input into pension matters at the provincial level (ATA Pension Committee, ATRF Pension Board), 85% of the respondents answered "Yes". The question dealing with whether or not ARTA should continue its advocacy on pension matters, 99% of the people filling in the questionnaire answered "Yes".
A significant number of respondents asked about the Society for Pension Reform, and what ARTA was doing about the Society (20%). Several felt that ARTA should be providing some form of financial assistance, or should be joining forces with the Society in its fight with the government. The last News and Views dealt with ARTA's response to the Society.
36% of the respondents felt that they were not adequately informed about pension matters. To that end, the Pension Committee of ARTA will provide a better flow of information concerning pension concerns and how they are being dealt with by the committee.
The Pension Committee wants to thank all respondents who took the time to answer the questionnaire. Your input provides the committee with pertinent information that can be used to bring about necessary changes to our pensions.
ARTA © 2005
