From offering support through friendly phone calls to advocating for retirees as they navigate the health care system, the geriatric social workers of the UFT's Retiree Social Services give free and confidential assistance to thousands of members each year. 

The Supplemental Health Insurance Program (SHIP), created by the UFT Retired Teachers Chapter to help members pay for out-of-pocket medical costs, continues to grow in enrollment and to enhance its reimbursement for benefits such as private-duty nursing, ambulance transport and hearing aids.

You may not be an in-service employee anymore, but you haven’t left the UFT. Now it’s time to become a member of the union’s Retired Teachers Chapter (RTC) and participate in what’s considered the nation’s best retiree program for public school teachers and health care providers.

The UFT Legal Plan with its Elder Law Supplement helps and protects all Retired Teachers Chapter members and their spouses or domestic partners.

The Retired Teachers Chapter goes the distance to stay connected to its members — 71,097 retired UFT members who live all over the country as well as in Puerto Rico and Israel.

More retirees than ever are looking for support from the UFT Welfare Fund Retiree Social Services Department since the start of the pandemic. Some need practical, concrete assistance with food delivery or referrals for home care, while other who are overwhelmed by the threat of the virus need emotional support as they struggle with anxiety and isolation.