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Retired Teachers Chapter News

Tom Murphy
A symbiotic connection

Are UFT retirees missing out when they attend union events and courses remotely? The Si Beagle Learning Center now offers remote courses, activities and seminars that were only available in person before the pandemic. But there is growing pressure to organize more in-person activities, and the RTC is trying to provide both options.

A man in a white lab coat speaking to a woman in a blue pattern shirt
MSK Direct for retirees facing cancer

The UFT has a partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK), the top-ranked cancer hospital in the Northeast, that benefits both in-service and retired UFT members. When you or a family member is facing a cancer diagnosis, MSK’s specialists and services are available to you. 

Filling_a_void_with_novels
Filling a void with novels about her heritage

Retired educator Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa has sought refuge in libraries and books her whole life, and now she is contributing her own works to libraries — historical novels that reflect the richness, complexity, beauty and brutality of her Afro-Puerto Rican heritage.


Technology in the ESL classroom
Putting technology to work in Queens

The Retired Teachers Chapter's Queens section continues to develop the rich selection of remote classes it created during the pandemic — from baking and line dancing to guitar — and is taking its use of technology to a new level in the process.

Seniors beware
Seniors beware: Scammers often target the elderly

Senior citizens need to be wary of emails, phone calls and text messages designed to get them to hand over money or share personal information, an elder fraud expert told UFT retirees at the Retired Teachers Chapter membership meeting in May. Fraud is a booming business, said Anna Diao, chief of the Elder Fraud Unit in the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO plan

Here are answers to commonly asked questions about the new Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO plan, the new premium-free health plan for Medicare-eligible New York City retirees.

More information about the new plan

The UFT has made a commitment to its Medicare-eligible New York City retirees to keep them fully informed about the Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO plan and prepared for the changes ahead.

Continuity of care support

Aetna has a plan in place to ensure there is no interruption in retirees’ ongoing or complex care that goes beyond September 2023.

An overview of the proposed Aetna plan

The following email was sent on Thursday, March 2, 2023 to all members of the Retired Teachers Chapter from UFT President Michael Mulgrew and Retired Teachers Chapter Leader Tom Murphy. 

From walking tours to tea parties, outings are back

A wildlife refuge an outdoor sculpture garden, museums, a tea party and even a wastewater treatment plant are the destinations for in-person Si Beagle Learning Center outings this spring.