Retire from your position,
not your profession!
Your retirement does not have to end your connection to WEA. WEA-Retired and pre-retired members share decades of experience in our schools to help improve public education in Washington. We support public education and enhancing the quality of life for WEA's active and retired members.
WEA-Retired membership allows you to access WEA and NEA member benefits for the rest of your life — a one-time insurance policy all of its own. Our goals:
- To be the primary voice for public-education retirees in the State of Washington
- Work in partnership with WEA members to achieve public confidence in public education
- Make the retirement years the best they can be for WEA/NEA Retired members
- Secure legislation that fully supports our purpose
If you are not a member,
you can join today!
Still working as an active WEA member? Join WEA-Retired / NEA-Retired as a pre-retired member.
Join here - with your credit card
Already retired? Join WEA-Retired / NEA-Retired.
Join here or renew annual membership - with your credit card for life or annual membership. You may join as a life member (one payment & you are a member for life) or you may pay ongoing annual dues every year in September.
Want to join and pay by check? Complete the form and mail in with your dues check.
Join here - for the DRS monthly deduction. You may have ongoing monthly dues taken out of your WA DRS pension.
Email any questions to WEARetired@washingtonea.org or to our Rainier Retired Chapter Board Director, Lyn McKay at LynMckay@hotmail.com.
We meet monthly (except June, July, August, and December). Lately, it has been via Zoom.
We discuss the latest news from Olympia, lobby for retirement benefits, have guest speakers, support our scholarship program, and generally look out for each other and current educators. Look for some more intermingled fun along the way to gather for support, fun, and inspiration in the coming year. Non-member educators are welcome to join us to find out about the many benefits of WEA-Retired.
We are always looking for new members and new ideas! If you have any questions about WEA Retired or the Rainier Retired Chapter, please feel free to contact me, Lyn McKay, Rainier Chapter Director at lynmckay@hotmail.com
WEA-RETIRED SCHOLARSHIPS
WEA-Retired offers $1,000 nonrenewable scholarships to aid WEA members in enhancing skills in specific education areas and/or attaining or maintaining a teaching certificate. The scholarships cannot be used to pay for incurred debt for past classes or reimbursement for pre-paid classes. You must be a WEA member to apply.
2025 Scholarship application
Check back here September 2024.*
*You must be a WEA member to apply.
WEA memberships are below.
Student (SWEA) member application
Classified (ESP) member application
Certificated member application
From its inception in 1987, WEA-Retired had a strong legislative focus. Six years later the pre-retirement seminar program began and in 1996 WEA-Retired awarded its first two scholarships to WEA active members, $300 each, “to provide vital support to those seeking to enhance their skills or earn new endorsements.” Over the next twenty-four years, the program underwent two structural changes, received an endowment from Laura McVicker, and has awarded $102,150 to 121 WEA active and student members. Today WEA-Retired Scholarships is an independent organization affiliated with WEA-Retired and awards up to ten $1000 scholarships each year.
Over the years WEA-Retired Scholarships has benefited from tremendous support from the WEA family, classified, certificated, student, and retired. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 fundraisers were canceled when the WEA Representative Assembly and the WEA-Retired Annual Meeting changed to virtual formats. The scholarship board of directors made the decision to reduce the number of scholarships to no more than five for 2021. WEA-Retired made a $5000 donation so the maximum number of scholarships offered could remain at ten.