President's Letter

Dear Colleagues,

“March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” or is it March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion”? I saw my first robin of spring bob, bob, bobbing along yesterday. When I visited a garden center, golden yellow, vibrant orange and deep purple pansies were calling out hoping to be chosen to be planted in a sunny garden. I hope the impending arrival of this lovely season finds you well as we shed our heavy outwear from the winter that wasn’t.

COVID restrictions for the most part have been lifted and although the disease might never leave us, many of us are returning to life as it was pre-2019.

Good news from GBRTA and the Association of Retired Teachers of Connecticut (ARTC). We retained the 50% state tax exclusion on our pensions for 2022 and efforts are underway to increase it to 100%. There are bills pending before the legislature to add an additional two retired teacher members to the Teachers’ Retirement Board (TRB) and to limit voting for these members to retired educators. Additionally, in the 2022 legislative session, the health subsidy for those not 65 and not eligible for Medicare was increased from $110 to $220. The subsidy for those not covered by Medicare and over 65 was increased from $220 to $ 440.

There is also a movement underway to address the inequitable premiums between the TRB Medicare Advantage and Supplement plans.

We have plans in place for our April and June meetings, details which are contained else- where in this newsletter. It is my hope that those of you who were reluctant to attend in person meetings will feel more comfortable to return to sharing a meal and stories with your fellow retirees. I encourage you to invite a retired educator to these events to intro- duce him/her to GBRTA.

Rose Marie D’Aquila

President GBRTA