The Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) is en route to Corpus Christi today to attend the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) board of trustees retreat. During the first day of the meeting which begins tomorrow, the TRS Board is hosting a Town Hall event that will allow TRS-Care participants to communicate their questions, concerns and suggestions about the health insurance program.
You may have read about this event last week. The feedback you and other TRS-Care participants provide during the TRS-Care Town Hall meeting will impact the TRS-Care sustainability study presently being conducted by TRS. This study, first conducted in 2012, is being updated for the Texas Legislature. TRS is tasked with finding solutions for maintaining this vital healthcare program and presenting viable solutions to the Legislature before the 84th Legislative Session begins in January 2015.
TRS-Care faces a funding shortfall that could reach or exceed $1 billion by the next legislative session. This crisis MUST be addressed, and your participation in this meeting is vital. TRS will also discuss TRS-ActiveCare for current public school employees during this meeting.
If you have not heard about this event until today, please add it to your calendar and plan to participate! The meeting begins at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow and may be viewed online. See details below!
Attend the Meeting In Person:
The meeting is being held at the Education Service Center, Region 2, Room 3-23, located at 209 N. Water St., Corpus Christi, Texas, 78401 on Wednesday, February 12, 2014 between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. Here is a map of the meeting location: Education Service Center Map.
Watch the Meeting From Home:
For those of you who wish to watch the broadcast from your home computer, you can view the live webcast through the TRS website www.trs.state.tx.us. The direct link (which will not be active until the meeting begins) is: trs.mediasite.com/mediasite/
As the meeting is being broadcast, you can also send your questions by email using a special feature. This feature will not be available until the meeting has begun, and complete instructions for sending in your email during the live broadcast are available through TRS here: http://www.trs.state.tx.us/
For those of you who use Twitter, you can even tweet your questions live by submitting them to the TRS Twitter account @TRSofTexas and using the hashtag #TRStownhall. Please be sure to watch the webcast for answers. Although not all questions will be answered due to time constraints, similar questions will be grouped and a thorough answer provided.
Watch the TRTA Facebook Page for Updates:
TRTA will post these same links again next week from our Facebook page. If you have a Facebook account, be sure to like our page today (https://www.facebook.com/
¡Gracias!
We know many of our members are not able to travel to Corpus to participate in the meeting. Several of you have sent us emails this week telling us about your concerns and suggestions. Thank you for your feedback!
Please know that TRTA board members and staff will be present at the meeting to share the information you have provided for us. We have also sent your comments to TRS staff members.
We also want to thank TRS for providing the information included in this update, and for offering a variety of ways for retirees to participate in this vital discussion. The TRS Board is facing a difficult task in dealing with the TRS-Care funding crisis. With your feedback, they can better address an issue that affects more than 200,000 retirees. Please don’t hesitate to use the online features provided TRS during tomorrow’s event!
Thank you for being a member of TRTA. If you are not a member and are interested in becoming one, please contact our Membership Department at 1.800.880.1650.
