The City of San Diego Retired Employees’ Association is a group of retired City employees whose goals are to advance social and economic welfare of all retired City employees and their beneficiaries. Any retired City employee can join this historic association!
What does the REA do?
The group monitors public employee benefits, advocates for local retirees, and does their best to make a difference in the greater San Diego community through volunteer work.
Members of the REA can participate in monthly meetings, vote on key issues facing retirees, and receive benefits through their partnerships with SDPEBA. These benefits range from dental and health to pet insurance and home/auto. On top of that, REA members get access to a monthly newsletter that goes over upcoming meetings and other pertinent information/news relating to the City and its retirees.
The REA also hosts general member meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at 11am. Due to the pandemic, meetings have moved to Zoom, but the meetings normally take place at the War Memorial building in Balboa Park. They run from 11am to around 12pm and feature a short news briefing by President Dick Wilken and SDCERS, and then a guest speaker. The speakers range from local journalists to political experts or even to just experts in their field. These speakers usually take up most of the meeting time and are highly informative.
What Benefits do you Receive?
As a member of the REA, you have access to all of SDPEBA’s retiree benefits. Meaning you have access to discounted insurance plans designed around your retiree lifestyle that are available via pension deduction, check out the list here:
You can learn more about these benefits and the other things SDPEBA offers by clicking here.
Additionally, through the REA you gain access to regular news updates and meetings where you can learn about things going on in San Diego and any news relating to retirement programs.
How do you Join?
Once you retire from your City job, you’ll be able to join the REA by submitting a membership form via their website. Once you’ve submitted the form, you’ll also need to submit the pension deduction form as well located in the second paragraph under “For Retired City Employees.” Once you’ve mailed those two forms in, that’s it! You’re a member. You’ll receive regular emails reminding you of upcoming meetings and informing you on what your organization is up to.
Note: Dues are currently (as of 2/16) $2 a month or $30 to pay for the whole year. There is a vote scheduled for their March 8th meeting to move dues up to $3 a month, we will update this article when that vote comes through.