NEA MEMBER BENEFITS - News You Can Use

This is one of a series about programs and services offered by NEA Member Benefits. In this April 7, 2008 edition, you will read about: *A Free $15,000 Life Insurance Benefit for New Members *Save on Brand Name Merchandise with NEA Click & Save *Toolkit Helps Leaders & Members Understand New 403(b) Regulations Effective January 2009 *New Members: Welcome to the Association!

1. Coming in 2008-09: A Free $15,000 Life Insurance Benefit for New Members

(Note: Here is advance notice about the newest NEA benefit, but it is not designed for publication.  Watch for more details later.)

Membership recruiters will have a new tool to help promote the benefits of being part of the Association family.

Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, new NEA members will be covered with a 12-month free life insurance benefit of $15,000.

All new members actively at work will be covered automatically, with the exception of retired, substitute, student members and agency fee payers. Any new member who rejoins the Association after an absence of five or more years will also be eligible.

Provided by the NEA Members Insurance Trust^®, the new life insurance coverage will be in-force for 12 months following the member’s start date. At the end of the first year, the individual will be given the opportunity to pay for continuation of the same coverage with no evidence of insurability.

2. Save on Brand Name Merchandise with NEA Click & Save

NEA Click & Save, one of the newest discount programs for NEA members and their families, is currently being used by nearly 30,000 shoppers who want to save on brand name merchandise.

Hundreds of top retailers, online stores, and local merchants are part of NEA Click & Save, which was introduced to Association members in November 2007.

Members register free online at www.neamb.com/clickandsave/ and then start shopping! They can also request e-mail reminders from favorite merchants about upcoming sales and discounts.

There is an option to select a low-cost premium NEA Click & Save membership which provides even greater discounts.

In the first months of operation, the leading shopping areas for NEA members were:

1. Electronics

2. Clothing

3. Child & baby items

4. Flowers & gifts

5. Home furnishings

6. Travel

7. Tickets

Frequently visited retailers were Target, Phillips, Circuit City, Restaurant.com, and Dell.

3. Toolkit Helps Leaders & Members Understand New 403(b) Regulations Effective January 2009

NEA Member Benefits has designed a New IRS 403(b) Regulations Information Toolkit to help Association leaders, members, and staff better understand how the new Internal Revenue Service regulations (which have a general effective date of January 1, 2009) will impact NEA members as they save for retirement.

The Toolkit includes sections on:

·         Decoding the regulations––a primer for NEA affiliates

·         What an “orphan” 403(b) account means

·         A PowerPoint presentation highlighting key points in the regulations

·         Frequently asked questions

The kit also outlines steps that local associations can take in response to the IRS regulations, guidance for UniServ staff, and a sample letter for local leaders to send to their school district business official.

To download a copy of the Toolkit, see “Investments” under the Financial Services section at www.neamb.com, or click on Toolkit.  

4. New Members: Welcome to the Association!

NEA Member Benefits is completing the first year of a pilot program that reaches out to new Association members with a welcome message and special targeted information.

The first new member mailing is a Welcome Card from NEA Member Benefits, including a stick-on note that tells new members how they can obtain a free one-year subscription from the NEA Magazine Service.

Next in the series of messages is a Welcome Kit with a mini-catalog of programs available from NEA Member Benefits and a bookmark featuring a 2008 calendar. 

For individuals with e-mail addresses, NEA MB sends out electronic messages tailored to the new dues-payers. Those contacted are also provided a link to an NEA MB Web Site page designed specially for new members.

More than 141,000 new members were welcomed into the Association in the first seven months of the pilot project.