I tell everybody that as a retired UFT member with a wonderful pension and health benefits, my life feels like a good, long vacation.
That good feeling is doubled because my husband Jimmie is also a retired UFT member so we are able to enjoy a secure retirement together.
I was a practicing nurse for 20 years before I started teaching nursing for 12 years at Clara Barton HS for Health Professions in Brooklyn. My husband taught elementary and middle school for 30 years. Jimmie retired in 2013 and I retired the following year.
As retired New York City public school teachers, we have a guaranteed income for life so we don’t have to worry about the ups and downs of the stock market. When anybody says, “Let’s go,” you don’t have to tell me where. I’m ready.
Most recently, we’ve made trips to Alaska and the Caribbean. Tomorrow, it’s a musical in New Jersey sponsored by the UFT retiree chapter and the day after I’m off to a Professional Women in Education conference in North Carolina.
I have the financial security to fill my calendar with all the things I enjoy doing.
Being a union member and understanding the importance of pension benefits run deep in my family. In addition to many aunts and uncles, my parents were proud union members and used to always encourage me and my siblings as children to think about the future.
“No one should ever be poor in retirement,” my mother used to tell us.
Beyond enjoying all the benefits the union has secured for me, I remain a vital part of the union. I attend regular meetings of the Retired Teachers Chapter that keep me up-to-date on issues and I look forward to the annual RTC luncheon to catch up with old friends. I also attend classes at the union’s Si Beagle Learning Centers. My husband and I stay fit in the aerobics and salsa classes, and Jimmie adds Tai-Chi and playwriting.
We’re lucky we both enjoy good health, but we’re also lucky knowing we can count on generous health benefits if our luck changes.
Sharon Henderson is a retired New York City public school teacher.
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