American Military Retirees Association-Membership

5436 Peru St. #1
Plattsburgh, NY 12901

800.424.2969
518.563.9479
Fax: 518.324.5204
info@amra1973.org

AMRA MISSION STATEMENT

To work on behalf of military retirees and their families, to protect thir rights and
benefits under the law, and to lobby on their behalf in Washington, DC and elsewhere.

YOU HAVE EARNED MEMBERSHIP IN AMRA through your military service. Together we will ensure that the health care and pension promises made to you don’t disappear because no one is watching.

Eligibility: Military Retirees, Disabled (T & P), Medically Retired, Surviving Spouses.

AMRA welcomes Military Retirees from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, regardless of rank.

AMRA will keep you advised of legislative activity through its weekly electronic newsletter eNEWS and its quarterly newspaper AMRA News. You will have the opportunity to make a difference for retirees by responding to periodic “calls to action” when an important legislative issue affecting retirees is being debated in Congress.

Among its valuable benefits for members, AMRA offers members TRICARE and CHAMPVA supplemental insurance through the Association and Society Insurance Company (ASI) at one of the most attractive rates offered by any military service organization. Visit (Member Benefits) for information on our Career Center, car/hotel/vision care discounts, as well as discounts on auto and homeowner insurance through Liberty Mutual and moving, real estate and mortgage services through Allied and North American Van Lines.

AMRA also offers a competitive college scholarship program available to members, their spouses and dependent children, and their grandchildren. Visit (SGM Douglas R. Drum Memorial Scholarship) for information and an application.

Annual Dues are $25.00 (3 year membership $65.00)

Affordable Life Membership rates are a great deal, especially if you are using ASI supplemental insurances which require AMRA membership…one less thing for you to think about as the Life Member fee will maintain your membership for the rest of your life.

Life Member Fees:	To age 45	$275.00
	Ages 46-59	$195.00
	Ages 60-69	$155.00
	Age 70 & Over	$ 95.00

JOIN TODAY

By using our online “Join” function with your credit card or print an
application and mail or fax it to National Headquarters.

Six Reasons Why You Need To Get Your Info from AMRA

It’s sad but true, they didn’t send any of us to “retiree camp” for six weeks before they let us go home for good. Without a drill instructor to help you navigate through the many changes retirement brings, where can military retirees turn to find out what’s really important?

AMRA Can Help… Here’s Why:

1. If you live near a base you can visit the Retirees Services Office… if it’s not short of volunteers or even closed when you need them.

2. Your local County Veterans Service office may help, but their expertise may be in veterans benefits and programs, not military retiree benefits. Do you know the difference? Do they?

3. Service Newsletters will inform…if they have a mailing budget; many have gone to email only. Moreover, mail for Snowbirds may be returned, or discarded (if it’s sent third-class mail to save $).

4. If you’re near a base and your schedule and mobility allow, you can attend Retiree Activity Days (when they have a budget for one). If you’re not near a base, how will you hear about similar events?

5. You can hunt for retiree information in other group publications …but most focus on veterans issues…not retiree issues, which won’t help you get the answers you need.

6. You can wait for someone to forward you an email …and then spend half a day on the internet trying to validate it or being put on “hold” with the appropriate agency.

At AMRA, we know that every one of our nation’s two million military retirees is unique. Some, who have the luxury of benefits from a “second career,” have a larger economic cushion than others. The majority, however, do not have as many resources; their pensions, entitlements and survivor benefits are crucial. Many moved upon retirement and are no longer living near a military installation, or their base was closed; over time this puts them at a disadvantage. “Gray Area” retirees, Guard and Reserve retirees not yet collecting their pensions, often move on to other careers; again, time and location work against them when trying to keep up on retiree information. Retirees with limited mobility and/or without internet access have limited access to information. Sadly, every month, AMRA HQ gets calls that a member has passed away. Invariably, the surviving spouse is not only unprepared for this eventuality, but is unfamiliar with the agencies which need to be contacted.

Many military retirees assume that their retiree benefits and entitlements are set in stone. Sadly, this is far from true. The GI Bill, TRICARE health care options and even how military retirements are calculated are all being examined as “fat” to be trimmed. As a result of the current military situation, Congress’s attention to “fresh” veterans sometimes benefits us “seasoned” veterans as programs are added or expanded; sometimes not. Where can you find out which changes apply to retirees, surviving spouses or the 100% disabled/medically retired?

Why should you get your info from AMRA? Military retirees need to keep a foot in both worlds- retiree and veteran- but that takes a lot of time and research. We pride ourselves in working to get the news right from the horse’s mouth- not from hearsay. We sincerely hope that you’ll find that the pages of AMRA News, as well as the items in AMRA eNEWS are correct, informative, up to date, and written with the retiree’s perspective in mind. At the very least, what you read here is guaranteed to be a jumping-off place guaranteed to give you the ammunition you need to “go get ‘em” when you need to interface with other agencies and groups. Yes, as a military retiree you and your needs are unique, and that’s why we’re on duty watching the horizon for you… Face it, you did your time!