Retired
Teachers' Association of Ireland
History of the RTAI
The Retired Teachers' Association of Ireland (RTAI) was founded in the school year 1951/52.
In the years following the 1946 strike, (which lasted from the 20th day of March, 1946, to the 30th day of October, 1946), many of the demands of the striking teachers were implemented piecemeal. Among these was a demand that pension for retiring teachers should be based on retiring salary, which was conceded and introduced in 1951. Prior to that, pensions were paid on an "ex-gratia" basis only.
However the new pension arrangements applied only to serving teachers and did not apply to those who had already retired. Resulting from this, a group of already retired teachers – who had no pension entitlements - founded the Association.
In the beginning, the Association was known as
the Pensioned Teachers' Association and was
The RTA was involved in the process to have the
Survivor's Social Welfare Pensions paid to men as well as to women,
which was not the case until a High Court Case was prepared in 1994.
The Association was also highly active in the campaign for the abolition
of Probate Tax, as it applied to surviving spouses. At its AGM of
2007, the word "