TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Paul Hubbert, executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association, will travel to Tuscaloosa Friday, Oct. 14 to address the fall meeting of The University of Alabama Retirees Association. Hubbert will speak to the group at 10 a.m. at the FOCUS Building, 1620 6th Street in downtown Tuscaloosa.

The University of Alabama Retirees Association consists of some 450 retired employees of The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The organization represents the interests of its members to governmental and educational groups.

Hubbert is also chairman of the Alabama Teachers’ Retirement System and a member of the board for the Public Education Employee Health Insurance Plan, known as PEEHIP, which administers health insurance for some 98,000 active and 47,000 retired public education employees.

Hubbert will discuss the management of the Teachers’ Retirement System and AEA’s efforts to lobby Alabama Gov. Bob Riley and the state Legislature for cost of living raises and other benefits for retired educators.

“This year the Alabama Legislature voted to provide a 4 percent cost of living raise to education retirees, the first such increase in four years,” said Dr. William Stewart, president of the UA retirees’ association, known as TUARA, and professor emeritus of political science in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“TUARA is delighted to welcome Dr. Hubbert to Tuscaloosa and to have this opportunity to express our appreciation to him for his work in helping us to secure this much needed increase. We are very grateful for the assistance we have received from both the AEA and the Alabama Education Retirees Association. We look forward to learning from Dr. Hubbert what issues may arise in the 2006 state elections that may impact benefits and cost of living increases for education retirees in the future,” said Stewart.

TUARA was established in 2003 and is an affiliate of the Alabama Education Retirees Association. The University of Alabama has a total of 1,321 retired employees.