Dallas, TX — Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe today commended U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), who chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee, for launching an investigation into whether the National Education Association (NEA) has been profiting at teachers’ expense through questionable retirement investment arrangements:

“Chairman Walberg and his colleagues are asking the right questions. Teachers work hard for their retirement security and deserve to know whether their union has been putting its own financial interests first. The allegations are deeply troubling. If the NEA has been profiting by steering members into high-fee retirement products while paying state associations up to $15 per new participant, that’s a clear conflict of interest and a betrayal of teachers’ trust. Teachers deserve fiduciaries who act solely in their best interests, not union officials who may be enriching themselves at members’ expense. We commend Chairman Walberg for demanding transparency and accountability. This investigation is an important step toward protecting teachers’ financial futures.”

The investigation examines whether the NEA and its subsidiary, NEA Member Benefits, have steered union members into high-fee retirement products while collecting payments from financial vendors. 

According to the Committee’s letter to NEA President Rebecca Pringle, state education associations receive up to $15 for each new participant enrolled in certain NEA-sponsored financial programs, along with guaranteed minimum payments of up to $10,000 annually.