Cheating Teachers of their Social Security
Here’s an in-your-own-backyard issue you may not be familiar with. Education folks, indeed anyone with a public pension benefit, are disallowed by U.S. law from receiving any Social Security benefits they may have earned.
That’s right! Work for ten years and contribute to Social Security then go into education for twenty and lose your entire Social Security earnings. This is a remnant of the era when teaching was thought to be woman’s work and women were, perforce, dependent on their husbands so were bringing in only “supplemental” income.
Various organization have tried for years to get these rules changed or softened — to no avail. Now the Association of School Administrators and other organizations are pushing for the complete abolition of these anachronistic and completely unfair bills.
Here’s what you want to read to get up to speed. There are several scenarios in which this happens, all of them similarly unfair to those who have worked and added to the pot.
“California needs to hire more than 100,000 new teachers in the next decade to fill demand,” said state Assemblyman Tom Torlakson, D-Martinez, who is carrying Assembly Joint Resolution 10, which calls on Congress to repeal the WEP and GPO. “However, the hero’s penalty hamstrings our ability to recruit experienced professionals to enter the teaching profession, as they would lose their Social Security benefits if they changed careers.”
Two federal bills are currently making their way through Congress that would repeal the provisions: HR 235, Berman, D-Calif. and S 484, Feinstein, D-Calif.
EdCal from the Association of California School Administrators
With some numbers of your favorite legislators to call!
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May 15th, 2009 @ 8:49 am
Thanks for giving space to the Social Security issue related to teachers… it is so unfair, and something no teacher believes could be true until they confirm it for themselves… I was dumfounded.
Basically, for teachers, the Social Security office computes what one will receive using a formula based on what one gets from STRS and one’s own Social Security entitlement, and this formula leaves one next to no Social Security.
I did end up with just under $100, and of course every bit counts… but it would have been $663 per month or something otherwise…. and it was money I had earned, like anyone else entitled to Social Security.
If I had worked only as a teacher for all of my working years I would have received considerably more retirement money from STRS itself. Instead for many years I worked places that paid into Social Security (and some that didn’t, eg ISNV!), and I was penalized for the Social Security years.
My colleagues who worked say 30 years for the school district received retirement income for all 30 of those years from STRS.
If I, or someone like me, worked 15 years for the school district and 15 years somewhere else paying into and earning Social Security, we are penalized through the Social Security formula for the benefits of those other 15 years of work, and we earn only 15 years of retirement income through STRS.
That means that there is a huge discrepancy between the benefits that I or someone like me earns for our 30 years of work compared to someone who worked for 30 years as a state employed teacher for the same period of time. Grossly unfair.
Beyond that, any state employed teacher is completely denied spousal entitlement – which for us would have been maybe $600+/- per month- and which anyone who did not pay into STRS would have automatically received. [Actually, I think that benefit - which I never even knew about until I was told that I was denied it - is probably sexist, because it may only apply to wives, not to husbands.] Teachers are also denied income available to others after the death of a spouse receiving Social Security.
The $90 something that I do get from Social Security turned out to just about cover what one is required to pay for Medicare (Part B?)… who knew that one had to pay for Medicare! And the amount due to Medicare will likely go up too.
Sheesh.
May 18th, 2009 @ 6:59 am
There will be a rally on May 30 in Berkely. Take a look at this site:
http://www.socialsecurityfairness.com/Home_Page.html
What a bold and gutsy approach this woman is taking. The site is very informative and extremely helpful especially the boiler-plate letters which will help you to GET INVOLVED!
May 18th, 2009 @ 7:13 am
Then, after you’re motivated by Ms. Alexander’s Rally, may I urge you to contact YOUR Members of Congress through the Toll Free #’s of The Capitol Hill Switchboard: 1-877-851-6437, 1-800-828-0498, or 1-800-614-2803. Ask for the office of your Senator or Representative – you’ll need to dial again for each different one. When answered, you’ll probably be asked something to verify that you’re a constituent. Ask what the Representative’s position on H.R.235 or the Senator’s position on S.484 is. Then, regardless of whether you get a yea or nay, TELL THEM you want that elected official to take the necessary steps to get the bill on to the floor of the House or Senate for debate and vote. TAKE ACTION – GET INVOLVED!
May 18th, 2009 @ 7:17 am
Untill now, AARP has chosen to not take a stand on these issues. Send a Fax or write a letter to the new CEO. A sample follows:
A. Barry Rand, CEO
AARP National Office
601 E. Street NW, Fax #: 1-202-434-7710
Washington, DC 20049
Dear Mr. Rand;
As you know, two bills have recently been presented to our legislators, one to the House (H.R. 235) and one to the Senate (S.484). These bills, if passed, would repeal two unjust laws that have financially disadvantaged teachers for decades. The Windfall Elimination and the Government Pension Offset Provisions are discriminatory towards teachers.
They dictate that teachers may not collect social security from deceased spouses, or collect social security at levels other participants in the system do — even when they paid into social security from another job prior to, or during their teaching career. These discriminatory laws also impact the pool of qualified people who may enter teaching; they discourage people from entering teaching because many would lose previously earned social security.
The involvement of AARP is vital to repealing these provisions that penalize educators and public service employees in fifteen states. For that reason, there is no justification for entangling the straightforward matter of repealing these unfair offsets with any other Social Security issues.
AARP has an obligation to help make sure no educator or public sector employee loses benefits they or their spouses have earned. Please let me know specifically what you are doing to achieve the long-overdue elimination of the GPO and WEP.
Cordially,
August 6th, 2009 @ 11:12 am
While I am in complete agreement that WEP and GPO should be repealed, I feel it is also important to note that this is nice little PR ploy by our representatives.
Similar legislation has been proposed over the last 5 years or more with substantial bipartisan support (in fact cosponsoring it) to no avail. The bills never leave committee, thus there is no reason to worry about passing it.
Every cosponsor (304 & 29) can go home and point to these bills as fighting for the people, but they obviously are not.
I hope it passes, but I am tired of the PR positioning of our politicians.
You can see my post on the subject at my blog – The Educator’s Retirement – that points to several facts involved.
August 15th, 2009 @ 7:27 pm
Our retirement was planned based on NO OFFSET. The law should have not effected old civil service employees.
The proposed $2,500 is stupid. The windfall should be eliminated . regardless of income.
Of course, as usual we are probably being lied to by the politicians. They have no integrity.
December 21st, 2009 @ 7:52 pm
We are a group of retired teachers who have realized how Uncle Sam has punished us for our yeas of service. We are starting to get organized and plan to make sure our representatives hear from lots of us. Join us by visiting http://www.ssfairness.com and hopefully we can start to move the government to treat us fairly.
March 28th, 2010 @ 8:03 am
Dear Retired People, The only way we can repeal these unfair and out of date pervisions is to band together with political force. Our government will only treat us fairly if we apply the needed pressure- simply doing the right thing is not how our Congress works. We need to get the word out and not let up- refuse to support any official who doesn’t work to see HR 235 pass. President Obama supports HR 235- we need to keep him to his promise as well. Lets work together! Keep calling, emailing or writing your Senators and House Reps.
Also, we need to inform the public- too many people do not know about this. Too many people leave public jobs for public service employment unknowing the penelties that are ahead of them at retirement. Knowledge is power & collective group strenght is power. Again, band together!! Speak out!