NEA Member Testifies Before Congress About Protecting Social Security

Legislation would secure retirement for teachers and education support professionals

November 6, 2007 -- WASHINGTON—A high school English teacher, who retired after 35 years in the classroom, testified before Congress today about government offsets that keep dedicated public servants from receiving full Social Security benefits.

Peggy Kane from Wilmington, Mass., testified before the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy, chaired by Sen. John F. Kerry (D-MA). The subcommittee held a hearing today regarding the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision.

Kane said that her husband, Dennis, contributed to Social Security for more than 30 years. Kane said that when he died of cancer in 1998, “One of the last things that Dennis told me was that he would be able to rest in peace, knowing that I would have his Social Security benefits to supplement my pension when I retired.”

“These contributions were taken from our family income, and Dennis and I both thought that full Social Security benefits would be available to us,” she said. “Fortunately, Dennis never knew that I would not be able to collect one penny of his Social Security benefits as his spouse.”

The Government Pension Offset reduces impacted public employees’ Social Security spousal or survivor benefits by two-thirds of their public pension. So a teacher in Massachusetts who receives a public pension for a job not covered by Social Security will lose much or all of any spousal survivor benefits she would expect to collect based on her husband’s private sector earnings. About 300,000 people lose an average of $3,600 a year because of this offset, an amount that can make the difference between self-sufficiency and poverty.

The Windfall Elimination Provision affects people who worked in jobs not covered by Social Security and in jobs where they earned Social Security benefits. For example, educators who worked part-time or during the summer in private sector jobs and people who move from a job in which they earn Social Security to a job such as teaching, in which they do not.

"These offsets are penalizing people who have dedicated their lives to educating our children," said NEA President Reg Weaver. "Congress should act quickly to respect public service employees, rather than depriving them of benefits they or their spouse has earned."

At a press briefing earlier in the day, NEA Vice President Dennis Van Roekel urged Congress to pass the Social Security Fairness Act, H.R. 82/S. 206, and repeal these provisions. Van Roekel said the NEA has gathered more than 20,000 signatures from members urging Congress to take action. More than 300 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have cosponsored the House version of the legislation and more than 30 have cosponsored the Senate version.

"This is an issue of fairness, justice and respect," Van Roekel said. "Do we respect our children enough to want to provide the very best educators for them? Or do we want to keep discouraging dedicated and committed individuals from considering education professions?”

The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.

Source: NEA

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