Time To Repeal GPO and WEP

Can educators count on receiving the Social Security benefits they earned? The answer may depend on whether Congress passes NEA-supported legislation to repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).

Background

In enacting the GPO, Congress forgot that the original purpose of the dependent/survivor benefit was to help a husband or wife who depends financially on his/her breadwinner spouse. The benefit provides additional income to help the financially dependent husband or wife once the breadwinner retires or is disabled (in which case the dependent benefit applies) or once the breadwinner dies (in which case the survivor benefit applies).

The GPO turns the policy underlying the dependent/survivor benefit on its head. It reduces the dependent/survivor benefit and harms the financially dependent spouse--very often women who spend most of their lives raising their families and who work outside the home for only a short period of time. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the GPO reduces benefits of 300,000 people by more than $3,600 per year.

The WEP causes public employees outside the Social Security system, such as educators, to lose a significant share of their Social Security benefit. The WEP severely affects low-wage state and local government employees, and it also affects the teaching profession as a whole. For example, some individuals in Social Security-covered employment may wish to make a career change and go into teaching. But if the teachers in their state are not covered by Social Security, those individuals will be less likely to make the change once they realize that they will lose a portion of their Social Security benefit.

The GPO and WEP affect at least one-third of America's educators, primarily in 15 "non-Social Security" states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas. (Note: In Georgia, Kentucky, and Rhode Island, some local governments participate in Social Security while others do not.)

Congressional Update

Since Representative Shaw (R-FL), Chair of the Social Security Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, held a hearing on GPO and WEP May 1, the number of bipartisan co sponsors of the House bill (H.R. 594) has risen to 269. That's a majority of House members. It is now up to Chairman Shaw to move the bill forward for a subcommittee "mark-up."

On the Senate side, Susan Collins (R-ME), Chair of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, held the Senate's first hearing on GPO/WEP reform on September 24. Afterward, Collins urged the Senate Committee on Finance to act on the issue this year. The Senate bill seeking repeal (S. 349), which is championed by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Collins, has 25 bipartisan co-sponsors.

To demonstrate NEA's resolve to repeal the unfair Social Security offset laws, the Association held a National GPO-WEP Lobby Day on Capitol Hill October 1 with more than 150 activists urging Congress to repeal the two provisions. NEA also coordinated more than 6,000 calls and many e-mails to Congress that same day with a clear message: "Respect public service, repeal Social Security offsets."

--Al Campos
NEA Government Relations

What You Can Do

Contact Your Members of Congress
More co-sponsors are needed on both the House and Senate bills to repeal the GPO and WEP. Contact your Senators and Representatives and urge them to co-sponsor S. 349 and H.R. 594. Thank those members of Congress who are already co-sponsors and ask them to urge congressional leaders to move the bills toward passage.

Write or Call
Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or call your local radio talk show to explain the importance of the issue and what must be done about it.

Stay Informed
To follow developments on H.R. 594 and S. 349, go to NEA's Legislative Action Center at www.nea.org/lac/socsec. You can gather background information, see current lists of co-sponsors, find sample letters to Congress and the media, and even contact your Senators or Representative directly.