Sample Letters to the Editor

To the editor:

Our community is proud of our strong work ethic. We believe in rewarding and supporting hard work and citizens who make contributions to our society. That's why our congressional delegation simply must support legislation to repeal the unfair Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), which cut the retirement benefits of public employees who have dedicated their lives to serving their communities and their country.

More than 200 members of Congress have agreed to cosponsor bipartisan legislation (H.R. 82/S. 206) called the Social Security Fairness Act that would repeal GPO-WEP, but the bill has been stuck in committee for years.

Too much is at stake to ignore this common sense legislation any longer. [Insert your personal story about the impact of the GPO and/or WEP on you, your colleagues, your friends, your school, and your community.]

Join me in urging our representatives in Washington, D.C. to support passage of the Social Security Fairness Act.

To the editor:

Between retirements of veteran certified teachers and low numbers of college graduates entering the teaching profession, there is a nationwide shortage of certified teachers. Some reasons are obvious: low salaries compared to the private sector, diminished respect for educators by lawmakers and students, and increasing pressures of paperwork and standardized testing.

But one is not obvious. In our state, teachers who spend a career in the classroom and earn a public pension stand to lose substantial Social Security benefits that they or their spouse earned because of federal laws called the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). These laws were enacted in the late 1970s, and teachers retiring now are discovering their impacts.

More than 200 members of Congress have agreed to cosponsor bipartisan legislation (H.R. 82/S. 206) called the Social Security Fairness Act that would repeal GPO-WEP, but the bill has been stuck in committee for years.

If we want to ensure that our children have qualified, certified teachers in their classrooms, we can begin by telling prospective teachers that their retirement benefits will be there for them, as promised. Congress has a practical obligation to help alleviate our national teacher shortage, and a moral obligation to repeal laws that hurt retirees.

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