What Windfall?

Little-known Social Security provisions slash pension checks.

Photo by Paul Zoeller

Odessa, Texas, teacher John Duncan, who turns 70 in December, got a letter recently from the Social Security Administration. Just when, the feds wondered, did he plan to retire?

Duncan had to chuckle at the letter—but it was a bittersweet laugh. That’s because Duncan is one of hundreds of thousands of teachers and ESPs snared by one of two obscure laws that severely cuts the Social Security benefits of deserving public employees.

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)—which penalizes individuals who earn some income in jobs covered by Social Security, but who retire and draw a pension check from a system not covered by Social Security—will take a major bite out of Duncan’s benefit when he finally decides to call it quits.
Duncan worked in the oil industry in Texas for 20 years, paying into Social Security all the while, before taking a job teaching near his home in Odessa. Depending on when he retires, the WEP will reduce his Social Security benefit by as much as $300 a month.

“I paid into Social Security, so I don’t look at it as double-dipping, which is what some politicians call it,” Duncan says. “I just assumed all along that I would have that money, and, all of a sudden, I find out the money’s not there.”

The WEP, along with the Government Pension Offsets (GPO), penalize employees who retire with a public pension but who also qualify for some Social Security benefits. Most worked in 15 so-called “non-Social Security” states.

The WEP doesn’t just affect people like Duncan who come from the private-sector, either. It routinely slams teachers and ESPs who go from a district or state that participates in Social Security to one that doesn’t.

Georgia retiree Cheryl Sarvis found that out the hard way. Sarvis taught for 16 years in the Thomas County school district (which is covered by Social Security) before spending the last 12 years of her career in the Atlanta public schools (which isn’t). Had Sarvis worked in Atlanta first, then retired from Thomas County, she’d be eligible for a Social Security benefit of $800 a month. Instead, as she learned on the brink of retiring, she’ll lose nearly half of that amount.

“No one who depends on their Social Security and teacher retirement lives a lavish lifestyle,” says Sarvis. “What we get is not a windfall.”
NEA supports bills in both houses of Congress to fully repeal the GPO and WEP, says NEA’s Randy Moody. But congressional leaders have blocked action on those bills. In the meantime, NEA is backing the Public Servant Retirement Protection Act (PSRPA) that would change the formula by which the WEP is calculated and result in increased payments for many NEA members affected by the WEP. The new bill includes language to ensure that those affected by the WEP would earn the higher of either the benefit they would get under the current system or their benefit as calculated by the new formula. “It’s a first step,” Moody emphasizes.

Intense lobbying by NEA activists helped to win the PSRPA a hearing before a House subcommittee in July, and subcommittee chair Clay Shaw says he’ll move the bill forward as quickly as possible.

Time is running out on this session of Congress, though. Help overturn these unfair Social Security provisions by taking the time to:

Learn more about the offsets. Go to www.nea.org/lac/socsec and you’ll find a wealth of information about the WEP and GPO—and how they may affect your benefits.

Contact your member of Congress. Let ‘em know that you expect full repeal of the Social Security offsets, and that you support passage of the PSRPA as a first step. You can send messages directly from www.nea.org/lac/socsec.

—John O’Neil