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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2002

News Release

Educators Call on Congress to Respect Public Service

More than 140 NEA Members Descend on Capitol Hill for Lobby Day

Washington, D.C. -- Educators from across the country descend on Capitol Hill today, urging Congress to repeal laws that reduce the Social Security benefits of public employees.

The two laws, entitled the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), affect public employees who receive a public pension from states that opted out of the social security system for their employees.

The GPO reduces the amount of Social Security spousal benefit a public employee can receive. So, a teacher who worked her whole career in public service while her spouse worked at a private company and paid Social Security is only eligible for a small percentage of the Social Security benefit her spouse earned after he dies. Nine out of 10 public employees affected by the GPO lose their entire spousal benefit, even though their deceased spouse paid Social Security taxes for many years.

The WEP changes the formula used to figure benefit amounts - reducing an individual's own Social Security benefits earned while working in a job covered by Social Security. For instance, a teacher who spends summers working at a paint store isn't allowed to receive the full Social Security benefit he or she paid into the Social Security system. The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) causes low-paid public employees outside the Social Security system to lose up to 60 percent of their Social Security benefits.

"We should be rewarding - not punishing - those who choose a life of public service," said NEA President Bob Chase. "We need to repeal these laws to protect the rights of our government employees."

Educators are asking members of Congress to support passage of H.R. 2638 and S. 1523, which would eliminate both the GPO and the WEP. There are 126 Representatives and 6 Senators from both parties who have cosigned the bills.

The impact of the GPO and WEP is primarily felt in those states in which public employees like educators are not covered by Social Security (Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas). However, because people move from state to state, there are affected individuals everywhere.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.