Missouri National Education Association

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Good News and What's Next

Counselor positions are exempt from social security withholdings
Commissioner hosts PSRS/SS Issue Meeting; Missouri NEA is at the table

Updates
	Missouri NEA fights negative Social Security change for select PSRS members Dec. 17 - Missouri delegation meets with IRS and Social Security Jan. 6 - Extension granted on PSRS Social Security issue Feb. 6 - Answers to the Social Security/PSRS dilemma are coming soon April 28 - PSRS Social Security issue is resolved for thousands
Information Bank
Documents, definitions, FAQS, explanations
	Explanation of terms and processes Original 218 agreement (1951) Modification agreement Modification agreement for category 1 List of school districts by category type Memo to category 1 districts Memo to category 2 districts Memo to category 3 districts Districts which may not be affected Process for evaluating a position for social security exemption IRS Federal-State Reference Guide to SSA Video explanation from PSRS PSRS FAQ Calculating a retirement benefit based on a 2/3 contribution (PSRS) Missouri NEA Q&A
Letters and resolutions
	Extension granted on PSRS Social Security issue - Jan. 6 Missouri congressional delegation letter to SSA and IRS - Dec. 17 Missouri congressional delegation letter to SSA and IRS - Nov. 17 Open letter from SSA SSA charges that incorrect information has been released by PSRS, MASA and MSTA Cooperative letter to elected officials urging them to contact SSA and ask for continued exemption from social security Education Roundtable Resolution
Miscellaneous & Web site links
	Associated Press Story - Decision may threaten Mo. school workers' benefits Missouri Office of Administration Public School Retirement System

Nov. 19, 2008

Good News
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has determined that the counselor position is exempt from Social Security. This determination was made based on documentation from 1948 that supports the requirement for a counselor to hold a teaching certificate. At this time, other similar positions including, but not limited to, school psychological examiners, school psychologists, adult education supervisors, career education counselors, career education placement coordinators, and speech-language pathologists are still under scrutiny and are not considered exempt. Additional applications for clarification will need to be filed with SSA before they will consider exemption for the other categories listed above.

What's Next
As promised, on November 18, Missouri NEA met with several other education groups, PSRS, DESE Staff, and Thomas Sadowski, the Missouri Office of Administration Director. Sadowski is charged with handling the PSRS/SS issue. Sadowski's powerpoint from the meeting is available at http://oa.mo.gov/acct/ssa.htm. Commissioner King hosted this meeting to make sure everyone shared common definitions and had accurate information about the procedures being used by the SSA to determine exemptions. King also pointed out that DESE was instrumental in providing the resources to help with documentation and the research required by the SSA to exempt counselors.

Sadowski reported that he is creating a matrix that can be used to seek clarification from the SSA regarding the many categories of employees that could be impacted. Missouri NEA volunteered to work to help establish an appeal process to be used when SSA makes a determination we do not agree with. However, Missouri NEA will continue to seek solutions that does not require forms or clarification decisions for the nearly 500 categories of personnel positions in the 517 school districts impacted. All of the steps in the process outlined by the SSA takes time. Therefore, extending implementation beyond July 1, 2009 will continue to be Missouri NEA's short term priority.

The Missouri Congressional delegation has requested a meeting with the US Commissioner of Social Security to seek a delay and long term solution. Since this is a federal issue, Missouri NEA has spent time with federal staff helping them understand the problem and potential solutions.

Reversing this misguided SSA/IRS decision remains Missouri NEA's long term priority. To accomplish this we held a second meeting on Nov. 18, with other associations to divide responsibilities for the political and procedural strategies necessary to find a solution that will continue to exempt the effected PSRS members from social security. Stay tuned. Missouri NEA is at work for you.