 Missouri
Teachers
Missing Benefits of Social Security
Bob devoted his life to teaching. After 35 years in the classroom
in both Oklahoma and Missouri and summers and weekends in the construction
and insurance industries to supplement his modest teaching salary,
he was ready to retire.
He thought he was entitled to a monthly Social Security benefit
of $980. But when he retired, he was shocked to learn that he would
receive only $397 a month. Little did Bob realize that his move
to Missouri cost him the majority of his expected Social Security
benefit.
How can this be? Bob learned the hard way about a little known
Social Security measure that limits benefits for hundreds of thousands
of public workers who draw pensions from more than one source.
Teachers and other public workers around the country supplement
their income in jobs from running summer camps to selling real estate.
They also pay taxes and contribute to Social Security at these weekend
jobs.
But under the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP),
not all public workers, including many in Missouri, get back from
Social Security what they paid in.
It gets worse for Bob and others. Another Social Security peculiarity,
the Government Pension Offset (GPO) limits the amount of survivor
benefits some public workers can receive from Social Security. Bob’s
wife worked and earned full Social Security benefits. If Bob had
never worked at all and never paid anything into Social Security,
he would be eligible to receive 100 percent of the survivor benefit
should his wife die before he does. But because of the GPO, he will
get zero.
Who can blame talented teachers and other public servants who decide
to go somewhere else or pursue other fields because of these penalties?
Employees in the private sector who supplement their income are
in no danger of having their Social Security benefits reduced. Why
should our teachers and other public employees be singled out?
The WEP and GPO provisions hurt public workers in Missouri because
most teachers in Missouri -- and some other public servants -- are
not part of the Social Security system. Instead, teachers pay into
the Missouri Public School Retirement System.
Missouri’s dilemma traces back to its decision to pay into
its own retirement system for teachers rather than participating
in Social Security when the system was first established. In addition
to Missouri, 12 other states opted out of Social Security for some
of its public workers, including teachers. These states include:
Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana,
Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island and Texas.
The WEP and GPO may sound like alphabet soup to most Missourians.
But these acronyms cause teacher retirees to lose many thousands
of dollars each year—money that can make the difference between
self-sufficiency and poverty. These retirees have less money to
spend in their local economies and sometimes have to turn to expensive
government programs like food stamps to make ends meet.
The WEP and GPO were enacted into law in the 1970s and 80s. Could
the members of Congress who voted for these provisions have foreseen
the effects on thousands of teachers like Bob? Or the impact on
education for generations of Missouri students?
It’s time for Missouri and other states to improve its record
on providing retiring public servants the hard-earned benefits they
deserve.
Congress is currently considering a measure that would repeal the
GPO and WEP restrictions for Social Security benefits to public
workers in pension plans affected by the provision. It’s a
measure long overdue.
Missouri’s system of penalizing teachers and others for service
is costing hard working former public servants thousands of dollars
in Social Security benefits that they would be entitled to in most
other states. It is also costing Missouri quality public servants
who decide to move into the private sector or move to another state.
Bob and other public servants worked hard to stay in education
and provide for their families. It’s time we stopped penalizing
them for choosing to dedicate their careers to Missouri children.
by Greg Jung
Missouri NEA President
Other Reflections
Reflecting on our work
Every child deserves a great school
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