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TESTING
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Why
is my teacher CACTUS code on the test sheet?
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Is
the District requiring proctors?
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What
is the deal with the ethics booklet and signing of
letters?
SOCIAL SECURITY OFFSETS
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What is the
Government Pension Offset (GPO)?
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Whom does the GPO
affect?
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Whom does the WEP
affect?
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How
does the GPO work?
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How does the WEP
work?
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What are the
exceptions to the GPO?
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What are the
exceptions to WEP?
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Do the offsets apply
if one retires from non-SS-covered employment,
draws the government pension, and then works in
SS-covered employment?
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Do the offsets apply
if a government pension from non-SS-covered
employment is taken as a lump sum?
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Does the WEP apply if
one moves from non-SS-covered employment to
SS-covered employment?
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Does the WEP affect
the Social Security survivor benefit to which a
spouse and minor children are entitled if a wage
earner dies?
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Do the offsets impact
Medicare?
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Why did Congress
enact the GPO?
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Why is the GPO an
unfair policy?
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Why did Congress
enact the WEP?
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Why is the WEP an
unfair policy?
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Why
do the offsets only affect educators in 15 states?
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Why
should educators in other states care?
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What can be done to
address the offsets?
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Would
repeal of the offsets threaten existing retirement
systems?
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What are the
arguments on the other side?
Why is my teacher CACTUS code on the test sheet?
To get the results back to
the teacher as soon as possible. Previously, in the
elementary schools, the school created a
code and then if the code was forgotten or lost it
was sometimes difficult to get the results back to
the correct teacher. In a secondary school, the
course number and section number where for the
previous year and sometimes that information was not
readily available.
Is
the District requiring proctors?
No. In some schools, especially with on-line
testing, aides and other personnel are being
assigned to assist with the testing process. The
classroom teacher needs to be present, especially in
light of the signing of letters about your
accountability.
What is the deal with the ethics booklet and signing
of letters?
This is a state-wide
requirement. The State Office of Education wants
everyone to be aware of the serious nature of
testing regulations. We haven’t had a lot of issue
in Granite but we want to keep it that way. You can
lose your job and your license if you violate
testing protocols. What may seem innocent to you
might appear very problematic to someone else.
For example, you might see
a student who is bubbling one line off of the
questions and want to correct him. If you did that
and somebody happened to see you they could easily
accuse you off inappropriately helping the student.
You would want to have another adult watch you do
that and be your witness. (This is from an actual
incident)
I.
GENERAL IMPACT
What
is the Government Pension Offset (GPO)?
The
GPO reduces a Social Security survivor or dependent
benefit. A dependent benefit is paid to the spouse
and minor children of a retired or disabled worker.
A survivor benefit is paid to the spouse and minor
children of a Social Security-eligible worker who
has died.
What is the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)?
The
WEP reduces the Social Security benefit for retired
and disabled workers receiving pensions from
non-SS-covered employment.
Whom
does the GPO affect?
The
GPO affects persons who:
1.
Work(ed) for a
state or local government in non-SS-covered
employment;
2.
Are entitled to
a government pension from that employment. (The
Social Security Administration (SSA) deems you to be
"entitled to a pension" when you file an application
for the pension and a benefit is payable); and
3.
Are entitled to
a Social Security survivor/dependent benefit.
Whom
does the WEP affect?
The
WEP affects persons who:
1.
Work(ed) for a
state or local government in non-SS-covered
employment;
2.
Are entitled to
a government pension from that employment; and
3.
Are also
entitled to a Social Security retirement or
disability benefit from SS-covered work.
How does the GPO
work?
The
GPO reduces Social Security survivor/dependent
benefits by two-thirds of the person’s public
pension. It can cause a total loss of Social
Security benefits.
How
does the WEP work?
The
WEP reduces the factor by which average earnings are
multiplied to determine Social Security benefits.
The amount of reduction depends on when the person
retires and how many years of earnings he or she has
accumulated. The reduction may be no more than
one-half of the government pension to which the
person is entitled in the initial month of
entitlement to the pension. For 2004, the maximum
reduction is $303 a month.
II.
AVOIDING THE OFFSETS
What are the exceptions to the GPO?
The
GPO does not apply for persons who:
·
Work the last five years of a state or local
government job in a position covered both by Social
Security and the same government pension as the
non-SS-covered position;
·
Receive a government pension from state or local
government employment that is not based on their own
earnings (Such as a survivor's annuity from a
deceased spouse)
·
Were eligible for a dependent/survivor benefit
before December 1, 1977;
·
Were eligible to receive a government pension from
non-SS-covered employment before December 1, 1982,
and met the requirements for a dependent/survivor
benefit in effect in January 1977; or
·
Receive a government pension from
non-SS-covered military reserve service.
What are
the exceptions to WEP?
The WEP does not apply for persons who:
·
Have 30 or more years of coverage under Social
Security. Those with 21 to 29 years of
coverage are eligible for a partial exemption; or
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Have a government pension from non-SS-covered
military reserve service.
Do the offsets apply if one retires from
non-SS-covered employment, draws the government
pension, and then works in SS-covered employment?
Yes. The trigger is receipt of the pension from
non-SS-covered employment.
Do the offsets apply if a government pension from
non-SS-covered employment is taken as a lump sum?
Yes. For purposes of the GPO, SSA will determine
how much the government pension would be if paid
monthly and then reduce the monthly
survivor/dependent benefit accordingly. For
purposes of the WEP, the pension-paying agency will
usually prorate the lump sum to determine a monthly
amount. If it does not, SSA has a method for
determining the amount.
Does the WEP apply if
one moves from non-SS-covered employment to
SS-covered employment?
Yes, unless one forfeits the right to the government
pension from the non-SS-covered employment (by
withdrawing contributions and interest before
becoming eligible to receive such a pension.) The
trigger is whether the person is eligible for the
pension from the non-SS-covered work.
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III.
IMPACT ON OTHER BENEFITS
Does the WEP affect the Social Security survivor
benefit to which a spouse and minor children are
entitled if a wage earner dies?
No.
If an individual subject to the WEP dies and has
one or more survivors entitled to a benefit, the SSA
recomputes the amount in a manner that eliminates
the WEP and results in a higher benefit.
Do
the offsets impact Medicare?
No. Those affected by the offsets are still
eligible for Medicare.
IV. POLICY QUESTIONS
Why
did Congress enact the GPO?
In
1977, Congress revisited the Social Security Act and
looked at many issues, including the dual
entitlement rule, which forbids an individual from
receiving both a Social Security benefit from
his/her own work and a Social Security
dependent/survivor benefit. Congress decided that
someone with both a government pension and a
survivor/dependent benefit violates the dual
entitlement rule. It reached that conclusion by
equating the government pension with a Social
Security retirement benefit. Congress could have
just as easily determined that the government
pension is analogous to a pension from a private
sector employment or SS-covered work for a state or
local government, in which case, no dual entitlement
would arise. It chose not to do so, however.
Why
is the GPO an unfair policy?
When it enacted the GPO, Congress forgot that the
original purpose of the dependent/survivor benefit
was to provide additional income to help a
financially dependent husband or wife once the
breadwinner retires, is disabled, or dies. By
reducing the dependent/survivor benefit, the GPO
harms the financially dependent spouse. Those most
likely affected by the GPO are women who spend most
of their lives raising their families and who work
outside the home for only a short period of time.
The GPO has a harsh effect and undermines the
original purpose of the Social Security
dependent/survivor benefit.
Why
did Congress enact the WEP?
SSA uses a formula for
computing Social Security benefits that provides
individuals with low average lifetime wages a
proportionally higher rate of return on their
contributions to Social Security than individuals
with relatively high average lifetime wages. Those
who have spent most of their careers in
non-SS-covered employment with a state or local
government and a minimal amount of time in
SS-covered employment will appear to SSA as
lower-paid workers. Congress enacted the WEP in the
belief that one should not receive a Social Security
benefit as a low-paid worker, plus receive a
government pension from non-SS-covered employment.
Why
is the WEP an unfair policy?
The
WEP causes public employees outside the Social
Security system, such as educators, to lose a
significant share of their Social Security benefit.
It fails to account for the severe effect of the
WEP on low-wage state or local government
employees. The WEP also affects the teaching
profession as a whole. Some individuals in
SS-covered employment may wish to make a career
change and go into teaching. If the teachers in
their state are not covered by Social Security,
those individuals will be less likely to make the
change.
Why
do the offsets only affect educators in 15 states?
In
the 1960’s, state and local employees were given the
opportunity to elect to participate in the Social
Security system. Public sector employees in 36
states opted to enroll in Social Security in the
1960s and 1970s. The remaining states (or local
governments in some states) chose instead to
maintain and enhance their existing retirement
systems. Since public employees in these states
don’t pay into Social Security, they are affected by
the offsets.
Why
should educators in other states care?
Although the offsets only affect educators who have
worked in one of the impacted states, the mobile
population assures that there are impacted
individuals everywhere. The offsets limit choices
for educators who might be unable or unwilling to
relocate to an impacted state. Most importantly,
the offsets represent unfair public policy that is
harming education colleagues and the entire
profession.
What
can be done to address the offsets?
Addressing the offsets requires congressional
action. NEA seeks total repeal of both the GPO and
WEP and supports several pieces of legislation to
this end:
The Social Security
Fairness Act,
introduced by Representatives McKeon (R-CA) and
Berman (D-CA) and Senators Collins (R-ME) and
Feinstein (D-CA), would completely repeal the GPO
and WEP. The cost of full repeal was estimated at
$61 billion over ten years in 2004.
Would
repeal of the offsets threaten existing retirement
systems?
NEA
strongly opposes any proposal to mandate Social
Security coverage for currently non-covered
employees. It is possible that Congress could
consider both repeal of the offsets and other Social
Security reform issues, including mandatory coverage
or privatization, at the same time.
What are the
arguments on the other side?
Some of those who
oppose repeal of the GPO and WEP cite cost as a
factor. Others believe that allowing a person to
receive both a full government pension and Social
Security survivor/dependent or earned benefits would
constitute “double dipping.” NEA believes such a
scenario should be treated no differently than
receipt of a private pension and Social Security
benefit. NEA also believes that “double dipping” is
not an appropriate characterization when an
individual has worked two jobs and earned two
benefits.
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