[blind-democracy] Re: The fight against the Windfall Provision goes on

From: "Charles Krugman" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "ckrugman" for DMARC)
To: <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2016 06:53:29 -0700

hopefully this will be addressed. I have many friends who are retired state
employees or teachers in California and they do not pay in to Social Security
or there benefits are offset by what they get through the their respective
public employees or teachers pensions. I have one friend who had to retire
early from the state of California and there are issues with her pension
benefits and insurance. Because she was not covered by Social Security
Disability she is not entitled to Medicare had been eligible for SSDI benefits.
Chuck

From: Frank Ventura
Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2016 2:07 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] The fight against the Windfall Provision goes on

From:

http://www.massretirees.com/article/issues/social-security/social-security-wep-hearing-called-success

As most of you know back in the Reagan/Bush era the Social Security laws were
modified via the Windfall Elimination Provision. That allows states to force
state employees to sign away their rights to collect social security. Today 6
states (including Massachusetts) prevent state employees from collecting social
security. There is a bill in the house, HR711 that would repeal the WEP
language which has been there for decades, and require that social security
payments be calculated equally for everyone, including state employees. This is
especially important for state employees that are not allowed to participate in
pension or retirement plans due to union concession over the past few years.
Her is an article about some efforts to support this bill:

Social Security WEP Hearing Called a Success
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1

Brady/Neal Credit Mass Retirees For Advocacy

MARCH 25, 2016: On Tuesday of this week the House Subcommittee on Social
Security held a special hearing on H.R. 711: Equal Treatment of Public Servants
Act.

Association President Frank Valeri and Legislative Director Shawn Duhamel were
present at the hearing and also met with key Congressional leaders from both
parties, as well as Ways and Means Committee staff.

As members are aware, H.R. 711 would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision
(WEP), replacing it with a new Social Security formula for all American
workers. The new formula would be equally applied to all public and private
sector retirees, ensuring equal treatment based on the retirement credit earned
under Social Security.

Future retirees would retire under the new formula, while those current
retirees already impacted by the WEP would have their Social Security benefit
adjusted. Under the current version of H.R. 711, the adjustment would restore
up to 1/3rd of the lost benefit, amounting to an average increase of roughly
$77 to $125 per month. Discussions are now underway with the hope of further
increasing the adjustment beyond original estimates.

H.R. 711 is sponsored by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX)
and Congressman Richard Neal (D-MA). Neal is a senior Democrat member of Ways
and Means.

Both Brady and Neal offered public testimony at the outset of the hearing,
calling the proposal a fair and equitable solution to a long-standing problem.
Both publically thanked Mass Retirees for our work on this issue, as well as
helping to lead the national coalition largely responsible for the creation of
H.R. 711.

The Association’s good friend and close alley Tim Lee testified on behalf of
coalition members. Lee is the executive director of the 80,000-member Texas
Retired Teachers Association. He is also a close supporter of Brady, as well as
Social Security Chairman Sam Johnson (R-TX).

“Being from Texas, Tim was the perfect witness to appear before the Committee.
He did a great job on behalf of our members, as well as all 1.6 million
retirees currently impacted by the WEP,” says Duhamel. “His testimony was very
well received by the Committee members. There appears to be a growing
bipartisan consensus in the US House that the WEP needs to be reformed.”

In addition to Lee, the Committee heard testimony from the Social Security
Administration, an economist from George Mason University and the President of
the AARP. Each supports H.R. 711 and explained why they beleive it offers a
fair and workable solution for current and future retirees.

In addition, the issue of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) was also
discussed at length. While a general consensus does exist that the GPO is also
in need of reform, a firm proposal remains elusive at this time.

“The GPO was very much on everyone’s mind at the hearing. One problem we have
is determining who might be impacted by a reform of the GPO and what the cost
might be. From what we understand, reforming the GPO is more costly than the
WEP,” explains Valeri. “That said, we made it crystal clear that both the WEP
and GPO are greatly important to us. And it is critical that we find a way to
provide relief to those spouses most harmed. That relief might have to come in
a separate bill, following H.R. 711, but we are confident that it will come.”

Now that H.R. 711 has had a full hearing, the next step for the Committee is to
fine tune the language of the bill based on the information they have received
from various sources. Association and coalition officials hope the bill can be
brought to a vote before the US House of Representatives prior to the summer
Congressional recess.

Further information on the hearing, as well as copies of written testimony and
a video link to watch a recording of the hearing can be found here.

Posted: Mar 25, 2016Tags:

·         Social Security

·         Breaking News

Since 1968 the Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association has
been the leading voice for Massachusetts public retirees and their families.
Join with our 62,000 members as we continue the fight.

The Voice: January 2016

WEP/GPO Explained

References:
- [blind-democracy] The fight against the Windfall Provision goes on
  - From: Frank Ventura

[blind-democracy] Re: The fight against the Windfall Provision goes on

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