Some Public Employees Face Social Insecurity

By Tracy Sutton Schorn

Cynthia Stubblefield, 60, of Mansfield, worked at J.C. Penney for 27 years, paying into Social Security. A recent statement from the agency said she stood to receive about $1,200 a month if she retired in two years.

But when she called Social Security and said she had been a teacher’s aide in Arlington for the last 13 years, they recalculated her benefit to be hundreds of dollars less a month.

“I was so upset and crying,” said Stubblefield, who eventually would qualify for a pension from the Texas system at about $500 a month if she worked long enough.

She is one of 1.5 million public employees nationwide, including teachers, firefighters and police, who face a big reduction in benefits because they worked jobs in which they and their employers did not pay into Social Security.

The Windfall Elimination Provision, commonly known as WEP, was adopted in 1983 to eliminate any “windfall” for people who got benefits from Social Security-covered work and a pension from a job not covered by the federal system. But it adjusts benefits with a formula that effectively penalizes them for having multiple careers.

Texas is one of 15 states in which teachers face lower benefits because the school systems, like other public agencies, are not required to pay into Social Security. The primary retirement savings option for teachers is the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

Link Ermis, 54, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel, served 23 years in the military, paying into Social Security. Through a “troops to teachers” program, he became a middle school history teacher in Huntsville nine years ago. He said that when he signed his contract he was unaware of the “windfall” provision and its impact.

The Teacher Retirement System told him recently that “if I took their retirement, I would forfeit all my Social Security. Social Security told me that I would’ve earned more if I had retired straight from the military,” Ermis said.

Tim Lee, executive director of the Texas Retired Teachers Association, said the Social Security provision is unfair. Retired teachers are the largest group of Texans affected, and 95 percent of school districts in the state do not pay into Social Security.

“People should receive what they paid in, regardless of their work history,” Lee said.

Plan in Congress
Some members of Congress from Texas and elsewhere are working to change the way public employees get Social Security benefits.

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands), who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) have sponsored a bill that would calculate a worker’s benefit using total lifetime earnings and adjust the benefit to reflect the actual payroll contributions to Social Security. Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Plano), who chairs the Social Security subcommittee, also backs the bill.

“It’s unfair that those who have sacrificed to protect our families, safeguard our homes and educate our children will have their Social Security benefits arbitrarily reduced when they retire,” Brady said. The bill “will make sure our first responders and teachers are treated like everyone else.”

The Obama administration backs a change similar to Brady’s bill. Stephen Goss, Social Security’s chief actuary, said the change would “ultimately result in a more consistent and logical adjustment to the primary benefit amounts for workers” with multiple careers.

AARP supports the proposal. The bill is in line with AARP’s history as an organization that was begun to reform teachers’ retirement.

“Texas’ clout in Congress is strong, so it’s heartening to see key members of our congressional delegation fight to make the Social Security system fairer,” said Bob Jackson, state director of AARP Texas.

After 43 years of work history, Stubblefield asked the Social Security case administrator where the rest of her earnings would go if her benefit is reduced.

“She told me it goes back into the system,” Stubblefield said. “That just seems unreal.”

Tracy Sutton Schorn is a writer from Texas living in Washington, D.C.