[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15360]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     ELIMINATION OF THE WEP AND GPO

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today I have asked Senator Feinstein to add 
me as a cosponsor to her bill, S. 1523, which would amend the Social 
Security Act to permanently repeal the Government Pension Offset and 
the Windfall Elimination Provision. I am pleased to support my 
colleague Senator Kennedy and others in their support of this bill.
  Massachusetts is one of 15 states in which the Government Pension 
Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision hits employees and 
retirees particularly hard, because it is one of the few remaining 
states where many state employees, such as teachers, do not pay into 
the Federal Social security system. Rather, they pay into a state 
pension fund. For many workers, the formulas in the law that reduce 
Social Security benefits for these workers can have troubling and 
unintended consequences.
  Listen to the testimonial of one educator from my state. This 
constituent writes:

       I served 13 years in the military and am a wartime veteran. 
     I did not receive a military pension; however, I did pay into 
     Social Security. I am shocked to learn that I may receive 
     virtually nothing from Social Security. My teaching pension 
     in Massachusetts will be small if I retire at 60 with only 22 
     years of teaching service. I had previously thought that 
     Social Security would help to make up for the smaller 
     teaching pension. I feel that the Federal government is 
     unfairly penalizing those who have embarked on second careers 
     as teachers. They have created a disincentive that will work 
     against filling projected teaching shortages. I feel 
     especially cheated as I did sacrifice much during my military 
     career. It is obvious that I would be much better off 
     financially had I not served at all. I hope this is not the 
     message that the government wants to send.

  The government pension offset has a significant impact on the 
benefits of many retired public employees just like this one. For 
example, a disabled former school employee and widow who retired in 
1986 receives $403 a month from her school pension. That income results 
in the elimination of a $216 monthly Social Security survivor's 
benefit, to which she would otherwise be entitled. As a result, her 
total income is about 70 percent of the Federal poverty level. Another 
constituent, a retired widow who worked as a school cook, receives $233 
a month from her school pension. Her Social Security widow's benefit is 
reduced by $155 because of the automatic offset. Her combined total 
income is about 76 percent of the Federal poverty level.
  It is clear that the GPO and WEP, complex though they are, are 
causing pain and confusion. They also negatively impact teacher 
recruitment efforts, at a time where we sorely need teachers, yet the 
potential reduction in Social Security benefits makes it unlikely that 
people will turn to teaching for a few years at the tail end of their 
careers. Consider the irony: Individuals who have worked in other 
careers are less likely to want to become teachers if doing so will 
mean a loss of Social Security benefits they have earned, and yet our 
State and Federal policies are aimed at recruiting just those 
individuals to teaching as a second career. Retired teachers are also 
reluctant to return to teaching to help fill urgent needs because of 
the impact of the GPO and WEP. Finally, there is a fear that current 
teachers are likely to leave the profession to reduce the penalty they 
will incur upon retirement.
  The reforms that led to the GPO and WEP are almost 20 years old, 
nearly a generation. They were passed before many of us were members of 
this body. Now that were are witnessing some of the impacts these 20-
year old decisions are having on people's lives, we understandably want 
to help our constituents, and I support that effort. However, while I 
support the repeal of the GPO and WEP, I know that if we continue to 
address Social Security issues on a piecemeal basis, even expanding 
benefits as certain social needs dictate, without fixing the program's 
underlying imbalances and demographic challenges, we will make real 
reform more difficult when the time finally comes.
  However, for the reasons outlined above, and the effect the 
provisions are having on my constituents, I believe it is essential 
that the GPO and WEP be repealed, preferably as part of an overall 
reform to Social Security, but by themselves if need be. My State, and 
others affected by the GPO and WEP, cannot afford to provide 
disincentives to be teachers or other public servants at this critical 
time.

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