Association Calls For Relief From Social Security Law
SEPTEMBER 2000 -
Marking a milestone, the first-ever Congressional hearing was held, which
focused exclusively on Social Security's Government Pension Offset (GPO).
In late June, the House Subcommittee on Social Security heard and received
testimony from various groups and organizations, including our
Association, on the controversial issue.
As a simple reminder to our readers, the GPO only affects a certain group of public retirees seeking Social Security spousal benefits. Generally a Mass public retiree, who did not become eligible for their pension until after June 1983, will find that the SS benefits, for which they apply as a spouse of a SS recipient, are reduced, dollar for dollar, by two-thirds of their public pension.
"Over 2 1/2 years ago, we joined the Coalition to Assure Retirement Equity (CARE) because we felt strongly that members, particularly widows who are devastated financially by this law, deserve help," comments Legislative Chairman Bill Hill. "First, through CARE's efforts, well over a majority of congressmen signed onto H.R. 1217, the principal bill offering relief from the GPO.
"Now the Social Security Subcommittee and its chairman, Rep. Clay Shaw (R - Ft. Lauderdale, FL) have taken notice of the growing interest in GPO relief. H.R. 1217 represents an important first step by guaranteeing that an affected individual would receive at least $1,200 before any reduction in their spousal Social Security."
Coordinated Testimony With Rep. Delahunt
Upon receiving word of the Congressional hearing, our Association immediately shot into action, preparing its statement to be presented before the Social Security Subcommittee. We not only coordinated our testimony with CARE but also worked closely with Rep. Bill Delahunt's office on our presentation, allowing him to attach our testimony to his statement.
"Like the other Mass congressmen, Rep. Delahunt has been at the forefront on this issue," reports Hill. "As can be the case in Washington, the subcommittee provided little advance notice of the hearing; nevertheless, we got our statement to the congressman and he took it from there - getting both statements in before the deadline."
Seizing the opportunity afforded by the hearing, we buttressed calls for relief in our statement with examples drawn from the numerous contacts by Association members on the GPO. One, familiar to our readers, is the story of Jeanne Young, about whom we reported over a year ago (July 1999 Voice).
In fact, supporters of H.R. 1217, like Rep. Delahunt and CARE, could point to numerous examples in their testimony, where the GPO hurt widows like Jeanne Young. According to CARE's testimony, which was presented by Frank Atwater, president of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, there are (as of December '99) 284,383 Social Security beneficiaries nationwide, who are affected by the GPO, and of that number 229,941 - or 80% - are fully offset, meaning they receive no SS benefits.
CARE also pointed out that 104,137 - or 38% - of the total number are widows or widowers. Of that number of survivors, 71,175 - or 68% - receive no SS benefits.
Editor's Note: The complete text of our statement can be found on the Association's web site (http://www.massretirees.com).