A congressional hearing to discuss the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) has been scheduled for Tuesday, April 16, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. Central. The Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) and its national coalition partners are engaging in this hearing process by communicating with congressional leaders and will also provide written testimony.
Members of the public may view the hearing via live webcast available at this link. (Please note, the webcast will not be available until the hearing begins at 2:00 p.m. on April 16).
As TRTA members may know, these provisions took effect in the 1980’s as a means of eliminating the “windfall” of Social Security benefits received by beneficiaries who also receive a pension based on work not covered by Social Security.
Ninety-five percent of Texas public school employees do not pay into Social Security through their work with Texas schools. However, many have other jobs before, during, or after their employment in education in which they do pay into the federal program.
Public workers deserve to have this issue resolved so that current and future retirees are no longer impacted negatively by these unfair provisions.
The time to perpetuate bad public policy at the expense of those who cannot afford to lose their hard–earned Social Security benefits must come to an end. Congress, working with stakeholder groups, must make resolving this issue a priority! Now is the time for a bipartisan solution to make a difference for all public workers hurt by the WEP and GPO.
TRTA looks forward to working with the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee to make progress on these provisions during this Congress. TRTA is working with its national coalition, which includes MASS Retirees and the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE), to enact positive change for retirees.
Please stay tuned to the Inside Line, as more information will be communicated with our members after the hearing has concluded.
Thank you for being a member of TRTA. We are asking members to please renew their dues with TRTA if they have not done so already. If you know someone who is not a member, please invite them to join us! There is strength in numbers and the surest way for us to accomplish success is to grow the organization.
