The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) has been a thorn in retired educators’ sides for far too long. First implemented in 1983, the WEP prevents retired educators, as well as policemen and firefighters, from receiving the Social Security benefits they earned.
We have developed a web page specifically dedicated to repealing the WEP. On the page, you can find the Congressional Representatives who have and have not co-sponsored HR 711, a bill that proposes to repeal the WEP.
Please share this page with your fellow educators and family members. If your Congressman has not co-sponsored HR 711, please contact them and encourage them to do so.
Please remember the WEP is a national issue, and repealing it requires action from your Congressman, not your Texas Senator or Representative.
The WEP is designed to eliminate 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 educators in Texas do not pay into Social Security through their school districts. Whenever one of these educators works in a field that pays into Social Security, such as working in an alternative field before or after becoming an educator or working a summer job, they are subject to be penalized by the WEP.
On average, the WEP reduces TRTA members’ monthly incomes by $400. These reductions are very significant for retirees who live on fixed monthly incomes.
Fortunately, a solution has arrived. HR 711, also known as the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act, would reduce the WEP’s penalties on current retirees by as much as 33 percent. Future retirees would see the WEP reduced by as much as 50 percent!
Congressman Kevin Brady (R – The Woodlands) introduced HR 711 on Feb. 4. The bill is currently sitting in Brady’s House Committee on Ways and Means. The bill requires more co-sponsors to advance. Help us create a national movement to repeal the WEP by supporting HR 711.
Use this web page to find your Congressman, and implore them to support HR 711. Additionally, contact your friends and family members outside of Texas and ask them to contact their Congressmen about HR 711.
The only way we can change the WEP is through congressional action. We need Congressmen from across the United States to co-sponsor HR 711.
Thank you for your membership to TRTA. It is through your membership that we are able to create information pages such as this one. The best way to encourage change at the state, local and national level is to stay informed. If you haven’t already, please follow us on our social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
If you are not already a TRTA member or if you know a friend who would like to join, please encourage them to use our new Join Now website. It’s quick and easy, and will help ensure TRTA’s continued success.
Sincerely,
Tim Lee, Executive Director
