Most people probably don’t realize not all workers are covered under Social Security. In particular, teachers constitute one of the largest groups of uncovered workers. Nationwide, approximately 1.2 million teachers (about 40 percent of all public K–12 teachers) are not covered under Social Security for their time in the classroom. Show
How did we get here? Why are some teachers covered, and others aren’t? As Leslie Kan and I write in our 2014 report, the exclusion of teachers from Social Security comes from decisions made decades ago. State workers were left out of the original Social Security Act in 1935, initially because of concerns whether the federal government could tax state and local governments. Later when states were given the opportunity to extend coverage to public sector workers in the 1950s, most states chose to extend coverage. A handful of states, however, chose not to. Instead, these states bet they could provide better benefits through their state pension plans alone than through the combination of a pension and Social Security. Indeed, pension benefits for full-career workers typically have a higher rate of investment return than Social Security. However, this arrangement works well only for the small percentage of teachers who stay 30 or more years in a single retirement system. Today’s reality is that half of all new teachers will not stay long enough to qualify for a pension at all; and for those who do qualify, many will receive pensions worth less than their own contributions. For teachers in states without Social Security coverage, they're at risk of leaving their public service with very little in the way of retirement savings. Today, the majority of uncovered teachers work in 15 states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas) and the District of Columbia. Additional states have varied coverage where some teachers remain left out. Social Security Coverage for Teachers Source: National Education Association, "Charteristics of Large Public Education Pension Plans." Social Security coverage varies within states and sometimes even within districts. In California, almost all state government employees, state legislators, and judges are covered by CalPERS and Social Security. Teachers enrolled in the California Teachers State Retirement System (CalSTRS), however, are not covered by Social Security. Within California schools and districts—superintendents and district employees tend to be covered by Social Security, whereas classroom teachers tend to be uncovered. States aren’t locked into keeping their teachers out of Social Security. When Social Security coverage was extended to the states in the 1950s, each state entered into what is called a Section 218 agreement with the Social Security Administration, detailing the extent of coverage. Today, federal law allows any state or local retirement system to modify their Section 218 agreement and join the program (states that opt into coverage can’t subsequently opt out). Certain states have state-level legislation that prohibit teachers from extending coverage, but most states do not have these barriers. This provides an opportunity for states to reconsider their decades-old decisions. While not sufficient as a stand-alone benefit, Social Security could provide teachers with a floor of secure, inflation-protected, and portable benefits – something many teachers don’t have and genuinely need. To learn more about teachers and Social Security coverage, read our report or watch the video below: The original mission for Social Security was to promote economic security for the nation’s people. Social Security is much more than a retirement program, providing financial benefits, information, and tools to help support workers and their families in every community across America. It’s important for students to understand why Social Security was created
and why it’s important in their lives today and in the future. This knowledge and understanding will provide your students a strong base on which to build their financial future. The goal of our Educators webpage is to provide you with a toolkit full of the information and resources to develop engaging and informative lessons on Social Security and the importance of planning for the future. The toolkit consists of the following components: Download Complete Toolkit Now Lesson Plan 1: What is Social Security and
Why is It Important to Me? Objective: To provide a basic understanding of why Social Security was created, who it serves, and how it works. 1. Is Social Security Important to High School Students?Teacher Instructions: Start the discussion by asking the students what they think they know about Social Security and if they think Social Security is important to them as high school students. Capture key words/phrases on the board/screen to keep for future discussion. 2. Why was Social Security created? Who does it serve?Teacher Instructions: Hand out the ‘What is Social Security’ infographic and review key areas as found on the talking points document.
Option: For more in-depth information about Social Security’s history, watch the ’Hope of Many Years’ video on the side panel (50 minutes) in addition to the items listed above. 3. How does Social Security work?Teacher Instructions: Hand out the ‘What is FICA’ and ‘Work Credits’ infographics and discuss using the talking points document.
Lesson Plan 1: Assessment You can use the questions below to gauge understanding.
Optional homework assignment: Visit the Students page and review the information. Pick a life stage from the copy and explain how it relates to you or someone in your family. Final Review Teacher Instructions: Go back to initial words/phrases your students used to describe Social Security at the beginning of lesson 1 and determine the following:
You as an educator may also have questions about Social Security and our online resources. It is important to check your Social Security Statement each year to verify the accuracy of your earnings. Sign-in or create a my Social Security account to verify your earnings and see an estimate of future benefits throughout your career and into retirement. With a my Social Security account, you can estimate your future benefits at different ages when you may want to start receiving benefits. Please note: Some educators work in jobs in which they do not pay Social Security taxes. If this applies to you, you may be affected by either the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and/or the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These two laws can affect how we calculate your retirement or disability benefit or reduce spousal, widows, or widowers Social Security benefits. For more information, or to find out if you might be affected, visit our Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset pages. Why do Texas teachers not get Social Security?Most of the public school districts in Texas have TRS as their pension but do not pay into Social Security. So these teachers will get no benefit from Social Security or a significantly reduced one if they haven't paid into it before or after being a teacher. For many teachers, this seems unfair.
Do Wisconsin teachers get Social Security?Please note: Wisconsin state law requires WRS employers to cover their WRS-eligible employees for Social Security, apart from certain firefighters. State law also requires that all state employees and teachers be covered under the Section 218 Agreement.
How does Michigan teacher pension work?You will qualify for your pension when you are at least age 55 and have 30 or more YOS. At least 15 YOS must be earned through the Michigan Public School Employees' Retirement System. Basic 60 with 10. You qualify for a pension at age 60 with at least 10 years of earned service credit.
Can I collect Texas teacher retirement and Social Security?Texas educators eligible for both a spousal or widow/er Social Security benefit and their own TRS pension benefit are subject to the GPO. The GPO reduces the amount such educators are eligible to receive as a spousal or widow/er Social Security benefit by two-thirds of the amount of their TRS pension benefit.
|
Do teachers get pension and social security
Related Posts
Copyright © 2024 toptenid.com Inc.
