Senator Feinstein Introduces Measure to Encourage Private Sector
Employees to Become Teachers, Firefighters
October 10, 2001

Washington, DC -- U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today introduced legislation to provide incentives for private sector employees to become teachers, firefighters, police officers, or other government employees. The measure would repeal provisions of current law that reduce Social Security benefits for retirees who paid into Social Security and also receive a government pension.

"Under current law, people who leave jobs in the private sector to become public school teachers in California -- or public school teachers who work second jobs during the summer months to help make ends meet -- are penalized for it: they lose legitimately earned Social Security benefits. In certain cases, their wives and husbands will lose spousal benefits, too." Senator Feinstein said. "That is simply not right. California faces a teaching crisis, and we need to do everything we can to attract and keep good, qualified people to public school teachers -- not make an already difficult job more difficult."

The legislation repeals two provisions in the current Social Security Act that create this problem: The Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset provision.

The Windfall Elimination Provision reduces Social Security benefits for retirees who paid into Social Security and also receive a government pension, such as from a teacher retirement fund. Private sector retirees receive monthly Social Security checks equal to 90 percent of their first $561 in average monthly career earnings, plus 32 percent of monthly earnings up to $3,381 and 15 percent of earnings above $3,381. Government pensioners, however, are only allowed to receive 40 percent of the first $561 in career monthly earnings -- a penalty of $280.50 per month.

The current Government Pension Offset provision reduces Social Security spousal benefits by an amount equal to two-thirds of the spouse's public employment civil service pension. This can have the effect of taking away, entirely, a spouse's benefits from Social Security.

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