Action Alert #84 – Get to Know Your Social Security Legislative Aide

You can use these links:

To find your Representative:  http://www.house.gov

To check on House Bill 973

To check on H.R. 711

This week, the House of Representatives is on break.  They have come back to their districts and will probably be seen at 4th of July picnics and other celebrations.  Catch up with them, if you can, and tell them that you expect action on the GPO and WEP!

In addition to that, this is a good time to call your Congress Person’s office (put their number on your phone’s direct dial list) in Washington, D.C. and set up communication with the person in their office who advises them on Social Security legislation.  You may not be able to talk to them directly, so get their email.  Ask them to call you. They may ask you if you represent a group.  We are the Committee for Social Security Fairness, but pick another group you belong to that supports this, if you wish.

Sample story you can use for WEP. Copy, personalize and send it:

I worked for _________ for ___ years, earning my own Social Security retirement benefits.  But I also worked for________ for ______ years, earning a pension in a job where I was not permitted to pay into FICA to increase my Social Security benefits.  It was not until _________ (just before retirement, when I went to collect benefits, …..) that I learned that the amount Social Security had been telling me that I would get when I retired was WRONG.  Because of the Windfall Elimination Provision, I was going to lose $________ every month.  For a retiree, losing $__________ every year is really hard!

The whole idea of the Social Security offsets is unfair. No one else loses Social Security because they have another source of income!  I believe that the WEP and the Government Pension Offset should both be eliminated, and I hope you will support (or thank you for supporting) H.R. 973, by Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) to repeal the offsets. In the meanwhile, please consider (or thank them for) supporting H. R. 711, sponsored by Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Richard Neal (D-MA).

H.R. 711 corrects the clumsy formula that was devised 30 years ago to approximate what would be a person’s SS retirement benefits if they had always worked in jobs that paid Social Security benefits.  That formula is WRONG for its purpose.  Because of better data, a more reliable formula can now be applied and, because of a more consistent application of the offset, it will not change the cost to the Social Security Administration. This is a no cost fix that will make a huge difference of America’s public servants.

H.R. 711 is a bi-partisan bill and is supported by retired teacher, police and fire fighter associations from across the country, as well as AARP.  Please see the Ways and Means Committee information on the bill:    http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hr711/

Please take this opportunity to begin to correct a wrong that has been done to public servants across the country.  We cannot miss this opportunity!

Note to victims of the Government Pension Offset:  once we convince Congress that the WEP needs fixing and they can do something about it, we will have better standing to go after the GPO, which is more expensive.

For more information on H.R. 711, please go to our website, ssfairness.org and re-read Alert #83!