To: The Maine State House, The Maine State Senate, and Governor Janet Mills
Maine teacher retirement penalizes employees
I would like to have the state of Maine legislation rescind the unfair government pension offset and windfall elimintion provisions.
If we or our spouse pay into social security we should be able to receive the benefits we deserve. The state of Maine does Maine teachers a disservice and in many cases can put us close to the poverty level when we retire because of this law.
The spousal benefit reduction is called the “government pension offset” and the reduction in benefits for other work is called the “windfall elimination provision.”
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/opinion/columnists/teachers-retirement-years-not-so-golden_2012-10-04.html
If we or our spouse pay into social security we should be able to receive the benefits we deserve. The state of Maine does Maine teachers a disservice and in many cases can put us close to the poverty level when we retire because of this law.
The spousal benefit reduction is called the “government pension offset” and the reduction in benefits for other work is called the “windfall elimination provision.”
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/opinion/columnists/teachers-retirement-years-not-so-golden_2012-10-04.html
Why is this important?
As I near teacher retirement I find that even though my husband earned the main income in our home, I would not be entitled to a survivor benefit on his social security. If I had not worked or had worked in the private sector I would recieve this. Working as a teacher in Maine should not penalize us. Had I understood this when I first began teaching I may not have gone into this profession.
The spousal benefit reduction is called the “government pension offset” and the reduction in benefits for other work is called the “windfall elimination provision.”
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/opinion/columnists/teachers-retirement-years-not-so-golden_2012-10-04.html
The spousal benefit reduction is called the “government pension offset” and the reduction in benefits for other work is called the “windfall elimination provision.”
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/opinion/columnists/teachers-retirement-years-not-so-golden_2012-10-04.html