President's Letter

From the President’s Podium April/May

Thoughtful: A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart. 

Humorous: There are three good reasons to be a teacher – June, July, and August! ~ Authors Unknown 

Where has the time gone? It was on July 1st of 2015 that I began my term as President of the GBRTA and as I look back at my first newsletter, I see that I could almost copy it for my last newsletter! We are still talking about tax relief, insurance coverage, the Gov-ernment Pension Offset, and the Windfall Elimination Provision! 

At least I can report that in these four years some progress has been made with a 10% reduction on our state income tax payments for 2016 and a 25% reduction for 2017 BUT we are now in a holding pattern. It was sup-posed to have been 50% for 2018, but due to the poor condition of Connecticut’s finances, the 25% reduction was continued for one more year. Gov. Lamont is now proposing that it remain at 25% so it is imperative that you contact your State legislators on this matter. 

The prospect of better funding for our retirement and health insurance accounts also seems to be improving but again, you must stay alert to the news emanating from Hartford. The GPO and WEP legislation is again working its way through Congress but does not yet have the full support of Connecticut’s delegation – let them know your thoughts. See the story below. 

Another hot button topic generated by the new administration in Harford has been the idea of regionalization. This thought caused a furor around the state and the position being taken now is to support mutuality of services between towns such as Superintendents, special education services, purchasing, transportation, and the like which could result in cost savings but not force the merger of districts. 

The GBRTA continues to support the profession by sponsor-ing 16 scholarships to area public high school seniors who plan to become teachers and we continue to support the needs of the community with food drives, clothing drives, Samaritan’s Purse and continued involvement on an as needed basis in the local school systems. 

I urge all of our members to be actively involved not only in our organization but to join others in speaking out on im-portant issues related to our health and welfare. Let your elected representatives in Hartford and Washington know your feelings about such issues. Join one of the many committees of the GBRTA. 

And finally, I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to express my thanks to the Board of Directors for their support and encouragement during these four years. Without their participation as well as the support of the general membership, there would be no GBRTA. I look forward to the same support being given to the new slate of officers who will assume their duties on July 1st. 

Bob Pitzschler

Action on Social Security—WEP/GPO

The Social Security Act, passed in 1935, excluded federal, state and local government em-ployees from mandatory coverage. In 1950 Congress passed legislation that allowed state and local government employees to be covered. Following a referendum, Connecticut members of the Teachers’ Retirement System voted against joining the Social Security system. Additional legislation further reduced the benefits retired teachers in Connecticut and in fourteen other states who do not contribute to Social Security. 

In 1977 Congress passed the Government Pension Offset (GPO) that applies to spouses who qualify for both their teacher pensions and a Social Security spousal benefit. The GPO reduces Social Security spousal benefits by two-thirds of the retired teachers’ pensions. 

The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) of 1983 affects Connecticut’s retired teachers who have earned their pensions and also worked at other jobs where they paid Social Security tax-es long enough to qualify for retirement benefits. It reduces those benefits by as much as 60% - depending on salaries and quarters of employment covered by Social Security. 

The Social Security Fairness Act of 2019 which cancels the GPO and WEP has been introduced in Congress. The House bill is H.R. 141 with 159 co-sponsors and the Senate bill is S.521 with 28 co-sponsors. As of this writing, Representatives Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, Johanna Hayes and Jim Himes have signed on as co-sponsors. Senators Blumenthal and Murphy have co-sponsored the Senate bill. While Representative John Larson has sponsored H.R. 1902, the Social Security 2100 Act , this legislation does not address the GPO/WEP problem. It’s important that we contact our members of Congress to request their continuing support for eliminating the WEP and GPO and their negative effects on Connecticut's teachers. 

 Contact your legislators!