There is a significant danger that Washington lawmakers could make cuts to Social Security that will affect Connecticut teachers.
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has recommended changes to the way Social Security Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) are calculated. These changes would result in a lower and less accurate measure of inflation. Click here for a Social Security COLA cut fact sheet.
Even though Connecticut teachers do not receive Social Security benefits based on their teaching years, these cuts could affect you because the COLA to teachers’ pensions are based in part on the Social Security COLA. (More information here.) Moreover, many Connecticut teachers will collect some Social Security benefits from work they have done outside of teaching. These changes would affect not only retired teachers, but future retirees as well.
The Strengthen Social Security Campaign, which has teamed with NEA, is asking concerned citizens to call their U.S. Senators this Thursday and Friday to stop efforts to cut the Social Security COLA. Changes to Social Security are front and center in the negotiations over a more modest deficit-reduction bill.
You can stop these cuts. Call your U.S. Senators this Thursday and Friday, July 14-15.
Call 1-866-251-4044.
Tell your senators:
- NO cuts to Social Security!
- NO cuts to Social Security’s COLA!
For more information on the proposed changes, and to understand why they’re so problematic, read this June 2011 policy issue brief from the National Senior Citizens Law Center.
How would decreases in the COLA to your pension affect you? Share in the comments.
I am increasingly appalled that I spent my career teaching years in a state and in a nation both of which have no respect for me or for my profession. I am supposed to go quietly into the twilight in POVERTY…
That is what is happening.
There is a 60 percent fine for my having worked 40 years exterior to teaching and paying SS.
There has been no increase to my pension in more than two years, and the threat is alive and well that this pension will remain stagnant forever.
No respect for my years of teaching and massive fines for having taught in CT.
The governments of both this state and of this country are appalling and shameful in their loathing for my profession and lack of concern for retired teachers and their financial welfare…Speaking of welfare, will we, their retired teachers, all be on welfare as a last resort and soon???
Disgusting.
Again the little person is taking the brunt of the mess caused not by him but by those profligates in our government who refuse to work together for a UNITED States of America.
How about fixing GPO and WEP which is already cutting our well-deserved Social Security. We’re losing 2/3’s of our teacher’s pension monthly!!! I wrote to Sen Blumenthal and never received a reply.
Sally July 13 ,2011
I am in the same position as Margaret. I worked enough time in private schools to qualify for Soc. Sec. benefits. Because I vested in a CT Teachers’ pension, I will take the 2/3 hit when I go to collect my ss benefits. Given the growing disdain in which teachers are held these days, I doubt this Congress is likely to do anything about repealing the GPO & WEP.
It was Rob Simmons who was working hard to get the repeal rolling. Courtney gives limp wristed support to the idea. He says he’ll vote in favor of repeal if it ever comes up for a vote. However he is hardly championing the cause. Democrats assume they have teacher votes in their pockets because they think we’ll never vote for Republicans.
No surprise you didn’t hear from Blummie. He doesn’t need your vote right now, and anyway the repeal has to start in the House of reps anyway.
The information is somewhat inaccurate. Some Connecticut teachers do pay into Social Security and will receive full benefits (specifically, teachers at Norwich Free Academy). Lee is correct that teachers are getting unfairly hammered by myopic misanthropes.
Not only should they not cut COLA–they should raise it because the last 2 years of no Cola certainly was not a period of level costs. Also, social security is NOT an entitlement–it is a TRUST and I hope everyone keeps reminding our legislators of that.
@Tom – you are correct. Educators at Norwich Free Academy are the only teachers in CT who pay into Social Security and will receive full Social Security benefits.
Jayne Isaacs
Once again teachers are over worked and underpaid. They are not respected whatsoever. They should definitely not cut COLA. Already with the state of the economy retired teachers are struggling along with everyone else. There has been no increases for us for a number of years. So who wins here?
I guess the government is just hoping that we die off early so that we don’t collect any money from social security or our teaching pension.