Some of my friends have talked about it. Wouldn't it be nice, they say, to leave our humdrum jobs and become teachers? You know, work with children and do something worthwhile?þþIt sounds tempting. Then again, so does just retiring and getting a beach house in Bali. The beach house has something important going for it: buying it won't reduce your retirement benefits, something that switching to teaching could do because of two little-known amendments to the Social Security Act.þþIt turns out that working as a teacher — or as a firefighter, police officer or federal civil servant — could result in a reduction in Social Security benefits earned in jobs outside of government.þþThe amendments are called the government pension offset, first passed in 1977, and the windfall elimination provision, passed in 1983. They essentially keep government workers who are receiving civil-service pensions from double-dipping into public money.þþThe key is whether workers pay Social Security tax in those public jobs. If they don't, under the windfall elimination provision, Social Security often applies a less generous formula in figuring their benefits from their private-sector work. þþThe reasoning is that people who have full-time jobs not covered by Social Security, but who earn Social Security benefits by working second jobs, could appear to be low-wage earners and therefore eligible for larger benefits. The formula used by the agency in figuring benefits is weighted toward low-income workers.þþThe other amendment, the government pension offset, reduces the Social Security spousal benefit, which is meant for people who are financially dependent on spouses who were covered by Social Security. Carolyn Cheezum, a spokeswoman for the Social Security Administration, said those affected by this amendment are not dependent on their spouses because they were full-time employees themselves.þþMany workers said they were shocked to learn their benefits could be cut. Carrie Lewis, a spokeswoman for the National Education Association, the teachers union, says it explains the amendment in its newsletters and during its retirement seminars — but, as is the case with many retirement issues, many people don't pay much attention when they're young. The surprise comes when they retire.þþMany teachers are confused about the issue, Ms. Lewis said, because they receive the usual notices from Social Security listing the benefits they can expect upon retirement. The figure is not adjusted for the effects of the amendments.þþÿIf I had known it, I would not have calculated Social Security into all my financial planning for retirement,ÿ said Idella M. Harter, 50, a teacher from Auburn, Me., who has worked in several jobs subject to Social Security tax. ÿI would have saved a bit more to make up the difference.ÿþþHer Social Security statement reported that she had earned $900 a month in benefits, she said. But with the offset, she'll receive only $300 a month.þþÿA difference of $600 a month is a considerable difference when you retire,ÿ she said. ÿI had figured my benefits would be my rent and food at retirement. Well, obviously, they won't be.ÿþþDana Dillon, 44, a teacher in Weed, Calif., will also have benefits reduced when she retires.þþÿWhat I find really wrong is that a person who works in private industry with a private pension is going to get a substantial pension and still get Social Security,ÿ she said. ÿThose of us who have chosen to work in the public sector are being treated unfairly. And who is providing the better benefit to society?ÿþþ þThe nation is already short of teachers, and there is concern that once the amendments become more widely known, more second-career people will stay out of teaching. Several bills are pending in Congress to either do away with the amendments or to reduce their impact. One, introduced by Representative Howard P. McKeon, Republican of California, would repeal the amendments. Scott Wilk, press secretary for Mr. McKeon, said the repeal would cost the Social Security system about $38 billion over 10 years, so gaining approval of the bill may be slow going.þþÿIt's going to have to be one part of a total reform of Social Security,ÿ Mr. Wilk said. ÿIf President Bush is sincere about his campaign pledge on reforming Social Security, I'm sure this will be a part of it.ÿþþMr. McKeon, he said, ÿbelieves there are a lot of talented and gifted people out there who want to become teachers who are being penalized.ÿþþÿHe wants to create incentives for them, not disincentives.ÿ þþ þþ þ
