Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1535219
W H E N R E T I R E D E D U C A T O R Debra Sheehan checked her balance online in early March to see if she had the money to pay her wireless phone bill, the CTA/NEA-Re- tired vice president made a sho cking di scover y : a $44,000 deposit from Social Security — courtesy of the Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law in January. "I probably cried for an hour. I was t h i n k i n g ' w h o's p ra n k i n g m e ? ' " s ay s Sheehan, who taught second and third g ra d e f o r C a pi stra n o Un i f i e d S c h o o l District for 20 years. "I 'm still speech- less. It's like someone took 50 pounds off my shoulders." The long-awaited passage and adop- tion of the law ended the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elim- ination Provi sion (WEP), w hich have unfairly reduced S o cial Security pay- ments for educators and other public employees for more than 40 years. With the stroke of President Biden's pen, more than 2.8 million public workers (and their survivors) received more of the money they already put into the system. e amounts are life changing. "I can pay off my bills. I'm so grateful for the people who fought so long for this," Sheehan says. "If we can win this fight, just think what else we can accomplish. is gives me a feeling of confidence and courage that whatever insane thing is coming at us every day, we can react, organize and make things happen." E d u c a t o r s i n 2 6 s t a t e s i n c l u d i n g California will see an average monthly increase of $360 in their Social Security benefits, depending on their employment history, according to NEA. Retired CTA member Krista Patterson will see $1,300 more per month in addition to the $20,700 lump payment she received in March. "It's a good chunk of money but we were even more excited about the increase in our monthly amount," says Patterson, a former elementar y teacher in Scotts Valley. "I subbed for the last three years and this means I won't have to do that anymore … It's such a good feeling not just for us, but for everyone. It affects 3 million people — that's huge!" For four decades, public employees in 26 states have been subject to punitive and discriminatory measures that reduced their Social Security benefits. e GPO and WEP robbed educators of the retirement income they Social Security Fairness Act Changing Retired Educators' Lives Historic victory leads to retroactive payments, increased benefits By Julian Peeples 32 cta.org Debra Sheehan Feature