Reasons GPO/WEP are WRONG!

I paid into the Teacher Retirement System here in Illinois. I also paid into Social Security and Medicare. When I retired my public pension was cut because of a provision in Social Security regulations that impact those of us in public service. It is called the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). From http://www.ssfairness.com/repeal-the-gpo-wep/  "If you have had two jobs: one in which you paid Social Security taxes and therefore earned your own Social Security credits and a public sector job in which you did not pay Social Security taxes (referred to as “non-covered” public employment), you are penalized by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP), and may lose up to 60% of your earned Social Security retirement
benefits.)."

The website also explains the GPO:

"Spousal benefits (must be spouse for a minimum of 10 years) are penalized by the Government Pension Offset (GPO) when you begin to collect your pension from a “non-covered” public position. Because of the GPO:

• Dependent spouses will probably lose all the benefits due them — a non-working spouse normally receives an SS payment equal to half that of the SS earner.
• Widows/widowers will lose at least part of or, more often, all of the Social Security retirement."  

So even though I paid thousands of dollars into both systems, these provisions limit my pension payouts. 

If this seems unfair to you, you can do something about it. First, you can go here:

http://www.ssfairness.com/handouts-local-action/ and download the tool kit.

 Then you can be sure to vote on November 4th and you will want to vote for Democrats because Republicans want to give people a voucher for Social Security and plan to eliminate all public pensions as quickly as possible.