wants to knows=s)) Improving Women’s Retirement Outlook @ by Jeffrey R. Lewis (NAPSA)—Contacting your representatives could help many elderly women whoare facing a bleak retirementpicture. The problem is two outdated laws originally meant to prevent people from getting rich from federal government pensions. The Government Pension Offset (GPO) was passed in the 1970s, followed by the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) in the 1980s. While each may have seemedlike a good idea at the time, the laws have gone horribly awry. Instead of pre- venting government retirees from getting rich, these measures have driven many older Americans into poverty. The majority of those affected are women. The GPO reduces or eliminates the Social Security survivor benefit for government workers. The cut amounts to two-thirds of the retiree’s government pension. Here’s an example: Rose, a government employee, retired with a $600 monthly pension. Her husband Richard worked in the private sector. He retired with a $1,000 monthly Social Security benefit. Richard died before Rose. Instead of receiving the $500 survivor benefit from Social Security that most spouses would get, Rose gets just $100. The GPO reduced her survivor benefit by $400. Whatif Rose worked in the private sector earning the same income? She would be entitled to full survivor Social Security bene- fits. Instead, her reward for life- time of public service and outliving her husband is a cut in her Social Security. Those affected by the GPO are largely people such as Rose who retired as government workers and whose spouses worked in the private sector. The Windfall Elimination Pro- vision also affects government retirees who have earned pensions. WEPcutstheir Social Security benefits unless they also worked at least 30 years in the private sector. In contrast, private-sector workers get full Social Security benefits after 10 years of work. A government worker and a private-sector worker can have the exact same Social Security earning history and pension benefits, yet the government retiree’s Social Security benefit is lower. Again, women are dispropor- tionately affected. Because they remain our society’s primary caregivers, women often take years away from the workforce to raise children or tend to ailing parents. It’s important that Americans help protect the rights of retirees and reward—not punish—those who have dedicated themselves to public service. Contacting Congress is a first step. You can learn how to contact your representative by visiting www.senate.gov or www.house.gov. For more information, visit www.heinzfamily.org. Mr. Lewis is the president of the Heinz Family Philanthropies.
