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Retired teachers in California struggle to make ends meet with no access to Social Security - YouTube
Channel: KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco
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many retired teachers in california are
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finding their retirements are far less
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comfortable than they had assumed by law
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they're not allowed to collect social
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security even though many have paid into
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the system by working other jobs ktvu's
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rob ross spoke with one former teacher
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who feels she's being pushed for
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deciding to enter the classroom again
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before she retired lee giomona spent 25
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years teaching elementary school
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children in santa rosa for her it was a
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second career i love the children i
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taught
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but i've been penalized for that
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decision
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by
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the government
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penalized to such a degree she says that
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as much as she loved teaching she now
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questions whether she should have left
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her 10-year career in business for the
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classroom if i'd have known that when i
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went back into teaching
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i think i would have reconsidered that
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decision for sure what giamuna didn't
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know when she retired was that as a
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teacher in california she would be
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ineligible from collecting almost all of
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the social security benefits she earned
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before she became a teacher under what's
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called the windfall elimination
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provision she collects only 42 dollars a
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month from social security
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yeah they could just keep it i mean it's
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embarrassing
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it's like a slap in the face jamona does
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receive her teacher's pension but she
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didn't teach long enough to max out her
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retirement and now she says she
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struggles it's hard to live
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on a very limited amount of money
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and you had
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no idea this i had
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no
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idea and giamona received another
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unwelcome surprise when her husband died
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last year she was barred from collecting
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on his social security simply because
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she'd been a teacher i got nothing
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nothing
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zero now i get penalized again for being
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a teacher jamona is far from alone the
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california federation of teachers or cft
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estimates almost 2 million retired
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public employees who once worked other
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jobs many to supplement their lower pay
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find out once they turn 65 they will
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collect little to none of their social
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security once people realize this is
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what's going to happen fewer people are
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going to go into teaching
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we already have a severe teacher
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shortage doug ward chairs the cft's
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retirement policy committee people who
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thought they were going to be getting
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money from social security because they
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paid money in and they paid for that
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benefit
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are not getting that benefit california
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is one of 15 states in the u.s where
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public employees are cut off from most
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or all of their social security and that
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of their late spouses that also includes
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retired police officers and firefighters
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it was a decision made by public
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employees back in the 1970s and 80s but
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it's backfired now workers who had
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nothing to do with that decision are
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paying the price it's a lack of fairness
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and that's what we're trying to fix
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republican congressman rodney davis of
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illinois has authored h.r 82 its ability
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calls the social security fairness act
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it would allow government workers to
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collect social security from other jobs
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and collect a benefit from their late
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spouse those against making these
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changes worry about adding another
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expense to the social security fund
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these proposals would increase payouts
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by about one and a half percent the
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unintended consequence of their version
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of trying to prolong the solvency of the
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social security system has been to
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punish
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families who have given their entire
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career to public service davis says the
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bill needs the support of 290
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representatives to bring the legislation
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to a vote in congress it has 254 so far
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davis says the pandemic has slowed
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momentum but lee giamonas says she can't
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wait for change much longer i'm mad yeah
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rightfully so rob roth ktvu fox 2 news
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