I predicted this was going to happen. The public outcry over the repeal of the Government Pension Offset law has begun. I am hearing from more and more people (mostly women) who want to know why retired teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees are getting Social Security spousal and survivor benefits that they can’t get. Here is a typical recent email.
Q: My sister and I are both retired teachers. I taught in a private school in Colorado, where I paid into Social Security. My sister taught in Dallas, where she paid into the Texas Teachers Retirement program and not Social Security. So I get a Social Security retirement benefit and she gets a Texas teacher’s pension. Surprisingly, they are both about the same amount. We each get about $3,000 per month. We’re also both widows. Until recently, neither of us could get widows benefits because our own retirement pensions prevented us from getting anything from our husband’s Social Security. But apparently a new law was recently passed called the Social Security Fairness Act that allows my sister to get full Social Security widows benefits. However, I still can’t. How in the world is that fair?
