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For Immediate Release
June 22, 2007
Contact: Heather Reams
Director of Communications
877-385-6264
heather@aaeteachers.org

AAE Supports Social Security Fairness Act

Alexandria, VA—The Association of American Educators (AAE), a non-union professional educator organization, has announced their support of the Social Security Fairness Act, HR 82, which would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). AAE has sent letters to key members of Congress asking for their support of this important legislation. Click here to read the letter.

“This bill is necessary to ensure that our teachers are receiving all the benefits that are due them,” said Gary Beckner, AAE executive director. “Teachers give of themselves daily and should not be shortchanged at retirement.”

Under current federal law, public employees, including teachers, are not eligible to receive the same Social Security benefits as other workers. The WEP affects employees who do not pay into Social Security, and the GPO affects spousal benefits.

“These provisions were put into place to protect against people receiving benefits they had not earned,” said Beckner. “The simple fact is that teachers are getting cheated out of benefits after they retire, and the system needs to be corrected.”

HR 82 is currently under consideration in the Subcommittee on Social Security in the House Ways and Means Committee. Its companion bill in the Senate, S. 206, has been referred to the Committee on Finance.

The Association of American Educators is the largest national, non-union, professional educators’ association. AAE seeks to increase the respect and professionalism of teachers, to improve public education through increased accountability and higher student achievement, and to provide educators with a professional alternative to teacher labor unions. AAE believes that teacher labor unions no longer meet the needs of today’s educators. www.aaeteachers.org

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