Teachers also cannot draw the social security earned by a deceased spouse. My best friend's husband just passed away last month, so that one is hitting close to home.

 

Correct. My wife (recently retired teacher) gets a pittance of a SS check from when she worked prior to becoming a teacher. She cannot receive any of my SS benefits should I precede her in death.

Yes is the answer.

 

In our day assistant principles were the 'enforcers'. They were not packing. But we acted like they were. And they could chase down a truant with a 100 yard head start in wing-tips and a suit.

 

I know it can't be true, but it sounds like we were classmates.

Correct. My wife (recently retired teacher) gets a pittance of a SS check from when she worked prior to becoming a teacher. She cannot receive any of my SS benefits should I precede her in death.

But if things happen the other way, you can draw hers. It makes no sense.

Teachers do not get SS for working in the Kentucky public schools, but they do get a penalized portion of SS if they contributed and qualify for benefits in the private sector. I receive a KTRS pension and a much penalized SS check monthly. However, I do receive it enough to pay a bill or two.

 

It's called the Windfall Elimination Provision. An apropos title if I ever heard one.

Correct. My wife (recently retired teacher) gets a pittance of a SS check from when she worked prior to becoming a teacher. She cannot receive any of my SS benefits should I precede her in death.

 

That’s awful. I am drawing SS, but if I precede her in death, which is likely, she will not be able to draw my SS? Or only if she takes her retirement?

Do teachers pay into SS?

Do teachers pay into SS?

 

No. However, that doesn't change the fact that the retired teacher (in this case, my wife) receives a reduced SS benefit derived from working outside the school system. From a SSA website:

 

If you work for an employer who doesn’t withhold Social Security taxes from your salary, such as a government agency or an employer in another country, any retirement or disability pension you get from that work can reduce your Social Security benefits.

No. However, that doesn't change the fact that the retired teacher (in this case, my wife) receives a reduced SS benefit derived from working outside the school system. From a SSA website:

 

If you work for an employer who doesn’t withhold Social Security taxes from your salary, such as a government agency or an employer in another country, any retirement or disability pension you get from that work can reduce your Social Security benefits.

So why should teachers draw SS on their time teaching if they don't pay it? Hell I'd rather have the SS $ I pay in every check to invest myself. I promise you my end number would be much better than the garbage you get for SS.

 

As far as reduced benefits for work outside of teaching I assume it is in relation to the amount you pay in. If you teach for 30 years and pay no SS for those 30 then work for another 10 years outside of teaching and pay SS for those 10, logic would say you will get reduced benefits. Your benefits would be and should be based on the 10 years you paid in I assume but maybe I'm missing something.

When I was a kid we went to school fed, reasonably dressed and under threat that, if we got into trouble at school, we get it twice as bad at home. My teachers word was gospel. Yes ma’am and sir were how we were taught to address them.

 

 

Too many kids these days have missing or otherwise occupied parents. They come to school hungry, poorly dressed, unprepared, and no one at home makes them do anything. They have never been taught respect. My sister left a public school because she was literally afraid of many of the students and some of their parents.

 

Teachers these days are expected to be social workers, parents, and now police with little or no support from the parents of the children they teach. I admire anyone who wants to teach these days, but they should be paid a whole lot more.

So why should teachers draw SS on their time teaching if they don't pay it? Hell I'd rather have the SS $ I pay in every check to invest myself. I promise you my end number would be much better than the garbage you get for SS.

 

As far as reduced benefits for work outside of teaching I assume it is in relation to the amount you pay in. If you teach for 30 years and pay no SS for those 30 then work for another 10 years outside of teaching and pay SS for those 10, logic would say you will get reduced benefits. Your benefits would be and should be based on the 10 years you paid in I assume but maybe I'm missing something.

 

Why should they draw less SS on earnings from work outside of teaching? In your example, the SS pension based on their earnings for the 10 years that they worked outside of teaching is not based on those 10 years. It is reduced from that - significantly.

Why should they draw less SS on earnings from work outside of teaching? In your example, the SS pension based on their earnings for the 10 years that they worked outside of teaching is not based on those 10 years. It is reduced from that - significantly.

Can't answer that as I have no idea what the rule is and how different the calculation is.

 

I only asked because of the gripe that teachers don't draw SS. IMO, that is only valid if they are forced to pay SS. Like I said, not having to participate in SS is a plus in my book.

Can't answer that as I have no idea what the rule is and how different the calculation is.

 

I only asked because of the gripe that teachers don't draw SS. IMO, that is only valid if they are forced to pay SS. Like I said, not having to participate in SS is a plus in my book.

Who is griping that we don't draw SS? I don't remember seeing that. Personally, I have paid some into SS from when I worked to put myself through college, but I don't expect to see anything from it. If I retire from teaching and do something else afterwards, then maybe.

 

What I do have a gripe with is that my best friend will not be able to draw SS from her husband who just passed away. He was not a teacher. If the roles had been reversed, he could draw from her KTR and his SS. But not the other way around. I'm told that this only applies to teachers, not other KY state employees, since as social workers or police. Certainly not to legislators and governors.

Who is griping that we don't draw SS? I don't remember seeing that. Personally, I have paid some into SS from when I worked to put myself through college, but I don't expect to see anything from it. If I retire from teaching and do something else afterwards, then maybe.

 

What I do have a gripe with is that my best friend will not be able to draw SS from her husband who just passed away. He was not a teacher. If the roles had been reversed, he could draw from her KTR and his SS. But not the other way around. I'm told that this only applies to teachers, not other KY state employees, since as social workers or police. Certainly not to legislators and governors.

Maybe gripe wasn't the right word but it was being brought as a strike against teachers. I agree teachers should not be treated any differently in regards to the rest of SS rules. Not allowing them to draw their spouses SS after their dies does not make sense.

When I was a kid we went to school fed, reasonably dressed and under threat that, if we got into trouble at school, we get it twice as bad at home. My teachers word was gospel. Yes ma’am and sir were how we were taught to address them.

 

 

Too many kids these days have missing or otherwise occupied parents. They come to school hungry, poorly dressed, unprepared, and no one at home makes them do anything. They have never been taught respect. My sister left a public school because she was literally afraid of many of the students and some of their parents.

 

Teachers these days are expected to be social workers, parents, and now police with little or no support from the parents of the children they teach. I admire anyone who wants to teach these days, but they should be paid a whole lot more.

 

I love you!!!

 

Great post.

When I was a kid we went to school fed, reasonably dressed and under threat that, if we got into trouble at school, we get it twice as bad at home. My teachers word was gospel. Yes ma’am and sir were how we were taught to address them.

 

 

Too many kids these days have missing or otherwise occupied parents. They come to school hungry, poorly dressed, unprepared, and no one at home makes them do anything. They have never been taught respect. My sister left a public school because she was literally afraid of many of the students and some of their parents.

 

Teachers these days are expected to be social workers, parents, and now police with little or no support from the parents of the children they teach. I admire anyone who wants to teach these days, but they should be paid a whole lot more.

Very good post. My wife was, and my daughter currently is, a teacher in JCPS. Teachers are asked to do so much more than just teaching. I strongly disagree with those who say "Well, that is what they signed up for when they decided to become a teacher." I doubt that most would-be teachers have any idea what lies ahead of them in the classroom. It is not a teacher problem. It is a societal problem.