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After our Jan. 12, 2007 eUpdate, we received several calls and e-mails from concerned retirees regarding the audit report from the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of the Inspector General on the one-day exemption from the Government Pension Offset.
We must stress again that we do not yet have information about any action the SSA might take as a result of this report. The response by the SSA to the report gives us hope that the administration may choose not to reduce or recover benefits from those who utilized the one-day exemption:
Regarding the questionable employment, SSA stated the payment of a fee does not affect the validity of the wages unless the fee is considered a reimbursement of wages paid to the worker. SSA further stated it has no evidence these fees were considered a reimbursement of wages, nor does the draft OIG report state this is the case.
Regarding Social Security coverage for part-time employees, SSA agreed that many part-time positions are not covered under section 218 agreements. However, SSA stated it generally looks to the employers to determine whether the position is full- or part-time. SSA stated that, in all our cases, the school districts paid the Social Security taxes, which demonstrated that the school districts determined the positions were full-time and, therefore, covered under the section 218 agreements.
We are working through our lobbyist in Washington, D.C., to obtain more information about the possibility of SSA action in response to the report.
Several TCTA members inquired about whether the recommendations include districts other than the seven audited, or whether they would apply to personnel utilizing the exemption prior to 2004. Again, without knowing if the SSA is even planning to take action, it is difficult to determine who might be affected. However, the report does recommend that the SSA look into districts other than those audited to review their practices; there is no specific mention of a particular time period that should be re-examined.
We know this is a deeply concerning issue to those members who utilized the one-day exemption and we will work to provide you any new information as soon as it’s available. Please check our website regularly and be assured we will let our members know via e-mailed updates when we have definitive answers to any of your questions.
Updated: 01/19/07
