Massachusetts public employees more vulnerable than most to Social Security's windfall elimination provision and government pension offset

The ins and outs of Social Security's windfall elimination provision and its government pension offset were the focus of a presentation by Kurt Czarnowski, regional communications director for New England, Social Security Administration, at the May 12, 2006 annual conference of the Financial Planning Association of Massachusetts.

These issues are particularly relevant to Massachusetts public employees who do not pay into Social Security. Nationwide, only 2.5% of Social Security are affected by the windfall provision or the government pension offset. For Massachusetts, the percentage rises to about 4.5%, according to Czarnowski.

There's more wiggle room in the windfall provision than the government pension offset, explained Czarnowski.

For more details, go to Windfall Elimination Provision or Government Pension Offset information on the Social Security website.