In 1947, a Director of the retirement of California public school named the Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus discovered one of her colleagues teacher retirement living in a chicken coop, struggling to survive on a meager pension, in poor health, no way to get health care. The discovery shocked Dr. Andrus to take measures that would improve the lives of all older Americans for the decades to follow.
A leader active in the California retired teachers Association, Dr. Andrus tended to the handful of other organizations to employee school State who existed, including the Association of retired school of Pennsylvania (my employer), and then United our organizations to form Association (National retired teachers Convention). Collectively, we have put pressure on our States and the federal Government to enact legislation to improve the condition of the pensioners of the public service, and we combined the purchasing power of our members to encourage businesses to produce products and services that people need in their years later, including insurance of health for older people over 65which did not exist previously.
Any retired school only did not live in barns in 1947. Word of the Convention success for educators former spread, a growing number of elderly people who did not work in public schools turned to the Convention to help. Aging of all Americans for the means to defend themselves in a society that has provided little and completely ignored those who could not work and were forced to live in the barns and other slums. In 1958, led again by Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, we helped establish the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). What follows is a series of improvements in social security, the establishment of health insurance, the elimination of age discrimination in our laws and practices, affordable benefits and services designed for the elderly, etc. and millions of older Americans, out of poverty.
I looked over and alarm of the disappearance of private sector defined benefit pension plans and read the body of mounting evidence showing that the vast majority of people who have now plan 401 (k) and social security collects far enough to pay their basic life in retirement. I saw my own retirement account lost half of its value two times over the 10 years, for the first time when my money management entity has been involved in an accounting scandal, and again when the fact Wall Street fund managers sinking our financial by grouping system and is betting on bad mortgages. I witnessed first-hand the devastation that occurs when a person survives his retirement savings, that I helped my mother to sell all that she had to pay her nursing home fees.
The current drive to eliminate pension benefits determined for retired officials of Pennsylvania is defended by the same groups and individuals who promoted the elimination of company retirement and who have sought to privatize and to eliminate the guaranteed benefits provided by social security. Supporters of replacement of the defined benefit plans with the privatization of social security and individual retirement accounts are one and same - ultraconservative, libertarian organizations seeking to dismantle all programs of managed by the Government, such as the foundation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, funded by Wall Street entities who seek to take advantage of the management of retirement savings.
When we say no to Wall Street and demand that our elected representatives strive to strengthen systems that provide secure sources of retirement income?
Supporters of the elimination of pension and Social Security privatization plans benefit from scaring us with incomprehensible numbers - billions in unfunded employee pension funds, trillions in gaps in social security. The love of media controversy of fuel with stories about the amounts of scandalous pension that only a privileged few, including the benefits perceived by the legislators who voted themselves although retirement more lucrative than what the typical State or school employee can receive his retirement. All of this aims to convince us that the pensions and social security benefits are too generous, unsustainable and must be eliminated. Really?
The facts are that the average annual pension for an employee of the public school retirement in Pennsylvania is $ 23,500, and the average annual social security benefit is $ 14,500. It's not too generous amounts, given that the average personal income for residents of Pennsylvania is more than $ 41,000 per year. Eliminating guaranteed all sources of income at retirement, including pensions and social security, would be only to secure greater profits for Wall Street and a return to chicken coops for the elderly of our country.
Richard c. Rowland is the Executive Director of the SRAP. Founded in 1937, the retired Association School of Pennsylvania (SRAPS) is a voluntary organization composed of nearly 50,000 teachers pensions, administrators and school support staff. Mission of the association is to serve others in need and to help the other enjoy retirement.
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