Wednesday, May 2, 2001
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Wednesday, May 2, 2001 |
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BOE eyes $2.5 million for school worker's Social Security By DAVE HAMRICK
As government employees, workers in Fayette County schools currently don't have to pay the 6.7 percent Social Security tax that most wage earners pay. But they don't get any Social Security benefits either. As part of this year's budget-writing process, the Board of Education is considering changing that and allowing those who want it to sign up for Social Security. Cost to the taxpayers would be about $2.5 million a year, according to School System finance director Jim Stephens. "We've done some informal polls, and we think ... about two-thirds" of the workers would want to sign up, said Stephens. But first the board must decide whether to bite off that big of an expense. Under the program, 6.7 percent of workers' pay is withheld for Social Security, and the employer matches that withholding. "They're trying to be very careful," said Stephens, "to be sure they can do this without doing anything extraordinary," such as increasing taxes to pay for the benefit. If approved, the expense for Social Security would be in addition to an expected $235,000 per year cost to provide Medicare coverage to workers not currently covered under that federal program. In a 1981 election, Fayette schools did away with Medicare coverage for employees. Then in 1986, the action was reversed, and workers who have joined the system since then have been covered. Approximately 440 employees are among those not previously covered. The board approved coverage for those last November, adding $78,000 to the fiscal year 2001 budget for the remainder of that year. The $235,000 figure will be needed for the 2002 budget.
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