You can find the final report of the Federal Section 218 Task Force for Missouri School Districts below. Keep in mind, this is a 23 page report we just received. Rather than waiting for us to read it and share the highlights, we knew there would be some that wanted to read the report for themselves. We will share a more detailed analysis in the next few days.

Final Report on 218 Agreements

Thanks for all the calls and questions you have provided us with over the past several months concerning Social Security and PSRS.

 MSTA has learned that the Federal Section 218 Task Force for Missouri School Districts will present their update to the Missouri Congressional delegation in March. Based on preliminary discussion we believe that full-time teachers, including those working extra duty, Career Ladder and summer school, will not be affected. Issues such as part-time work or teachers working in multiple positions in a school district are yet to be ruled on.

The minute we have confirmation on the final public report we will post the information here for you. Make sure you have signed up to receive updates from this site. Also, make sure that any colleages you have that are interested in this issue know about fixteacherretirement.com.

MSTA has been spearheading the teacher retirement issue from the beginning. We intend to keep you updated until the issue is resloved.

Stay tuned.

For the past several weeks A study group has been meeting to discuss the Social Security issue and its relationship to 218 agreements. That group is comprised of representatives from the Social Security Administration, the Office of Administration, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Public School Retirement System.

The chairperson of this group, Regional Social Security Commissioner, Michael Grochowski has invited representatives of Missouri education associations to meet on February 9. The meeting will focus on the goals of the study group and give representatives an opportunity to ask questions and share concerns.

Fixteacherretirement.com will keep you informed of any outcomes from this and any future meetings concerning Social Security and 218 agreements. 

Although not a complete repeal of the action this is still a step in the right direction. The deadline for implementation has been changed from 7/1/09 to 7/1/10. This extension gives the task force that was created to examine the implementation time to determine what is best for Missouri. You can  download the letter from the Social Security Administration to Senator McCaskill here.

After its initial meeting with the IRS and the SSA the Missouri Congressional delegation has sent a second letter outlining their concerns and requesting specific action in two areas. First, they want the IRS to confirm that they do not plan to assess or collect back tax penalties. Second, they want to eliminate any deadline until there is a clear understanding of the changes being proposed. You can read the letter in its entirety here.

The Office of Administration has also updated their FAQ page. One of the updated questions addresses Vocational Education Instructors and their position in relation to Social Security. The big change is that Vocational positions are still being evaluated and no determination has been finalized concerning payment into Social Security.

You can see all the updates here.

PSRS has created a very detailed frequently asked questions page for Section 218 information. The questions that are answered include determining how future benefits will be calculated if a position is subject to a Social Security withholding. You can see the  page here.

The Missouri State Social Security Administration received a response to their request to extend the time before enforcement begins. Here is a pdf of the response.

A step in the right direction. Hopefully the federal government will comply. You can read MSTA's story and the OA letter in its entirety here.

Here is a link to the most recent news story concerning the definition of teacher. This story was posted yesterday by the St Joe News.


Another link to a similar story publish in the Political Fix blog at STLtoday.com