To UFF Senators

As you may have already noticed, starting with the first paycheck in 2013, members will notice a decrease in your take-home pay. The change means the full amount of federal Social Security is now being withheld from all workers’ paychecks.

The 2 percent increase is a return to the payroll tax rate that was lowered two years ago to help stimulate the economy during the economic slowdown.

The payroll tax is used to fund Social Security. The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 extended the two percentage point payroll cut and continued the reduction of workers’ Social Security tax withholding rate from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent of wages for a prescribed amount of time.

Congress never intended for the payroll tax cut to be permanent. Republicans wanted to see the tax cut expire a year ago, while Democrats fought to keep it for another year.

The payroll tax reduction came with a congressional pledge to replace the money into Social Security, but Congress never replaced the money, which led to the government borrowing money to make up the difference and keep the payments flowing into the Social Security fund. This ultimately has added more to the national debt.

Your paycheck this year also saw a slight increase in your contribution for Medicare. As with the Social Security deduction, this was cut two years ago as a temporary measure to stimulate the economy.

The increases in your payroll deductions have nothing to do with your UFF your college or university or the state of Florida. This was a decision made by members of Congress and the administration.

Ed Mitchell
Executive Director
United Faculty of Florida
FEA, NEA, AFT, AFL-CIO
850-224-8220 Fax: 850-222-1767
(813) 240-9301 – Cell
Ed.Mitchell@floridaea.org
www.UnitedFacultyofFlorida.org