Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill14564
It’s not quite that simple, right?
If you earned a pension at a job, quit for a while, then returned for enough time to qualify for a pension you wouldn’t put really expect to collect two pensions from the same company.
If you and your spouse both qualify for SS benefits you don’t expect to collect both your SS plus spouse or widow(er) benefits.
If you worked 80 quarters you don’t expect to get two SS checks.
The thought behind the WEP and GPO seems to be that the Govt pays two types of retirement, a pension for some and SS for others, and you cannot collect two retirements from the same source.
This new bill, which eliminates WEP and GPO, says yes you can collect two separate retirements from the Govt.
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If a husband worked and qualifies for SS, the spouse can also collect a spouse benefit (half of the husband's check), even if she never worked. That would be two Government retirement checks. If the husband dies, the spouse can only collect one SS check, but it would be the higher amount.
I had a cousin who benefitted from 4 Government checks: a military retiree check, a spouse SS check, her husband's SS check, and her husband's civilian Government retirement check. And, she never worked a day in her life.
Note that military retirees are allowed to retire after 20 years, and then get a civilian Government job, and collect two Government retirement checks, and a SS check, and if they have a spouse, the spouse can collect a spouse benefit check, plus two survivor checks after he dies.