[ElDiabloJoe]

[QUOTE=Bill14564;2395771]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. No, but if you earned a pension at one job (e.g., IBM), then worked for enough time to qualify for a pension from a completely different company (e.g., Delta Airlines), you'd be entitled to both earned pensions, right? I worked 10-plus years for Continental Airlines before becoming a street cop. Am I not entitled to the SS I paid into for those years at the airline AND the pension I earned in L.A.? Same with the military - you serve 20 years in the USMC, and then become a fireman at 40 and work another 25 years, did you not earn both the military and the city's pension?

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. No, you qualify for EITHER your benefit, or the spousal benefit, not both.

If you worked 80 quarters you don’t expect to get two SS checks. Now you're just being silly. If I worked 40 quarters AND my wife worked 40 quarters, we should still get two social security checks, right? Or since it is one household you think we should only get the one?

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. IF your pension paid into SS (most don't), then YES, you paid into SS AND your city pension. You deserve both that you paid into.

This new bill, which eliminates WEP and GPO, says yes you can collect two separate retirements from the Govt.ONLY if you earned the government pension AND earned your 40 credits with non-public service employment../QUOTE]