Quote:
Originally Posted by bmcgowan13
Exactly. I worked over 30 years for a federal pension. I also worked part-time as police and paid into Social Security for 20 years--I paid the SAME amount into Social Security as everyone else at my PD. My weekly SS contributions were NOT reduced because I also paid into CSRS.
I earned a stipend of $1,089 per month from Social Security. But since I started collecting at full retirement age they have reduced my SS payment by $547 per month--simply because I am receiving a federal pension. I get $542 per month. To me--that is not fair. I did NOT pay a reduced amount for my Social Security--I paid the same as everyone else.
My wife collects a pension from her NY Hospital. AND she gets her entire Social Security every month. Is this different?
The GPO/WEP was enacted to have federal employees help bail out SS.
This is a great explanation:
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With 109 posts it is hard to read them all but here is a short recap...
- While you were paying into the pension you WERE NOT paying into SS. Your wife paid into her pension AND SS. THAT is what is different. She paid into SS her entire career, you did not.
- Your pension was intended to replace SS and that is what it is doing. Whatever pension you are receiving is replacing $547 of the SS you would have received IF YOU HAD PAID INTO SS DURING THOSE YEARS.
- I paid into SS for 40 years. Can I divide that by two and ask for two full SS checks? Of course not, I get ONE SS check for the entire 40 years. You worked 40 years (or so) and are receiving a full pension for the time you DID NOT PAY SS plus a partial benefit for the time you did pay SS - you are already receiving more benefits than your wife or me.
- The math behind WEP is based on the way replacement salary is calculated for SS. 100% of the lowest $X of salary is replaced followed by a lower percentage of higher amounts. Your pension is replacing at least 100% of your lowest salary so WEP recalculates your benefit taking that into account. Again, this is because you did not contribute to SS while you were earning your pension.
- You should be grateful WEP left as much as it did. With most straight-SS calculations, benefits like spousal or survivor aren't reduced, they are completely eliminate - you receive 100% of one benefit and 0% of the other.
But in the end, all the above is moot if the bill gets signed. (perhaps it has been already)